Help!! which oil is best!!??

[boughtoneatlast]

Hi new to this, have just bought a 1600 k series, with 170bhp on tap, love the car but when warm oil pressure drops to 2 bar, its currently running with Magnatec and would love to hear from you experienced guys as to which oils you find best and is 2 bar a tad low???

[greg]

Ay what RPM ? If this is tickover then its fine. At 5000 rpm then I'd say its low. But it might not be the oil or engine, it could be the sensor.

 

Mobil 1 0w40 or a comma fully synth seem to get used alot by the other K owners, I'm sure someone will be along soon to confirm or contradict. Oil choice is like opinions, everyones got one and thinks its right!

 

You could do worse than a good quailty full synth, of the right W of course.

 

Ignore most of the above, as I get others to do my oily bits!

 

Greg, Q 86 NTM (Green 185BHP XF)

[Peter Carmichael]

Are you talking about oil pressure at >3000rpm or at idle? 2bar at idle is right. If in doubt, change the sender as this is more likely to be shafted than the engine.

 

*thumbup*253 bhp, up and running *thumbup*New boingy bits

[Peter Carmichael]

Aha! The old concurrent reply ploy...

 

Mobil 0W40 is good stuff.

 

Any synth with a hot viscosity of 40 would be good (a low cold rating - 0W or 5W - is a bonus)

 

If it really is a 170bhp 1.6K, where did it get its extra gee-gees? It would help to know a bit about its provenance in order to give specific advice.

 

*thumbup*253 bhp, up and running *thumbup*New boingy bits

 

Edited by - Peter Carmichael on 6 Aug 2002 10:21:47

[Smally]

170 bhp from a 1.6K? Where do you get that number from???? Mine is a 1.6K SuperSport and that's listed as 140 bhp tops. Get out of the optimisic side of the bed this morning?

[puremalt]

Mobil 1 or Valvoline 5W40 . Incidentally Burton Power sells cheap Mobil 1 (compared to Halfrauds)

 

Dave Robertson

[murph7355]

Smally - he didn't say he had a Supersport. He said he had a 1600K series.

 

And people have attained a good chunk more than this out of 1600s if prepared to go for it. There's a well known 1700K at over 240bhp out there...Mr C's 1800K is at 253bhp.

 

Caution - do not get out of the upgraditis side of bed tomorrow morning. It will be damaging to your wallet.

[murph7355]

Incidentally, I use Mobil1. Very good oil.

 

I personally use the Motorsport flavour which is 15W50 here but available in 5W50 (IIRC) in France (yes it is still pukka Mobil1 Motorsport). I never had any issues with the 15 stuff but it might be a bit much in cold weather here, especially for a more standard engine.

 

Possibly out of superstitious rather than technical motives I always make sure I use the same brand of oil, to the extent that I have half a dozen part used bottles in my garage now! Whilst I'm not totally convinced it's harmful, mixing two synthetic oils from different firms with different chemists/chemicals doesn't sound like a spot on idea to me.

[boughtoneatlast]

Thanks guys - will check out the sender first just to answer peters question - tends to idle at 1.5 bar when very hot and does not rise much above 2 bar when under 4-5 000 revs, yet when cold idles at 4 bar. I guess it could be the sender - just want to make sure really.

 

Smally - it was originally a Superport and has been rebuilt using the big valve head - no VVC trickery, forged pistons, solid followers etc..... including remapped ignition, it has been rolling road tested and now shows 170 at 6950!

 

Although I still have a lot to learn and have just joined the club, I am very pleased with the way it performs and drives - only change I would make are the tyres, running Toyos seem to hard.

 

 

[old captain slow]

My 1600K SS has exactly the same oil pressure readings as yours. Took it to Caterham just before a longish trip to France for a check and they advised nothing wrong. Said the sender just gives an indication. I've got so fed up with a wishy washy reading that makes me reluctant to boot it that I'm changing the gauge for a proper mechanical one.

 

C7 CDW