[FlyinLow]

Originally Posted by R2D2

But here's a caveat - IF your car has been using mineral all these years and you have done >50K kms on the engine I would recommend sticking to mineral or semi synthetic. Castrol GTX 20w-50 is a good choice. Castrol Magnatec is 10w-40 and may not be recommended.

Visited this center called Hi-tec near Powai lake. He recommended Castrol magnatec SAE 10W40 (semi-synthetic) for my Honda City 2005 Gxi. Costs Rs. 1570 for 4 Lt.

But saw your post and just wanted to verify.

What would cost of 20W50 be ? & if i'm not wrong, this (20w50) would be a more viscous oil while 10W40 will be less viscous so technically w40 should be easy to lubricate as it can move seamlessly. Please correct if i'm wrong.

Also, for the coolant, he had Castrol radicool heavyduty costing Rs 266 per lt.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by FlyinLow

Visited this center called Hi-tec near Powai lake. He recommended Castrol magnatec SAE 10W40 (semi-synthetic) for my Honda City 2005 Gxi. Costs Rs. 1570 for 4 Lt.

But saw your post and just wanted to verify.

What would cost of 20W50 be ? & if i'm not wrong, this (20w50) would be a more viscous oil while 10W40 will be less viscous so technically w40 should be easy to lubricate as it can move seamlessly. Please correct if i'm wrong.

Also, for the coolant, he had Castrol radicool heavyduty costing Rs 266 per lt.

Your Honda City 2005 would be happier with 10w-40 rather than a xW-50 oil. Thicker oil increases friction and reduces efficiency. It is only meant for very high mileage, high ambient temps or older generation engines.

Nowadays Honda recommends 5w-30 mineral oil for most engines. Even Toyota is recommending 10w-30 mineral in India's tropical heat.

If possible go in for 0W-30, 5W-30, 10W-30 OR 5w-40 synthetic. Choice of synthetic oils/brands is yours but for compatibility I'd recommend Honda 5W-30/0W-30, Shell Helix Ultra 5W-40 & Mobil 1 0W-40, in that order.

Also, save your money and get peace of mind. PLEASE don't replace or top up the Honda factory coolant with an aftermarket variety. If coolant needs a top up or replacement get the Honda OEM coolant from the dealer.

[carboy]

I always use mineral oils only on my 6 year old Swift Petrol. At different times, 20W-40 SF, 20W-50 SL & 10W-30 SJ have been used in my car.

I understand the SF, SL & SJ classifications a little bit - i.e. SL better than SJ better than SF. However I am a little confused with the 20W-40, 20W-50 & 10W-30 classifications. Which is the right thing to use - I was planning to use either Castrol GTX 20W-50 SL or Castrol GTX Modern Engine 5W-30SM next time - but I am a little confused as to which is the right one to use.

[rranjith_kum]

Originally Posted by carboy

However I am a little confused with the 20W-40, 20W-50 & 10W-30 classifications. Which is the right thing to use -

So to directly answer your question they are SAE viscosity grade numbers. You are looking into a 10W30 motoroil at 100°C which will have a dynamic viscosity of at least 420 centipoise which is lower than that of a 20W50 oil meaning that it is ready to flow and lubricate at much lower temperatures.

I would suggest that you should go for Castrol GTX Modern Engine 5W-30SM since you have already used 10W30 SJ and I guess that your application environment would still be the same. It offers greater protection after start much better than 20W50 oil and also with reduced drag. It takes less energy to circulate the 10W30 oil than a 20W50 oil. And of course dont worry about thinning out of the lubricant. The 10W30 oil serves the purpose in your Swift petrol and that SM is better.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by rranjith_kum

So to directly answer your question they are SAE viscosity grade numbers. You are looking into a 10W30 motoroil at 100°C which will have a dynamic viscosity of at least 420 centipoise which is lower than that of a 20W50 oil meaning that it is ready to flow and lubricate at much lower temperatures.

I would suggest that you should go for Castrol GTX Modern Engine 5W-30SM since you have already used 10W30 SJ and I guess that your application environment would still be the same. It offers greater protection after start much better than 20W50 oil and also with reduced drag. It takes less energy to circulate the 10W30 oil than a 20W50 oil. And of course dont worry about thinning out of the lubricant. The 10W30 oil serves the purpose in your Swift petrol and that SM is better.

10W30 hasn't been particularly selected based on application environment. It was used because that's what Carnation uses by default during servicing - all over the country. Earlier, they used to use Castrol GTX. So basically I guess it depends on which company gives them a better deal.

So I still don't know how to select between the two oils.

[rranjith_kum]

What is the manufacturer's recommendation ? I think it is always mentioned in the owners manual. I remember reading sometime ago in our forum that there was a bulletin from Maruti suggesting a newer grade for swift. I dont remember exactly whether it was for petrol or diesel. Will try to search for that thread.

Edit: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...5w40-5w40.html
Its for Diesel unfortunately. Can you please check out in the users manual and keep us posted.

