[mukeshgoel]

Hi Guys, it is time to change engine oil of my Grand i10 which runs around 5000 kms in a year.

The quantity required is 3.60L. Can I buy 3.5L of "Shell Helix HX8 5W-30 API SN Plus/SN, ACEA A3/B4 Fully Synthetic Engine Oil" and add 100 ML of "Shell Helix Ultra 550041109 5W-40 API SN Fully Synthetic Car Engine Oil" which is left over from a 4 litre packing bought in Feb'2018 (2 year old).

It will save Rs.1000 approximately.

[hserus]

They are both a3b4 oils of similar weight probably with a similar additive package and it shouldn’t hurt much - but it isn’t generally recommended

Originally Posted by mukeshgoel

Hi Guys, it is time to change engine oil of my Grand i10 which runs around 5000 kms in a year.

The quantity required is 3.60L. Can I buy 3.5L of "Shell Helix HX8 5W-30 API SN Plus/SN, ACEA A3/B4 Fully Synthetic Engine Oil" and add 100 ML of "Shell Helix Ultra 550041109 5W-40 API SN Fully Synthetic Car Engine Oil" which is left over from a 4 litre packing bought in Feb'2018 (2 year old).

It will save Rs.1000 approximately.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by mukeshgoel

Hi Guys, it is time to change engine oil of my Grand i10 which runs around 5000 kms in a year.

The quantity required is 3.60L. Can I buy 3.5L of "Shell Helix HX8 5W-30 API SN Plus/SN, ACEA A3/B4 Fully Synthetic Engine Oil" and add 100 ML of "Shell Helix Ultra 550041109 5W-40 API SN Fully Synthetic Car Engine Oil" which is left over from a 4 litre packing bought in Feb'2018 (2 year old).

It will save Rs.1000 approximately.

It is OK to put 3.5L oil when the required is 3.6 L. i20 Diesel needs 5.3 Litres. I have been filling it up with a 5L can everytime an oil change is done for the past 1 lakh kms and no issues

[Sandeep500]

Hi Guys, I would like to know your expert opinion on my query that why same engine used in different vehicles requires different quantity of oil. For example 2.0 multijet in Compass requires 4.2 liters ,in MG Hector 5.2 liters , in Harrier 5.0 liters. This is as per their manuals. Also is there any coralation between cubic capacity of engine and quantity of oil needed? For example in one of above posts it is stated that i20 needs 5.3 liters ,which is quite large for a 1.4 liter engine.

[chaturgaurav]

I am planning to change the engine oil on my Honda City CVT after first 1,000 KM from Idemitsu 0W-20 to 10W-30 (Mobil 1 full synthetic).

Just want to know from the more experienced folks on forum, if this will be a wise choice or shall I stick to 0W-20? Which oil will be recommended in lieu?

User Manual mentions 0W-20, 0W-30, 5W-30 and 10W-30 Genuine Honda Motor Oil (API service SM or higher grade fuel-efficient oil) with an additional mention of 0W-20.

Extract from Honda City ZX CVT 2019 Owners Manual - Petrol Models Recommended Engine Oil


If this is any criteria in deciding engine oil, I am generally a sedate driver, mostly in Mumbai city and making short trips only. Highway/ spirited driving is occasional.

Pleased to have insights/ suggestions.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by Sandeep500

Hi Guys, I would like to know your expert opinion on my query that why same engine used in different vehicles requires different quantity of oil. For example 2.0 multijet in Compass requires 4.2 liters ,in MG Hector 5.2 liters , in Harrier 5.0 liters. This is as per their manuals. Also is there any coralation between cubic capacity of engine and quantity of oil needed? For example in one of above posts it is stated that i20 needs 5.3 liters ,which is quite large for a 1.4 liter engine.

The different car manufacturers may have demanded different oil pan capacity from the engine manufacturer.

Though they all use the same engine, the state of tune may differ from car to car. Hence, to ensure the adequate oil change interval under different operating conditions inside the engine, they (the car manufacturers) might have demanded different capacity of the oil sump.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by chaturgaurav

I am planning to change the engine oil on my Honda City CVT after first 1,000 KM from Idemitsu 0W-20 to 10W-30 (Mobil 1 full synthetic).

