ARTICLE: Synthetic oil vs Mineral oil

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Don't overfill, and if you change the oil every 6 months, both oils will give you long and reliable engine life.

A related query. The recommended oil change interval in my Alto owners manual is 10,000 KM or one year. In my intended oil change interval of 6 months, I will do 3000 KM at the most. Therefore will it be ok to change the oil and oil filter once a year and change the oil alone (retaining the old filter) during the intervening 6 month service?

[Sawyer]

No, that is false economy, the filter should be dumped as well. Btw, what does it cost? I changed the oil on my i 20 at 1000k and I was stunned to find that the oil filter cost was just Rs 78! I can't see the alto filter being more than Rs 100 in that case.

[Vid6639]

The Alto oil filter costs Rs. 67/-.

[Sawyer]

Good to know about the Rs 67 - Given how little you get for that amount these days, I wanted to check if the filter had anything inside or was just a metal shell! It was a pleasant surprise, for sure.

[Jaggu]

High volume models, the OE oil filters are withing 100-150 range. Exception being Swift D which still sells at 280 ish

[janitha]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

High volume models, the OE oil filters are withing 100-150 range. Exception being Swift D which still sells at 280 ish

I was charged Rs.371/- including tax for the oil filter for Quadrajet! Being Fiat MJD engine, isn't it same as that of Swift?

[Jaggu]

Am not sure if the parts are 100% same.

[Sawyer]

More than the difference between Swift and Fiat is the difference between the SwiftD and the Alto. I guess the diesel engine oil filter has to work a lot harder, so it needs to have more "stuff" in it? What is the cost of the Swift petrol filter?

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by vid6639

The Alto oil filter costs Rs. 67/-.

I was billed Rs 70.22 for the oil filter when I dumped the MGO and switched to Shell Helix Super a couple of weeks ago. Fast track labour charges for changing oil and filter was Rs 120.00.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by Gansan

I was billed Rs 70.22 for the oil filter when I dumped the MGO and switched to Shell Helix Super a couple of weeks ago. Fast track labour charges for changing oil and filter was Rs 120.00.

That's what I meant by false economy, to try to extend the life of the filter. Its like having a bath, but not changing your underwear - crude analogy, I know!

[comfortablynumb]

I'd posted this question in the "Diesel engine oil in petrol engine" thread, but didn't receive any reponse yet; so cross posting it here - Mods, please delete if required.

My Palio 1.6 is due for servicing and an oil change in the 2nd week of September. The car manual recommends any engine oil that meets or exceeds 15W-40 and API-SG.

Since the ASC that I go to doesn't store the previous Fiat recommended Engine Oil anymore (VS-MAX), I was initially thinking of changing to Mobil Super XHP Plus 15W-40, conforming to API-SM (Mobil Super XHP Plus 15W-40).

But, while browsing the Mobil India site, I came across this oil too: Mobil Delvac MX 15W-40 (Mobil Delvac MX 15W-40), conforming to API-SL.

My question is - will the Delvac MX be a good choice for the Palio 1.6 engine? What are the pros and cons of doing this? The Mobil website clearly states that it "provides outstanding performance in both modern, demanding low-emission diesel engines and older diesel engines operating on low or high sulphur fuel", but will the same statement be applicable to a petrol engine too? Or should I just play it safe and stick to the XHP Plus?

Hope Oil Gurus here will help me in solving my dilemma!

Cheers,
Vikram

[Sawyer]

When a dedicated petrol engine oil such as Shell in SL grade, or Magnatec in the SM grade is available easily, why do you want to take a chance? One reads of diesel engine oils containing detergents that can overclean your engine, why do you want to test the validity of that?!
I am not familiar with the Mobil Super XHP, if that is in their petrol engine oil line up, why not stick with that?

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

I am not familiar with the Mobil Super XHP, if that is in their petrol engine oil line up, why not stick with that?

@Sawyer - Yup, the Super XHP Plus website description says "Mobil Super XHP Plus 15W-40 is suitable for use in both gasoline and diesel powered vehicles". As always, your advice makes a lot of sense. Will put Delvac MX on the backburner and get the Super XHP Plus (assuming I get it in Pune), at least till I give in to my materialistic instincts and buy a SUV

Thanks!

Cheers,
Vikram

[Sawyer]

@ Vikram, you are welcome! Got to ask this though - what made you consider SL when the SM is available from the same brand? And consider Magnatec too, it is SM, and goes down to 10w. Only for those reasons, not for the intelligent molecules nonsense!

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Got to ask this though - what made you consider SL when the SM is available from the same brand?

The reason for this is 'cause it's available right now with the Mobil distributor in Pune (Raka Oil). He doesn't have Super XHP Plus or even plain Super XHP. But now that I've decided on the Super XHP Plus, I will need to search with other dealers/shops.

Will take a look at Castrol Magnatec. Btw, where do you buy it from - directly from the ASC?

Cheers,
Vikram