[sgiitk]

I had switched from Mineral to Synth and back on my Esteem quite a few times. No issues in this. Never flushed an engine to date.

[Blacktop]

Originally Posted by gypsyFreak

All,

I have a 2005 Esteem which has clocked 1.35K. This is my second car now and is not in use much.
I plan to get engine oil changed. The last change was 1.26K about a year back and it was Shell Helix Full Synthetic.
Now i intend to go again with Full Synthetic only but i am not sure if i need to go 5w40 or 15w40?
I am not keen on Engine flush or decarbonising and would rather drive on Shell V Power for 2-3 tank fulls.
Considering the age of the vehicle, which would be better?

I believe you used Shell Helix Ultra 5w40 fully synthetic which I also use in my Esteem. It's an excellent oil and I suggest you stick to it. It's also available for quite cheap online. I recently changed to Shell Helix HX7 10w40 (mineral oil sold with "synthetic technology" tag) without any engine flush. No trouble, but I used to find the car slightly more refined on the fully synthetic Shell. I m not sure about 15w40. 10w40 is what the Esteem manual recommends for our temperature range

[nitrous]

Originally Posted by gypsyFreak

All,

I have a 2005 Esteem which has clocked 1.35K. This is my second car now and is not in use much.
I plan to get engine oil changed. The last change was 1.26K about a year back and it was Shell Helix Full Synthetic.
Now i intend to go again with Full Synthetic only but i am not sure if i need to go 5w40 or 15w40?
I am not keen on Engine flush or decarbonising and would rather drive on Shell V Power for 2-3 tank fulls.
Considering the age of the vehicle, which would be better?

There are no 15W40 fully synthetics sold in our country.
You can either continue with the 5W40 full synth which I recommend you do or move to 10W40 semi synth. No issues eitherways.
Furthermore, fully synthetic oil have a good amount of detergent additives blended in that would work on keeping the engine internals clean. So, there is no need for an engine flush.

[gypsyFreak]

Originally Posted by Blacktop

I believe you used Shell Helix Ultra 5w40 fully synthetic which I also use in my Esteem...

Originally Posted by nitrous

There are no 15W40 fully synthetics sold in our country.
You can either continue with the 5W40 full synth which I recommend you do ...

Thanks both of you.
Over the weekend i got the oil change done. Decided to continue with Shell 5w40 (got a good discount from a dealer).
I also got the gear oil changed to Shell Spirax and the spark plugs changed.
All these have improved the pickup. Will be going for a long drive during the festival and then can check the performance.

BTW, during the gear oil replacement, the FNG mentioned that the thrust washer is broken and needs to be replaced. For the replacement, they need to remove the engine and gearbox and then put the washer.
Can any of the gurus confirm this.

[Lakwontsing]

Hello Everyone!

I am new to this forum. This is my first post and straightaway would like to put some queries here. Before that, a little background:

I own a Santro Xing - 2007 model. I drive around 1100-1300 KM in a month. Current ODO reading is 1,14,000 KM.
All these 8 years, the car was serviced in H.A.S.S. but this time I want to get it done outside as I have finally realized (even though I knew it all this while ) that H.A.S.S. was ripping me off all these years.
There is a HP fuel station (Martin motors) in Dwarka (Delhi) and is very near to my home. They offer express car service and I am planning to get the service done there.

H.A.S.S. always used Servo Engine oil 5W30 (one of the recommended grade oil by Hyundai). Santro Manual recommends the following:
- SAE 20W-40/20W-50 Outdoor Temperature > -10 degrees C
- SAE 15W-40/15W-50 Outdoor Temperature > -15 degrees C
- SAE 10W-40/10W-50 Outdoor Temperature > -25 degrees C
- SAE 10W-30 Outdoor Temperature between -25 and 40 degrees C
- SAE 5W-30 Outdoor Temperature below 10 degrees C
- The oil should have rating of API SG or above

Here are the queries I need your help with:

1. Being in Delhi, the temperatures would always be above -10 at any given time of the year and may go beyond 40 in summers, so should 20W-40 or 15W-40 be an ideal choice?

