oilman

Our Fuchs Titan Race offer will be ending tomorrow morning. To take advantage of this saving place an order onlineHERE > > > or give us a call on 01209 202944. Cheers Oilman

Good news.... Our Fuchs Titan Race Offer is still running but not for much longer. Enter voucher code TITANRACE at our checkout to discount, this will discount 5 litres from £53.99 to £42.99, it will also work on the 1 litre bottles. Other offers previously posted (Shell & Gulf Competition) are also available and will be for the whole of August. As always we are here to help, if you need any oil advice or recommendations then you can call us on 01209 202949 Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm, email us at sales@opieoils.co.uk or just ask us here. Cheers oilman

For this weekend only Opie Oils are giving 20% Off the ever popular Fuchs Titan Race Engine Oils (previously known as Silkolene Pro S) with voucher code TITANRACE. This voucher code discounts 5 litres from £53.99 to just £42.99! Fuchs Titan Race comes in a variety of grades: 5w-30, 5w-40, 10w-50, 15w-50, 10w-60 and 20w-50 covering a huge range of applications. Other offers also available for August..... If the Fuchs Titan Race offer is not for you, then you could be interested to know that we are also giving FREE 1 litre bottles of selected Shell Helix Engine Oils, these include Shell Helix Ultra Extra 5w-30, Shell Helix Ultra 5w-40, Shell Helix HX7 AF 5w-30 and Shell Helix HX7 10w-40. Plus each purchase also includes a handy boot pouch to carry the free 1 litre bottle that includes a disposable funnel, gloves and wipes, making top up easy. And finally, we have discounted Gulf Competition Engine Oils and Gear Oils for the whole of August. The engine oils have been discounted by 20% with voucher code GULF20 and the gear oils by 15% with voucher code GULFGEAR. If you have any questions about any of our products then give us a call on 01209 202949 Monday – Friday 8.30am – 5.30pm, send an email to sales@opieoils.co.uk or just ask us here! Cheers Oilman

If you’re in need of oil advice and recommendations then please just ask, we are happy to help. You can ask us here or by PM, drop us an email to sales@opieoils.co.uk or just give us a call this afternoon, we are here till 5.30pm. It's a great time to buy from Opie Oils, until midnight Sunday we are giving an additional 15% Off our already discounted prices on all engine oils with voucher code 15OFF. Cheers - oilman

If you are struggling to find the right engine oil for your car, don't forget about our free oil advice. All we need to know is Make: Model: Year: Engine type: Performance modifications: Driving style: (road / off-road / track etc) Any other information that may be relevant: e.g. approx BHP if modified, oil temps if known If you need help you can call us Monday - Friday 8:30am to 5:30pm on 01209 202944, email us at sales@opieoils.co.uk, or use our Recommendation form, or just ask here.

Feel free to contact us here for any oil recommendations or any oil related questions you may have. Alternatively complete our oil recommendation form and we will get back to you asap. You can also give us a call on 01209 202949 Monday - Friday 8.30am - 5.30pm or just drop us an email to sales@opieoils.co.uk Cheers oilman

Hi, Until midnight Sunday we have a 20% SALE on our website with voucher code SALE20 If you need any oil advice then we are here to help! You can contact us here, alternatively give us a call on 01209 202944 Monday - Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm or send us an email to sales@opieoils.co.uk Cheers Oilman

