oil.....what are you running and what are the 'effects'

[johnny]

SJ says you should always use fully synthetic 15/50.

As all Lotus engines have low oil pressure when hot.


When i told the guys at SJ my man who done my bearings had put 10/40

part synthetic in, they said to change it soon as.

Doing the engine no good.

[lotusgirlmarie]

I'm using 10-30w Valvoline synthetic racing oil. Since I use a LBS gauge instead of bar mine runs at 90Lbs (6.21 Bar)cold and under load, 24Lbs (1.66 Bar)under idle when warm. I've used Mobile 0-40W with good results though the oil was really dirty at 2500 miles and was showing signs of burning (could be the old turbo because the seals had gone). I tried Castrol 5-30W but found that after a long hard drive my lifters were clattering for awhile. 20 minutes later they were fine. I decided to go back with what I know from racing turbo Hondas hence the Valvoline racing oil.

Climate also has alot to do with oil choice. Here in San Francisco California its pretty much 50-87F degrees all year round.

[tweetdriver63]

So,

How many people here are using 10w30 oil? What is your operation condition's idle oil pressure according to M100's oil pressure gauge?


I just phoned Mr. Kenny Brown of Motor Engineering Ltd. He told me that a recommended oil pressure is around 2 Bar (M100 in operationg condition at idle).

Are your Elan M100s at 2 Bar ?


Please advise.

I don't know what was in my car before today, since it was the previous owner who serviced it last. It was running at about 4 bar cold, and coming down to about 2 when warmed up. Today I changed the oil and I'm using Mobil 1 10w30 fully synthetic and the K/N filter. It's now sitting just a hair under 5 bar, dropping to about 2 bar when it gets warmed up. At cruise, 3000 rpm, it's at about 4.5.

[rip]

Today I changed the oil and I'm using Mobil 1 10w30 fully synthetic and the K/N filter.

Good oil, but it must be almost as thin as Meths around that Turbo bearing?

[TheBard]

Having read through the thread, I'll add I've got Mobil 5W30 full synthetic in mine.

Similar results to earlier posts, just over 5bar under power when warm, about 7bar when cold (or freezing in the winter) and dropping to "oh that looks low" when hot in stationary traffic. That said if you check the manual the minimum pressure for the car is really low!

[Ekapol]

I switched over from Semi-Syn Castrol 5W30 to full synthetic Mobil 1 10W30 for few oil changes now and the engine is much quieter. Switched over just because I had good experience with Mobil 1 and like it a lot in the past.

I was a bit concern at first that it might leak from finer synthetic molecule, so far so good.

[rip]

If I understand things correctly, fully synthetic oils are more slippery. Being slippery is their primary function after all, so this must be a good thing.

[Coupeboy]

If anybody's interested Halfrauds has discounted Mobil 3000 (Fully Synthetic) 5W30 oil on offer at the moment. 5 litres for £23. Having read through all the oil posts it seems that every grade and brand has been tried with varying results - mostly variations in oil pressure/leaks/valve clatter. 5W30 is a recommended grade for ambient temps in the UK for several other cars - Volvos/BMWs.

[muley]

If anybody's interested Halfrauds has discounted Mobil 3000 (Fully Synthetic) 5W30 oil on offer at the moment. 5 litres for £23. Having read through all the oil posts it seems that every grade and brand has been tried with varying results - mostly variations in oil pressure/leaks/valve clatter. 5W30 is a recommended grade for ambient temps in the UK for several other cars - Volvos/BMWs.

Good spot - there's 20% of ALL Mobil synthetics including 0W40 at present


Jim

[tigerdog]

FWIW, Mobil 1 0W-40 caused lots of valvetrain noise here and when idling in heavy traffic, thinned to the point of low oil pressure. I've switched to LubroMoly (LiquiMoly) Synthoil Energy 0W-40. While nominally the same as the Mobil One, its base viscosity numbers are somewhat higher and even idling in traffic with the fans cycling, oil pressure stayed well above critical levels. Until I cross the desert in the summer, this is my favorite: good flow in a cold engine and solid protection when hot.

That said, is anyone running castrol edge 5W-30?

[steve matthews]

Red line 0-40 synthetic
Steve

[mmatthej1]

Just arriving at the moment of needing a first 'top-up' and noticing a broad divergence of advice on 'correct' engine oil !

Fully synthetic is a "given", of course but..............advice from nearby Lotus specialists has been 10w/40 or 5w/50, Castrol recommend Edge Sport 10w/60 and Mobil list Sport 15w/50 in shelf front list in Halfords but something else on their website (forgot to note it down but think it was a 'Longlife --w/60).

Well I'm now mega-confused ! Is there any clear advice out there, please?

[rip]

Well I'm now mega-confused ! Is there any clear advice out there, please?

No, there are just many conflicting opinions.

Some use Mobil 1 0W-40, others find it causes excessive noise because it is too thin.
The lower the 0 figure, tthe quicker it will circulate around your engine (therfeore protecting it).

The only definitive method is to buy several engines, rebuild them all & run them for a few years in the same test environment with different oils.

Fully synthetics are definitely better though.

