E30 Zone

what oil do people use in their cars??

what would poeple recommend for a 160 k engine?

Either 5w-40 synthetic or 10w-40 semi-synthetic.

Cheers
Simon

i use vauxhall semi-synthetic, i get on trade club and costs me 4quid for 5ltrs,
i great stuff

Vauxhall's oil is made by Delco. It's pretty good budget oil, probably better than Castrol Magnatex anyway

I'm a big fan of Silkolene/Fuchs oils. They're particularly good.

Theres a sticky thread on oil recommendations. http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... opic&t=156

Ok, lets put it this way, it's adequate.

What do you expect for less than a pound a litre?

A decent addative pack costs more than that per litre.

You pays your money and takes your choice!

This is worth remembering though:

Cheaper oils are in the long run a false economy, In the first mile the higher volatility, inferior anti-wear performance and poor temperature resistance of a cheap grade of oil will start to show. Obviously, there will be no immediate effects. The whole point of top quality oil is long-term performance retention, which is particularly valuable to people who actually own the car they drive. The Ԛâ€ËaperformanceÔš' enthusiast will want to retain the new-spec BHP figures, and the cost-conscious will want to see good fuel economy with 100,000 on the clock.

Cheap oil, (particularly 10W/40 or thinner) evaporates quickly, and the vapour is drawn into the combustion chambers via the crankcase ventilation system. This means calcium and zinc oxide deposits (from oil additives) which will cause pre-ignition, so the knock sensor retards the ignition, giving less power and poor fuel economy. The deposits also contaminate the exhaust catalyst, leading to high emissions and MOT failure. How much does an average catalyst box cost these days?!

In most cases synthetic oils (proper ones that is) are the way to go if you intend to keep the car or the car is somewhat special or used hard.

Cheers
Simon

In the oils and lubricant industry you get what you pay for.

Always and it's personal choice.

Cheers
Simon

but surely also with a very old and high milage engine,,, the engine will not be as tight, and thus a thin oil can possibly seep through to the chambers possibly?? under the pressure etc.. ?? hence you need a better quality thicker oil ???

BMW engines are excellent and high mileages are not a problem.

Bear in mind that a 0w-40, 5w-40, 10w-40 and 15w-40 are all the same thickness at 100degC (14cst) as they are all sae 40's.

The difference is the "w" number which is cold crank rating and even on a 0w oil the thickness is 350cst at 0degC which is many times thicker than 14cst at 100degC!

If the engine is in good shape and not leaking or burning oil then the lower "w" rated oil you use, the lower the engine wear when cold.

Cheers
Simon

cheers mate cleared up a few things lol