2. The car has already run quite a lot (1.14 Lakh KM) on 5W-30 in 8.5 years. And still runs 1100+ KM per month. Will changing to 20W-40 or 15W-40 be advisable? or 5W-30 is still a better choice?

3. I am tempted to use synthetic oil to see if it makes a difference in driving. Martin Motors has "HP Neo synth 10W-40 (synthetic)" oil available (INR 1350/- for Santro). Is it a good oil? Or please suggest any other full synthetic oil in 20W-40 or 15W-40?

4. Should I stick to mineral oil? If yes, is "HP Cruise 15W40" (800-900 for Santro)" a good option ?

I am planning to get the service done tomorrow and looking for some quick responses

[DriveHigh]

Hi, if you use xWy grade engine oil, lower the value of x (e.g. 10,5 or 0) better cold weather start and better engine warm up. Higher the value of y (e.g. 30,40 or 50) the oil is thicker and stickier and better protection under stressful driving. Personally I feel pure synthetics are best for off roading or racing when you red line frequently. But i think most of our cars having ECU programmed rev limiter which restricts us to do red line. My opinion for you to stick to 5W30 which returns better FE, at least marginally better than xW40 or 50 oils. If you opt for 10W40 you might feel the engine is less noisy compared to 5W30. In my opinion pure synthetic oil is an expensive affair and there is little difference in normal driving conditions. Though some people may say its extraordinary but I think its completely psychological and depends upon other factors like over all condition of your car. Quality of petrol or diesel matters significantly in order to have a good driving experience and overall engine life.
Better stick to the regular or semi synth and change the oil as soon as it degrades.

[Lakwontsing]

Originally Posted by DriveHigh

Hi, if you use xWy grade engine oil, lower the value of x (e.g. 10,5 or 0) better cold weather start and better engine warm up. Higher the value of y (e.g. 30,40 or 50) the oil is thicker and stickier and better protection under stressful driving.

Well, if that is true then won't x=10/15 be better than 5 in Delhi's hot conditions as temperature never comes down to -10.

Originally Posted by DriveHigh

If you opt for 10W40 you might feel the engine is less noisy compared to 5W30.

I guess I'd love that if it is lesser noisy although I believe the difference may not be so noticeable. What I am looking for is smoother drive. But as I said I don't know if changing the oil in an engine that has already clocked 1.14 Lakh KMs is advisable.

Originally Posted by DriveHigh

Better stick to the regular or semi synth and change the oil as soon as it degrades.

I believe Castrol Magnatec is semi-synthetic and is available in 5W-30 as well as 10W-40. Any feedback about it? I am not sure about HP Neo Synth as I could not find anything about this on internet.

Has anyone used HP Neo synth? Any feedback would be helpful.

[DriveHigh]

Lower the number of x is better for quick circulation during cold weather. Ideally 0W oils are good for freezing weather. This is basically SAE gradation of engine oil performed depending upon cold or hot weather viscosity. But for Delhi 10W or 5W oils will do required work. Since the user manual of your car suggests to stick to W40 oil 0W40 will be good choice. Magnatec is good many people recommends it. Personally I like Total Quartz or Shell Helix oils if semi syth. For mineral Servo does good work till 5 to 6K kms.

[Lakwontsing]

Well, finally went to Martin Motors to get the express service done.

1. Changed Engine oil - They don't allow you to bring your own engine oil. Its all business. So I was left to choose between HP Cruise 15W40 and HP Neo Synth 5W30 and I was really . I asked for HP cruise as I thought this is perfect rating for Delhi's hot conditions but at the last moment I changed my mind and thought to give the synthetic oil a chance especially when it had same rating as the servo oil used in this engine all these years. 1350 bucks for 3.5 L. Santro needs only 3.1 L and remaining they returned. Had to pay 450 bucks more than for HP cruise.



2. Changed Oil filter - The guys there put Purolator oil filter. I didn't know if it was good or not. But I didn't have choice and I also checked online on my phone and looks like it is a good one.



