Best engine oil??

[clarmatt]

what do you think would be the best engine oil for my 96' VS V6??

[VS_Pete_1]

How many ks?
What oil was in it?
Do u do 5000k oil and filter changes?

[clarmatt]

its got 191xxx on the odo just bought it/ my first car, so dont know what was in there before

[greenacc]

use a decent 20W50 in summer, and if you live somewhere cold use a 15w50 in winter
shell helix plus, valvoline durablend, maybe magnatec in winter ?

[VS_Pete_1]

You have opened up a can of worms son.
Have a look at this poll first.
Just Commodores - View Poll Results
Then check out the prices of oil and filter.
Fuchs is a good oil holden use it I work for a dealership and the holden oil 20w/50 is fuchs .
20w/50 you want to use.
When ever I get a new car I change the oil and filter and put in the oil I use.
I do a oil and filter change at 2500k and again at 5000k then every 5000k from then on.
My oil is not very dirty on oil changers.
Might seem to be a bit overboard but the oil is always pretty clean.
Hope that helps mate.
PS don`t use magnatec

[VS_Pete_1]

I don`t know how much you know about cars and I am no expert.
The motor will take 4.3l of oil with oil filter changed.
Pour a little bit of oil in to the filter before you put it on.
I just put in 4l and check it the next day on level ground when it is cold and it is spot on so you don`t get all the oil out when you drain it.
Drain it when it is hot. Be careful oil is hot.

PS. I always degrease around the sump plug and filter then take it for a drive to warm it up.
Then back home and check for leaks.

Always use a new sump plug washer at every oil change. Buy a pack of ten or so 1 trip to holden.

[greenacc]

hehehe, agree with pete , i forgot to say check that oil Poll. And make sure the oil you choose has a decent rating , either SL/CF or SM/CF on the label. These last longer than the cheap rubbish with SG/CD ratings

[VS_Pete_1]

What greenacc said check the rating of the oil.

[clarmatt]

why dont use magnatec ?????

[Scooter79]

So many variables, so many options. Personally I use Nulon 10w-40. It's a full synthetic and I change it every 5000k's. I bought my car with only 99,000k's on the clock and complete service history so I baby it with only the good stuff.

If you've got no leaks, you don't blow any smoke and don't use any oil, you could go for something like Penrite HPR 10 which is 10w-50 and a semi synthetic and about $37 for 5L.

Nulon have a full synthetic which is 15w-50 and about $55 for 5L. Me personally, I'll probably start using this next oil change. Nulon also have a 15w-40 mineral oil.

You've literally got dozens of choices to choose from. Whatever you chose change oil and filter every 5000ks and you'll be right.

[Harvs82]

20w/50 oil, that is the grade that the engine has been designed to use. I used to use Mobil 20w/50 and I changed the oil and filter every 5000km. Basically burned next to no engine oil, even after 200000km, the only oil that it lost was the oil leaking from the rear main seal...

[The1]

i use castrol sport 20w 50, it's fully synthetic, most synthetics are to thin and if your using it in an engine with over 200k on the clock you'l be going to make some leaks, i found the castrol 20w 50 to be very good and didn't cause any extra leaks in mine with 260k on the clock.

[vxcalais_01]

The1, this Castrol Sport 20w50, is this ordered from Castrol, or through a mechanic ? I have enver heard or it. Closest one i know is Castrol Edge Sport 25W50, which is shocking stuff, and has a rating of SG.......engine oil should not cause leaks, the condition of your engine and seals is the cause.....

[The1]

sorry i was talking about the old forumula r, i see it's gone crap now, ill be looking for a new oil now once i run out.

I was saying that with changing a car with alot of k's from a crap oil or blend to fully synthetic can clean crap off seals which will start the leaks.

