Selenia Oil Or No Selenia Oil That is the question!

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:<hr /><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by dave:
<strong>good post Stori

if you have an engine that runs hot you would want a higher temp rated oil, (unless you live in Lapland,as you say).You also need to consider the oil/water cooling ability of the car.

I still maintain that a 0w in a 147 is unneccessary unless you live in a very cold country</strong><hr /></blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I agree that the average Alfa 147 would never be in a situation that would require 0W-? oil.
We are talking about a situation where the outside temp drops below something like -35 C eek! .
Neither me or my Alfa want to live there

Dave,

Subaru itself says that putting in 0W Mobil 1 will invalidate your warranty. They do recommend Modil 1 Motorsport which is either a 10W or 15W

It has something to do with engine tolerences when cold. On a cold engine the tolerences between surfaces can be slightly wider than a hot engine, using a 0W oil can mean the oil flows back to sump too quickly and this caused some problems with the scoobs cam lubrication.

Not sure if its an issue with Alfa's though.

Lee

I have been following this thread with interest.

I agree with Dave, you don't want to be using a 0w oil in the TS engine IMO

A large number of TS's are consuming a lot of oil. It would be interesting to see if this has anything to do with type of oil being used. Perhaps due to a thin oil when cold (ie 0w, 5w, 10w ).

Performance oils here are 10w or 15w. Even Mobil 1 here is 15w/50 not 5w/50 as in the UK but then the temperature never gets below 10 degrees.

ok guys, now i still have castrol 0W40RS in my engine, the temperature here is about 20 degrees.
The engine run 500km with this oil. Do you suggest me to change it now?
What should I use?
Hope that nothing happened to my engine.

If you already have the oil in then just keep it until the next service - IMO.

I'm certain that the quality of Castrol 0W40RS is going to be better than the standard Alfa oil. (which is what is in my engine)

It would be interesting to see if you use more of this oil than your previous oil.

I guess in Cyprus its already about 30 degrees so there is no requirement for such a low temperature rating of the oil (0W).

cheers Lee,

also,oil pressure drop in big end number 3 COULD be down to a drop in pressure,turbo engines run hotter,substained high revs thin oil,it breaks down,presure drops,big end 3 shares a feed with 2 and blows.Never would i put a 0w in an Impreza

just one theory amongst many i think.I will stick to Castrol Rs 10w60 in the Scoob!

ps Reuven,i would agree that the North and South poles are a tad nippy

IMHO 5W50 is the best rated viscosity oil on the market . This oil have the advantage of , when the engine is cold ( just say about freezing point ) the oil is thin enough to lubricate good . It protects the engine better than the 10W stuff . The 50 is allready high enough to keep itself lubricated in extreme high temp. . The viscosity where the numbers come from ( like mentioned above ) are not enough for the engine at that temp's . When you have a whole winter 0 till -10 celsius , i would certainly go to a 0W30 or 0W40 oil . When you have temp. which are never (almost ) below zero and 30 / 40 celsius in summer i would go to the 10W60 . In Belgium , where we have not the extreme high's or lows the 5W40 or even better when driving very sportive 5W50 .

The problem with some engines is that at lowish ambient temperatures say 4C the engine is stone cold, no expansion of the metal parts has taken place so tolerance gaps are wide.

Having a very thin oil at this time (0W) causes the oil to pour back into the sump quickly and not lubricate correctly. Subaru actually sent out a bullitin to its dealer network on this subject.

When the engine is hot its the second figure in the rating you need to look at. A 0W30 or 0W40 may start to break down in hot climates in a high performance engine, especially turbo's. Scoobs are prone to this as the oil also acts to take away the heat from the turbo as well as lubricate it.

You need to know your engine, your climate, and the style of driving you do and make a choice from there. Normal driving in the UK 5W40, 5W50, 10W50, 10W60 Fully synth.

Cheers
Lee

I agree...

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:<hr /><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by pyros:
<strong>IMHO 5W50 is the best rated viscosity oil on the market .</strong><hr /></blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I agree with you on this one. When i bought my bella, the first thing i did was an oil change and i filled her up with Mobil 1 5w-50 Rally Formula. It offers a great protection during cold winters (it flows at -50C) and performs excellently even at high temperatures or sporty driving. And the SuperSyn technology keeps the engine wear at the minimum.

typical characteristic values for Mobil1 5w-50 Rally formula:
- viscosity at -25C (mPas): 3300
- viscosity at 40C (mm2/s): 103,3
- viscosity at 100C(mm2/s): 17,3
- flame point: 240 C
- pour point: -54 C
- viscosity index: 194

All the best

And another thing: Mclaren F1, the world's fastest road car, uses Shell 5w-40 !

All the best

I bought Mobil 1 when my car was due for its second oil change (10,000kms).
I took the car to the Alfa dealer and they REFUSED to put in the Mobil 1 as it would invalidate the warranty !!!

The warranty here only covers you for the engine and gearbox.

How do you argue with that?

No problem for me with the waranty. But one of the oils recommeded by alfa for the 147 is the Selenia 5w-30 so the 5w-50 shouldn't be a problem wink

All the best

5W50 is the best rated viscosity oil on the market

*best* at what? for what car? for what temp spread?

to many variables to make that statement imvho

The best overall viscosity . Like stated by somebody else , it keeps floating at very low temp and doesn't burn at extreme high temp . With me no problem with warranty , my dealer today put Shell Helix Ultra Diesel 5W40 inside which i brought with me . I think in Qatar , better use the 10W60 , never cold there , allways damn hot hotter ,hottest , alltought it shouldn't be a warranty problem .