[AstonMartin]

@Gansan - I checked the Indian site itself. The HX5 is recommended for cars older than 8 yrs. You can check out the link "http://www-static.shell.com/static/public/downloads/products_services/on_the_road/oils_lubricants/shell_helix_pkg/shell_helix_grade_selection_guide.pdf". I hope I am not confusing you.

[Gansan]

@Aston
No confusion! The oil recommended by Maruti (MGO) is 20W40, API SF grade. The Shell Helix HX5 is 15W40, API SL grade, therefore much superior. Period.

Have a look at this,these are the only Shell oils available in India at present:
http://www.shell.com/home/content/in...uct_range_new/

[Raccoon]

Originally Posted by devarshi84

Isnt it better if the range of temp for synth oil is less? For eg wont 15w40 be better than 0w40 if my car engine doesnt reach those extreme temperatures?

Yes! And its esp. true for oils that are not fully synthetic.

[krish82]

Hi All,

Just now returned from service station, was there the full day. Used Engine flush and ran the engine for 30 mins to take out the old oil. Also changed the oil filer.
Car: Optra 1.6
Kms driven: 33K
Oil: Mobil 1 fully synthetic 5W -50
Capacity 3.75 lit

i bought 4 litres, but the person put the full four litres, he said that the level showed max only after emptying the whole 4 litres.

Will there be any problem, if there is 200 ml extra poured?
Also the service advisor said that it can easily run till 20 k kms in this oil, but you can change it after running 15k. What do you suggest? He was saying definetly no need to change oil by 10k.

I felt the engine to be more smoother, but this also may be psychological, i may drive till coorg next week, so i will write more on the smoothness later.

Cost: 4 litres =4400
Flush 400, it think 3m.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by krish82

Hi All,
Capacity 3.75 lit

i bought 4 litres, but the person put the full four litres, he said that the level showed max only after emptying the whole 4 litres.

Will there be any problem, if there is 200 ml extra poured?

If the sump capacity is 3.75L and he emptied the entire can then you have 250 ml extra in the sump. Not recommended. A little less oil is ok, but a little more is BAD news for the engine. He must measure the required quantity before pouring it into the engine.

The person didnt wait for all the oil to drain down to the sump thats why he felt it showed full after pouring the entire 4L into the engine. Not a smart move. It takes a few minutes for the oil to reach the sump.

Do one thing - check the oil levels in the manner prescribed in your owners manual. Some car mfrs recommend checking AFTER the engine has run for a few minutes in the morning and some mfrs with a completely cold engine i.e. 1st thing in the morning. It should be between the min and max marks on the dipstick. If it is over the max level, take it back to the service station and have them drain out the excess.

Cheers!

[Gansan]

@R2D2
We have to add the capacity of the new filter (~ 200 ml) to the sump capacity to arrive at the total qty of oil that can be poured inside.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Gansan

@R2D2
We have to add the capacity of the new filter (~ 200 ml) to the sump capacity to arrive at the total qty of oil that can be poured inside.

Gansan, sump oil capacities are mentioned with and without filter changes. You need to fill the appropriate quantity. If both are not mentoned, better to err on the side of caution and assume the capacity indicated is WITH a filter change.

[khoj]

@ krish82

The 200ml extra oil will not make any difference. As it is your car has already run 33K on mineral oil. When you change from mineral to synthetic in an engine that was earlier on synthetic there will be some drop in the level of synthetic oil. In fact this drop is seen in brand new engines too which come factory filled with synthetics. The level of drop varies from car to car, why the drop is there has been discussed elsewhere. Check your engine levels and in about another 3~5K you will see some drop in the engine oil levels as shown on the dip stick. The correct thing to do should have been that you should have brought the extra 200ml oil home with you and then topped up once you saw the drop. So what essentially the mechanic has done is to ensure that you still see the oil level within the prescribed limits when you check at a later date, instead of seeing that drop below the max mark and thereby avoiding the subsequent rushing to the service station for the top up.

Anyways it is nothing to loose sleep over. You may either wait for the next 2K odd Kilometers or go back and have a bit of oil drained out, whichever gives you peace of mind.

Now regarding the oil change interval on synthetics what I do is that I deduct the recommended life by 5K for our local driving and ambient conditions so for me the change interval is 15K instead of 20K. What I also do is that approximately at every 5K interval I simply go and have the oil filter changed. Here either your mechanic has to be a skilled one to manage to fit in the filter properly without letting too much oil spill out or (as I do) you can carry a real clean oil can with you and let the engine oil drain into that. Then refill the same oil once the oil filter has been replaced. After this you can top up with new oil if and as required.

