[hserus]

Originally Posted by utkarshbansal

[*]the description of the oil mentions that it has some EP additives, which I heard are not good for soft yellow metals in my box. I also read that GL4 should not contain any EP additives, this oil does. So again, shall I switch to another oil ASAP? Zic as you mentioned, does not seem to contain EP additives. It is 75W85 as well, so best of both

Depends on what car and what gearbox but in general try to use the exact spec asked for or as close to it. Any car that needs EP oil will specify it in the service manual.

[MT_Hyderabad]

Saw a video recently of factory filled 0w16 oil in a Toyota.

It flows like water.

Any hybrid car owner in India using this grade?

https://youtube.com/watch?v=lsy3_IwaO6o?feature=share

[hserus]

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

Saw a video recently of factory filled 0w16 oil in a Toyota.

It flows like water.

Maruti has it under its ECSTAR brand and offered to cars they sell under Nexa. 0w16 ultra low viscosity should actually be fine for your car given that it flows much faster to coat your engine, and the additives make it as stable or more as a thicker grade.

https://autoportal.com/news/maruti-s...oil-13845.html

[MT_Hyderabad]

Originally Posted by hserus

Maruti has it under its ECSTAR brand and offered to cars they sell under Nexa. 0w16 ultra low viscosity should actually be fine for your car given that it flows much faster to coat your engine, and the additives make it as stable or more as a thicker grade.

https://autoportal.com/news/maruti-s...oil-13845.html

Thanks for sharing.
It is still a long way to go for me as I use a Diesel and all these thin oils are for gasoline vehicles and 0w16 appears to be for hybrid.
Do you know why Diesel cars do not run on thin oils like these?

[hserus]

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

Thanks for sharing.
It is still a long way to go for me as I use a Diesel and all these thin oils are for gasoline vehicles and 0w16 appears to be for hybrid.
Do you know why Diesel cars do not run on thin oils like these?

You do have 5w40 / 5w30 type diesel engine oil grades (diesel specific, I don't mean dual use petrol + light diesel oils).

And there's even 0w20 diesel specific oils https://www.amsoil.com/p/synthetic-d...sae-0w-20-dp0/

These are a "Dexos D" spec for modern light diesels (and by light, Americans mean anything upto 3.x litres so Fortuner and Endy are light diesels too).

You could happily take a 5w30 A5/B5 for BS4 or 5w30 ACEA C3 for BS4 AND BS6 engine oil and use it, no need to use 15w40 mineral etc for typical CRDI engines found in India.

[shankar.balan]

I tend to gravitate naturally towards semi synthetic or fully synthetic engine oils rather than Mineral oils.
This is because right from the 1980’s when Castrol GTX was launched, my Dad switched over to it and stayed consistently with it for his petrol Ambassador. And that car engine used to sound sweet and never strained.
I still remember its sound at start and that sound never fails to give me goose bumps.

I want to share here, a superb chart showing the temperature ranges that each grade of oil can handle.

And as @hserus will endorse, I keep bugging him for advice on quality engine oil alternatives for my Ten year old Mini Cooper, but I keep on going back to the BMW recommended LL01 FE 0W 30 grade. And the only reason I can think of which makes BMW keep recommending this oil even though in India the temperature ranges that we encounter arent the same as in EU, is only because thin oils flow very quickly at cold start and the BMW folks prefer that.

As regards ATF Fluid for the Cooper, these BMW fellows say all these are lifetime fluids but as with any fluid it will deteriorate. So I changed out the ATF when the car was about 8 years old - the type used is JWS3309 and BMW arent at all very helpful in sourcing it unless one is very insistent which I was. And honestly the old fluid was near black and the new fluid is a lovely red.

In ref to my Gypsy, With the kind of running I do, I am happy with the standard manufacturer recommended oil for my Maruti Gypsy - filled from the giant tub in any authorised service centre. But an alternative for the Gypsy is Shell Helix 5W-40 which is available inexpensively in India via Amazon. And Shell Spirax for the Transmission and differential/ gear oil.

In the case of the all new Thar I am at the moment forced to stick with manufacturer recommendation because the oil bottles dont show the grade and viscosity so it is hard to consider a substitute. This applies to the engine oil as well as the transmission oil. Its just says Mahindra maximile. And the Mahindra service fellows also arent at all forthcoming about the grades and viscosity etc. Maybe they themselves dont know!

[MT_Hyderabad]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I want to share here, a superb chart showing the temperature ranges that each grade of oil can handle.

Just like our cars, ambient temperature charts have also changed.
The chart you showed is at least 10 year old, and used to come up as the first image when I started my engine oil research some 12 years ago.
The recent ambient temp charts have changed. There is one shared in a post above https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modif...ml#post5325524 (ARTICLE: Synthetic oil vs Mineral oil)

and there is one from Honda and Toyota shared by me as an attachment.
For gasoline engines, we are graduating to x-W20 or x-W16 for temperatures above 40degC also.

