An oily question

Anonymous · March 25, 2004, 19:22

Hi,

My car has done just over 5k and ive noticed the oil level is nearing minimum.

Anyways, I did a search and have looked at the types of oil other people and so I will probably go with 10w40 synth (unless someone knows of another type I should go for) but i dont know which brand is best?

I know I should steer clear of Magnatec but what about the others? is the Halfords brand any good? (I was told today by an employee that their brand is made by Shell). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers in advance! s:D

s:D

Anonymous · March 25, 2004, 19:24

If you've only done 5K miles, you're still under warranty, so you might want to stick with what the manual says you should.

Other than that, I've not a clue, but I know there are a few people who will be along shortly to help you out.

markiii · March 25, 2004, 19:38

10w40 is fine, though I'd be tempted to go for 15w40 personally, halfords own brand should be fine.

loadswine · March 26, 2004, 01:18

Interesting one this, just got mine and from my service records and looking on here,some 2s use a bit of oil,particularly if using fully synthetic ,from what I've seen. The engine doesn't have a very large capacity for oil , only about 3.7L or so ,reading the handbook.
I think mine has Magnatec in it (oil changed 3K ago) ,needs topping as on low point of dipstick, and I thought I might as well change the oil and filter,putting different oil to Magnatec in.
I was going to use Halfords semi synthetic. Two questions, does the engine need flushing?
Is it other members experience to have used that much oil in about 3k miles?May just be the type of oil and I don't know how well filled it was after being serviced. s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

Slacey · March 26, 2004, 07:57

As for flushing, personally I don't think it's necessary on a newish car with clean oil in it to start with. Also, I also can recommend the Halfords own brand oil, I use it in my bike (when it stays in!) and it's fine.

markiii · March 26, 2004, 08:36

only needs flushing fi changing type. i.e semi to fully synth or vice versa

Anonymous · March 26, 2004, 09:19

Am I wrong in thinking that our 2 needs 5/30 oil then!?

I checked at Halfords and that is what they recommend for a 2000- reg Mr2!
Now i think this is important because Toyota have recommended against using oil too thin as there have been queries about oil getting behind the pistons on some earlier models and frying the Cats.

they are quoted as saying something like "we advise against full synthetic oil as it may be TOO good for the engine" (they are proud of their VVTi being tough and durable being able to do 120,000 miles without any replacement parts and being able to perform perfectly well on 87 octaine fuel).

Tell me if im wrong please s:? :? s:?

Anonymous · March 26, 2004, 11:37

I wouldn't sweat it too much about the oil. There will be a bunch of factors as to how you use the car to consider - daily short distances (about 10miles), lots of high revs etc or just motorway cruising to consider. Just make sure you don't thrash the nuts off the engine until it has reached its normal operating temp (granted the guage is for the water jacket I believe not the oil temp but still).

How I treated my car was to stick with the factory fill until 10K for bedding in and then I changed to a fully synthetic. I used Mobil 1 0W-40 which is not a popular choice here but served me fine for 27K I owned it and it never required a top up. However oil consumption can vary between cars.

Personally if you are ready to change to synthetic then I would go for Shell Ultra Helix which is readily available and a touch closer to what the manual states.

However I would recommend changing oil, oil filter at 5K and very probably the air filter but then I am bit too keen on spending money on consumables for the car s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

Tem · March 26, 2004, 12:08

One thing is for sure...it's better to have any oil than no oil, so no matter what you use, keep checking the oil level every now and then s8)

s8)

Anonymous · March 26, 2004, 12:21

Hi,

thanks for your responses. Any ideas what the standard oil type is used (am at work at the mo and dont have a manual handy) as I dont want to flush the system if I decide to buy a type thats not currently in my engine.

Ta!

Anonymous · March 26, 2004, 13:22

Don't fret about mixing different types of oil, they all mix OK.
Probably semi-synthetic of some sort in at the moment, cos that's what Toyota recommend. Buy the semisynth of the viscosity spec as recommended in the manual would be my recommendation, but as Tem says, some oil of any description is many times better than running low!
FWIW, my car hasn't used a drop in 5000 miles.
I can also confirm that Halfords oil is good stuff, a friend used to work in the lab for their supplier.

hth
Andy

Anonymous · March 29, 2004, 19:28

Hi,

just got some Halfords 15w10 semi-synth oil in the end, I have to admit i was tempted to buy some Mobil1 15w50 synth but at £33.90 for 4L I thought it was a little steep (halfords one was £17.99 for 5L!).

Thanks again to everyone who posted, this forum is great and extremely helpful and friendly s:D

s:D

Anonymous · March 29, 2004, 19:29

****CORRECTION****

My mistake, I got 10W40 semi-synth not 15w10 semi-synth (I must be dreaming!!)

****CORRECTION****

Anonymous · April 2, 2004, 12:10

I use the halfords oil in my car and it's fine. I have noticed that everyone stays clear of Magnatec. Could somone tell me why?

cheers

Viggs

Slacey · April 2, 2004, 12:31

Quote from: "Viggs"I use the halfords oil in my car and it's fine. I have noticed that everyone stays clear of Magnatec. Could somone tell me why?

Apparently it gets far too thin over time. Not used it personally though.