The reason I change the filter is that while the synthetic has a recommended life of 20K, the filters are generally not going to perform optimally up to that mileage.

Originally Posted by krish82

Hi All,

Just now returned from service station, was there the full day. Used Engine flush and ran the engine for 30 mins to take out the old oil. Also changed the oil filer.
Car: Optra 1.6
Kms driven: 33K
Oil: Mobil 1 fully synthetic 5W -50
Capacity 3.75 lit

i bought 4 litres, but the person put the full four litres, he said that the level showed max only after emptying the whole 4 litres.

Will there be any problem, if there is 200 ml extra poured?
Also the service advisor said that it can easily run till 20 k kms in this oil, but you can change it after running 15k. What do you suggest? He was saying definetly no need to change oil by 10k.

I felt the engine to be more smoother, but this also may be psychological, i may drive till coorg next week, so i will write more on the smoothness later.

Cost: 4 litres =4400
Flush 400, it think 3m.

Now krish I have a question for you. This change to synthetic oil was this done at a GM authorised service center or outside? The reason I ask this is that none of the GM service centers at Delhi are not willing to pour synthetics, further the oil they are being supplied from GM is mineral and I have to get the oil change and top ups in my Aveo done at an outside garage.

[khoj]

EDIT to my above post
The first few lines of my above post :
"The 200ml extra oil will not make any difference. As it is your car has already run 33K on mineral oil. When you change from mineral to synthetic in an engine that was earlier on synthetic there will be some drop in the level of synthetic oil."

May be read as
"The 200ml extra oil will not make any difference. As it is your car has already run 33K on mineral oil. When you change from mineral to synthetic in an engine that was earlier on mineral there will be some drop in the level of synthetic oil."

Further the last few lines

"Now krish I have a question for you. This change to synthetic oil was this done at a GM authorised service center or outside? The reason I ask this is that none of the GM service centers at Delhi are not willing to pour synthetics, further the oil they are being supplied from GM is mineral and I have to get the oil change and top ups in my Aveo done at an outside garage."

May be read as

"Now krish I have a question for you. This change to synthetic oil was this done at a GM authorised service center or outside? The reason I ask this is that none of the GM service centers at Delhi are xxx willing to pour synthetics, further the oil they are being supplied from GM is mineral and I have to get the oil change and top ups in my Aveo done at an outside garage."


PS note to mods
Mods if you can edit my earlier post incorporating the required corrections shown above, you may in that case delete this post. Thanks.

[condor]

krish82 : Capacity 3.75 lit
R2D2 : If the sump capacity is 3.75L

Guys, the quantity of oil mentioned is always (practically) the total oil your engine will need - including the oil filter. I dont think a manufacturer will provide a split between sump capacity & non-sump requirements of the oil.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by khoj

EDIT to my above post
The first few lines of my above post :
"The 200ml extra oil will not make any difference. As it is your car has already run 33K on mineral oil. When you change from mineral to synthetic in an engine that was earlier on synthetic there will be some drop in the level of synthetic oil."

May be read as
"The 200ml extra oil will not make any difference. As it is your car has already run 33K on mineral oil. When you change from mineral to synthetic in an engine that was earlier on mineral there will be some drop in the level of synthetic oil."

Drain intervals with synthetics are the same as with mineral unless explicitly mentioned by either the oil or the engine manufacturer. The extended drain interval on synth is a myth perpetuated by many, mostly oil dealers, to justify the cost of synthetics. My Shell dealer told me I could use Helix Ultra for 25K kms. Rrrright! LOL! If synthetic pricing pinches (as it will for many) just use good quality mineral or semi synthetic.

My car requires an oil change at 10K kms or 12 months regardless of what formulation I am using, and I stick to the interval.

Originally Posted by condor

Guys, the quantity of oil mentioned is always (practically) the total oil your engine will need - including the oil filter. I dont think a manufacturer will provide a split between sump capacity & non-sump requirements of the oil.

Toyota provides this info in their owners manual, with clear warnings on overfilling. And if I remember correctly from my Honda ownership days, they do too. An NHC/ANHC/Civic owner can confirm. I prefer to abide by mfr guidelines on fluid levels.