[DipakDZireLover]

I am due to change the Engine oil for my Dzire Petrol.
Can the experts suggest a good (but not too expensive) Engine oil ?

For some reasons, I don't trust the M.A.S.S. guys. I get a feeling that they might be recycling the same oil into the car. Moreover, they do not let you see what is happening. So I might either do a DIY or get it done outside. Suggestions welcome for that as well.

[interc00led]

Originally Posted by DipakDZireLover

I am due to change the Engine oil for my Dzire Petrol.
Can the experts suggest a good (but not too expensive) Engine oil ?

Shell Helix HX5-AZ 5W30 is a good oil and costs around Rs.950/- for a 3L can.

Also, shell's authorized distributor is on snapdeal and they provide free home delivery too. Check it out.
http://www.snapdeal.com/product/shel...z-5w/216135454

[carboy]

Originally Posted by DipakDZireLover

I am due to change the Engine oil for my Dzire Petrol.
Can the experts suggest a good (but not too expensive) Engine oil ?

For some reasons, I don't trust the M.A.S.S. guys. I get a feeling that they might be recycling the same oil into the car. Moreover, they do not let you see what is happening. So I might either do a DIY or get it done outside. Suggestions welcome for that as well.

M.A.S.S. used to use Maruti Genuine Oil which is SF Grade. I don't know if they still use it. SF is an obsolete grade. You can instead use Castrol GTX which is pretty cheap or a similar Mobil oil (I think Mobil 1000 - note sure - costs around 900-1000Rs for 3 litres & is even slightly better than GTX). They are more current than MGO.

I buy one 3 liters bottle & 1 half liter of Castrol GTX & take it to my MASS when servicing my Swift. I even get back around 0.2 litres back from them which can be used for topping up when needed.

[vorajay]

My car is due for a Engine Oil change. Can the experts please suggest the ideal oil asap. Planning to change it this weekend.

2005 Honda City GXi, 43,500 kms done.

I recently fitted a Sequential CNG kit and hence planning on changing the spark plugs as well.

Any other things I need to know or change?

J

[Ray32825]

I would like to add my two cents worth. I have been involved with automobiles since the early 80s and have used all kinds of oils from full synthetics down to the lowly store brands. I'm going to try and make this as simple as possible without being too technical.
With the kind of tolerances modern engines have and the progress made in engineering oils, one no longer requires very high viscosity oils like 40, 50 and 20W50. As far as your ordinary cars are concerned any decent 10W30 or 10W40 oil will be fine irrespective of the high ambient temperatures. Since maximum wear takes place on engine startup you need an oil that gets up there as soon as possible. At the same time you don't want an oil that is too thin.
Now you can go in for the more expensive blends or oils with liquid tungsten, magnetic etc (my dad does in India, every few years he lets me know the latest Castrol oil he is using). But, in my opinion, unless you have a high-performance/expensive vehicle I would not waste my money on premium or synthetic oils. Synthetic oils are also made out of crude, they are just engineered more precisely and have an additive package that is superior to conventional oil.
I have used each and every synthetic oil available and tried most of the additives like Slick 50 from as far back as the mid-80s. At present I use an ordinary wholesale no-name brand for my ordinary vehicles. Since I'm in a warm climate I'm sticking with a 10W40. I find that this no-name brand of oil actually performs better than some of the known brands. It also costs me approximately 2 dollars a quart which is less than half the price of other brands.
As far as diesel engines are concerned I have actually found the so-called special diesel oils like Shell Rotella perform worse than other oil that are suitable for use in diesels. As far as my high-performance vehicles are concerned I use Mobil one high mileage as it is supposed to have the best detergent package (superior to the ordinary Mobil one or the extended Mobil one).
I would do my research and figure out which is a good oil and stick with it. Don't go for all the hype and marketing. I would like to conclude by saying, the best oil for your engine is a clean oil, so make sure you're using a good oil filter as this is just as critical. Attached are pictures of the no-name brand I am using.

[Ray32825]

Pictures did not upload for some reason. It is a SN rated oil, not bad.

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by vorajay

My car is due for a Engine Oil change. Can the experts please suggest the ideal oil asap. Planning to change it this weekend.

2005 Honda City GXi, 43,500 kms done.

I recently fitted a Sequential CNG kit and hence planning on changing the spark plugs as well.

Any other things I need to know or change?

J

Total 10W 40, castrol magnatec 10W 40 etc. Take your pick. change oil filter as well.Make sure spark plugs are of NGK make.Avoid stuff like champion etc.

[vorajay]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Total 10W 40, castrol magnatec 10W 40 etc. Take your pick. change oil filter as well.Make sure spark plugs are of NGK make.Avoid stuff like champion etc.

That would be synthetic or mineral oil? Is throttle body cleaning advised?

J

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by vorajay

That would be synthetic or mineral oil? Is throttle body cleaning advised?

J

Its semi synthetic.Throttle body along with HDS scan should be cleaned and done every 10k kms.