Viscosity is the most misunderstood aspect of oil and yet it is the most important. Viscosity is the force required to shear (break) the oil at a certain speed and temperature. Oils work because they have viscosity; the drag of a rotating part pulls oil from a low-pressure area into a high pressure area and “floats” the surfaces apart. This is called “hydrodynamic lubrication” and crankbearings depend on it. Oil must be capable of flowing at low temperatures, so that it gets around the engine in a fraction of a second at start-up and must protect engine components at high temperatures without evaporating or carbonising and maintain adequate (not excessive) oil pressure. Many people think that the thicker the oil, the better the protection, but if the oil is too thick, it will not flow properly, leading to reduced protection. The numbers on every can of oil indicate its performance characteristics when new but there are many misconceptions on what these numbers actually mean. For multigrade oils you will see two numbers (for monograde oils only one). The first is followed by a “w” and is commonly 0, 5, 10, 15 or 20. The second number is always higher than the first and is commonly 20, 30, 40, 50 or 60. The first and second numbers ARE NOT related. The “w” number (0, 5, 10, 15 or 20) When multigrade oils first appeared, a low temperature test called “w” (meaning “winter” not weight) was introduced. Using a “Cold Crank Simulator", the test measures the oils ability to flow at low temperatures. ALL oils are THICKER at low temperatures than at high temperatures but the lower the “w” number, the quicker the oil will flow at low temperatures. The second number (20, 30, 40, 50 or 60) This number is known as the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) number and is measured in “Centistokes” (cst) at 100C. Centistokes (cst) is the measure of a fluid's resistance to flow (viscosity). It is calculated in terms of the time required for a standard quantity of fluid at a certain temperature to flow through a standard orifice. The higher the value, the thicker the oil. An oils cst at 100C determines its SAE rating within the following parameters. SAE 20 = 5.6 to less than 9.3cst SAE 30 = 9.3 to less than 12.5cst SAE 40 = 12.5 to less than 16.3cst SAE 50 = 16.3 to less than 21.9cst SAE 60 = 21.9 to less than 26.0cst ALL oils labelled 40 must fall within the SAE parameters at 100C so everything from a monograde 40 to multigrade 0w-40, 5w-40, 10w-40, 15w-40 or 20w-40 are approximately the same thickness at 100C. Some oil companies label oils as SAE 35, 45 or 55, but as you can see from the above figures, there isn't a SAE 35, 45 or 55. This "could" be because they are approximately on the boundary of the two grades, but as we don't deal with any of those I can't really comment further. Summary Cold start. A 5w-40 will flow better than a 10w-40. A 10w-50 will flow better than a 15w-50 A 5w-40 is the same as a 5w-30 At operating temperatures. A 10w-50 is thicker than a 10w-40. A 15w-50 is thicker than a 5w-40 A 0w-40 is the same as a 10w-40 If you look above, you will see that the figures quoted do not indicate at all as to whether the oil is synthetic or mineral based... Well except for 0w oils as synthetic PAO basestock is required to acheive this viscosity. Generally the oil you use should be based on the manufacturers recommendation found in the owners manual, but then modifications, climate and the type of use can affect that recommendation. If you are unsure of what is the correct recommendation for your car and would like to know more please contact us here oilman@opieoils.co.uk With thanks to John Rowland of Fuchs/Silkolene Cheers Tim and the Opie Oils team

Hi all, Around this time of year we get quite a few questions about experiencing difficult gearshifts in cold weather, so we thought you might find this useful. Using the incorrect viscosity gear oil in your car can make gear changes very difficult when the gearbox, and oil are cold. This is why we often don't recommend using thicker gear oils than the manufacturer specifies. It is easy to think that increasing the viscosity from a 75w-80 to 75w-90 or 75w-90 to 75w-140 isn't going to affect the cold properties of the oil, but it does. Below are some figures showing the viscosity of a selection of oils at 40C measured in mm²/s ( 1 millimeter²/second = 1 centistoke, A centistoke is a decimal fraction of the CGS unit of kinematic viscosity stokes, which is equal to centimeter per second (cm²/s). 1 stokes is a kinematic viscosity of a fluid with a density of 1 g/cm³ and a dynamic viscosity of 1 poise… In short the thickness of oil!). 40degc may not seem cold but this is the temperature at which the viscosity is measured and is the information you will find on the oil technical data sheets. I have listed specific brands and products to make it easier to see the differences in viscosity. Fuchs Sintofluid FE 75w = 40.8 @ 40°c Fuchs Sintofluid 75w-80 = 49.8 @ 40°c Fuchs Sintopoid 75w-90 = 90.5 @ 40°c Fuchs Sintopoid LS 75w140 = 170 @ 40°c As you can see from that, they are all 75w oils, but there is a large difference in the viscosity at lower temps; the Sintopoid 75w-90 is over twice as thick as the Sintofluid FE 75w when cold and the 75w-140 is almost twice as thick as the 75w-90. So, if you've got a car that needs one grade of oil as standard, but you've modified it and decide to try a thicker oil, or someone puts the wrong oil in, it might really affect the cold gear shifts. Usually, increasing the quality is a better option than increasing the viscosity when thinking about upgrading from standard fluid. Also, viscosity ratings are not exact points, but are a band that the viscosity should fall in. The Motul Gear 300 75w-90 has a viscosity of 76.2mm²/s at 40°c and the Castrol Universal 75w-90 is 84.8mm²/s, so you can see there is some variation in oils that appear to be the same viscosity. A lot of gearboxes specify an 80w-90 rather than a 75w-90, but I would always tend to go for a 75w-90 instead as there can be a large difference is the viscosity when cold. The Motul Gearbox 80w-90 is 164mm²/s, so over twice as thick as their Gear 300 when cold. If you're using an 80w-90 and are having stiff cold gear changes, changing to a 75w-90 is likely to improve things. If you have any questions or need further advice please post here or email us at sales@opieoils.co.uk Cheers Tim.