Stick to the 0w20 and follow the recommended oil change interval.

You say your car has just run 1000 km? What problem are you seeing with factory filled oil?

[chaturgaurav]

Originally Posted by hserus

Stick to the 0w20 and follow the recommended oil change interval.

You say your car has just run 1000 km? What problem are you seeing with factory filled oil?

Thanks Suresh.

There is no problem as such with the factory filled oil. But I was going by the recommendations on this forum to change oil due to suspected metal silver finding way in the oil during initial running.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by chaturgaurav

Thanks Suresh.

There is no problem as such with the factory filled oil. But I was going by the recommendations on this forum to change oil due to suspected metal silver finding way in the oil during initial running.

That is a very old fashioned recommendation which dates from the days of Ambassadors.

Quite often in modern cars, the factory filled oil has a replacement interval of 1000 or 5000 because it contains some chemicals (molybdenum etc) that coat the inside of your engine. After that regular oil changes every 10k km take place (so 5k mark, 10k mark, 20k mark....).

But if that is the case with your car or not is something your service manual will tell you. If the manual says replace oil at 1000 or 5000 for the first time, do so, else relax.

[mukeshgoel]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

It is OK to put 3.5L oil when the required is 3.6 L. i20 Diesel needs 5.3 Litres. I have been filling it up with a 5L can everytime an oil change is done for the past 1 lakh kms and no issues

Thanks. I got the oil changed today it reached upper mark even with some oil still left in the 3.5L jerrycan.

So, from now on, I will buy 3.5L pack only for this car.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

It is OK to put 3.5L oil when the required is 3.6 L. i20 Diesel needs 5.3 Litres. I have been filling it up with a 5L can everytime an oil change is done for the past 1 lakh kms and no issues

Seconding this, I doubt any car will take the full amount of oil as mentioned in the manual anyway since you cannot really drain each and every ML out of the car. I was worried about running low after buying just 5L of oil for my i20 1.4 but I actually had a wee bit left over.

[Rahul Rao]

The required amount is capacity upto max with a dry engine.
I prefer keeping the oil exactly half way between min and max, and later topping up a 100 ml or so. Everytime you do that the engine sounds a tad sweeter too.
This process is called as sweetening of lubricant.

[Vikram Arya]

Originally Posted by Rahul Rao

The required amount is capacity upto max with a dry engine.
I prefer keeping the oil exactly half way between min and max, and later topping up a 100 ml or so. Everytime you do that the engine sounds a tad sweeter too.
This process is called as sweetening of lubricant.

Sweetening of lubricant is the process to replace used up additives by draining and replacing a portion of the sump's volume. Alternatively, concentrated additives may be added to in-service oil under controlled conditions. However, this type of re-additization requires a significant level of expertise and may be cost-prohibitive for most systems.

Sweetening of lubricant is almost always used in industrial context where systems have sump capacity of hundreds of litres and additive depletion has taken place at a rate faster than the degradation of the base oil which constitutes 80 to 90% of a lubricant. The idea is to extend the useful life of the lubricant without draining the entire sump which in most cases can cost thousands of dollars.

In automotive scenario where most sumps are anywhere from 3 to 6 litres; it would be more appropriate to drain the entire sump and replace it with fresh lubricant as the cost component is negligible as compared to the cost consideration in case of very large capacity sumps.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

In automotive scenario where most sumps are anywhere from 3 to 6 litres; it would be more appropriate to drain the entire sump and replace it with fresh lubricant as the cost component is negligible as compared to the cost consideration in case of very large capacity sumps.

Besides this, you don't really need to topup that 100 ml do you? Or does your car lose oil gradually?

[Rahul Rao]

Originally Posted by hserus

Besides this, you don't really need to topup that 100 ml do you? Or does your car lose oil gradually?

A car may draw negligible amount of oil, but if the minimum level is at 3.5 Lit and max is at 4.2 Lit, I will use 3.8 Lit can while changing, and another 1 Lit can to top up 100 ml every few 1000 km.
Total top up in next 15000km before change will usually be just about 1/2 a lit.

Rahul