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Old 30th July 2013, 17:36   #3826
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Re: ARTICLE: Synthetic oil vs Mineral oil

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Originally Posted by Gansan View Post
Which car is this? Maruti, I presume.

My MASS (MSM) fill three litres of oil in my Alto when they change the oil and filter. This shows a slight over fill the next day by an mm or two. They say it is OK, and I have never bothered about it. I suppose some tolerance will be built in to the design.

If you wish to remove some oil, don't drain it out. It is best to insert a thin, clean plastic tube through the dipstick opening and suck some of the oil out. Someone had posted a picture of such a pump he had purchased for this purpose from a medical shop, you can find it by searching back some pages. I think I saw it within the last two or three months.


There also is a question of whether the filling was done on a flat surface .

The only flip side with the tube part is you may tend to get oil in your oral cavity.
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Old 31st July 2013, 22:38   #3827
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Re: ARTICLE: Synthetic oil vs Mineral oil

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Originally Posted by sagarpadaki View Post
Assuming the engine is a clean running one, a GOOD synthetic will out last mineral in both protection,longivity and smoothness. Whether the 2X~3X price difference between is justifiable or not is a personal perspective.

I completely agree with you on the semi synthetic ones.
The thing is, you are paying for an oil which will last well for over 20,000km if not polluted by combustion by-products. There are very few engines which are so well made that the oil stays clean all that time. If you have an extremely high performance car then it is of course another matter, only fully-synthetic may suffice. But the motoring world managed fine for a long time without synthetic oils.
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Old 20th August 2013, 17:05   #3828
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Re: ARTICLE: Synthetic oil vs Mineral oil

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Originally Posted by khoj View Post
It is suitable wherever 5W40 oil is recommended which is most new petrol engines. I have bought it too, complete with a 10% discount on the 2999. Wanted to try OWS for a long time and this was the right opportunity. The only thing to check would be the mfg/import date hope it is no more than an year old.
How is your car performing with the OWS? I have to change my petrol Swift engine oil and this is coming out to be a reasonable option for Rs.2999 for 4 litres from Snapdeal.
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Old 19th October 2013, 15:26   #3829
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Re: ARTICLE: Synthetic oil vs Mineral oil

Hi,

I own a Swift (P) K-Series 2010 as a secondary car and it isn't driven much (total of ~7000 km). This past year it has gained the highest mileage of about ~3000 km driven mostly for over 60 km journeys at a stretch in Delhi-Gurgaon.

- How frequently should I change the oil?

- Also, any insights on which is the best specs for this engine, 20W50? Which brand?

Thanks!
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Old 19th October 2013, 20:22   #3830
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Re: ARTICLE: Synthetic oil vs Mineral oil

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Originally Posted by heysac View Post
Hi,

I own a Swift (P) K-Series 2010 as a secondary car and it isn't driven much (total of ~7000 km). This past year it has gained the highest mileage of about ~3000 km driven mostly for over 60 km journeys at a stretch in Delhi-Gurgaon.

- How frequently should I change the oil?

- Also, any insights on which is the best specs for this engine, 20W50? Which brand?

Thanks!
1. Oil change once a year
2. K-series uses semi-synth 5W30 as standard. Stick to it.

IMO, 20W50 is the worst oil to use on a modern petrol engine.
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Old 20th October 2013, 11:27   #3831
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Re: ARTICLE: Synthetic oil vs Mineral oil

Guys pardon my ignorance. I tried to analyse the different grades of oil and the difference in their viscosity. I couldn't understand after repeated attempts. I wanted to know one thing. If the manufacturer specifies 10W30 and I use 10W40, what will be the difference in the oil characteristics? I understand that it will be fine as long as the grade is below 10 and above 30. But what exactly is the difference between these oils? What effect will they have in the longrun?
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Old 20th October 2013, 12:51   #3832
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Re: ARTICLE: Synthetic oil vs Mineral oil

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Originally Posted by audioholic View Post
Guys pardon my ignorance. I tried to analyse the different grades of oil and the difference in their viscosity. I couldn't understand after repeated attempts. I wanted to know one thing. If the manufacturer specifies 10W30 and I use 10W40, what will be the difference in the oil characteristics? I understand that it will be fine as long as the grade is below 10 and above 30. But what exactly is the difference between these oils? What effect will they have in the longrun?
XX W YY recommended grade means you can use any oil whose grade is lesser than or equal to XX and equal to YY . Note that YY grade is more important than XX atleast in India.

If your manufacturer recommends 10W30 and you use 10W40 then it will result in slight reduction in mileage since the 40 grade oil will have more viscocity than 30 grade at 100 degree celcius. No problem . If you stay in areas where the temperature goes above 40 degrees then its better to switch to a one step higher YY grade oil since the 30 grade oil will become very thin and protection may decrease at high temperatures.

