Synthetic V Mineral Oils

[Kimberley Scott]

Have my first lot of Nulon in my car right now, put it in at 38000km, about to cange it at 45000km service, it is still pretty clean. To be honest it does or should I say it appears to do the same job as Castrol Edge, its Aussie and it costs less.

Until proven otherwise I will stick with it.

Scotty

[Blonk]

Nice... I will try it next time around scotty.... Was going to use it this 5000 but went for the edge! Can you get it a autobarn or superchep?

If lumpy says its OK it must be.....

[Kimberley Scott]

I got mine at Autobarn. That was in NSW though.

Scotty

[Blonk]

Thanks Scotty

Good blokes them scotty's

Edited 16/03/07 11:38 AM by Blonk

[Doguepound]

Now I know oil is a hot topic with the turbo boys with most choosing to go fully synthetic, and change every 7500km (as opposed to Fords suggested 15,000km) but what about N/A's?

Its been about 7,500km since my last service (which brings me up close to 98,000km) and I'm thinking it may be worth while to change the oil at what is the half way point between services. Are other N/A guys doing this?

I figue it can't do any harm, but will it give any benifit? I don't see my self running up 200,000km+ so is there any point.....

On the other hand, if it is worth while, what sort of oil do you guys swear by....

[Guest FatBAt]

Hi Doguepound. Your question is the reason why I posted in the first place. My post was to justify the extra cost only.

There is a definate benefit changing your oil to Synthetic and replacing it every 7500kms. The big problem is that your not going to be the one that sees that benefit.

I think its great that some guys have seen a slight increase in power however, I'm assuming most wouldn't. (IMO) I didn't, and I ran synth for 12 months.

Each to there own and everyone has there opinion, but why put money more into your car than necessary. Ford have set the service intervals at 15000klm for a reason. Personally I do mine at 10000klm because to do them at 7500klm is well, a bit pedantic. (IMHO)

As you said, your can't see yourself keeping your car for 200000+kls. Me neither. I've had my car since 2003 and has 70000klms on the clock. 2 years or so running "ground oil" as someone quaintly put it, and my T still runs and sounds like new and I've saved a couple of hundred bucks in the process. For nothing! Being a company director with my own trucks and vehicles, I know that out of pocket money now is out of pocket money when you sell.

If one of my trucks is coming up to 500,000klms and is about to be sold, I wouldn't hang on to it for another 100,000klms just because I was (hyperthetically) running the best oil money can buy. As if the buyer is going to believe what oil you ran in it. All he sees is that its got 600,000klms on the clock and would rebuild it anyway.

As your car has 98000klms on it now and I assume you were running mineral oil since new, the damage (for loss of a better word) would already be done. You again, would not see any benefit.

If you live in extreme cold or hot. Do you drive frequent very short distances, frequent long distances or any of these combinations. All these factors can be taken into account when selecting your oil.

Cheers

Edited 18/03/07 01:36 AM by Dagabond

[xr6]

I think everyone agrees that synthetics are better oils. I can buy Castrol Edge 5W-30 for my NA XR6 for about $10 per litre. A decent 10W-30 costs about $7 per litre. $21 per oil change pays for itself in better fuel consumption and not having to top up the oil.

[JBomb3000]

Is it really worth it.......?

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What your saying is probably true, my T gets serviced once a year and would do 5 - 7 thousand in that time. It's very unlikely this car will ever see 30,000 kms while I still own it. Having said that I have been running synthetic since the 3,000 k service and will continue to do so. Is it worth the extra money? probably not but it makes me feel good knowing it has the best oil in it none the less .

[Ninka]

Is it really worth it.......?

←

Let me answer your query with some real evidence

Mid last year, I pulled down my 2002 Turbo engine with around 80k on the clock, serviced by myself for all its life, and Castrol Formula R 10W60 being the oil of choice. The engine was in spotless condition, and all surfaces were essentailly like new, including cylinder bore, mains and conrod bearings, crank journals, camshafts etc.

Last week I opened another Turbo engine, this time a 2003 unit, with slightly less k's on the clock, and with cylinder bores which on first inspection made me believe that this engine would be similar in condition to my own.

Well, when I started pulling off the bearing caps, shock horror All the mains bearings and most of the conrod bearings were wholly or partially running against the steel of the bearing cap on the load side of the bearing, I.e. all of the soft bearing material, AND the copper intermediate material was GONE.

This car had been serviced by Ford since new, and it would appear that the oil was not up to the job, and excessive friction during load, caused the bearing to wear excessively.

So to answer your question, it is absolutely a good investment to get good synthetic oil which is able to withstand the requirements of these engines, even with only moderate modifications.

I think attached photos are self explanitory.

I had more caps which were actually worse, but I gave those to the owner as a sovenir.

[aiboart]

This is good hard data. I am not sure if that is allowed in an oil thread.

Can you add some details?

What oil did the dealer serviced car run? (10W30 mineral oil is a common dealer fill for the Turbo)

What mods did the worn engine run. What was its peak torque? What transmission?

Do you warm your engine prior to driving off? Do you drive in a particular manner when the engine is cool? What about the driver with the worn engine?

What is your oil service interval? What is the oil service interval of the worn engine?

Regards,

aa