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Oils advice

14K views 32 replies 13 participants last post by  NA Thunder 
#1 ·
Hope this is the right area.

Hi all. I'm wondering if any of you Blue Oval Freaks have used MOTUL oil?

Currently I'm using Castrol Formula R 0W40 but have heard great things on MOTUL. Have approached a MOTUL rep and his advice would be to go for the: 8100 X-cess 5w40 synthetic. Now not being made of money, I'm looking out for a good product at the best price. $55.00 sounds healthier than $80.00. Especially when the Barra 182/240T take 6.5 litres of oil?

My car is a 2003 BA XR6 N/A (10w30 is the recommendation...pfffft).
Mods just involve a 2.5" exhaust system, Pacemaker headers and it has been chipped. No head, valve or cam work. Doing approx. 225kw@fw so far. 24000 kms on the clock. She's a "keeper" so I want what's best.

Friends of mine are more into the Japanese imports. Skyline R33, 300-ZX, WRX, they sware by it. Seriously thinking of changing to MOTUL. What do some of you experts think? Would really appreciate your opinion.
 
#2 ·
I honestly couldnt see a problem with it, unless your in the hotter areas of Queensland, then i would look at a 5w or 10w.
I used to live in Darwian and rand Caltex Havoline 5w30 i think it was, and i never had any problems with it. Motul is a very good product, just sort of new to Australia, like Fuch's, people are not to keen to try new things.

Good luck.
 
#3 ·
You really don't need to spend so much money on oil.
Penrite (and others) make some of the best oils around for 1/2 the money you are considering paying.
The Ford I6 simply doesn't need such an exotic oil which may or may not be giving you any advantage at all, you are throwing money away.
Something like Penrite HPR10 is better than your engine needs.

Rick.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Soxx said:
You really don't need to spend so much money on oil.
Penrite (and others) make some of the best oils around for 1/2 the money you are considering paying.
The Ford I6 simply doesn't need such an exotic oil which may or may not be giving you any advantage at all, you are throwing money away.
Something like Penrite HPR10 is better than your engine needs.

Rick.
Cheers Rick,

Really? Hmmm. Interesting. <gears in head turn once again> Penrite is an oil I haven't considered. I used to have a `78 Monza Red XC GS Coupe. Penrite, tried it once, motor ate it for breakfast. Castrol (GP50 at the time, now a Formula R series) was perfect. Even Valvoline XLD worked well in the hardtop.

Probably why I haven't considered it but engines now days are a little different as well as oils....Hmmm, who do you trust.

I'm just looking for the best option within a reasonable price. I do tend to punish it once it's up to temp and has been running for 5-10 minutes. Nothing too crazy but I'll push it, reving it to 5400+ rpm now and then.

Been running Castrol Magnatec until the last oil change when I changed to synthetic. It's mainly used as a weekend car, no short trips to the shop and back.
 
#5 ·
Big ozzie 6's are a different story than the hi-tech jap rockets. Personally I wouldn't use either your current Castrol 0W40 or the MOTUL 5W40 - too light. Ford's 6 has big journals and a heavier oil than both these would be a better proposition.

After a bit of time in the engine the components that give an oil it's multi-grade ability start to break down, way before your scheduled oil change. So bascically a 40 weight oil starting out at a low end 0W and 5W equivalent will thin out quite a bit. ie A 0W/40 will stop behaving like a 40 weight oil much quicker than a 15W/40 would as the oil gets older.

For our climate a 15/20W 40/50 will give better cylinder side wall and bearing protection as the oil gets a bit older but before it is due for a change. I like the Castrol Oils - GP50 and their synthetic race formulae are great.

Nothing bad to say about Penrites Oils either.
 
#6 ·
STROKEXD said:
Big ozzie 6's are a different story than the hi-tech jap rockets. Personally I wouldn't use either your current Castrol 0W40 or the MOTUL 5W40 - too light. Ford's 6 has big journals and a heavier oil than both these would be a better proposition.

After a bit of time in the engine the components that give an oil it's multi-grade ability start to break down, way before your scheduled oil change. So bascically a 40 weight oil starting out at a low end 0W and 5W equivalent will thin out quite a bit. ie A 0W/40 will stop behaving like a 40 weight oil much quicker than a 15W/40 would as the oil gets older.

For our climate a 15/20W 40/50 will give better cylinder side wall and bearing protection as the oil gets a bit older but before it is due for a change. I like the Castrol Oils - GP50 and their synthetic race formulae are great.

Nothing bad to say about Penrites Oils either.
Cheers for that,

Well let it be known....OK, It's time to admit I'm a goose.

