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

[:::Jerry::::]

[ re synthetic oils ]

'Normal' oil does also.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

My father had the first OHV Minor in Scotland - I can remember seeing the actual car on the stand at the Scottish Motor show. With the Austin A30

803cc engine. He wore out the engine - needed a re-bore and crank grind - before the first set of tyres. Oh - and at an average of 53 mpg.

[:::Jerry::::]

Rover bought the rights to it in the early / mid '60's IIRC, the engine dates back further, aluminium blocks had been used for years before.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

More rubbish from our self styled expert in all things.

The engine first saw the light of day in the Buick Special of '61. US production of this engine ceased in '63.

In '63, William Martin-Hurst, the then MD of Rover, was on a promotional tour of the US trying to sell Rover gas turbine technology for use in power boat racing, when he came across one of these engines in a boat yard. He did a quick measuring job and found it would easily fit the then new P6 (2000) engine bay.

So entered negotiations with GM to buy the rights to it - but initially they wouldn't believe the enquiries were serious. He finally obtained these in Jan '65.

The engine was heavily re-designed and uprated for UK production with a much higher rev limit than the original, and more power. GM and Rover engineers cooperated on this re-design.

The first production application was in the P5B - the B standing for Buick, shown at the September '67 motor show.

[Mike]

I think there are still quite a few Far East imports around using carbs. But I think even these have some form of emissions control.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

IMHO, you do with the extended oil change intervals on many modern engines. I'm not sure whether there is any real benefit on an older engine where you stick to the then recommended oil change intervals. So saying, I'm running Halfords fully synthetic in the SD1. Main advantage seems to be it whizzes round on the starter on a cold morning.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

It was my understanding carburettors couldn't be made to pass current Euro emission regs? Otherwise Rover would still be fitting SUs - which made a last gasp stand to conform to the earlier regs.

With a cat, the engine goes closed loop after warming up and keeps the emissions near constant under the control of the Lambda sensor which constantly varies the fuel delivery to achieve this. Altering the mixture on a carb - even automatically - isn't quick enough reacting. You *might* be able to do it with one carb per cylinder, but injection is cheaper...

[IMM]

The waning will probably only apply to the viscosity, although some high performance engines, usually withy turbos, synthetic can only do. Minerals oils can hack it, but not for very long.

The average car is designed to run at a viscosity, because the odd moron would put cheap crap Halfords stuff in. So, the engine has to be capable of running well with cheap crap in it. Put proper fully synthetics in and the engine runs brilliantly with smoothness prolonged. With specialist high performance cars, the maker can say use this type and make of oil and the owner will probably understand that and do it. People who buy those cars know that the car is not a normal run of the mill motor.

[Andy Dingley]

No, it's about viscosity, but not under the same conditions as the viscosity measurement we normally worry about. It's the "viscosity for creeping through narrow gaps, when lightly loaded" rather than "tenacity of the oil film in a bearing, when hot and under high pressure".

I believe that the fluorinated plastic used for seals in Vauxhalls was a deliberate move to make them seal better with synthetic oils. These are the seals that can produce hydrofluoric acid after a fire.

A few years ago I was trying to buy oil (for my Alfasud, oddly enough) with a decent SAE rating, such as the recently available SI, rather than the clunky old SFs. After a _lot_ of searching, I found some Valvoline synth. Most factors didn't know what I was talking about, one only had an aircraft lubricant (pricetag!) and a couple swore blind that the ratings simply didn't go that high.

Now you go into Halfords in search of cheap treacle for the lawnmower and there's nothing in there under an SJ rating.

[IMM]

You really don't know do you.

[IMM]

Those old engines when rebuilt do not require attention at all if fully synthetic oils are used. Penrite make synthetics for older engines.

[IMM]

I agree with Dave here entirely.

[:::Jerry::::]

Yes I do know, unlike yourself.

[IMM]

Rover were to develop a new engine as they were short in their range. Buick made a wonderfull short block aluminium engine that they were ditching after only a few years. Thin walled cast iron was developed, so made alumiumium not that attractive. In the USA at the time big and fuel thrity sold. Small, light and efficient didn't. This cast off engine was just what Rover needed. It fitted the bill. A Rover manager/engineer was at a motor show in the US and heard what Buick were doing. He approached them at the show and the deal was virtually done on the display stand at the show. Sorted.

[Huge]

[24 lines snipped]

Without going to look, I can't tell you what rating it is, but I bought "Agricultural Machinery Oil" in Hellfrauds quite recently.

[:::Jerry::::]

You would, but unlike him, most of the time you have head up your arse and can't see the whole picture, Dave just has his head in high performance engine blocks.

I see you snipped out the part of my message were I said;

"I'm not arguing that *high performance* engines don't need synthetic oils, just that the majority of road going cars don't and it's marketing that have told the mass motoring public that they need synthetic oils.".

For the *average* road going car the use of synthetic oils (especially fully synthetic oils) has little or no benefit.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I've heard some say older engines will leak with synthetic, but I've not found this with my '84 SDI. I did replace the front crank seal though - but this was leaking with dino oil too. Which was 10-40.

Nor does it burn any more - it will still do one annual oil change to the next without topping up.

[:::Jerry::::]

Why not just reduce the servicing interval ? Extended servicing was originally nothing but a (fleet) marketing ploy anyway....

[:::Jerry::::]

As you would say, snip drivel, expencive drivel at that....

[:::Jerry::::]

But go into a trade motor factors and you'll get what you need, not what they can make the most profit on....