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

Thought this might be of interest to you all.

 

If you are "modding" your car and adding BHP then consider your oil choice carefully as the stock manufacturers recommended oil will not give you the protection that your engine requires.

 

A standard oil will not be thermally stable enough to cope with higher temperatures without "shearing" meaning that the oil will not give the same protection after a couple of thousand miles as it it when it was new.

 

Let’s start with the fundamentals. An engine is a device for converting fuel into motive power. Car enthusiasts get so deep into the details they lose sight of this!

 

To get more power, an engine must be modified such that it converts more fuel per minute into power than it did in standard form. To produce 6.6 million foot-pounds per minute of power (ie 200 BHP) a modern engine will burn about 0.5 litres of fuel per minute.(Equivalent to 18mpg at 120mph). So, to increase this output to 300BHP or 9.9 million foot-pounds per minute it must be modified to burn (in theory) 0.75 litres.

 

However, fuel efficiency often goes out of the window when power is the only consideration, so the true fuel burn will be rather more than 0.75 litres/min.

 

That’s the fundamental point, here’s the fundamental problem:

 

Less than 30% of the fuel (assuming it’s petrol) is converted to all those foot-pounds. The rest is thrown away as waste heat. True, most of it goes down the exhaust, but over 10% has to be eliminated from the engine internals, and the first line of defence is the oil.

 

More power means a bigger heat elimination problem. Every component runs hotter; For instance, piston crowns and rings will be running at 280-300C instead of a more normal 240-260C, so it is essential that the oil films on cylinder walls provide an efficient heat path to the block casting, and finally to the coolant.

 

Any breakdown or carbonisation of the oil will restrict the heat transfer area, leading to serious overheating.

 

A modern synthetic lubricant based on true temperature-resistant synthetics is essential for long-term reliability. At 250C+, a mineral or hydrocracked mineral oil, particularly a 5W/X or 10W/X grade, is surprisingly volatile, and an oil film around this temperature will be severely depleted by evaporation loss.

 

Back in the 1970s the solution was to use a thick oil, typically 20W/50; in the late 1980s even 10W/60 grades were used.

 

But in modern very high RPM engines with efficient high-delivery oil pumps thick oils waste power, and impede heat transfer in some situations.

 

A light viscosity good synthetic formulated for severe competition use is the logical and intelligent choice for the 21st century.

You should seriously consider a "true" synthetic for "shear stability" and the right level of protection.

 

Petroleum oils tend to have low resistance to “shearing” because petroleum oils are made with light weight basestocks to begin with, they tend to burn off easily in high temperature conditions which causes deposit formation and oil consumption.

 

As a result of excessive oil burning and susceptibility to shearing (as well as other factors) petroleum oils must be changed more frequently than synthetics.

 

True synthetic oils (PAO’s and Esters) contain basically no waxy contamination to cause crystallization and oil thickening at cold temperatures. In addition, synthetic basestocks do not thin out very much as temperatures increase. So, pour point depressants are unnecessary and higher viscosity basestock fluids can be used which will still meet the "W" requirements for pumpability.

 

Hence, little or no VI improver additive would need to be used to meet the sae 30, 40 or 50 classification while still meeting 0W or 5W requirements.

 

The end result is that very little shearing occurs within true synthetic oils because they are not "propped up" with viscosity index improvers. There simply is no place to shear back to. In fact, this is easy to prove by just comparing synthetic and petroleum oils of the same grade.

 

Of course, the obvious result is that your oil remains "in grade" for a much longer period of time for better engine protection and longer oil life.

 

If you would like advice then please feel free to ask.

 

Cheers

Simon

============Announcement==============

 

For those of you that have not visited our website lately to look at all the technical data on there about oils, take another look as the range has been extended to include MOTUL and particularly the 300V Double Ester range.

 

Data is here: http://www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm

 

Happy browsing!