Ford say to use 10W30. To me, that sounds way too thin.

Here's a tale for ya...I'll admit, Oils? Me knows nothin!

I was actually recommended by a XR6 T driver who has modded his T and also works in a high up position for Castrol. He said the perfect oil to use was the Formula R 10W60, he swares by it and said it's perfect for the N/A and the T. Also, only to use the 0W40 if I could not find the other. (Thought that was a little weird but hmm, seemed to know his stuff)...

Now fuel economy doesn't seem to be suffering with the higher viscosity. I'm not using a drop but I've got somewhat a unique mixture. The Barra 182 takes 6.5 litres of oil so I bought a bottle of the 0W40 grade after hearing someone from the Castrol support centre basically say: "You put what into what"? when I was enquiring to see if you could buy 1 litre bottles (As buying 2 x 5 litres for one oil change is a damn expensive escercise). Panic mode set in, he said the two grades will mix without a problem so I drained some of the 10W60 so now it's more like a 5w50 Castrol Formula R mix. :AAHHH: The car's running perfectly fine but buggered if I'm going to go through this excercise every time for an oil change.
 
#7 ·
I don't agree with 'STROKEXD' about the viscosity of the oil for the newer I6's.
Ford recommend thin oil for a reason, sure they have big journals, however they also have very tight bearing clearances. They also run a quite tight piston to bore clearance and have teflon coated pistons.
They are not like the big sixes of old and are getting closer (in some ways) to the smaller and lighter Japanese engines.

A 10W30 oil will be just fine and dandy even in hot weather, particularly something decent like HPR10.
The thickest I'd use is HPR15.
Don't forget Penrite is an OZ company, there's nothing like product being made for our conditions, in our country.

Rick.
 
#8 ·
Well I have been using Valvoline Lo-Vis 10w-30 for 530,000ks.Uses about 1/2 litre in 10,000ks,quite acceptable,car still goes hard with no noise or rattles.Cost is about $23.I have known other people who have used heavier grade oil in AU 6s and have stuffed the motor,so I am a firm believer in the thin as piss oils.
 
#10 ·
For the exact REASON the bearing jounals are BIGGER is exactly WHY lighter oils should be used.
Those who have built TUFF 351 W would know of the oiling problems with their mains..Being such a big dia the surface area is too great at high speed for the oil to protect bearing at high rpm/loads..Pluss synthetic doesn't break down the same as mineral oils..Its not that the oil gets thinner with age either.More the case of contaminants and carbon building up in crankcase/ oil..We are talking newer efi engines.. Not high milage carb engines...
 
#11 ·
So the majority are saying thinner oil?

Hmmm. Motul do say in their brochure that these oils are suited for the BA falcon.

MOTUL 8100 X-cess 5W40 (the one recommended to me) or MOTUL 4100 Turbolight 10W40. There is also a MOTUL 8100 Eco-nergy 5W30.

I might have a look at the Penrite's as well but it looks like I'm leaning towards Motul, Castrol is good but @ almost $80.00 per 5 litres? OUCH. $55 sounds a little better. I think the 4100 is cheaper still and they seem to upnote it's protection capabilities over their other products. Hmmm.

The unique "Castrol" mixture has only been in the BA for roughly 3,500 kms. It's a waste of money but at 25,000kms (currently 24,000), I'm going to change to a thinner oil, just for piece of mind.

Cheers for your comments all.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Castrol Formula R 10w/60 is a suitable oil for the XR6 Turbo. The factory recomends a 15w/40, so there would be no issue using this oil. The reason why Ford recomends a thicker oil in the T is because of higher oil temperature. You could also use it in your NA version, but fuel ecomomy, power and idle will suffer. I would not be concerned about using a 30 grade oil. I tried a few different oils in a VX V6 and monitored the oil with oil analysis. I got very good results with a full synthetic 0w/30 oil. I ran the oil for 26 000Km and got a lower wear rate than than running a mineral 15W/40 for 10 000km.
 
#14 ·
Yep, 26 000Km without a oil change. I could of got another 5000 - 10000km without a problem, however I would of had to top it up so I was better off doing a oil change. If you do a lot of short trips then you should change you oil every 5000Km or 6 months. A synthetic oil will not last any longer than a mineral under these conditions.
 
#16 ·
Hmm, I've dumped 2 litres and filled her up again with 2 litres of the remaining Castrol 0W40 Formula R series, lucky the 2 grades mix together without a problem. That should thin it down a little more until I obtain what ever I'm about to use next.

