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-   -   ARTICLE: Synthetic oil vs Mineral oil (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifying-car/17917-article-synthetic-oil-vs-mineral-oil-295.html)

Fuel level indicators aren't precise enough to compute FE. Refilling to the brim twice and calculation based on kilometres run in between top ups is the only way to do this without precision testing equipment.

Hi Friends. Can anybody advice me which synthetic oil is good for Toyota Innova Diesel. Also my daily running is 20km/day with an occasional trip in a month. What should be my oil change interval if I switch over to Synthetic. Right now I have done 7700kms. My car is just 6 months old.

If you MUST use synthetic try getting Mobil Delvac 1 or Shell Helix Ultra Diesel. Both are difficult to obtain in the market. Read more here:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...gine-oils.html

The drain interval does not change regardless of mineral or synthetic. If recommended drain interval is every 10k kms, it will remain constant regardless of what type of oil you use So, with the low mileage/running you do I'd suggest you stick to mineral oil.

Do not let your oil dealer convince you to extend the drain interval to 20-25K kms. Those guys don't know what they're talking about and are only interested in a sale.

Kabir get your oil changed at Toyota service centre as your car is still under warranty. Getting your oil changed outside will not help your cause if God forbid you face some issue with the engine. And for a daily run of 20 km i would recommend you to stick with mineral engine oil.

Using genuine oil of the correct grade and changing it regularly on time even if all specified kilometres haven't been run is a lot more important to engine performance and life than any psychological satisfaction that a synthetic will confer at best - and that only if genuine oil is obtained and changed just as regularly.

I am not referring to unusual car uses like racing or rallying with modified engines, where synthetics have a place, with careful selection even so.

Are the same recommended for swift VDi? From what i know, Mobil Delvac 1 is recommended in TBHP forums for swift VDi. Is Shell Helix Ultra, fully synthetic oil?

When i asked for Mobil Delvac 1 from Mandovi SA, he suggested some shell semi-synthetic oil. Until now, the swift VDi has been topped up with Castrol mineral oil. The car has done 68K as of now.

Yes Helix Ultra is fully synthetic. Delvac 1 is difficult to find as is Helix Ultra Diesel.

If you don't get Delvac 1 or SHU Diesel stick to recommended mineral (check the owners manual) and change it regularly instead of using an oil meant primarily for petrol engines. There's no compulsion to use synthetic.

I have a Fiat Palio 1.6 GTX 2003 which has run 86000 KMS. I am planning to switch to Mobil 1 Fully Synthetic Oil from Shell Semi Synthetic Oil. I am not very happy with the Shell Oil as the engine becomes very noisy and rough at around 4000 KMS after oil change.

Before the switch, I am also planning to do a engine flush using Bardhal Engine Flush and then fill Mobil 1.

Here are my concerns -

1. I am getting mixed feedback for engine flush on an old engine which has run 86000 KMS. Will it damage the seals and cause irreversible damage to engine.
2. Should I use a new semi synthetic oil for 500 KMS and change to Mobil 1 without engine flush

Regards

I suggest not to move to synthetic from mineral at 86k due to the potential damage to engine seals.

Mobil1, Shell Helix ultra and Mobil MGDO 5W40 are all CF rated for diesel and SN rated for petrol. Mobil MGDO 15W40, Shell MGDO 15W40 are CG rated oils.

The opinions are highly divided on use of CF rated oils (Mobil1, Shell Helix Ultra, Mobil MGDO 5w40, shell MGDO 5w40) with a lot of Maruti and Tata service centers prescribing these oils apart from several users being happy with them. However, a lot of experts complain that CF is a dated spec, stopped in other countries while it is prolifically used in India.

Going by the literature on CF vs CI, the difference seems to be in detergent properties to suit the latest fuel emission norms

Having tried all these oils, I am most happy with Gulf Mineral in terms of engine smoothness and performance and change at every 5K interval. Even at my last 5K change, the engine was very smooth and the drained oil looked good to go for few thousand kms more.

http://www.gulfoilindia.com/applicat...s/gulf-max-td/

I would suggest you try Gulf or Shell Rimula R4 as it is CI4 and better than Shell HX5 (CG), Shell HX6D(CH) now itself. If you like the oil continue else change to a better oil at next 5k interval.

@JMaruru - Interesting you ask. Shell Helix Ultra is an excellent synthetic oil for Petrol engine as it satisfies API SM requirement but a very very poor for diesel engine as it just satisfies API CF !! The fiat heart needs atleast CI4 and above. CF is inferior. The oil specs can be found here

So pls. exercise extreme caution in choosing the right oil for the Fiat heart !!

Hey guys, I completed the 3rd servicing of my Honda City petrol (2015) and changed the oil as per schedule to the regular mineral oil. For my next oil change wanted to know from you guys, is anyone using fully synthetic oil in their Honda City (latest model)? If so, which one did you go for, where did you buy it from, how did you put it in and does the service centre mind if oil is replaced from elsewhere? What about the oil filter which is to be replaced along with oil? How are the results with fully synthetic v/s Honda OEM mineral oil? Is Honda OEM oil good enough for revving to around 5-6k rpm in the first 2 gears? I believe Honda also offer fully synthetic oil at their service stations, has anyone tried this, what grade is it and how much does it cost? I heard good things about Shell Helix Ultra synthetic oil, but that is 5W-40 while the stock is 5W-30 so I guess it's not ideal right?

@mxh; While Honda recommends a six month /10,000km interval for mineral based oils, it permits 12 months / 10,000km for synthetics. I find Honda OE oil (Idemitsu/Savsol) which is 0W30 API-SM good enough. I use it in my Civic and my son is using it in his City.

What they filled at the service station last time was 5W-30, and is mentioned as mineral oil in the invoice. I believe it's actually a blend since mineral oil generally is like 20W-40 etc. Is the 0W-30 you mention fully synthetic oil? BTW, I checked the manual of my car while exiting it today. The allowable grades are 10W-30, 0W-20, 0W-30 and 5W-30. They specially mention that 0W-20 is recommended for best fuel efficiency which I presume is available only in synthetic. Also, 5W-40 is not specified as recommended, I guess it would worsen fuel consumption

Thanks Sridhar

Have decided not to go for Fully synthetic oil for now and stick to Shell helix HX7.

After pushing the mechanic a bit yesterday, he made a statement that he agreed to Synthetic as I was very keen but he is not comfortable to flush and add fully synthetic oil on an old engine

Regards

I have a Palio 1.6 2002 with some 55K kms on the clock. It runs on Shell Helix HX7 and I am not thinking of adding synthetic primarily because this car has minimal running. It has been on mineral or semi synthetic since it came from the factory. Some points to note:

a) Shell Hellix Ultra is API SN, not SM

b) The 1.6 GTX is a petrol engine so the 'CF' rating does not matter. That rating for 'compression' ignition i.e. diesels. Petrol cars are 'S' i.e spark ignition.

c) Your mechanic is justified in feeling uneasy about an engine flush. Do NOT ever, ever flush an engine unless you have a lot of sludge in it. Engine flush is a very thin liquid with minimal lubricating properties and can damage your engine. You really want to change over to synthetic? Just drain the old oil completely and refill with your choice of synthetic. The detergents in synthetic will clean your engine over a period of time. So, if you change over do the 1st oil change at 5K kms instead of 10K kms. Or if the recommended interval is 5K kms change at 3K. The next change can be at the manufacturer specified mileage/interval.

d) If you are using HX7 change the oil every 5K kms or 1 year whichever is earlier. I am very happy with this oil. Far better than the Castrol Magnatec which this car had previously.