what grade of oil to use

[rocket0000]

hi guys just wondering what the correct grade of oil to run in a vx 2001 done 140000 km?????

note: dealers recommend 10w30. am just a little bit confused bout 2 brands first is gtx3 15w40 and magnatec 10w40 , as am gonna do service myself.

thanks

[MR_VX]

Go to Holden and get the Mobil one oil they recommend, its about $70 for 5L

[rocket0000]

its too expensive. and for dealers they always say use Valvoline 10w30. but that the wrong choice for a car done 140000km.

[WogBoyz]

man ive just been running nulon 10w40 in my ute with no problems, ive got 127,000kms i think its around 55 - 65 for a 5L bottle

[rocket0000]

am really confused.

[MR_VX]

$70 for a bottle of oil is cheap compaired what holden would charge to do the service.
and if you cant spend that on oil you must not care much for your car

[delcowizzid]

oils oil pretty much as long as its the right thickness i run 20/50 gulf western costs me $14NZ a 4L i use it in everything so does the local mechanic if you take your car there its coming out with gulf western no matter what car it is LOL.if anythings going to die from bad oil its going to be one of the many turbo commodores with 150000-300000km engines that i feed with gulf western.we pulled one down to fit a new cam and do the heads pulled a couple of bearing caps looked like new so just put them back on and ran it again.if you were running a v8 with flat tappet cam ide be more picky on the oil so it doesnt wipe cam lobes.

[rocket0000]

guys i went 2day to autobarn a guys asked me how many km on car i told him 140000km he said go for gtx3 15w40. another guy from same store said noway go for 20w50. left then and went to supercheap one guy said go for penrite 10w50 . i mean what the hek man am really confused . and used to do service at dealer they used to put Valvoline 10w30 engine Armour.

[acarmody]

Just get some 10w40 magnatec, cheap but it works.

[vs commo]

use a 10 or 15-40 and if ur that worryed about gettn it right look in the user manual or ask holden wat letter they use e.g se,sg,sh etc cause manufactures change these letters depending on the additives they use for ur vehicle(anti-foaming agents,detergents etc)thats the main things that matter.if the oil u use is to thing u will use more fuel and put more strain on the engine.until u reach say 230-250 (unless u start to burn alot which older engines can do) id stick with no higher than 40 and the first number the lower the better cause the lower it is the quicker it lubricates parts on start up there for reducing engine wear.hope this helps

[feg]

the first number the lower the better cause the lower it is the quicker it lubricates parts on start up there for reducing engine wear

I'd be a little careful with going to thin, yes it will get to the bits of the engine it needs to, but won't offer the protection that a slightly thicker grade will. the 0-40 are for more performance oriented engines, that is not to say you will get more performance by using this oil, just the way the engine is designed to work.

In short engine oils are complicated, the more you read up on the subject the better off you are, and you will get less bad advice and have done the right thing by your engine by making a more educated choice.

I would recommend a 10-40 and mineral oil if changing it often. Personally I use synthetic as I like my engine to last and the extra money on the roll of the dice is not that much more. I use mobil1 or castrol. mobil one in the grade want is hard to find. If you change it yourself you can afford a little extra on the oil and to change it more often.

[wortus]

I've been using Castrol Magnatec 10W-40 in my cars for years, firsty a 1990 VN V6 which had 300,000km on it when I sold it and it did not burn any oil and now a VY Ecotech which has just clocked up 147,000km. I don't think $70 oil in a standard Ecotec road car is needed it's overkill and a waste of money. Magnatec in the VN made the engine a lot quieter, the VY runs really good so I don't think at 140,000km they are any where near worn out unless they have been flogged.
The VN got oil changes every 5000 to 7000 km as the oil got dirty, the VY usually gets an oil change mid service interval however it's still pretty clean so I am reviewing the need to do any more than the recommended changes, just depends on how much highway v's city driving I do.

[rocket0000]

thanks for reply guys. by the way what does this means SG,SH,SJ ENGINE OIL???? i just found them in my owners manual .

[rocket0000]

when looking at castrol website and checking castrol magnatec 10w40 it says ( SAE)

[wortus]

SAE is the standard against which an oils viscosity is based.

