Help choose a motor oil.

[Sirpia]

Car: Kia Picanto

Year: 2008.

Engine: 1.1L auto

Mileage: 70,000km

Oil volume, 3 liters.

Time for an oil change.

What oil do ye guys use?

Semi or full synthetic I presume.

Advice on brand and product welcome.

[seedy]

I use 15w40 in my 1.6 liter, non synthetic. Change every 5000 km. PTT, anything rated - what are they up to now SN ?

Bikes - due to small volume of oil needed, I go full syn.

Many will disagree

[ktm jeff]

seedy , let me be the first to disagree , respectfully . Even though the Kia is not a race car , fully synthetic (which copes with the heat better , and breaks down less , due to its " long chain molecules ") would be fine for 10,000 KM (1 year) , not 5,000 KM , and may save money in the long run. 10W / 40 or 15W / 40 is fine - any make , PTT / Shell / Castrol. The first number , 10 , in 10W / 40 , is a winter grade symbol , and not really important in hot countries. Some newer vehicles sugest 5W / 30 grade. This is very light / thin ( too light , IMO ) in order to help reduce fuel consumption. Checking your tire pressures would help more !.

[thrilled]

They say Mobil1 is the best.Toyota says change oil once every 10,000 miles

[ktm jeff]

10,000 Miles on the very good Mobil 1 is fine , if yiu do this in about 1 year. An annual change often involves less miles / kilometers.

[WarpSpeed]

^Must have a filter change in between though.. BTW Mobil 1 is the first widely used synthetic and has/had a great marketing promotion, back in the day they were the standard and to some point still are but today there are equally good oils out there both synthetic and semi-synthetic without the higher cost..

[IMHO]

First off, how often does the car get an oil change?

[seedy]

See - told Ya' !

[MYKTHEMIN]

Any oil will last 10000kms, full synthetic is a total waste of money unless you do not change it for at least 30000kms which it is made for.

[Sirpia]

^Must have a filter change in between though.. BTW Mobil 1 is the first widely used synthetic and has/had a great marketing promotion, back in the day they were the standard and to some point still are but today there are equally good oils out there both synthetic and semi-synthetic without the higher cost..

Thanks. Their names are?

[bkkjames]

Castrol

[seedy]

Look at any brand oil. You will see on the label API - American Petroleum Institute.

This is followed by the letter S and another letter. SN newer spec than SM. SO newer than SN ...

Diesel oil letter C and another letter.

This indication ensures that the oil meets or exceeds all manufacturers specifications.

Same same.

Here it comes ... !!!

[WarpSpeed]

^Must have a filter change in between though.. BTW Mobil 1 is the first widely used synthetic and has/had a great marketing promotion, back in the day they were the standard and to some point still are but today there are equally good oils out there both synthetic and semi-synthetic without the higher cost..

Thanks. Their names are?

^&^^

[transam]

If it were my car, and only takes 3ltr of oil, I would use full synthetic and change at 10k. 10w is OK here cos the oil never gets "cold/thick" and will travel OK on startup, I would use it. Plus the engine will probably last longer.

[seedy]

My Canada car - 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier 2.2 liter 5 speed manual

Over 240,000 km

5W30 conventional oil since new, 5000 km between oil and filter changes, 10 years starting at winter temps below minus 30C

Valve cover gasket replaced due to leak.

That is all maintenance performed except for consumables

Burns not a drop of oil, nor leaks any.

Spend your money how you want, but unless a Hi Perf application, full synthetic - to me - is a waste of $$$

[transam]

I started rebuilding engines way back in the 60's when all there was was mineral oil. With each engine there was always somewhere where the oil was not up to the task and wear occured. Over the years oil manufactures started adding stuff to "bolster" the oil eventually producing full synthetic as the No.1 protector.

Modern engines are far more stressed than the old days, look at todays HP/TQ numbers on small engines in comparison. In the old days many engines needed a rebuild below 100k miles because of the mineral oils of the day.

Many engines from factory today must use synthetic to survive, because it does more than a mineral can do.

As I said, the cost of 3 ltr is peanuts to have the best plus leave it in the engine twice as long..

[WarpSpeed]

My Canada car - 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier 2.2 liter 5 speed manual

Over 240,000 km

5W30 conventional oil since new, 5000 km between oil and filter changes, 10 years starting at winter temps below minus 30C

Valve cover gasket replaced due to leak.

That is all maintenance performed except for consumables

Burns not a drop of oil, nor leaks any.

Spend your money how you want, but unless a Hi Perf application, full synthetic - to me - is a waste of $$$

My racing engines were/are mostly stock internal components but get the bejesus run out of them and in 25 years of racing that has always been Castrol synthetic blend 20w50 I've NEVER blown an engine, and due to budget, that is multiple seasons running on the same engine without rebuilds as well, mostly the shortest races run were 20 minutes up to 24 hour endurance races but usually average 1.5 to 2 hours, 2 to 3 weekends per month, with multiple races per weekend..

