Engine oil choice

ykfc · Post by **ykfc** » 01 Jun 2009, 00:56

Excuse me if this question looks dumb. Again this second-hand car is Volvo 850 SE 1995 model

The Volvo handbook said I can go for the 15w-40 oil if it satisfies CCMC G4 or G5 standards. I believe CCMC is an 'old' standard that modern oil manufacturers are no longer quoting.

I was about to buy a pack of 5 litre Castrol GTX3 (the shop man told me that is good oil) but the because the handbook said it requires at least 5.3 litre when doing an oil and oil filter change, what could I do? I prefer not to buy two packs (one large + one small if available), because it will require me to leave one in the garage for next service.

If I go for Shell, its spec is API SL/CF ACEA A2/B2 on the bottle. The size is ideal, 6 litres/pack. Is this ok with my car? This car is "used to" the Castrol.Will there be an issue when changing or mixing oil?

The quality of the Castrol oil seems to work better. It is written as conforming to API SM/CF or ACEA A3/B3 standards.

Much much thanks again.

volvomileage · Post by **volvomileage** » 01 Jun 2009, 07:00

hi

was the car using castrol synthetic oils or dino oil (regular non synth) ?

if the car was using dino oil and you would like to keep things the same catrol gtx 10w30 is a good choice

http://new.volvocars.com/ownersdocs/199 ... 0_9_1.html

if the car was using synth i would tend to continue with synth and use 10w30 in summer and 5w30 or 5w40 in winter if cold
here's a link to the catrol synth specs
http://www.castrol.com/castrol/generica ... Id=6006933

i personnaly went from reg oil to syth on a high mileage car and it worked for me, its a bit more expensive but very cheap insurance

one very important point please use the mann oil filters or the volvo oil filters....i would never go cheap or use any other filter...they have an internal check valve which protect engine from dry starts..

cheers !

Post by **vegasjetskier** » 01 Jun 2009, 09:00

ykfc wrote:Excuse me if this question looks dumb. Again this second-hand car is Volvo 850 SE 1995 model

The Volvo handbook said I can go for the 15w-40 oil if it satisfies CCMC G4 or G5 standards. I believe CCMC is an 'old' standard that modern oil manufacturers are no longer quoting.

I was about to buy a pack of 5 litre Castrol GTX3 (the shop man told me that is good oil) but the because the handbook said it requires at least 5.3 litre when doing an oil and oil filter change, what could I do? I prefer not to buy two packs (one large + one small if available), because it will require me to leave one in the garage for next service.

If I go for Shell, its spec is API SL/CF ACEA A2/B2 on the bottle. The size is ideal, 6 litres/pack. Is this ok with my car? This car is "used to" the Castrol.Will there be an issue when changing or mixing oil?

The quality of the Castrol oil seems to work better. It is written as conforming to API SM/CF or ACEA A3/B3 standards.

Much much thanks again.

If you like the GTX3 you can just buy the 5-pack and buy a liter of something else to make up the remaining 0.3 liters. It won't make any difference.

ykfc · Post by **ykfc** » 01 Jun 2009, 20:25

vegasjetskier wrote: If you like the GTX3 you can just buy the 5-pack and buy a liter of something else to make up the remaining 0.3 liters. It won't make any difference.

Your advice noted. According to my former service person, they always use Castrol semi-synth oil (they purchase in bulk for a workshop) for this 127,000 km (less than 80,000 miles)
car.

How would you compare the rating/quality of the oil I mentioned (shell Hulex, and Gtx3) with what is specified on the user manual? The user manual specifies CCMC G4. Some website info tells me don't use oil that is 'too good' for an engine.

Thanks again.

Post by **vegasjetskier** » 01 Jun 2009, 20:37

ykfc wrote: How would you compare the rating/quality of the oil I mentioned (shell Hulex, and Gtx3) with what is specified on the user manual? The user manual specifies CCMC G4. Some website info tells me don't use oil that is 'too good' for an engine.

Oils are always improving. I think it would be hard to find an oil today that only met the specs for your car when it was built. They keep getting better and better, but are always backwards compatible.

waynej · Post by **waynej** » 01 Jun 2009, 22:27

Bad advice about not using oil that is "too good" you should always use the best oil your budget can handle. Also never mix oils, not even for .3 liter. Different oils have different additives and if you end up with incompatible additives you can destroy an engine in 500 miles of hard driving.

Post by **vegasjetskier** » 02 Jun 2009, 08:31

waynej wrote:Also never mix oils, not even for .3 liter. Different oils have different additives and if you end up with incompatible additives you can destroy an engine in 500 miles of hard driving.

I respectfully disagree. What do you think happens when you change your oil? There is always some residual left in the engine which gets mixed with the new oil you are adding.

volvomileage · Post by **volvomileage** » 02 Jun 2009, 09:45

you said that the castrol semi synth was working well in your car...so why change ?

i agree also that 0.3 of a liter of the same grade and weight w ont make a big difference.

for the specs they are on the packaging of the motor oil...you can verify if this specific motor oil complies

i have this link i you would like to a bit more research
http://www.upmpg.com/motor_oil_rate_gas.htm

cheers !

Post by **tjts1** » 02 Jun 2009, 12:26

volvomileage wrote:hi
...5w40 in winter if cold

5w40 is just as much a summer oil as it is a winter oil.

waynej wrote:Also never mix oils, not even for .3 liter. Different oils have different additives and if you end up with incompatible additives you can destroy an engine in 500 miles of hard driving.

Where do you come up with this stuff?

waynej · Post by **waynej** » 02 Jun 2009, 14:39

I took some automotive engineering courses in college and my professor was on the lubricants committee of the SAE and liked to teach a lot on oils.
The specs for oil are performance based and different manufacturers use different additive packages to meet the specs, and some additive packages are not compatible. I had a friend who mixed oils in a low mileage pickup and then proceeded to pull a trailer over a pass in southern Oregon. He lost the engine in less than 100 miles.
If you drain your oil with the engine warm, parked on a level surface, and let it drain for 5 minutes, you should have less than 1/8 quart left in the engine. It is not good to change brands with each oil change. Unless you have a reason to change, stick with the same brand.