Andyr_123

i have spoken to several people about what engine oil to use, they all tell me different things.

I have a 1993 100 E 2.0 litre auto

what oil do you all use?
when i bought the car i changed the oil using some GTX Magnatec which is synthetic.

since then i've been topping up with 10W-40 part-synthethic, i then got told to use a 10W-40 mineral oil which is what i now have.


i assume it's ok to mix the oil types?
is synthetic/part-synthetic/mineral oil best?



any help appreciated.

thanks

CK:1.8T+Rabbitâ„¢

10W-40 is too thin. I would use 20W-50 when it's hot. 15W-40 when it's cold out. I used Mobil 1 in my 1990 100quat, but in my 93 100csq wagon I use Castrol GTX mineral.

Andyr_123

ok, thanks.

should i go for fully, part synthetic, or mineral?

and does the make of oil make much difference?


thanks again

CK:1.8T+Rabbitâ„¢

I've heard of issues with switching to synth. after so many miles. I've never had issues though. Basically comes down to preference.

beep-beep

Last year we had -15F in morning. I would feel better, if I would have 0w30.

At this temperature 15w## or 20w## would really damage engine.

CK:1.8T+Rabbitâ„¢

I don't know. I'm just going by what the manual says. I guess at -15F that would be pretty heavy though.

en_knapp

If you´re using your car in extereme conditions (high temp and hard driving or low temp and coldstart) you defenitly should use synthetic oil. If you have warm weather all year round and don´t drive hard you can use mineral or part synthetic. If you have a used car wich has been running on mineral and you change to synthetic make sure you listen for lifternoise. If you don´t get any that´s good but it´s common the hydrualic lifters get their oilchannels clogged since synthetic oil cleans the engine. If that happens an engineflush might help. Wichever oil you choose, choose one with a high VI (viscosity index) >160 is good.

Andyr_123

ok it appears that different oils are best at different conditions.

obviously though it isn't practical to keep buying and changing different oil types.

so which type of oil would be the best average oil for all year round?
(i live in the UK if you haven't guessed)


thanks

beep-beep

I switched to synthetic ... and my engine started to consume oil.

en_knapp

I use Castrol GTX MagnaTec 5w-40. I live in the north of Sweden and temperatures down to -30°C (-20°F) is common i january and february. The car has 172000 miles behind it and the engine runs perfectly, so I´d say it´s a good oil to use all year. It´s a synthetic (actually a hydrocracked mineral oil but classified as synthetic) oil and I use that because of the cold temperatures.