Motor Oil Wars!

[Plus]

There are plenty of reasons why you sould have your car serviced at Toyota centers. They generally won't push you into paying for something you don't need or sell something that won't work.

Unless you intend to do something special with your Vigo, like polar challenge, there's no reason to experiment beyond what Toyota recommends.

[Hog Head]

SE synthetic is good stuff, however it can be argued that Delvac is better. I have a bit of a problem paying 1000 b a liter for the SE when Delvac is readily available and 1/2 the cost.

The HD long OEM filter is OK, but the high tech filter media in filters like Purolator Pure One, is simply better. Problem is that I had to import my own.

The chrome filters you see hanging off most Harleys are crap, as are most filters I see in the local auto shop.

Interestingly, K&N oil filters are made in Thailand, but for export only and are imported - TIT

The amount of the advanced filter media is limited, and not as good as some other brands. They are however available here in CM.

Read the link I provided about "diesel" oils - you may well change your thoughts on this

I run HD Screaming Eagle oil and long orignal oil filter

the car runs on synthetic oil, dont know what the name is, Toyota take care of that.

i did run Mobil 1 before, and i would do it again, but not sure about the diesel type, maybe maybe not.

I think that if people pay 1mill or more for a bike or car they can afford a good motor oil, they should anyway.

[Hog Head]

Dinosaur oil breaks down, and does not recover at 200F

The best reason of all to run fully synthetic, and an oil cooler in air cooled engines.

Ajahn, my mistake. The figures should have read 220 for fossil oil, 210 semi-syn and 200 for full syn.

Sometimes my memory is.....errm........

[Hog Head]

K&N oil filters are made in Thailand. While perhaps not the best, they are better than a standard paper filter and available.

Mobil 1 and Mobil 1 Delvac are readily available, and even my corner Esso has it.

However, I've read through the whole thing and haven't seen many recommendations for filters or oil *in Thailand.*

[higgy88]

Dinosaur oil breaks down, and does not recover at 200F

Not quite true HH. The normal operating temp range is 180 to 220, with 200 being the optimum. The high temp viscosity (the 50 in the 20W50) is tested and determined at 212. Short excursions above 220 is OK. When you get up to 230 to 240 for longer periods of time (more than a few minutes) is when you better start looking for an oil cooler. Here's some good info at wikipedia, motor oil

You give some good reasons to use synthetic, but I don't. That's a lot of money to flush down the drain when I change the oil, which I will always do at the appropiate time. But I do agree that synthetics are the best stuff you can buy. Personally I use a high quality internationally recognized brand name, and I look for an SJ and/or CE (which I believe are the latest and greatest) 20W50.

[davidgtr]

I think the important bit is to keep it fresh & clean = change it frequently & regularly.

I do 25-30,000 kms a year on my motorcycle in North Thailand & use Shell Helix Plus 15/50 "diesel oil."

There are unlimited reports with statistics to prove which oil is better / best in various circumstances, but I think the differences are relatively small.

As a general rule I think that diesel oils have higher specs as they are supposed to work harder.

For synthetic oils I think the general claim is that have the highest spec, last longer & so you can use them longer.

But you probably pay 2 or 3 times as much for them, & 99% of general drivers would not notice the difference, if any in their limited driving.

For those who claim those “cheap” oils are no good / not good enough, when was the last time you heard of an engine failure due to bad oil?

“Dinosaur oils” worked ok in the past, but not now? I don’t think so & I hope that it isn’t just that new marketing has us by the short & curlies?

Use a good quality brand name & you should not go wrong.

For me the important thing is change your oil & filter regularly. (In my case every 5,000 kms.)

Edited August 27, 2007 by davidgtr

[higgy88]

For those who claim those “cheap” oils are no good / not good enough, when was the last time you heard of an engine failure due to bad oil?

I've seen my fair share of engines wasted from using poor quality oils back in the States. Don't fool yourself david, I'm sure there's also some pretty bad <deleted> on the shelves here in Thailand as greedy people who want to screw you never goes out of style. Just get a known good brand name and make sure you also see the appropiate API classifications along with the viscosity on the bottle. I agree with everything else you said, and I also change the oil every 5K km but I am partial to Castrol. Also, if you don't drive very often, you should change the oil about every six months. Keep on truckin'.

[davidgtr]

I've seen my fair share of engines wasted from using poor quality oils back in the States. Don't fool yourself david, I'm sure there's also some pretty bad <deleted> on the shelves here in Thailand as greedy people who want to screw you never goes out of style. Just get a known good brand name and make sure you also see the appropiate API classifications along with the viscosity on the bottle. I agree with everything else you said, and I also change the oil every 5K km but I am partial to Castrol. Also, if you don't drive very often, you should change the oil about every six months. Keep on truckin'.

Yeah, but how do you really know that engine was wasted from poor oil?

My guess would be that it was a high mileage / old motor & perhaps already on the way out.

I would find it hard to believe that a motor used normally would fail solely because of low quality oil.

Agreed that there probably are some dodgy oils in Thailand, just like in the USA, (& most countries around the world if you want to look hard enough) that's why I say "Use a good quality brand name. Change the oil & filter regularly, & you should not go wrong."

[onnut]

I took my civic into honda last month for its 30,000 health check. and was charged 2400 for oil, while the first two times I was charge around 4000 baht for Synthetic oil. I asked them if it was synthetic and was told it was. I questioned them about the price being cheaper so I did not think it was synthetic, but they assured me it was. I never got to see the container.............

now when at traffic lights when my car is ticking over it gets the shakes everynow and then, or more like a small vibration and I notice the rev counter dips a tad. is this normal or is it because of the different oil?

[Gary A]

I don't know how much difference there is between oil formulated for diesels and oil formulated for gasoline engines, BUT, I do know that the oil in my diesel is blacker at 5,000 kilometers than the oil in the car at 10,000 kilometers.

[culicine]

now when at traffic lights when my car is ticking over it gets the shakes everynow and then, or more like a small vibration and I notice the rev counter dips a tad. is this normal or is it because of the different oil?

I have snnthetic in my civic, but it doesn't do that. I doesn't sound like the oil. To be honest, I don't know if the synthetic benefits the engine performance, but hoping it will prolong engine life. I used synthetic in my mini in Australia and found it was a great benefit, but that engine was heavily modified, and that oil also lubricates the gearbox.