 

Cheers

Simon

Hi Oilman,

 

I've got a 91 Twin turbo, the engine has started making a ticking sound from the top of the engine (really technical I know lol), and it's getting progressively worse. I'm worried I'm not using the right oil in there, it's got 54,000 miles on it. It doesn't seem to be using any oil, I haven't needed to top it up since I bought it in August.

 

What oil do you recommend for my car please?

 

Thanks. :)

Hi Oilman,

 

I've got a 91 Twin turbo, the engine has started making a ticking sound from the top of the engine (really technical I know lol), and it's getting progressively worse. I'm worried I'm not using the right oil in there, it's got 54,000 miles on it. It doesn't seem to be using any oil, I haven't needed to top it up since I bought it in August.

 

What oil do you recommend for my car please?

 

Thanks. :)

 

Kay,

 

If you are experiencing noisy tappets, try the Silkolene Pro S 10w-50, not only is it a good grade for your car, and a top quality oil it is very good at keeping the tappets a little quieter.

 

Tech specs here http://www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm

 

Hope this helps.

 

Cheers

 

Guy.

Wow, thanks for the quick response! I'll do an oil change after getting some of this. How much will I need for a complete oil change and to keep me going for a while?

Wow, thanks for the quick response! I'll do an oil change after getting some of this. How much will I need for a complete oil change and to keep me going for a while?

 

According to my records.

 

3.4ltr without oil cooler.

4.4ltr with oil cooler.

 

So 2 x 5ltr would see you through two oil changes and some to top up.

 

Have a look in the group by section for special January prices.

 

Cheers

 

Guy.

Hi Oilman,

i own a UK spec Z32 TT. It has a new nissan engine & turbo's. i plan on upping power to about 360-400bhp, with boast controller etc. the engine has only done about 6000 miles so far. Previously, i have used Mobil 1 0w-40. looking on there site it now recommends their new Mobil 1 10W-30 or Extended Performance 10W-40. Would you agree? Or is there something better?

 

Plus what gearbox oil would you recommend? I have a manual gearbox. i understand this is quite a critical area also!

 

Regards

 

Kevin

Hi Oilman,

i own a UK spec Z32 TT. It has a new nissan engine & turbo's. i plan on upping power to about 360-400bhp, with boast controller etc. the engine has only done about 6000 miles so far. Previously, i have used Mobil 1 0w-40. looking on there site it now recommends their new Mobil 1 10W-30 or Extended Performance 10W-40. Would you agree? Or is there something better?

 

Plus what gearbox oil would you recommend? I have a manual gearbox. i understand this is quite a critical area also!

 

Regards

 

Kevin

 

Kevin,

 

For the engine we would recomend the Silkolene Pro S 10w-50 as you will be pushing excess bhp, this oil is made from pao basestock but also has the advantage of containing ester.

 

For the gearbox we recomend the Silkolene Syn5 75w-90 ester synthetic geal oil suitable for competition boxes and diffs.

 

Tech specs on both of these oil here http://www.opieoils.co.uk/lubricants.htm

 

Cheers

 

Simon.

Simon,

 

Have a little quessy for ya about oil catch tanks!

 

As you gradually fill the catch tank with the evaporated oil and water, does this then change the viscosity of the remaining oil?

Topless,

 

Nothing to worry about, this will not affect the oil in the car, it will need topping up though as your catch tank fills.

 

Cheers

 

Simon.

Hi Simon

Please can you send me the report of 10W-60 RS.

My e-mail is lehr@lehr.at.

The 10W60 RS is in the german Z32-community the recommended oil.

So I'm very interested in this report.

Best Regards from Vienna

Chris

could you give me your verdict on castrol rs synthetic oil as i am due an oil change on tuesday,if your opinion is not good i will change it .

could you give me your verdict on castrol rs synthetic oil as i am due an oil change on tuesday,if your opinion is not good i will change it .

 

The ********* is a hydrocracted mineral oil, the RS 0w-40 is a true synthetic.

