10W60 oil

What do people think about Alfa Romeo specifying a 10W60 oil for the GTA engines? I would like to know what your feelings are. It seems weird that they specify 10W40 for the 166 for example.
Any ideas?

[quote=newalfisti;1217119] It seems weird that they specify 10W40 for the 166 for example.
QUOTE]

Why??

Well the 166 is a Luxury car , the GTA is a car to thrash so to speak......

Even the 4 cylinder TS engines have 10W60 specified for "sporty' use and in Australia, at least, the JTS 4 cylinders have 10W60 specified as standard.

NB my 2.0 TS 147 enjoys a good drink of 10W60...It would guzzle 10W40 I supect

Run both of ours on 10/60 SR and they love it

I'm not technical enough to know. But both the Alfa specialists I have used since getting the GTA (Alfa Workshop and Alfanatic) both put in 10W40 rather than 10W60 and I guess they know what they are about. However, I'm tempted to go with 10W60 just because of the Alfa recommendation, so some informed feedback would be useful.

Cheers,

Nigel

I think 10W40 is fine to use, 10W60 is designed for harder driving, my indie recommends it for the V6's as he says they run slightly hotter. I think oil usage may be a factor but there again, 10W60 is dearer to start with.

Can't see why anyone would question what oil to put in the car, when the manufacturer has already told you in the handbook. We'll be asking whether compressed air is the right thing to put in the tyres next...

Well perhaps not everyone on the planet is as advanced as you obviously are...try NOT to be a smart arse hey...please!

Originally Posted by Robf

Can't see why anyone would question what oil to put in the car, when the manufacturer has already told you in the handbook. We'll be asking whether compressed air is the right thing to put in the tyres next...

Well, thanks for all your replies. My personal view is that at the time that the GTA was introduced the only fully synthetic oil available from FL was the 10w60racing. Therefore Alfa suggested that this oil is the one to be used. Realistically speaking though i believe that 10w60 is not really necessary for the engine if you drive outside the track. I'm keeping a close watch to the oil temp and i have never seen anything more than 100degC. So i'm thinking that the 60 rating is a bit useless for an engine that rarely exceeds 100degrees plus the flow rate of the oil will be reduced compared to lets say a 10w40, which in turn will increase the surface temperature of the engine components. So there might be a bit of an adverse effect. I would like to know what the the test cycles ALfa is using during their engine development. I don't see a clear valid reason personally for using 10W60 oil. Of course this is a point that many can argue so any comments are wellcome.

P.S. i heard stories of GTA's with worn camshaft lobes so teh oil might have something to do with this.

Originally Posted by Robf

Can't see why anyone would question what oil to put in the car, when the manufacturer has already told you in the handbook. We'll be asking whether compressed air is the right thing to put in the tyres next...

I have nitrogen in my tyres

Originally Posted by Astro

Well perhaps not everyone on the planet is as advanced as you obviously are...try NOT to be a smart arse hey...please!

Actually putting nitrogen (N2) in the tyres better the air.
They doesn't heat up as much as with regular air..

Nitrogen in your tyres ! where did you get that kind of inflation service ?

I use Castrol 10w 30 which in my opinion is way too low so I will be using different oil from now on.

I can't be bothered though to get this 10w 60 stuff as it seems harder to come by than the 10w 40 and I don't ever exceed 90 anyway.

What 10w40 is the BEST do you reckon? What is the best they sell at say Halfords?

Cheers,
Darren

The Oilman knows best, checkout his thread for answers to your oil related questions:

http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/gener...endations.html (Oil Recommendations)

...apart from Nitrogen in tyres

Originally Posted by Robf

Can't see why anyone would question what oil to put in the car, when the manufacturer has already told you in the handbook. We'll be asking whether compressed air is the right thing to put in the tyres next...

Some claim is being made nitrogen is better, actually...

Wow, that Oilman certainly knows his stuff, and he reccomends 10w40 for my 2.5 V6 156. BUT, Which is the best Halfords based 10w40 to get???

Cheers guys,
Darren

Originally Posted by HotListed

Nitrogen in your tyres ! where did you get that kind of inflation service ?

You can get Nitrogen from gas factory that manufactures breathing gases like Oxygen, Heluim ect..
Lot of trucks use N2 to inflate the tyres so its easier to find some at their garrage.
Hope it helps,

Originally Posted by markfdr

They doesn't heat up as much as with regular air..

Actually, they heat up just as much, but the pressure varies less with temperature

On the subject of oil, which crops up on here all the time, I have my own thoughts. Ask anyone outside of Alfa circles and it is very unusual to find someone who has heard of Selenia oil, ask virtually anyone, car fanatic or not, what do Castrol make and they will tell you.

So, its only natural to query, why on earth are Alfa telling me to use an expensive,hard to get product, from a company that no one has ever heard of, instead of an oil recommended by a world renowned company, with a history as long as the motor car itself, being sold in every town and city in the country for less money.

It makes no sense to me,I've used Castrol for over 12 years now, before that I used Silkolene (now Fuchs).

Originally Posted by alfafamily

it is very unusual to find someone who has heard of Selenia oil, ask virtually anyone, car fanatic or not, what do Castrol make and they will tell you.

Mobil 1 is also quite readily available, and has a good name...
They have a 5W-50 and 15W-50...

If Alfa are asking for 10/60, thats what you should use, I just feel that the corrrect grade oil from any major company would be fine.

Going too thick or too thin at either end of the scale is not a good thing in most circumstances.
A 5/50 is too thin when cold or hot. The 15/50 is too thick when cold too thin when hot. Having said that neither would be harmful untill used in extreme circumstances IMO.

At the pressures and temperatures tyres work at the variation in pressure with temperature must be pretty much the same for nitrogen and air filled tyres since the gas behaves more or less ideally. I'm not sure what the advantages of nitrogen are.....may be very low water content, or perhaps nitrogen diffuses far more slowly through rubber than oxygen, or something similar. Perhaps someone can enlighten us.

Originally Posted by jwq

Actually, they heat up just as much, but the pressure varies less with temperature

right about the rubber,
the pressure is because of the stuff with the molecules, bumping into each other...