Oil question

[RICH S]

Does any body know what oil is in a 172 when it leaves the factory. I know the handbook says ELF ULTIMATE 5W40 but i didn,t think an engine would run in on synthetic oil and niether Renault or my local dealer can give me an answer.

 

[Paul Wicks]

The 172 comes out of the factory with 10W40 Elf Elite Premier Plus which is a semi synthetic oil.

http://www.renaultclio172.netwww.renaultclio172.net

 

[teady172]

Paul

Do you still have those pics of the 172 Factory on yer site?

Paul

 

[Nick Read]

So why wouldnt they run it in on synthetic then?

 

[MarkRS]

Synthetic oil protects the engine too well for running in, so the parts dont bed in properly. Once run in, use fully synthetic to protect the engine properly.

 

[Scudetto]

I had my oil changed at 6k. It now has fresh 10w 40 oil in it, semi-synthetic, and hasnt used a drop of it 1,300 miles later.

g

 

[Dansta]

Should i get my oil changed or can i top up with good stuf? im gettin that castrol gtx stuf

 

[RobFenn]

Yeah top it up, i think Mobil do the best? Magnatec something or other..the stuff which doesnt need warming up to work.

 

[Marc]

My cars has just done 3 thou, im gonna change the oil at 6,000 as I dont fancy leaving it to 12,000 (dont care how good Renault say their engines are). Probably put some decent semi-synthetic stuff in and then get it changed at 12,000 by Renault to get me book stamped.

 

[GR7]

Mine will need its first service in a couple of weeks and in one year I have done nearly 3,200 miles. Do I leave it to the garage to select my oil, or should I be telling them which oil my car needs?

Which is the most suitable oil for my car please?

 

[steve_rt]

Mobil 1 is regarded as the best...but you pay for it (lots!)

rob, magnatec is castrols flagship, their oil is the one that clings to the engine when it is cold so reducing wear.

 

[steve_rt]

gr, you can take your own oil along and tell them to put that in,but i dunno what theyd do about getting hold of a particular oil you specify, they buy the stuff they use in great big canisters!

 

[GR7]

Is there an oil which is better suited to lower mileage driving, where sometimes shortish journeys possibly dont really warm up the engine very much?

 

[greeper]

Silkolene Pro 5w 40 fully synthetic is excellent stuff but expensive. Improved my cars running.

 

[RobFenn]

GR- Thats whats magnatec is, ive just looked it up, its actually castrol magnatec. The first 10 mins is where you get all the wear problems, it says magnatec is 60% better than everyone else when it comes to reducing wear.

 

[Jmark]

Ellf 5w40 fully synthetic Excelium is good as well.. .. Also recomended by Renault.

 

[RobFenn]

Recommended because ELF give them money??

 

[Marc]

GR Id stick the best oil in you can afford. Synthetic stuffs the best such as Mobil 1 but it pretty expensive ( i think about 45 quid). Synthetic has the best characterists of any oils as they work well at both low and high temperatures. If you dont do many miles then youd probably get away with semi synthetic stuff. Alot of the high end oils are designed to stay an in your engine for a long while and dont break down as easily.

I use semi synthetic stuff in my motorbike and thrash the spudds of it to its 14,000 rpm redline and it still running sweet!! If your worried about engine wear you could also stick Slick 50 or something similar in. This does the same thing as Castrol Magnatec and coats the moving parts in a film that stops metal on metal contact when you fire it up when its been standing for a while.

Im sure most will agree, if there is one thing you are going to do to look after your car - change the oil regularly, even if its cheap stuff. This will keep engine wear to a minimum.

 

[BRUN]

right, some answers

Magnatec - IMO its crap but loads of people seem to like it, and its not Castrols flagship oil, its simply a well marketed semi synthetic, there best oil is a fully synthetic called Castrol RS, for non turbo cars the 0W-40 is a good choice, the 10W-60 version is favoured by the 5GTT lads and a lot of Scooby owners

Elf oils, they aint just an oil recommended by Renault cos of payment, Elf oils are GOOD, there developed just like all the others in a lab, and Elf also did, and do, a lot of oil research in formula 1 environments, so they know what there doin, i also reckon there VERY good from personal experience, and a hell of a lot better than Magnatec

Mobil 1, very good stuff and definitely fine for a 172/Cup, its pricey though and if anyone wants i can get Total oil for good prices (Total is same company as Elf) if you have the money to spend its worth it

also as Greeper says Silkolene Pro S is a good oil, ive used the 10W-50 in my car, and the Pro R 15W-50, i was impressed by both, i recommended the Pro S 5W-40 to lots of people on here, about 3 took my advice and all were happy/impressed with its performance

you will find that MOST semi synthetics, and im fairly certain 99%/ALL fully synthetic oils will cling to the engine parts like Magnatec does

lastly, i know no1 has mentioned em, but, additives, dont use em, most contain PTFE which can clog in areas, the ones that dont will simply upset the balance of additives which the oil already has