I have a question;

I am currently using Shell branded engine oil, which has the so-called cleaning properties inside the oil to clean up the engine nicely... (Which I really like.)

But are there also other brand(s) of engine oils out there that also offers this cleaning/cleansing properties inside their oils (just like Shell)?

Please recommend if you know.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Thanks.

I have also been informed by some experts that the greater the stretch between the viscosity "numbers" of the oil; also means that the quicker the additives inside the oil will break down...

For example, it is not recommended to use engine oil with an (extreme) viscosity number (range) like 0W - 50, 5W - 50, & 10W - 60 as such... (Unless you change them more frequently...)

They recommend viscosity numbers in the "closer" range like 5W - 30, 10W - 30, 15W - 40, & 20W - 50 as such... (For longer lasting protection; because the protecting-additives will not break down as quickly as the other oils when subjected to prolonged high temperature... Once the protecting-additives breaks down, the oil loses it's protection capability.)

This post has been edited by kEITh_22b: Dec 2 2011, 06:18 PM

I'm curious to know how does Shell's "fully-synthetic grade" engine-oil compares to Liqui-Moly/Torco's "semi-synthetic grade" engine-oil...? (In-terms of protection & longetivity/resilience/endurance...?)

If anyone have any idea, it will be good.


An an aside, I've been using mineral-grade engine-oil all this while without experiencing any performance-related issues at all; the car still runs ever smooth, strong, & responsive at idle, cruising, & moving up to higher RPM levels.

I always go for an oil-change every 3000KM or 3-months interval at the very longest (on average) - as long as the car have been used adequately in that length of time. The oil is cheap (but good), and it doesn't cost much to do closer OCIs.

If I use fully-synthetic engine-oil (the mainstream ones), I will also not prolong the OCI for too long... (Perhaps every 5000KM OCI...) It will still be more affordable & safe compared to opting for really expensive premium branded FS engine-oils and opting for really long OCIs...


I will be using FS engine-oil for more engine protection (from the more-affordable mainstream brands) in this coming oil-change. (Just for revving my engine pass 3K RPM + and see how it goes... "Going to miss this old car soon, so I would really like to see it's potential/power that it will be capable of on the road, for the very 1st time actually, as I have been driving really gently all this while... )

BTW, I just feel safer sticking to xW - 40 (as the lowest-viscosity rating) for this old/heavy engine. (I'm just afraid that xW- 30 might be "too thin", with film not strong enough to hold-up the heavy internal shaft float-bearings; which will result in engine wear-and-tear & damage from metal to metal friction...)

This post has been edited by kEITh_22b: Feb 28 2012, 04:50 AM

Just recently I brought one liter of FS engine-oil (Shell brand) for really cheap (I was really surprised)... (In fact it was so cheap, it begin to make all of my previous mineral based engine-oils seems really expensive...)

I certainly think that FS-grade engine-oil is definitely more resilient as compared to mineral-based engine-oils... (It will be able to withstand higher sheer pressures inside the engine, for one... And I'm planning to rev high for a video recording, so FS would be really ideal/suitable for maximum engine protection... )

In addition, opting for a shorter OCI shouldn't be an issue considering the low price I could get for those "mainstream" FS oils (1 liter of Shell FS = RM40+ only)... (I can make it @ 3500 - 4000KM OCI without any problems at all.)


I think Liquid-Moly/Torco/Red-line/Amsoil SS/FS oils would be very expensive. (Which will not justify any OCI below 5000KM I reckon... Or else it would be like throwing money away... ) Again, it is for those people who would like to go for longer OCIs, then that would be ideal.


P.S., I think going for really "cheap" FS oils and changing it like mineral-oil looks to be really ideal indeed for maximum engine well-being, as well as for your wallet...


(See this thread again much later on. ^^)

This post has been edited by kEITh_22b: Feb 28 2012, 08:56 AM

As such (I really wonder) are there any differences in-terms of engine protection-capability (at high revving/sheer for one) between "cheap" fully-synthetic grade engine-oils (from the mainstream brands) versus the premium/branded/expensive semi-synthetic grade engine-oils from Liqui-Moly/Torco/Redline (for example)?

Then after that, I also wonder how is the price-comparison like between the above; cheap "fully-synthetic" $$ versus expensive "semi-synthetic" $$...?