3. Air Filter was cleaned - I was told there is no need to replace it (even after 10K?). I told them if required then change it as I don't want to save 160 bucks and then pay more for anything going wrong and they said the current one will work then why to spend money without any reason.

4. Battery - Battery water topped up. The distilled water bottle cost being 20 bucks

5. Coolant - Topped up at no extra charge.

6. Brake Fluid and Power Steering oil - Already OK.

7. There was a squeaking noise in one of the belts when steering was rotated to extreme left. They lubricated it and the problem went away.

All of the above done for INR 2221.00. May be I just saved on the Labor charges as compared to H.A.S.S (1300+ I believe) but atleast everything was done in front of me.

Some work still remaining:

1. Front Brake Pads replacement
2. Timing Belt and Tensioner replacement
3. V belt set (Alt and AC belts) replacement - Never replaced these in 8 years as far as I remember.
4. Dicky shockers replacement - as older ones do not work anymore. Its like open the dicky at your own risk as it may fall down on your head!

Planning to take all this stuff from Hyundai Genuine Parts dealer in Dwarka and get it done from same place. It would be an eventful day as Timing Belt replacement seems to be a time consuming affair requiring front bumper and condenser etc to be removed!

[sgiitk]

@Lakwontsing; Petrol / Diesel with API-SN for petrol indicates it may not even be CH4 for Diesel.

[Lakwontsing]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@Lakwontsing; Petrol / Diesel with API-SN for petrol indicates it may not even be CH4 for Diesel.

Sir, first of all good to see your response. I have been reading your informative posts for years on this forum

Well, I do not know very much about these ratings. From whatever I could gather from the forum, internet, API document as well as the manual, I tried to get a decent stuff for my 8+ years old Santro.

Whether it holds good or bad for Diesel is something I won't mind as long as it is fine for my petrol car.

Would surely like to know from you if this choice is decent enough, if not great, for my Santro Xing (2007).

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by Lakwontsing

Well, finally went to Martin Motors to get the express service done.

1. Changed Engine oil - They don't allow you to bring your own engine oil. Its all business. So I was left to choose between HP Cruise 15W40 and HP Neo Synth 5W30 and I was really . I asked for HP cruise as I thought this is perfect rating for Delhi's hot conditions but at the last moment I changed my mind and thought to give the synthetic oil a chance especially when it had same rating as the servo oil used in this engine all these years. 1350 bucks for 3.5 L. Santro needs only 3.1 L and remaining they returned. Had to pay 450 bucks more than for HP cruise.
!

1350 for 3.5L.
This is semi synthetic for sure.
Full synthetic oils cost 800+/L.

[Lakwontsing]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

1350 for 3.5L.
This is semi synthetic for sure.
Full synthetic oils cost 800+/L.

May be! But I did confirm from them and they said it is Full Synthetic.

But now after your post I tend to believe "Neo" Synth means "Semi" Synth

HAHA. Anyways, let's see how it goes. It cannot be undone now.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Semi-synth can be a real can of worms.
So even 5% synth may qualify as semi-synth!

That may be so, but it may be bad only from the perspective of extra money shelled out! What we may ultimately get may be just a mineral oil!

But I regularly buy semi-synth oils from Shell for my car and bike and am happy with them. HX-7 for car and AX-7 for bike, both 10W40. The car oil is API SN, while bike oil is API SL though.

I have not seen API SN oil in mineral, so it can't be bad! Car oil costs Rs 465 and bike oil Rs 375.00 per litre (MRP).

[Lakwontsing]

Originally Posted by Gansan

I have not seen API SN oil in mineral, so it can' be bad! Car oil costs Rs 465 and bike oil Rs 375.00 per litre (MRP).

I hope you meant can'T

Well, I don't know if I got semi or fully synthetic oil but if it meets the ratings/grades I believe it should be atleast as good as mineral, if nothing else! Rest time will tell as I am not going to change anything for next 7,500-10,000 KM which means somewhere 8-9 months from now.

I will surely post whatever experience I get with this oil. Strangely I could not find anything about it on HP website or internet except one post on Team BHP where someone asked about this oil in 2012.