Al

for the firsrt time in my life i decided to do an oil change. now i have few questions

1. Do i use Synthetic or not and whats teh differnce between these 2.

2 How much oil do i need?

3 i was told to use 5w30 oil is that good?(it is nto cold here at all....only few weeks per year)

4 what's best oil filter.....or is there no difference?

[ January 20, 2003, 09:07 PM: Message edited by: Big_Al ]

Random

Which oil is best? (Synthetic or Normal)
Which oil filter is best?
What weight oil to use?

Those topics open up a huge can of worms, each worth of their own post.

The How much oil to use is the easiest. With oil change and filter, your accent should take 3.5 quarts.

Personally, and this is an OPINION.
I use synthetic motor oil for it's ability to stay viscous at lower tempatures than it is rated for, and also for it's ability to stay "oil" at higher temps that it is rated for. At low temps, conventional motor oil turns to the consistentcy of toothpaste. At high temps, conventional oil burns off leaving a thick sludge of deposits behind.

For oil filters, I use K&N oil filters. At $9.95 a pop, they are more expensive than the stock replacmeents, or the fram/purelator brands, but the K&N unit is also twice the size of those other brands...this leads to more filter area to trap more dirt with less pumping loss.(less work the oil pump needs to do).

IN regards to what oil viscosity you should use, I need to know the max low temp and max high temp you'll be driving in for the next 3000 miles, then I can reccomend what range oil you should use.

turbulence

i use nothing but Mobil 1 synthetic. i've used castrol synthetic before, but didn't like it too much. my tib seemed to run a little bit differently with the castrol. it is best to use a one-weight oil or an oil with the smallest weight range. like 10w-30 is better than 5w-30, and 30w is better than 10w-30.

VALKYRIE YB70

Loved the way you slipped that 3000 mile figure in there Random!.
Did you say something about a can of worms?.

Agarwal

There's a big lack of knowledge in those affirmations; the choice of an oil has nothing to do with the size of the range between the "cold" and the "hot" side. Well, it has something to do, but not in the way you implied.

Also, what could make you think that a "one-weight" oil is better than a multi-weight one? A multigrade oil is absolutely necessary on a daily driven car, especially if temperature varies alot or if it just sticks on the cold side; without it, the oil would be way too thick on a cold day to be useful. Also, as Random pointed out, no one can say which oil is better for a car, unless he has specific information, ie, how the car is driven, where it is parked (for exemple, heated garage in winter?) and, the most important, in what temperature range will the car be used?

Here's a rough guide to correctly choose oil; this chart is NOT 100% perfect nor accurate, it's juste there to give you an idea:



[ January 21, 2003, 05:13 PM: Message edited by: Agarwal ]

turbulence

well, the wider the range of temperatures the oil is rated for, USUALLY, the worse it performs in all those situations. furthermore, would you argue with corkey bell? with synthetic oil, they sythensize the oil to actually work in the whole range, but conventional oils suffer from this. do you have any proof to support your claim?

Al

thanks guys this realy helped.

Driving conditions:
Car is stored outside.

When i drive i tend to stay in upper RPM range...around 4.5k or so but 60% of my driving is i'd say normal

Current temperatures are from 30 to 50(1-10 C) now but it will rise in a week or so and should stay in 50s.

I dont drive a lot so this oil will last me for at about 4 months

now that you got all this good info what would you recomend?

Al

ok i checked HM sevice and found this.
20W40/50 seems like best choice for me...you agree with it guys?
and another thing ...at webtech it says "Use a filter wrench to remove the oil filter." do i realy need it or can i jsut use my hands cine torq is very low(9-12lb ft)


[ January 21, 2003, 06:33 PM: Message edited by: Big_Al ]

turbulence

well, one thing to do AFTER you take off the filter is to dip your finger in the new oil and rub it on the rubber seal of the new oil filter. this is a little measure to make it just a tad easier to get off when the next oil change is due. you should be able to grab the filter with a towel, for grip, and get it off. craftsman also makes a tool to put on a ratchet that pinches the filter the more you turn the rachet. it's about $5 and well worth it.