[The1]

alot of people seem to raving about this brand of oil, the rating seems good SL and CI4+

AMS OIL SAE 20W-50 100% SYN

[The1]

anyone heard about the Castrol EDGE sport 10w-60 it's SM grade and Fully synthetic

[Morton]

I'm personally a fan of Penrite oils. I us e Penrite HPR 15w60. Thin enough to get into the motor when cold, but sturdy enough at operating temperature to hold together an old motor at high revs ^_^

[The1]

I'm personally a fan of Penrite oils. I us e Penrite HPR 15w60. Thin enough to get into the motor when cold, but sturdy enough at operating temperature to hold together an old motor at high revs ^_^

yeh that doens't look to bad, Semi-synthetic SM grade.

[vxcalais_01]

The1, cant believe you still got some of the r range hehe. It used to be common to find some synth 20W50's now that thinner oils are speced not that common. Yes, when people have abused their engines, a good spec mineral, diesel or synth oil will clean it up and cause some leaks. Should eventually go away though.

2 20W50's i would recommend are

Pennzoil High Mileage 20W50 and Valvoline Maxlife 20W50. Both SM rated with high quality base stocks, really cant go wrong. Of the Penrite range, give the 10W40 or 5W50 range of the Everyday Synthetic a shot. Well priced for full synth as well. Penrite 15W60 pretty good as well.

I would also recommend Havoline Premium 20W50. This was used by the Havoline V8 Supercar team straight off the shelf.

Also this quote from their site

"Havoline Premium 20W-50 provides all round protection and performance for vehicles from 1980 onwards. Havoline Premium is the “off the shelf” engine oil used in the Stone Brothers Racing Ford V8 Supercars driven by Russell Ingall and Marcos Ambrose"

Not sure if still the case as posted in 2003....

[The1]

yeh stocked up with a few when i heard they were goin out, a mate did also so we been trading bottles when needed, but have to find a new oil soon, i think i might give the Penrite HPR 15w60, nice price for a good oil and also australian apparently

[Morton]

yeh that doens't look to bad, Semi-synthetic SM grade.

Yah, the Penrite HPR oils are euro standard A3/B3 (highest performance petrol/diesel and longest service intervals). I wouldn't use anything below the SM grade (US system) or A3 (euro).

[vxcalais_01]

Yah, the Penrite HPR oils are euro standard A3/B3 (highest performance petrol/diesel and longest service intervals). I wouldn't use anything below the SM grade (US system) or A3 (euro).

the SL/CI-4+ spec is highly superior as well. The higher the spec SM or for diesel CI-4+ CJ etc the less wear the oil needs to create, and last longer as well. Thats why 5000k changes are pretty much irrelevant with SM oils.

Tip on going on a Semi Synthetic. Dont use a Semi synthetic that blends 30% synth with a Group 1 oil unless its less than $30 which is a good price. Because you end up paying too much.Better off going with a Mineral oil that is Group 2 at least. Best way to find out is to ask the manufacturer or check it at least has a SM or CI-4/CJ rating. These rating cannot be achieved with the lower grade base oils. Group 1 oil is good when designed properly, especially for racing etc, but alot of mainstream oil companies use it as a filler, add some quality synth base stock(anywhere from 10-30%) to call it a semi and charge us big bucks. We pay too much money for oils here in Australia.

[The1]

well ive been looking around and i dont think the penrite hpr 15 can be beat, most other oils either dont meet the same SM/CF rating or are hugely expensive for the same rating but being fully synthetic, considering HPR 15 is around $35 i think it's pretty good deal for semi synthetic SM/CF.

Would you agree?

even though im not using it in a diesel engine wouldn't the higher both ratings be the better?

[alex2_s]

Penrite HPR15 is 15W-60
Penrite HPR30 is 20W-60

what would be more appropriate?? Considering it's recommended 20W-50

[The1]

Penrite HPR15 is 15W-60
Penrite HPR30 is 20W-60

what would be more appropriate?? Considering it's recommended 20W-50

From what information there is the hpr 30 would be mineral hpr15 is semi synthetic also I would think the lower cold rating would help with cold starts more