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oz
Moderator
| Joined: | Wednesday January 31st, 2007 |
| Location: | Livingston |
| Posts: | 73 |
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Posted: Saturday February 17th, 2007 01:27 pm |
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Ok, this may be a daft question, but I was looking through my Owners Handbook and I noticed that Rover recommend using 10w30 Oil. Now I've always used Halfords Classic Car 20w50 in my Minis and never had any problems.
Granted my Cooper Sport is alot newer than the Mini's I've owned in the past and is the first fuel injected one I've owned, so should I stick with the 20w50 or should I really be using the recommended 10w30 oil instead?
Cheers.
Oz
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taffy1967
Member
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Posted: Saturday February 17th, 2007 03:11 pm |
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I'd stick with the 20W/50 oil because it doesn't matter what age or model your Mini is, they all share their oil with the engine and need a suitable oil to cope with the baulk ring synchro's.
Of course I've heard some people claim that any classic oil will have a detrimental effect on the ECU, Cat and possibly even the gearbox bearings.
I think that's nonsense and so long as you treat it to a regular oil change, say every 3,000 miles or 6 months (whichever comes first), then you shouldn't have any problems.
But just look at Rovers recommended service intervals of 12,000 miles/12 months towards the end. That was absolutely barmy and that combined with the thin oil recommendations no doubt point towards the reason why there were so many gearbox claims for later Minis?Last edited on Saturday February 17th, 2007 03:12 pm by taffy1967 |
Mk 3 S Meister
MCR Member
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Posted: Saturday February 17th, 2007 07:24 pm |
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Like Taffy I'd stick with something a bit thicker than 10/30.
Even though Rover Cooper engines don't work so hard as those from the 1960s, 12,000 miles is a heck of a long time for shared oil to be in an engine.
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Andrew1967
MCR Member
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Posted: Saturday February 17th, 2007 09:41 pm |
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We always use Duckhams 20/50 in our A-series engined classics, whether it be Mini's, Midgets or Minors. Anything thinner than that is not good for an engine design that first saw the road in 1952!
Change the oil at least every 6000 miles.
Last edited on Saturday February 17th, 2007 09:43 pm by Andrew1967 |
AMS
MCR Member
| Joined: | Thursday January 12th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 111 |
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Posted: Monday February 19th, 2007 08:30 am |
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| I agree, 20/50 for mine. If you want a really good 20/50 use Valvoline 20/50 racing, Millers or something of that ilk.
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DaveShreeve
Administrator
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Posted: Monday February 19th, 2007 02:34 pm |
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Everyone seems to be agreed on 20w50 but beware rest of spec. Spi specifies API SG or SH, latest Haynes manual for '69 to '00 vehicles quotes API SH for everything. These specs limit contents of additive packages, later specs for low ash formulations for use with cats.
Millers provide a couple of formulations specifically for 'gearbox in sump' units, they agree with the 20w50 but only the semi synthetic Motorsport CTV 20w50 provides the API SH spec.
I've been using CTV for almost 12 months, including M2M 2006. The only problem I've had is its objection to short, not fully warmed up, runs where it has a slight tendancy to mayonaise.
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taffy1967
Member
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Posted: Monday February 19th, 2007 05:43 pm |
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I've heard lots of Mini enthusiasts recommend Duckhams Q Classic 20W/50 oil in any age/model Mini.
And someone's claimed to have almost driven a Mini around the clock twice using only this stuff and regular oil changes, before any engine/gearbox work was required.
Anyway i'm sure regular oil changes with something like Duckhams Q will help prevent any cat problems too and I imagine it's far better than filling up with 10W/40 and leaving it to fester for 12,000 miles?
Plus Duckhams Q is cheaper than Millers or Penrite products, so you can then afford to change you're oil more frequently.  Last edited on Monday February 19th, 2007 05:43 pm by taffy1967 |
oz
Moderator
| Joined: | Wednesday January 31st, 2007 |
| Location: | Livingston |
| Posts: | 73 |
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Posted: Monday February 19th, 2007 07:23 pm |
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Nice one dudes.
I did think it was a bit strange to recommend 10w30.
I'd also had that Rover started to recommend that cos it was what they had available?
Thanx for that.
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Graham Bichard
Member
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Posted: Wednesday September 19th, 2007 11:03 am |
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Oz,
I realise this is an old thread, but thought I might spark up a bit of debate!
I use Halfords own 10W40 and change it every 3000 miles, filter every 6000.
I was told years ago (with reference to a Ford Pinto engine which I tuned) by a guy called Roland Hayes to go for a specification of oil that was a 'good' oil when the engine was developed.
Now I realise that 1950 was a long time ago, and development was slow but continuous (A+ etc) but I would suggest something like Castrol GTX would be a good bet.
Most of my journeys are short so I'm happy to use a slightly thinner (cheaper) oil but would not go to 10W30.
Also what mileage has your car got? Higher mileage/greater wear, a thicker oil might maintain better oil pressure.