It is like - One oil (thin oil grade like w20) for all weather, at least for gasoline or hybrid cars.

[shankar.balan]

Thanks very much. I ve been using this chart for the last 5-6 years. Now I shall read and download the new one and use that.
Thanks again for this knowledge. I am very keen on making sure we treat our steeds right and the latest knowledge certainly helps!
So effectively from I read here, the 0W 30 grade recommended by the BMW folks can actually handle temperatures ranging from more than -30 to more than +40 degrees centigrade. This is great to hear. And this decides me on staying with the manufacturer recommended oil even though it is expensive at 1500 Rs per litre. (It used to be 1000 Rs a litre till last year). Of course if I do get a highly recommended alternative then I am open to flushing the engine and try the new recommendation.

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

Just like our cars, ambient temperature charts have also changed.
The chart you showed is at least 10 year old, and used to come up as the first image when I started my engine oil research some 12 years ago.
The recent ambient temp charts have changed. There is one shared in a post above [url="https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifying-car/17917-article-synthetic-oil-vs-mineral-oil-396.html#post5325524"]https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifying-car/17917-article-synthetic-oil-vs-

[hserus]

@shankar.balan did you try Shell’s 0w30?

Limited-time deal: Shell Helix Ultra ECT 0W30 API SN, ACEA C2/C3 Fully Synthetic Engine Oil for Petrol, Diesel and Hybrid Cars (4 L) https://amzn.eu/d/i8iqPT5

Also check this and it tells you which specific bmw engines fit which of their oil specs

https://www.oilspecifications.org/bmw.php

[shankar.balan]

The recommended oil is BMW LL01FE 0W 30.
This fits the N18 Peugeot - BMW engine which is there in my R56 Cooper S.
The ACEA number is A5/B5
Im not sure that I can substitute this with the Shell Helix OW30 whose ACEA no is C2/C3…

Originally Posted by hserus

@shankar.balan did you try Shell’s 0w30?


https://www.oilspecifications.org/bmw.php

[MT_Hyderabad]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

The recommended oil is BMW LL01FE 0W 30.
This fits the N18 Peugeot - BMW engine which is there in my R56 Cooper S.
The ACEA number is A5/B5
Im not sure that I can substitute this with the Shell Helix OW30 whose ACEA no is C2/C3…

You can get this one then. It mentions that it fits your car's long life spec.

https://amzn.eu/d/8YAkGr9

[shankar.balan]

The required grade is 0W 30. Even North American Motoring recommends 0W 30.

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

You can get this one then. It mentions that it fits your car's long life spec.

https://amzn.eu/d/8YAkGr9

[hserus]

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

You can get this one then. It mentions that it fits your car's long life spec.

https://amzn.eu/d/8YAkGr9

That too is a C3 oil. If you read the specs here it becomes more clear how equivalent c2 / c3 are to a5b5. Just that the acea C series is also suitable for DPF equipped / bs6 engines, and they have a bit more support for lower viscosity. If you want a lower viscosity a3b4 oil, should still be usable if you need a5b5 there’s the excellent Mobil 1 0w40.

https://www.oilspecifications.org/acea.php

[Sail]

Dear Experts,
I need your advice.

Recently I purchased a pre-owned Kia Sonet GTX T-GDI 7DCT for my wife in Delhi. The car is 1.5 years old (22.5K odo) and still under company warranty and having extended warranty.

The last service of the car was done at 19.5K odo (just 3K kms before my purchase).

Looking at the engine oil (pretty black for just 3K running), I plan to do a full service shortly.
Yesterday, I visited Kia service centre for fixing mud-flaps. In casual discussions, I found out they are using ONLY mineral engine oil (as per company guidelines). They don’t even have options (like Maruti / Hyundai) to choose between Mineral / Synthetic oils of the same grade.
Owner’s manual stated engine oil grade is 0W-30 AECA C2. Online search indicates Shell Helix Ultra.

We all know the benefits of using synthetic engine oils in the long term, but in this case what options do I have? Should I change over to fully synthetic (Shell Helix Ultra ECT 0W-30 C2/C3) immediately after every oil service, or stick to the service center oil.

My car will be in high usage in Delhi NCR. Attached are owner’s manual extracts.

Appreciate your valued guidance.

Brdgs,
Sail.

[hserus]

The Shell Ultra ECT 0w30 is an excellent oil that fits your spec. You might also consider Castrol Edge 0w20 if it fits your budget, this is a fantastic oil. https://www.amazon.in/Castrol-03124-.../dp/B00JGQLZJ4

Originally Posted by Sail

Looking at the engine oil (pretty black for just 3K running), I plan to do a full service shortly.
Yesterday, I visited Kia service centre for fixing mud-flaps. In casual discussions, I found out they are using ONLY mineral engine oil (as per company guidelines). They don’t even have options (like Maruti / Hyundai) to choose between Mineral / Synthetic oils of the same grade.