If the recommended grade is XXW30 then using XXW40 is fine. But not vice versa.

Last edited by sagarpadaki : 20th October 2013 at 12:53.
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Old 20th October 2013, 13:08   #3833
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Re: ARTICLE: Synthetic oil vs Mineral oil

I will be going for a oil change soon on my RE Classic Chrome (UCE 500). I found the following information from Shell India website. I will go with the 15W-50 but the other grades seems to be API-SM and JASO-MA2 (instead API-SL and JASO-MA as per the manual). Please let me know if you think I can go ahead with this engine oil and if there will be any issue apart from the extra price.
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Old 20th October 2013, 17:06   #3834
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Re: ARTICLE: Synthetic oil vs Mineral oil

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Originally Posted by sudipta View Post
I will be going for a oil change soon on my RE Classic Chrome (UCE 500). I found the following information from Shell India website. I will go with the 15W-50 but the other grades seems to be API-SM and JASO-MA2 (instead API-SL and JASO-MA as per the manual). Please let me know if you think I can go ahead with this engine oil and if there will be any issue apart from the extra price.
AFAIK, shell does not have any oil in 15W50 grade. API-SM is a newer standard likewise is JASO-MA2. So it exceeds the requirements mentioned in your manual. You can go with it.

Another good oil for in 20W50 grade is Valvoline 4T premium. Costs around 350 Rs/ltr and holds its properties for 3K kms easily. Engine smoothness is very good for the initial 1000 odd kms after which it starts tapering. But still the smoothness wont degrade much!

Try it and you won't regret!
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Old 20th October 2013, 18:54   #3835
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Re: ARTICLE: Synthetic oil vs Mineral oil

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Originally Posted by sagarpadaki View Post
XX W YY recommended grade means you can use any oil whose grade is lesser than or equal to XX and equal to YY . Note that YY grade is more important than XX atleast in India.
AFAIK, XX should be equal to or less than recommendation, while YY should be equal to or higher.
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Old 20th October 2013, 19:54   #3836
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Re: ARTICLE: Synthetic oil vs Mineral oil

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Originally Posted by Gansan View Post
AFAIK, XX should be equal to or less than recommendation, while YY should be equal to or higher.
Logically, this is correct. Bear in mind however that the bigger the difference between the two numbers the bigger the challenge to make an oil that will hold those grades over the drain period. For instance, I wouldn't pick a 0w50. If the maker specified 10w30, best is to stay with that.
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Old 20th October 2013, 23:10   #3837
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Re: ARTICLE: Synthetic oil vs Mineral oil

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Originally Posted by Sawyer View Post
Logically, this is correct. Bear in mind however that the bigger the difference between the two numbers the bigger the challenge to make an oil that will hold those grades over the drain period. For instance, I wouldn't pick a 0w50. If the maker specified 10w30, best is to stay with that.
Well it is true that my mileage is on the lower side conpared to what I hear from others, what I am worried about is damage or friction due to using a different grade of oil. Mileage is not at all a bother especially on my scoot but the oil shouldn't have detrimental effect on the engine. In my case, Honda recommended 10W30 of their own brand I think mineral oil. However I am using Fully synthetic 10W40 oil as I couldn't find synthetic oil of the same grade. Yet, I am not prolonging oil change intervals and change it within 2k kms as of now as my running is less and this takes six months. Moreover my commute is for short distances which I feel requires greater change intervals.
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Old 21st October 2013, 07:21   #3838
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Re: ARTICLE: Synthetic oil vs Mineral oil

If you change the oil every six months, you may as well use a genuine - ie not spurious - mineral of the recommended grade and save money. As long as you do that, anything more is like eating vitamin supplements when you have a good diet. Makes you feel good, but doesn't add more value, and depending on which pills you take, drains your wallet.
Also, if you are taking so much care of the engine, you will get a visible return only if you keep the vehicle for a long period - 10 plus years.
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Old 21st October 2013, 13:21   #3839
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Re: ARTICLE: Synthetic oil vs Mineral oil

Hello

Need some advice guys.

In July I had serviced my Ertiga ZDI. There was an oil change. Since then it has done 6K. Out of this about 2 K was high speed Bangalore-Pune and back. I am scheduled to go on a long drive and chances are I will do 5K kms. I am presently on Castrol Edge 5W 40. Would you guys recommend I change oil before going or this oil should be good (and top up is necessary) for the upcoming journey and nothing needs to be done now? As always I do have 500 ml of oil (same Castrol Edge) besides the usual 200 ml coolent/fuses/bulbs etc.

Appreciate any help.

Thanks

Rajain
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Old 21st October 2013, 14:25   #3840
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Re: ARTICLE: Synthetic oil vs Mineral oil

@Rajain; You should be Ok.
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