For instance, how much does 1-liter of liqui-Moly/Torco semi-synthetic engine-oil cost?


BTW, it looks very unlikely that any of the mainstream engine-oil brands are at stake at all; for instance, most (if not all) of the auto-workshops around are using the said mainstream oil brands (like Shell for example). P.S., it is also very easy to simply "come-across" any of the main-stream brand engine-oils, as compared to coming-across those "lesser known engine-oil brands"...

And yeah, I reckon I should perform OCI at 5000KM (at the very fastest; unless I had undertook a "hardcore drag-racing" or something like that; which will require the oil-change to be much earlier... )

Thanks for your advices BTW.

That article contains some very interesting information...

Thanks for sharing it in here.

This post has been edited by kEITh_22b: Feb 29 2012, 01:37 AM

Thanks a lot for providing much info about LM/TC oils.

These great quality oils should be stocked in our workshops & stores; there will certainly be market for them.

RM30 for 1-liter of LM/TC semi-synthetic grade looks very reasonable. (Will definitely get when I see.)


Though there are really no rules in engine-oil usage behaviors in protecting your engine IMO; you can use cheap mineral-oils, don't rev too high, and change it on-time, or use synthetic-technology oils, have more confidence in revving your engine higher, and still change it on time. (In the end, your engine was still protected in which-ever method. )

Just don't put in cheap mineral-oil and perform too much high RPM/high-temperature drives. (Unless you plan to change it even more frequently.)


Basically it just boils down to the driving style, OCI, and the engine-type.

To maintain maximum engine protection, cheaper/lower-grade engine-oils just need to be changed more frequently. (For example, there are even Type-R VTEC, Turbo, and BMW owners just opting for the cheap 20W - 50 mineral-grade oil and just changing it more frequently that's all; and these type of engines usually require the expensive premium/high-grade type of oils.)

This post has been edited by kEITh_22b: Feb 29 2012, 03:50 AM

Cool, you drive like a racer, just like my two oldest bros... (Also revving to really high RPMs.) I will try once I use the full-synthetic.

BTW, those BMW/Type-R/Turbo type engines runs really hot... As such, those type of engines typically require higher-viscosity engine-oils like xW- 50; because anything lower would not be sufficient enough in protecting the engine. (Also mentioned in the article posted earlier.)

This post has been edited by kEITh_22b: Feb 29 2012, 04:19 AM

Oh no..., then how come the workshops around had so far been charging me RM 70+ for filling-in 1-liter of mineral-grade engine oil into my engine? (15W - 40 Shell mineral oil.)

The cheapest I encountered was a workshop that charged me RM 50 for putting-in 1-liter of (Top One brand 20W - 50) mineral engine-oil... (But opting for the Shell mineral option would also cost me RM 70+ as well...)

How come is it so expensive? (Workmanship & oil-filter price was not included.)


*Which is why when I got the Shell fully-synthetic engine-oil recently (1-liter), from the Tesco hypermarket, for just RM 40+ only..., I though that was really seriously cheap indeed (compared to the price I've been paying for those mineral-grade oils in the past)...


Thankfully I hardly been using the car anyway, and that I only started driving 1.5 years ago (before I realized this now)... Or else, I would have been "cheated" even-more by the workshops (in paying for their overprice mineral engine-oils)...

This post has been edited by kEITh_22b: Feb 29 2012, 09:50 PM

It is unlikely that my 4-cylinders would take-in 4-liters of oil; I remember seeing that the price was for 1 liter in the receipt...

I will need to check.

If all the time it was for 4-liters; then it is perfectly alright.

I hope I have mistaken...

Thanks for the info.

Yes, it is certainly conclusive that my engine takes in 4-liters of oil alright..., and that is really a lot, and heavy! (I know how heavy 4-liters of engine-oil is; I didn't know there's really so much oil inside the engine indeed...)

As such, I might think of grabbing some cheap 10W - 30 mineral based engine-oil; for revving/taking a spin, & then topping-up. (It's good to clean-up the engine & then change the oil more frequently before the addictives breaks down.)

High-Detergent mineral engine-oil will certainly be very ideal.

(This is good for old car; if for very new car; then can just opt for fully-synthetic and then change the oil much less frequently IMO.)

This post has been edited by kEITh_22b: Mar 6 2012, 05:42 AM