How to prolong the life of your petrol-engined car!

[:::Jerry::::]

Judging by some of your answers in this thread you probably were....

[Mike]

Ah - you missed the days of real motoring then :-)

London to Edinburgh it the time it now takes to get though Brum.

[Mike]

It's usually aluminium heads that have the real problems. Lancia and Fiat heads from the 70s/80s simply won't survive on modern fuels at all. Have tried all the additives and none work that well.

[:::Jerry::::]

I think the operative word is 'rallies', here we are talking bog standard road going cars...

No it would not, unless you buy oil from the retail rip off stores or petrol forecourts...

[IMM]

No engine is designed to use fully synthetic oils (although some viscosities can only be met by synthetics). They are the same viscosities as the other poor mineral oils. It is just that they are vastly superior in every way. I have used them for the best part of 20 years, even in the transmission. The engine wear is minimal, and they still have the smooth newness about them when cars with similar engines with the same mileages, etc sound like tin cans. Also the insides of the engine stay immaculately clean.

The water pumps and alternators may speak, but the main engine is as good as new. There is far too much evidence out there to dispute the qualities of fully synthetics. They were developed for jet engines originally. I once did work at an oil research lab. The guys there said "always use fully synthetics, no matter what car you drive". One had a SAAB and had not changed the oil for 60,000 miles. He tested the oil each month to see if it had degraded. He changed the filter every 6,000 miles and topped up a drop that the old filter had in it.

Been converted ever since and not had one problem with any engine when using it. All, after many 1000s of miles were as smooth as new.

[:::Jerry::::]

You would also have had to flush every last drop of non synthetic oil out of the engine for there to be any benefit if the oil did manage to stay within the engine.

[Mike]

distribution

I think modern engines, especially injection ones, can adjust to fuels far more readily than in the old days. I remember having to drive only by certain routes as my RS2000 would only happily accept BP or Esso. It really did not like Shell or Mobil despite as you say them all probably coming from the same place.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In the days when Redex was common of garage forecourts, the average family car engine might only last 70,000 miles between overhauls. These days most outlive the body.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Because it's not available in the same 'thickness' as those originally recommended?

I'm using Halfords fully synthetic in the SD1 which is an '84 car - although the engine dates back to the '60s, and it doesn't leak anymore than before. ;-) But it certainly spins over more easily on a cold start.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'm not saying nuffink.

[Mike]

Which until the recent WRC cars were at least related to bog standard cars. Often they were just the bog standard cars with the weakest bits upgraded a bit.

Not sure how nuch you pay for oil then but synthetic is less than three times to the cost of standard even before we consider the filter.

>

[IMM]

You use it on new or nearly new cars, and for ever after.

[IMM]

They would do as they is what they are supposed to do. Duh!

[Mike]

Do you want to tell that to my Impreza ? There's even a warning in the manual that normal oils won't survive.

Now I do agree with you.

[:::Jerry::::]

Again, it's not what the head is made out of that matters, some V8 Rover lumps (all aluminium) will run quite happily on non leaded petrol (and have done for years) - others will last less than 6k. What matter is what types and grades of metal are used for components such as valves, seats, guides etc.

[:::Jerry::::]

Yes, I hope you are correct, seeing that all modern engines are injection (even if they appear to have what looks like a carb [1]), and have been for a few years now.

[1] single-point injection opposed to multi-point.

[:::Jerry::::]

As you would say...

snip drivel and miss information. not worth reading

Needless to say, there are.

[:::Jerry::::]

And you believed them....

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Shouldn't be. Ally heads have all got valve seat inserts, and these are by nature rather better (harder) steel than cast iron heads without inserts.

The very worst engines for suffering valve problems with unleaded are the BMC A and B series which have low grade cast iron heads and siamese exhaust valve ports on cylinders 2&3.

[:::Jerry::::]

Don't you mean 50's Dave, ex Buick lump and all that ?...