Hi folks, With winter here and plenty of cold starts, perhaps it's time to consider changing the oil that you use in your car. Does your antifreeze need changing? Is your gearshift okay when cold? Do you need something to protect your car from the weather? We have free delivery to UK mainland for orders over £40 at the moment so it is a good time to order from opieoils.co.uk Let us know if you need any advice, we are here to help. You can call us on 01209 202944, email us at sales@opieoils.co.uk, or just ask here. Cheers oilman

To a degree they are correct, a straight GL5 spec oil is different from a GL4/5. GL4/5 oils are GL4 gear oils that are so good they also pass the GL5 loads bearing spec as well so they are fine to use in place of GL3 or GL4. The additives used in the GL5 oils that caused yellow metal wear are no longer used in GL5 oils by any respected oil manufacturer, they have been replaced by friendly additives hense the use of GL4 is is being phased out slowly as GL4 is now technically obsolete. Cheers Guy

Thanks for the comments, I have had a look at the IS200 and it was indeed listing 2 incorrect ATF's for the autobox and my techie guys are getting those changed. The diffs standard recomendation is a API GL5 SAE90, though I agree 75w-90, 80w-90 are also suitable but my site is not incorrect when it comes to the diff. The original spec for the gearbox is a GL3 75w-90, however GL3 is obsolete these days and technically GL4 is obsolete as well. I dont see how a GL4/GL5 modern gearbox will cause premature synchro wear? Cheers Guy

I'm afraid not

Glad you like the service and those oils are both top end choices

They aren't the fussiest of engines, so E910 is right about the engine. 5w-30, 5w-40 or 10w-40 is fine and synthetic is the best option if you can afford it. http://www.opieoils.co.uk/product-finder/car/oil-filter-service-packs/lexus/2001/is/PETROL/is/16122/product-finder-2.aspx That link also lists the gearbox oil

Are you after engine or gearbox oil? Cheers Guy

Which model and year is it? Cheers Guy

Yes many of the oils discussed in this thread are upgrade oils, the Motul in the service pack will be just fine for your use. Cheers Guy

Castrol Edge is very good :)

The problem with the ones we have is, we don't have a real cheap bog standard one. There are these ones http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-849-silkolene-...s-and-vans.aspx http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-749-castrol-gt...-acea-a3b3.aspx But they aren't particularily cheap, like Tesco value or something. As it's just for flushing the engine out, it doesn't need to be a very good oil at all

All semi synthetic oils are mineral based as are all of the cheaper synthetics and many of the better ones actually have a proportion that is mineral based. There is a process called hydrocracking that refines and modifies mineral oil and after a court case a few years ago, the hydrocracked oils were able to be legally sold as synthetic. In semi-synthetics, the 'synthetic' part is always hydrocracked oil. Cheaper 'synthetic' oils are always made of hydrocracked oil to save on costs, although combining hydrocracked oil with a true PAO or ester synthetic, you can make a very stable top quality oil. Engine flushes are not a good idea. Harmless deposits build up in an engine over time and removing them is often far more hassle than it's worth. Flushes will remove some of them, but other bits will just be loosened. You then put the fresh oil in the engine and drive it for a bit, the loose deposits can break free and you end up with hard bits in the oil. Not good. A better way to do it is to drop out the old oil, put in some really basic mineral oil, run it for 15 minutes, remove the mineral oil and put in the fresh oil and filter.

Izzy, a pleasure. Remember it is fine to switch from semi to synthetic and back again if you wish without issue. All these stories of troubles are just old wives tales these days. Cheers Guy

I would agree on the grade of oil, but not with the bit about changing to the synthetic. That's pretty much nonsense. Most garages will only use a mineral or semi synthetic oil for servicing, to keep costs down, so that would mean that all cars that have been serviced by a garage and followed the schedule to keep their warranty couldn't use a synthetic oil, even though it's a better lubricant. When you say you have just got of the phone to Lexus, was that a dealership, or Lexus UK? A dealership would tell you that as they want you to keep coming back to them and if they don't have the synthetic oil, they can't really help you out. Also they advise to use lower quality oils so things wear out more often and you come back for repairs or a new car when you are out of warranty. If it was Lexus UK you spoke to, I have no idea where they would have got that from. Did whoever it was give a reason? Here is the Silkolene Pro S 5w-30 you asked about http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-60169-silkolen...ce-engines.aspx And here are the rest of the 5w-30's we have http://www.opieoils.co.uk/c-653-5w-30.aspx The Redline and Motul 300V are in the same league as the Silkolene. The Motul X-Max is a really good alternative that's a bit cheaper. Cheers Tim

I wouldnt pay too much attention to the test, of course and Aussie oil will win an Aussie test :) The Castrol used in that test is called the Castrol Edge Sport 5w-30, we dont get that here in the UK but it could well be the same as the Castrol Edge 5w-30 we currently have. Cheers Guy