[mmatthej1]

Thanks for response; I actually moved ahead and bought the Castrol Edge Sport lubricant - can't go far wrong with some 'liquid engineering'!

Cheers.

[tigerdog]

The LubroMoly 0W-40 did well until one hot day idling in SoCal traffic; pressure dropped to the point where I was nervous though not so low as Mobil 1 0W-40. For the latest change, I switched to Castrol Edge (US) 5W-30. Edge Sport doesn't seem to be available in the US and I prefer a slightly thinner oil so it protects better under startup conditions. I don't do track days and really don't drive the car that much. I'm hoping the 5W-30 full synthetic Edge is a good match.

[ShaunM]

Just to stoke the somewhat smouldering Oil debate, I announce that Castrol have now discontinued the Castrol Sport 10W60 Edge Sport oil. It is replaced by the new BMX M-Series engine approved (and more expensive) Castrol Sport 10W60 Edge FST oil.

There is a change in the spec from ATI SL to SM (or the other way round) and I think the "Sport" version had an additive for older engines if I can make head or tail of what's I've read.

If you want to stock up on the "old" Castrol Edge Sport oil, it's for sale at Halfords for £31.99

[mmatthej1]

I used to work at Castrol, so I just checked with a contact there and got the following clarification from them to ShaunM's report:

"The EDGE 10W-60 was the BMW formulation ( specific formulation with extra performance additives for M series engines and officially approved by BMW ) the EDGE Sport was a 10W-60 oil designed for other performance applications that didn't need the specific approvals or extra performance ( and I suspect the Sport was cheaper ? ) still a very good oil, just a slightly different formulation.

We relaunched the EDGE range the back end of last year with a completely new range of formulations incorporating the latest Fluid strength technology synthetic base oils that offer stronger fluid films and better performance than previous. It was decided at this time that it would be sensible to have one 10W-60 and as the BMW one was the better of the two, and quite capable fo doing the job of the old "Sport" and then some - the current EDGE 10W-60 is the BMW approved one.

I wouldn't have any issues at all using the current EDGE FST 10W-60 where the older EDGE Sport was used, in fact you could argue as it has a higher spec it will offer enhanced protection and performance.

I'm not aware of any additive in the Sport for older engines ( probably getting mixed up with the seal conditioner that we used in the GTX 15W-40 high mileage ) so no point stocking up on oil that you are not going to use fairly soon - especially as we have a rule of thumb of 3 years from the fill date you could actually be doing yourself a disservice by stock piling. Better off just to buy what you need when you need it - that way the oil is fresh, and at it's peak performance.

Of course, if you have a retailer selling stocks cheap, you could get enough for the next 2 oil changes maybe and save a few quid - check the "fill date" opn the pack though - of course, you may also think the better performance offered by the latest FST formulation oil worth the extra few quid ... )

Hope that helps "

[JohnB]

Here's another point of view just to stoke the debate a bit more. I use Millers XSS Semi Synthetic 10/40 as recommeded by my local Lotus agent. I find it excellent and I get good all round oil pressure plus it seemed to quieten the valve train noise when I started using it a few oil changes ago, not that the noise was particularly bad to start with.
You can get it here online from their premium range or give them a call to see if there's a local stockist.
http://www.millersoils-online.co.uk/1_M ... RETAIL.htm

[addict]

just had these prices mailed to me from halfords

Mobil 1 Motorsport 15W/50 5 Litre
The Mobil 1 Motorsport 15W/50 is recommended for high performance vehicles including turbocharged and supercharged engines where a thicker oil film is desired.
£47.99
Rating:

Read all reviews




Mobil 1 ESP 5W/30 Oil 5L
The Mobil 1 ESP 5W/30 Oil is expertly engineered to help prolong the life and maintain the efficiency of your car's Emission Reduction System.
£51.99
Rating: Read all reviews





Mobil 1 Extended life Motorsport 10w60 5L
The Mobil 1 Extended life Motorsport 10w60 5 Litre is engineered to help provide long lasting protection in higher mileage engines.
£49.99
Rating: Read all reviews





Mobil 1 Motorsport 15W50 1 Litre
The Mobil 1 Motorsport 15W/50 is recommended for high performance vehicles including turbocharged & supercharged engines where a thicker oil film is desired.
£15.99
Rating: Read all reviews

[ShaunM]

I used to work at Castrol, so I just checked with a contact there and got the following clarification from them to ShaunM's report:

"The EDGE 10W-60 was the BMW formulation ( specific formulation with extra performance additives for M series engines and officially approved by BMW ) the EDGE Sport was a 10W-60 oil designed for other performance applications that didn't need the specific approvals or extra performance ( and I suspect the Sport was cheaper ? ) still a very good oil, just a slightly different formulation."

There is a change in the spec from ATI SL to SM (or the other way round) and I think the "Sport" version had an additive for older engines if I can make head or tail of what's I've read.

Excellent, great to have clarification fro the horse's mouth! I did get it mixed up then (I was reading the technical data and also a BMW M5 forum), it was the additive for M-Series engines in the new version that I was wrong about. So the new oil is even better...hurrah!