 

In my opinion neither are really ideal for your car, the 0w is a little thin when cold and the SAE60 is too thick when hot, I am sure some will disagree but anything from 10w-40 to 10w-50 to 15w-50 is fine.

 

If you want a good true synthetic then I would look at the Silkolene, Motul and Mobil range of oils.

 

Cheers

 

Simon.

********* is a hydrocracted mineral oil, the RS 0w-40 is a true synthetic.

 

In my opinion neither are really ideal for your car, the 0w is a little thin when cold and the SAE60 is too thick when hot, I am sure some will disagree but anything from 10w-40 to 10w-50 to 15w-50 is fine.

 

If you want a good true synthetic then I would look at the Silkolene, Motul and Mobil range of oils.

 

Cheers

 

Simon.

 

Simon this is getting so bloody boring now:(

Some of he people that have used your Silkolene in their Z engine would NEVER use it again It is far too thin so can you PLEASE stop recomending people to use in in their engines.If you continue to do so I will remove you from the links section.

Also please DO NOT post about a certain oil thats says synthetic on the tin is really a mineral oil as we could find ourselves in a legal battle with the company in question.

 

 

This is a copy of a PM that was sent to me.......................

 

 

I mentioned I had a load of silkolene oil getting delivered to his place to do an oil change. He said "you didn't get it off a guy called oilman did you?".

 

I hadn't realised this, but according to this guy, oilman (simon and guy) are one of the biggest purchaser of siklolene products in uk. They only recommend their products because of the margin they make. They have reputation on other forums for "blinding with science" with a view to shifting silkolene products. He personally has had a problem with silkolene 10w-50 (not supplied by them I must add) in a race prepared evo engine which suffered with excess wear.

 

This is not a complaint of any kind, but these guys are not traders on here and are seen as "doing us a favour". However, it should be noted that they are potentially not as un-biased as they seem.

Mac1

 

I am sorry you are getting bored.

 

In my post you quoted, I did not tell anyone to use Silkolene, please correct me if I am wrong but I mentioned it amongst other brands and grades to look at?

 

Castrol and Mobil had a big court battle a few years ago, Castrol won the right to call hydrocracked mineral oils synthetic, in the true sense of the word they are not, but they are well within the law to label them synthetic, this goes for any other manufacturer so I doubt you will have any comeback as it is public knowledge.

 

I am also intersted in how the person who had a bad experience with Silkolene (not ours) knows so much about our margins? I feel he could do with some education on this matter as it is not what it seems. The big margins are on mineral oil, these are very cheap to make and the margins are higher once sold on a shop floor compared to a true synthetic as the cost of producing a true synthetic are 6 to 8 times more then a mineral, if you were to sell true synthetics at the same margin as minerals you would never sell any. Oil manufacturers encourage you to use semi and mineral oils because they need changing more often, so you buy more oil making more proffit. I could recomend oils based on this principle as I do supply them, but that would not be very proffesional in my opinion.

 

We do not have a vested interest in any brand of oil, we sell six brands all together and these are not ones we happen to have, but have chosen. This is because of their quality of chemistry and cost to the end user, I am not tied to anyone.

 

I have said it before and I will say it again. They are your cars and it is your money and no body has to listen to what I say, however if asked a question I will answer honestly and factually.

 

Cheers

 

Simon.

cheers oilman ,i will probably change it for mobil 1 tomorrow ,thanks for the advice.

cheers oilman ,i will probably change it for mobil 1 tomorrow ,thanks for the advice.

 

I'm certainly not slating Mobil1, but unless your Zed is a low mileage one Mobil 1 is also a bit thin. For what it's worth mate I changed mine off it years ago (when it had covered about 45k miles). It's great for a new engine but because it's so thin it finds leaks a long time before a slightly thicker oil does. If your car's not travelled that many miles then great but for higher mileage models, which most are now, I'd go for something a little thicker !

 

konrad

why do you sell castrol 10w60 if you think it is crap?

why do you sell castrol 10w60 if you think it is crap?