Oh, and a quick word about Halfords seeing as how I've mentioned them - do you all know about their trade cards? If I remember correctly you need two forms of ID/proof of address (utility bills) and you can get some good discounts (their own brand oil at 2/3 the cost). As long as you walk past the 'bolt on perfomance products'! (Some of their tools are good stuff too!)
Anyway - there's my ten-penuth!
Last edited on Thursday September 20th, 2007 07:24 am by Graham Bichard |
craig 1010cc
Member
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Posted: Wednesday September 19th, 2007 07:46 pm |
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| I always use 10/40 magantec in mine, but it is always changed every 6k (and almost all of my journeys are over 10 miles so it get nicely up to temp), but as it's now clocked over 55k, I think a shift to a 20/50 might be in order. Last edited on Wednesday September 19th, 2007 07:46 pm by craig 1010cc |
taffy1967
Member
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Posted: Thursday September 20th, 2007 12:22 pm |
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I think a shift to a 20/50 might be in order.
Probably the best thing you can do for all Minis.
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craig 1010cc
Member
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Posted: Thursday September 20th, 2007 05:19 pm |
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taffy1967 wrote:
I think a shift to a 20/50 might be in order.
Probably the best thing you can do for all Minis.
I don't know, I think the weber 45 i've fitted to my track mini is up there 
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oz
Moderator
| Joined: | Wednesday January 31st, 2007 |
| Location: | Livingston |
| Posts: | 73 |
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Posted: Thursday September 20th, 2007 06:06 pm |
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Graham,
At the moment I'm using 15w/50 oil as recommended by Clark McDonald @ Mcdonald Mini's in Edinburgh. I was using 20w/50 but was having problem starting in the morning, so Clark recommended the 15w/50. And Bob's yer Ma's brother.
Emily has 43000 miles on the clock, so I think i'm good with the 15w/50 at the moment. Do the oil changes every 3000miles/3 months when I'm doing the bits that require greasing. Also I'm sticking with the MG Rover Oil filters, much better than the Fram ones available from my local Motor Factors.
As for the Halfrauds discount card, got mine.
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taffy1967
Member
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Posted: Thursday September 20th, 2007 10:49 pm |
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| Which 20W/50 oil were you using Oz?
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oz
Moderator
| Joined: | Wednesday January 31st, 2007 |
| Location: | Livingston |
| Posts: | 73 |
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Posted: Friday September 21st, 2007 05:24 pm |
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taffy1967 wrote: Which 20W/50 oil were you using Oz?
I was using the Halford Classic Car 20w/50 oil Taffy
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taffy1967
Member
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Posted: Friday September 21st, 2007 06:08 pm |
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Hmm, well I've heard that's actually repackaged Comma Oil and I recently saw a blue plastic can of Comma 20W/50 oil at Wilkinson's and that cost less than a fiver.
So would that be exactly the same oil that Halfords are selling, only they've repackaged it in a fancy (Mini advertising) classic oil can and then sell it for almost three times the price?
I've currently got cheap 20W/50 oil in my Mainstream Cooper, which I'm using as a flushing oil before switching to the quality stuff and I've had no problems starting or running with that.
Once the Duckhams Q Classic 20W/50 is in, I'll let you all know if that changes anything.
Last edited on Friday September 21st, 2007 06:09 pm by taffy1967 |
Shaun Cronin
MCR Member
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Posted: Wednesday October 3rd, 2007 09:12 pm |
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| Chaps, oil is an emotive and personal issue for most! However here are my deliberations.....this is an A+ engine and more refined than the 1959 model it is visually based on. 20/50 would be right for older models but the A+ has finer tolerances which do not allow thicker oil to flow correctly. I agree that I too would not use 10/30. I have tried Mobil 1 fully synthetic and took it straight back out! Full synthetics can cause trouble in the A+ and can push past the piston rings causing oil usage. I was constantly topping it up. I put a high quality 10/40 semi synthetic in, actually Total 7000, now hardly a drop of oil is used and the performance/starting/temperature/pressure is excellent. I also use only Rover/Unipart oil filters, normally the higher spec one from Minispares. But I finish as I started, this works for me but most people go with their own personal preferences. Hope this helps.
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taffy1967
Member
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Posted: Thursday October 4th, 2007 02:37 pm |
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Well last week and for the first time ever I filled my 1990 Mainstream Cooper up with Duckhams Q Classic 20W/50 oil.
All I can say is that this oil has made a tremendous difference to how my engine behaves. It's now sounding and running smoother and it's so much more responsive too.
Me, the misses and our 2 kids travelled to Castle Combe in our Mini last weekend and it hasn't used a drop. Even my misses commented on how nicely it was running when she insisted on driving home afterwards.
I could say that it's almost as if I've fitted a new engine, but that would be exaggerating slightly. But this is probably the next best thing and if it continues to run so well, then I don't think I'll bother using any other type of oil again.
There's been no negative effects either and the car still starts from cold without a problem.
Last edited on Thursday October 4th, 2007 02:38 pm by taffy1967 |
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