Again, thanx for your input all. Mr. MX6, that's one 'in your face' answer. :)
 
#18 ·
I dont understand you na thunder.Why not just use what ford recommend.Adding some of this and some of that,your just wasting your money mate.I use shell helix 10w30 and i dont use a drop.Change it every 7500ks with a filter, sweet as a nut.15 oooks between oil changes is way too long imo.
 
#19 ·
Diagree with Soxx. Still say if engine longivity is your main goal then oil on the thicker side of the usual recommendation chart is the best choice. Whether its injected or otherwise, new technology or old. They all have pistons going up and down, and cranks turning.

I've done some reasearch of what gives the greatest engine life, which is my goal, and the results always go with the thicker of the oils, quality of oil depending of course.

Makes sense, who wouldn't want to have a thicker film of oil separating the metal instead of a thin film of oil? Obviously that's only up to a point of commonsense to suit your donk, so you wouldn't want to run HPR50 in a 1.6L.

Alot of the thinner oils have come in over the last few years, and much of their recommendation and use is a fad more to suit our economy than motor longivity. Go past the people at the sales level of the oil companies and ask at the level of the tech departments.

One reason for the fad is the manufacturers are able to claim better fuel economy which goes down better in todays enviro safe world, sells more cars, but those same manufacturers are not so worried if your motor dies after only 150k. Probably better for them to sell more cars.

So I will always use oil on the thicker side, no less than 60 weight for a V8 and I still wouldn't put 30 weight in my I6 no matter what my Ford manual says. My Ford manuals say quite a lot of funky things that few would adhere to, so I don't put a lot of credence in it.
 
#20 ·
well did my first oil change today, ford charge to much for a 100000 km service - $600 if there is nothing wrong

I ended up going with Mobil 1 5\w50 full synthetic-- i didnt like the thought of a
0\w30 weight

I assume this is my cars first batch of synthetic so i put through a bottle of motul engine oil cleaner then drained the lot, its amazing how much crap came out

I wish more oil companies would put the little peel off servive sticker on the bottles

Will see how it goes, hopefully no leaks appear

Ohh i also changed the auto tranny fluid to a Fuchs oil and the shifts are amazingly smooth now (100% better) and i didnt think there was anything wrong with it before
 
#22 ·
Just adding my 2 cents.
dont use oil too "new" for your engine, exhample in the new castrol add, where they are making oil for engines not even built yet, you will notice the guy is adding oil (as in it is using some) and its true, if you put too good quality oil in an older car (this doesnt apply to a new falcon) it will use oil.
eg my old 351C is meant to use SE rated oil, which is cheap woolies crap and i just cant put that in her. to cheap, to bad quality but thats the iol they had in the early 70's i spoze...
ive heard from an oil rep (i wont say which one) castrol 0w rating is nt true, it is actually a 15w. but how can you measure a 0w anyway, its impossible, 0w would be nothing. anyway aussie laws (or lack of) do NOT make oil company's put in the bottle what they say it is.
in my opinion penrite oil is one of the best for a few reasons
1. has been tested alongside of castrol, valvolene,shell,synforce. and came out 1st.
2. aussie made, keep the money in the country.
3.blended by weight not volume.
4.and is hot blended.
 
#23 ·
redGhia said:
well did my first oil change today, ford charge to much for a 100000 km service - $600 if there is nothing wrong

I ended up going with Mobil 1 5\w50 full synthetic-- i didnt like the thought of a
0\w30 weight

I assume this is my cars first batch of synthetic so i put through a bottle of motul engine oil cleaner then drained the lot, its amazing how much crap came out

I wish more oil companies would put the little peel off servive sticker on the bottles

Will see how it goes, hopefully no leaks appear

Ohh i also changed the auto tranny fluid to a Fuchs oil and the shifts are amazingly smooth now (100% better) and i didnt think there was anything wrong with it before
Sounds like you made a good choice. I'd like to know more about the 1L engine wash and the Fuchs trans oil. Is the engine wash recommended when you change over to synthetic?, because I'm about to do that myself.

And the Fuchs trans oil, where do you get that? I've been thinking lately that the Valvoline type F fluid in my C4 is letting me down a bit. What the number/lettering on the Fuchs oil you used?
 
#26 ·
Yep, diesel fuel.
I drained the old oil, put in 5lt of diesel(which has high lubricity properties), which is just a very light oil anyway.
ran the car at idle for about 5 mins, reving up to about 1/3 throttle a few times.
Droped the diesel.
Put in 5lt of cheap valvoline(from Crazy Clints), ran the engine for the same times as diesel.
Dropped the oil, which took the rest of the diesel out aswell.
Changed the filter, put in my Caltex Havoline.
I change my oil every 5000k, and after this flush, the oil has been staying cleaner longer.
 
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