 

I never said it was crap.

 

I just said it was not a true synthetic, but hydrocracked.

 

Some engines do call for this viscosity oil, A few BMW M5 engines, the odd Alfa and 1950's V8s and that is about it, I just dont recomend the 10w-60 for the 300zx, neither does your handbook.

 

Cheers

 

Simon.

I just dont recomend the 10w-60 for the 300zx, neither does your handbook.

 

Cheers

 

Simon.

 

 

Was there a 10/60 available in 1989? if so who made it?

LMAO this is turning silly now! And for what its worth, the amount of smoke that came from my engine at pod, I might as well have used chip fat :rofl:

I don't wish to upset any one or over simplify all this technical knowledge you guy's obviously have. But can't somebody just tell me what f**kin oil to use in my TT. I don't wish to know all the tech b***ocks, just tell me what to use before I put ASDA's 20/50 in @ £4.99 for 5ltr. I Thankyou.

I don't wish to upset any one or over simplify all this technical knowledge you guy's obviously have. But can't somebody just tell me what f**kin oil to use in my TT. I don't wish to know all the tech b***ocks, just tell me what to use before I put ASDA's 20/50 in @ £4.99 for 5ltr. I Thankyou.

 

I use either Castrol 10/60,Millers 10/60,or Shell Helix Ultra 10/60,and just as a foot note they all metion/recomend their oils for turbo cars due to amount of heat generated ,stick with any of the above IMO,

 

Tony :)

Surely the point here is that if the oil is getting hot enough that a 60 is the correct viscosity (ie the viscosity a 40/50 is at lower temp) then it's too hot and some extra cooling is needed?

Fair enough, a 60 at x deg might be the same viscosity as a 40 at y degrees, but temperature affects oils in other ways, is it the best way to go about it?

I don't wish to say it again - It's your car, use what you want.

 

I work from data given by OEM's which tells me the recommended oils for each car and do not recommend outside of these as that would be unprofessional and incorrect.

 

Here are the recommendations that I work from for clarification.

 

Nissan, 300 ZX, 300 ZX Turbo (Z31), 1984-1990

Manufacturer: Nissan Motors Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan

Drive type: r.w.d.

Cilinder capacity: 2960 cc

Power output: 230 HP/169 kW at 5200 Rpm

 

Engine VG30ET

Petrol, 4-stroke, 6 cilinder, V, 4 valves/cil., Turbo, liquid cooled

Cilinder capacity: 2960 cc

Capacity: 4 liter

Filter capacity: 0.4 liter

Use: Normal

Change 5000 km/6 months

 

OEM recommendation

Above -20 API: SF SAE 15W-50

Above -20 API: SF SAE 10W-30

Above -20 API: SF SAE 10W-40

Above -20 API: SF SAE 10W-50

 

Below 15 API: SF SAE 5W-30

 

SAE 5W-30 oils are recommended for use in extremely cold weather conditions only.

 

Under severe operating conditions: change more frequently.

 

Capacity including oil filter and oil cooler.

 

Differential, rear, (4x2)

Capacity: 1.8 liter

Use: Normal

Check 10000 km/6 months

 

OEM recommendation

Below 40 API: GL-5 SAE 80W-90

Below 40 API: GL-5 SAE 75W-90

Below 30 API: GL-5 SAE 80W

Below 10 API: GL-5 SAE 75W

From -10 to 30 API: GL-5 SAE 85W

From 0 to 40 API: GL-5 SAE 90

Above 10 API: GL-5 SAE 140

 

Transaxle, manual

Manual

Capacity: 1.9 liter

Gears forward: 5

Gears reverse: 1

Use: Normal

Check 10000 km/6 months

 

OEM recommendation

year-round API: GL-4 SAE 80W-90

 

Transmission, automatic

Automatic

Capacity: 7 liter

Gears forward: 4

Gears reverse: 1

Use: Normal

 