My current VW GTI Vr6 has 225,000 miles on it, no smoke, runs perfectly and like you said has a slight oil leak from the valve cover which is a bit of a bitch to repair on this car, so I've not yet had the inspiration, much easier to just add oil and give it a nice PSI wash occasionally, though I didn't put the full 225,000 on it, since I've had it for about the last 25,000 over 2 years I use only 20W50 semi-synth in it, and it runs butter smooth and quiet. It had a few light taps when I first got it, that was quieted with the heavier oil, nothing serious though.

[ktm jeff]

I think we can see , different people , using different oils , for different uses. Owners books states minumum standard , maximum change interval. 10/40 , 15/40 SS or FS will be fine - any make. I just like to know ive got "better than needed" oil , because it makes me happy !. And if an engine did blow , or required major work , i wouldnt be left wondering if i could have prevented / delayed it , if i had used "better" oil. 3 L of FS is , max , 1,500 Baht. UP TO YOU .

[Sirpia]

Castrol Full Synthetic looks to be winning out.

Cheers.

[WarpSpeed]

Just for clarity as I see a potential misunderstanding in my post above. On race weekends 2 to 3 times per month, the longest races averaged 1.5- 2 hours that's not total run time, with practice/qualifying for multiple races plus the race itself as many as 3 most events, if I ran both the pro series and the amateur races which usually I did along with additional series for the region etc. the total run time would average out at about 5 to 6 hours per event. That's a lot of racing all the way through the rev range and maxed to red-line quite a bit on a virtually stock engine.

I just noticed another confusing issue with my post, I posted very late at night so I obviously wasn't clear on a couple of items. The oil I used was semi synthetic Castrol, it seems I posted "Castrol synthetic blend" which is not clearly stated as to what the blend is.

[billphillips]

The best fully synthetic motor oil for petrol engined cars is Mobil 1 as far as I'm concerned. 20,000km or one year between changes is acceptable and well within its capabilities even in a turbocharged or supercharged petrol engine.

Whatever manufacturer you decide on it should read 10/40 or 15/40, anything else in Thailand's heat would be to thin to protect the engine.

You can purchase Mobil 1 at any Esso station ( ฿610 for one litre ) or at any Mercedes Benz dealer (price unknown).

Speaking frankly though .... It's way over the top for for your car, you could safely use any 15/40 and change every 10,000 or 6 months.

Unless you are running an old and sooty diesel, intermediate filter only changes are of no value. Oil additives that some swear by, have no proven use once you cancel out the manufacturers "claims of excellence".

You could check out on Google what oil is used in the "million mile Volvo".

[Ace of Pop]

..Honda use this.

[ktm jeff]

Warp Speed , you are the Stig . Nice to hear more about your racing exploits , on another thread maybe. 0W / 20 does more to try to help fuel consumption then offer protection. We wont be seeing many high mileage Hondas around in 20 years , im sure.

[Ace of Pop]

Yep Honda are so dumb not asking you first

[WarpSpeed]

^ Are you sure that's not for their lawnmowers?? 2 cycle engines or motcy's.

^^Ktm I'd not dare to post any threads here about my racing exploits it'd be an immediate closed thread, no one here would take it seriously and nothing but taking the piss and making foolish challenges but when I do post regarding the direct relation between the series I mostly compete in and daily drivers most have no clue the rules of the series I've competed in over the years and how things like the tires, oil and various other information is a direct cross over of information due to the restrictions placed to inspire more competition and curb costs. They immediately think F1 or some other sort of unrelated form of racing ,sports cars, Touring cars that are allowed slicks but not the closely stock or slightly over-stock rules in many of the series out there, like most of our classes which require DOT legal tires with merely lower depth tread those are the one's I find most interesting and competitive anyway.

It's not so much about top speed as much as it is about top driving at any speed, though I've driven in many much faster cars too, in the end I have the most fun in smaller bore cars and close racing the entire time.

Here's a series I haven't competed in yet but looks to be a blast and I'd like to give it a try just for the pressure free fun of it, there is another one like it too, but I can't remember the name off hand.

https://uk.screen.yahoo.com/barcrofttv/cop-turns-abandoned-plane-street-081545801.html

[ktm jeff]

Thank you W S. I know what you mean about silly comments , but when you get a group of people together ( a body ) , you will often find theres a chance of getting a couple of tits too. .

[Ace of Pop]

So True.like folk who know better than Honda.

[bkkjames]

So True.like folk who know better than Honda.

Ace, maybe Honda exports lots of jazz to the arctic for Eskimo families.

[culicine]

Castrol Full Synthetic looks to be winning out.

Cheers.

I just refilled with the suzuki brand syntnetic 0W-20, same spec as castrol, which was also available, and saved 600 baht. The extra cost is hard to justify.

[culicine]

100_3936.JPG..Honda use this.

Many makes are using lightweight oils these days. In our climate it's just for fuel economy. However, most modern oils are multigrade and can function across a wide range of temperatures. I think I'd change to a thicker oil when the engine gets old.

Good article here on oils :

http://www.aa1car.com/library/motor_oil_605.htm