Thanks everyone for all the feedback received on the last thread I posted and I hope it was at the least an "eye-opener" for some.
I thought it would be a good idea to keep details of any advice given and a list of recommendations somewhere on this page (hopefully an admin will make it a sticky at some point so that it is easily found).
Looking at my comments so far, these are the ones that I feel belong in here, if you have any others then please contribute or ask futher questions which hopefully will make this an interesting FAQ thread one day.
Quotes so far:
Oilman c/o John Rowland (Silkolene/Fuchs R&D Chemist)
So, the chemistry of “synthetics” is complex and so is the politics!
The economics are very simple. If you like the look of a smart well-marketed can with “synthetic” printed on it, fair enough, it will not cost you a lot; and now you know why this is the case. But, if you drive a high performance car, and you intend to keep it for several years, and maybe do the odd “track day”, then you need a genuine Ester/PAO (Poly Alpha Olefin) synthetic oil, such as PRO S or PRO R. This oil costs more money to buy, because it costs us a lot of money to make, very simply, you always get what you pay for!
Oilman
My opinions are frank but based on facts so I'll apolgise in advance if I upset anyone but I will ALWAYS give you the "best advice", you don't have to take it.
Finally, oil for the 300zx is an interesting one as the recommendations I have had are based around the Manufacturers which is 10w-40 Semi-syn however, depending on driving conditions, the following grades can be considered 10w-40 semi-syn,10w-50 Fully-syn, 5w-40 fully syn and 15w-50 fully syn.
These all have different advantages to the performance of the car depending on how you use the car. Short journeys, long journeys, track days etc....
deve8uk
So how about sugesting something for a zx with minor mods, running approx 10psi boost that is a daily driver and normaly does short trips and only rarely gets booted. And I do mean rarely here.
Oilman
Firstly bear in mind that the car was designed to run on 10w-40 which is the manufacturers recommended oil but as just about all 10w-40's that I know of except for one are semi-synthetics I would go for fully synthetic as it has a higher resistance to thinning down with temperature (a good one that is, not just an excuse for a synthetic with a pretty label) as they stay in grade longer.
Oilman
For short journeys and lots of cold starts, you need an oil that circulates quickly as this is where 70+ percent of the engine wear occurs so rather than using a 10w consider a 5w, its thinner and circulates more easily. 0w is even quicker but may be too thin and you could end up with oil seal leaks.
For faster longer journeys where the engine is operating a high temperatures (hard driving) I would consider a 10w-50 or 10w-60 to give more protection at the top end but you want an oil that has a high resistance to thinning down and "stays in grade" longer. Ester is the best for this (see note below).
For racing and track days, you need an oil that will give more protection still and I would consider a 15w-50 which is a recognised motorsport and racing oil which will protect you almost entirely at the top end.
RichardSmith
What are your views on Millers XFS 5w40 and Shell Helix Ultra 5w40 fully synthetics?
Oilman
Difficult to comment really as I've never stocked Shell or Millers. I would be happy using Shell but based on Millers prices, I wonder about the quality, the first post here may be relevant to their oils but without the data it's difficult to say for sure.
I'll try to speak to some technical bods on monday and see if they have any data or experience of these oils.
Thanks everyone for all the feedback received on the last thread I posted and I hope it was at the least an "eye-opener" for some.
I thought it would be a good idea to keep details of any advice given and a list of recommendations somewhere on this page (hopefully an admin will make it a sticky at some point so that it is easily found).
Looking at my comments so far, these are the ones that I feel belong in here, if you have any others then please contribute or ask futher questions which hopefully will make this an interesting FAQ thread one day.
Quotes so far:
Oilman c/o John Rowland (Silkolene/Fuchs R&D Chemist)
So, the chemistry of “synthetics” is complex and so is the politics!
The economics are very simple. If you like the look of a smart well-marketed can with “synthetic” printed on it, fair enough, it will not cost you a lot; and now you know why this is the case. But, if you drive a high performance car, and you intend to keep it for several years, and maybe do the odd “track day”, then you need a genuine Ester/PAO (Poly Alpha Olefin) synthetic oil, such as PRO S or PRO R. This oil costs more money to buy, because it costs us a lot of money to make, very simply, you always get what you pay for!
Oilman
My opinions are frank but based on facts so I'll apolgise in advance if I upset anyone but I will ALWAYS give you the "best advice", you don't have to take it.
Finally, oil for the 300zx is an interesting one as the recommendations I have had are based around the Manufacturers which is 10w-40 Semi-syn however, depending on driving conditions, the following grades can be considered 10w-40 semi-syn,10w-50 Fully-syn, 5w-40 fully syn and 15w-50 fully syn.
These all have different advantages to the performance of the car depending on how you use the car. Short journeys, long journeys, track days etc....
deve8uk
So how about sugesting something for a zx with minor mods, running approx 10psi boost that is a daily driver and normaly does short trips and only rarely gets booted. And I do mean rarely here.
Oilman
Firstly bear in mind that the car was designed to run on 10w-40 which is the manufacturers recommended oil but as just about all 10w-40's that I know of except for one are semi-synthetics I would go for fully synthetic as it has a higher resistance to thinning down with temperature (a good one that is, not just an excuse for a synthetic with a pretty label) as they stay in grade longer.
Oilman
For short journeys and lots of cold starts, you need an oil that circulates quickly as this is where 70+ percent of the engine wear occurs so rather than using a 10w consider a 5w, its thinner and circulates more easily. 0w is even quicker but may be too thin and you could end up with oil seal leaks.
For faster longer journeys where the engine is operating a high temperatures (hard driving) I would consider a 10w-50 or 10w-60 to give more protection at the top end but you want an oil that has a high resistance to thinning down and "stays in grade" longer. Ester is the best for this (see note below).
For racing and track days, you need an oil that will give more protection still and I would consider a 15w-50 which is a recognised motorsport and racing oil which will protect you almost entirely at the top end.
RichardSmith
What are your views on Millers XFS 5w40 and Shell Helix Ultra 5w40 fully synthetics?
Oilman
Difficult to comment really as I've never stocked Shell or Millers. I would be happy using Shell but based on Millers prices, I wonder about the quality, the first post here may be relevant to their oils but without the data it's difficult to say for sure.
I'll try to speak to some technical bods on monday and see if they have any data or experience of these oils.
Here are some comments so far for kick off.
Cheers
Simon