OEM recommendation

year-round Dexron IIE -

 

Power steering

Capacity: 0.9 liter

Use: Normal

 

OEM recommendation

year-round Dexron IIE -

 

Hydraulic brakes system

Use: Normal

Change 40000 km/24 months

 

OEM recommendation

year-round Brake fluid, DOT 3 -

 

Hydraulic clutch system

Use: Normal

 

OEM recommendation

year-round Brake fluid, DOT 3 -

 

Cooling system

Capacity: 11 liter

Use: Normal

Change 40000 km/24 months

 

OEM recommendation

year-round Water with antifreeze (ethylene glycol base) -

 

 

Nissan, 300 ZX, 300 ZX Twin Turbo (Z32), 1990-1991

Manufacturer: Nissan Motors Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan

Drive type: r.w.d.

Cilinder capacity: 2960 cc

Power output: 282 HP/208 kW at 6400 Rpm

 

Engine VG30DETT

Petrol, 4-stroke, 6 cilinder, V, 4 valves/cil., Turbo, liquid cooled

Cilinder capacity: 2960 cc

Capacity: 3.4 liter

Filter capacity: 0.4 liter

Use: Normal

Change 10000 km/6 months

 

OEM recommendation

Above -20 API: SG SAE 10W-30

Above -20 API: SG SAE 10W-40

Above -20 API: SG SAE 10W-50

Above -20 API: SG SAE 15W-40

Above -20 API: SG SAE 15W-50

Below 15 API: SG SAE 5W-30

From -20 to 15 API: SG SAE 10W

Below -10 API: SG SAE 5W-20

Above -20 CCMC G4 SAE 10W-30

Above -20 CCMC G4 SAE 10W-40

Above -20 CCMC G4 SAE 10W-50

Above -20 CCMC G4 SAE 15W-40

Above -20 CCMC G4 SAE 15W-50

Below 15 CCMC G4 SAE 5W-30

From -20 to 15 CCMC G4 SAE 10W

Below -10 CCMC G4 SAE 5W-20

 

SAE 5W-20 is not recommended for sustainded high speed driving.

 

Under severe operating conditions: change every 5000 km or 3 months.

 

Capacity including oil filter and oil cooler.

 

Differential, rear, (4x2)

Capacity: 2.1 liter

Use: Normal

Check 40000 km/24 months

 

OEM recommendation

Below 40 API: GL-5 SAE 80W-90

Below 40 API: GL-5 SAE 75W-90

Below 30 API: GL-5 SAE 80W

Below 10 API: GL-5 SAE 75W

From -10 to 30 API: GL-5 SAE 85W

From 0 to 40 API: GL-5 SAE 90

Above 10 API: GL-5 SAE 140

 

Transmission, automatic

Automatic

Capacity: 8.7 liter

Gears forward: 4

Gears reverse: 1

Use: Normal

Check 20000 km/12 months

 

OEM recommendation

year-round Dexron IIE -

 

Transmission, manual

Manual

Capacity: 3.1 liter

Gears forward: 5

Gears reverse: 1

Use: Normal

Check 40000 km/24 months

 

OEM recommendation

year-round API: GL-4 SAE 75W-90

 

Power steering

Capacity: 1.3 liter

Use: Normal

Check 20000 km/12 months

 

OEM recommendation

year-round Dexron IIE -

 

Capacity of models with HICAS: 2 l. Top up only.

 

Hydraulic brakes/clutch system

Use: Normal

Check 20000 km/12 months

Change 40000 km/24 months

 

OEM recommendation

year-round Brake fluid, DOT 3 -

 

Grease points/nipples

Use: Normal

Check 40000 km/24 months

 

OEM recommendation

year-round Lithium base multipurpose grease NLGI No. 2

 

 

Cooling system

Capacity: 10 liter

Use: Normal

Change 40000 km/24 months

 

OEM recommendation

year-round Water with antifreeze (ethylene glycol base) -

 

 

Cheers

Simon