Which oil for 172 Cup

[Moby]

My 4 month old cup needs a top-up, got the warning light this morning when I was parked on a slight slope!

Im just gonna go for a full oil change and had thot Mobil 1 - but what one - 0/30, 0/40, I was told by the dealer to chose synthetic.

Hope someone can help as I have no idea about these sort of things!

Cheers

 

[RobFenn]

How many miles has it done? Only needs a full change at servicing time, dont waste your time or money mate, top it up.

-Rob

 

[Griff]

I use Mobil 1 Motorsport

 

[Dash]

Does the Renault warranty no longer specify which oil must be used?

 

[Cuppy 172]

Reanult told me that I would invalidate my warrany if I was to change the oil & filter before the 12K service. What a bunch of wa*k*rs

 

[jon_r]

If you use a reno OE filter then they wont know!!!

Isnt 5w/40 better

 

[Rich-D]

What oil SHOULD the Cup or 172 use, as in what do Renault put in there?!

My Cup has used a bit during running in (normal) and although its still about 1/2 to 2/3 up the dipstick Id like to know...

 

[CHRIS172CUP]

Blimey, what have you been doing to your cup, needs oil after 4000 miles, have you done a track day every week?

i did change the oil at 1500 just to be over safe.

Renault told me semi-synthetic 10 W 40 castrol GTX. i did ask why not ELF, like whats advertised on the rear window and they didnt know?!

 

[Rich-D]

Cars can & do use oil when running in, thats a fact!

Some cars, like the CTR use loads of the stuff actually, my Cup has used a small amount in 1500 miles, but its normal.

 

[wackojacko]

Well..... ive done 2500 in mine (in three weeks) and i checked the oil, was 1mm above the min on the dipstick, and had one little o left on the dashboard!!!

Took it to my dealer and they looked confused and offered to top it up for me and then started giving me the bull sh*t that modern high performance engines need alot of oil!! Now i no this is true, but not after 2500miles. Even a CTR doesnt drink like that!!!

 

[Rich-D]

Anyone else think the dipstick is daft on a 172???

Some cars do use loads of oil initially Jacko, so just keep an eye on it and see if it gets better/worse after a few more miles...

 

[Neil82]

Quote: Originally posted by Cuppy 172 on 14 August 2003

Reanult told me that I would invalidate my warrany if I was to change the oil & filter before the 12K service. What a bunch of wa*k*rs

If I didnt change mine at 5k my engine would have needed replaced! The oil was about 1/4 full!! I really dont think they would invalidate a warrenty for chaning the oil on a car, in that case can we all drive about never checking our oil between services and then when the engines goes bang they will buy me a new one? Good deal

 

[BRUN]

The oil id recommend for a cup would be a fully synthetic 5W-40 or 0W-40

Id say personally that the 15W-50 Mobil 1 is too thick for such a modern car with so little mileage

 

[monkeymagic]

I had Halfords own 5W-40 put in during my 12000 mile service last week. Halfords had a deal on as well so I got 10 litres for £35 or so.

 

[philip]

CHECK YOUR OIL LEVELS! The 172/cup uses up oil. Anybody with a new 172/cup which has gone from full to min oil in a few thousand miles, do yourself a favour and take the car to renault to be checked. The oil breather system on these cars is delicate and when driving the cars hard, the crankcase seems to get pressurised, leading to oil being pushed through the breather pipe into the inlet manifold. This is the black pipe feeding into the air inlet hose just before the throttle. If you fancy having a look for yourself, undo the jubilee clip connecting the inlet hose and take a look inside. if theres any oil, if your airfilter is stained with oil etc, you may have a problem. In any case, DO NOT RUN ON LOW OIL, or you will damage your engine. ps. do not overfill either. Best way to check on a flat surface with the dipstick and with the blobs behind the "oil ok" sign you get when switching the ignition on.

 

[philip]

oh and by the way, 10-40 semi-synthetic is perfect. If you feel the need go for 5-40 elf fully synthetic which is used in the cup racers

 

[The_Gza]

Im using 5W/40 Valvoline SynPower - good stuff although hard to get hold of

 

[Rich-D]

I actually checked the breather pipe on the inlet the other day actually, when fitting my Pipercross Viper, as I had to take the pipe off anyway.

No oil residue there at all, but mine has only dropped two [] marks on the digital level guage on the dash, so not used much yet.

Will be keeping an eye on it...

 

[Moby]

just bought some Mobil 1 - OW/40, gonna change it 2moro.

Cheers for the advice!

 

[Rich-D]

Ok, I got the answer on the what oil question...

Total Quartz 7000 semi-synthetic 10W40

Thats what you should use in the 172/Cup according to my local Renault and I personally would not go changing the viscosity as that is what the engine is designed to run on!

Basically they said as long as you use a good 10W40 semi-synthetic oil youre ok.

 

[Dan 172 Sport]

Yeah, however the manual says 5W 40 Elf is recommended. WTF?

Who is changing the viscosity?

 

[compocup]

My Renault dealer put in 10-40 Castrol Magnatex on 12000 mile service

 

[CHRIS172CUP]

Ive just topped mine up with Castrol GTX 10W40. Service soon so an oil change will be nice for her.

 

[Rich-D]

Quote: Originally posted by Dan 172 Sport on 18 August 2003


Yeah, however the manual says 5W 40 Elf is recommended. WTF?

Does it???

Seems that all the Renault dealers are saying 10W40 according to peeps on here...

 

[tonykart]

In racing we use Elf ex. 5W50 full synth. which is the best there is to use !! every 12.000 KM change !!

 

[swelch]

reno overfilled my oil by about 20mm on the dip stick. Anyone know if this would have caused problems. My tickover has been a bit lumpy ever since (didnt notice for 1 week). Blocked breather do cause irratic tickover if I remember right, dont they ?

 

[tonykart]

more oil, higher pressure has to go somewhere.....guess where !

 

[SideShowBob]

To be honest, any of the better brands of oil will be pretty much the same, you wont notice any difference in longevity of the engine, or performance.

Id use what Renault recommend. It wont do your engine any better or worse than using more expensive Mobil oil, and is most likely whats in there already.

Reason VTEC cars use more oil, is because the cam is moved to the higher lift profile through oil pressure, so they use more than a conventional engine. Cant imagine a 172 using all that much, but I bought GTX oil for top ups just in case, and 10W40 is a good intermediatery rating, which will protect the engine, not cost a bomb, and isnt as thin as 0W40.