The weights given on oils are arbitrary numbers assigned by the S.A.E. (Society of Automotive Engineers). These numbers correspond to "real" viscosity, as measured by several accepted techniques. These measurements are taken at specific temperatures. Oils that fall into a certain range are designated 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 by the S.A.E. The W means the oil meets specifications for viscosity at various low temperatures depending on weight, and is therefore suitable for Winter use. 5W is tested at -25C, 10W at -20C, 15W at -15C, and 20W at -10C.

[vs commo]

thanks for reply guys. by the way what does this means SG,SH,SJ ENGINE OIL???? i just found them in my owners manual .

these letters are the located on the back of the oil bottle and have the required aditives that the manufacture recommends.so if u get a 10-40 or 15-40 with these letters on the back thats the oil for ur car.

[VYMAD]

Have a VY with 130,000 on it and have used Magnatec 10-40 for the whole time I've owned the car (since 40,000k's) Seems to be a good oil for the price and has been recomended by more than one mechanic and dealer "technitians"

[wortus]

Have a VY with 130,000 on it and have used Magnatec 10-40 for the whole time I've owned the car (since 40,000k's) Seems to be a good oil for the price and has been recomended by more than one mechanic and dealer "technitians"

VYMAD just curious to know at what intervals (time and distance travelled) are you changing the oil?

[VYMAD]

7,000-7,500 k's. Probably every 4-8 months, depending on how far I've travelled.

[rb26dett]

Woolworths "Home Brand" works great in the Telstar.

[VYMAD]

Woolworths "Home Brand" works great in the Telstar.

LOL, good for fords maybe, but is shit oil, no detergents etc.

[HoldenOnn]

thanks for reply guys. by the way what does this means SG,SH,SJ ENGINE OIL???? i just found them in my owners manual .

You may be very surprised to know that if you are keen to know indepth info like this, a quick google search will teach you alot. Just type oil and SAE or something to that effect. It will give you instant info.

I can't remember how many times I have used the internets' search engines to study things for my car such as types of oil, HID lighting info, LED's, Caring for Paint etc etc. Answers are instant and to the point.

Or you can ask here if you feel you will get a better and/or faster response lol.

To the point of your original question, I would use 15w40 engine oil. I used to own a VS V6 with around 200,000kms on the clock and I used Mobil Semi-Synthetic and did oil and filter changes every 5,000kms and never had an issue with the car for 4 years.

If you do prefer a specific brand of oil and a 15w40 is not available, then you could go 15w50 in your brand of choice and your unlikely to have any issues with doing this. I do like the use of semi-synthetic rather than mineral oil. And unless you have money to burn or you circuit race your car, then I don't see the need for full synthetic. I would rather go semi-synthetic and change more often.

Goodluck

[-_-"]

10W40 would be perfect for you commo , you also can run 15W40 as well , don't worry about the front number (10W or 15W) those number are for viscosity of the oil when it's cold in winter (W stand for winter) , the lower the number (10) will flow quicker (than15) but we're talking like minus degree or bit more which we never get it in this country. and 40 means when the oil heat up to normal operating temp. the oil will thin to that viscosity. so, you don't really wanna the oil to get thiner than that (30 is bit thin for that kms) but you still can run it

hope that help

[D-Rich]

i personally prefer a more thicker cold oil like a 20W40.
just because of the ecotec's hydraulic lifters.
offers better protection on startup, while the thinnner oils will run back to the sump.
which is bad. just my 2 cents anyway.

[HoldenOnn]

This debate/opinions could go on forever with everyone giving you slightly different advice.

I think you have plenty of info to work with. Plus there are many oil threads already which are done to death. Plus you can search on internet and also go to specific manufacturers site and see their recommendations eg Shell, Mobil, Castrol, Valvoline etc, but you will find they may have slightly differing opinions also.

Pick a product your comfortable with after doing a little bit of research and stick with it if you have no issues. I also believe that using a mid price range semi-synthetic oil and changing more often eg every 5,000kms, is better than buying the highest price synthetic and leaving the change for 10,000kms

Goodluck