[krish82]

Originally Posted by khoj

EDIT to my above post
The first few lines of my above post :
"The 200ml extra oil will not make any difference. As it is your car has already run 33K on mineral oil. When you change from mineral to synthetic in an engine that was earlier on synthetic there will be some drop in the level of synthetic oil."

May be read as
"The 200ml extra oil will not make any difference. As it is your car has already run 33K on mineral oil. When you change from mineral to synthetic in an engine that was earlier on mineral there will be some drop in the level of synthetic oil."

Further the last few lines

"Now krish I have a question for you. This change to synthetic oil was this done at a GM authorised service center or outside? The reason I ask this is that none of the GM service centers at Delhi are not willing to pour synthetics, further the oil they are being supplied from GM is mineral and I have to get the oil change and top ups in my Aveo done at an outside garage."

May be read as

"Now krish I have a question for you. This change to synthetic oil was this done at a GM authorised service center or outside? The reason I ask this is that none of the GM service centers at Delhi are xxx willing to pour synthetics, further the oil they are being supplied from GM is mineral and I have to get the oil change and top ups in my Aveo done at an outside garage."


PS note to mods
Mods if you can edit my earlier post incorporating the required corrections shown above, you may in that case delete this post. Thanks.

No, the service was not done @ GM's authorized service center, it was done outside in a multicar serice center. However i believe them because i have also seen them working on Merc's and skoda's. I was beside the mechanic and was constantly telling him that 3.75 L is the capacity so leave out 200 ml, he showned me the dip stick that its less than max and emtied it all. Not all people in service center are knowledgeable, in the end the person who does the job should know the engine capacity and all, rather than believing completly on dip stick level. When you see you car getting services in front of you, you really know how they handle your car, driving fast in small spaces, braking hard, taking as close to next car as if they are gonna dash, these are done all inspite the owner beside them.

[khoj]

@krish82

Thanks for your reply on the S.S. As for the antics of the service people I now view these as part of the service, a little something to jolt the car out of its complacency. Just Relax and take things easy, I know it is easier said then done but as someone said "Aur bhi gum hain Zamaane mein."

R2D2
You are correct regarding the change intervals and I got the 20K interval from a mobil 1 product data sheet. After reading your post I did some research on the Shell Helix Ultra that I have bought for the Aveo and the recommended interval is 15K, so for me that brings the change interval down to 10K for this oil.

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by krish82

Hi All,

Just now returned from service station, was there the full day. Used Engine flush and ran the engine for 30 mins to take out the old oil. Also changed the oil filer.
Car: Optra 1.6
Kms driven: 33K
Oil: Mobil 1 fully synthetic 5W -50
Capacity 3.75 lit

i bought 4 litres, but the person put the full four litres, he said that the level showed max only after emptying the whole 4 litres.

Will there be any problem, if there is 200 ml extra poured?
Also the service advisor said that it can easily run till 20 k kms in this oil, but you can change it after running 15k. What do you suggest? He was saying definetly no need to change oil by 10k.

I felt the engine to be more smoother, but this also may be psychological, i may drive till coorg next week, so i will write more on the smoothness later.

Cost: 4 litres =4400
Flush 400, it think 3m.

200Ml of extra oil,wont really harm a Petrol engine.
You can extend it to 15K kms,but if you drive hard,i would recommend change it at 10K kms.
4400 for 4L of Mobil 1 5W50 thats expensive.
I paid 3200 bucks for 4L on 1st september for my Car.
Earlier i used to purchase it for 3K for 4L.
What was the MRP on the Can?
I have always got a Can with 4200 MRP.

[krish82]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

200Ml of extra oil,wont really harm a Petrol engine.
You can extend it to 15K kms,but if you drive hard,i would recommend change it at 10K kms.
4400 for 4L of Mobil 1 5W50 thats expensive.
I paid 3200 bucks for 4L on 1st september for my Car.
Earlier i used to purchase it for 3K for 4L.
What was the MRP on the Can?
I have always got a Can with 4200 MRP.

I got four 1 litre cans, the price written was 1100 on each, i could have got for 1050 from another shop but that shop was far away and driving there would have cost me 200 bucks, 3200 Rs for 4 litres is great, but what grade did you get, i heard some grades were cheaper. Can any one confirm average price of Mobil1 5w 50? i dont think there should be much differences in prices between states.