Morris Minor Owners Club

I've used Asda cheap oil since fitting the 1275 a couple of years back, mainly because various leaks made anything more expensive a wasted investment... anyway...
I changed my oil over the weekend for some Halfords 'Classic' 20/50 and its a changed vehicle!
Noticeably more smooth and amazingly quiet.

Is it worth £18 Vs £5 ? I don't know... but the car does seem to love it.

Yup, fantastic oil, I've used it for 4 years now with no problems (it is now API rated). Pretty sure it's very similar to Duckhams

I use duckhams Q, afterall it was designed for the A series ;) I paid £9.50/gallon where I used to live so I stocked up!

I'm also a convert to decent oil - I used ASDA stuff in my old engine but since installing the one I rebuilt I've been using Duckhams Q. Horridly expensive but then again I only change it twice a year (every ~2500 miles), so it's tolerable. I would hate to ruin all the work I put into rebuilding that engine because of being too tight to put decent oil in it!

Anyway there isn't an ASDA in Exeter so even if I wanted to buy it I couldn't.

Morrison have a v similar oil. Never been a problem for me using the Asda stuff - engine still has excellent oil pressure and doesn't burn any significant amount. I find my car goes very much better when I wash it - maybe similar effect here with the oil change ?

dunketh wrote: Is it worth £18 Vs £5 ? I don't know... but the car does seem to love it.

I've noticed "proper" oil keeps going up in price, whereas the cheap stuff (Morrisons, Wilkos, Asda etc) stays around a fiver. I did spot the B&Q cheapy has gone up 4 quid in 4 months though!

I think the main question is is the Halfords £18 oil a better spec/ oil than the Silkolene 10 quid 20/50? No point trying to copmpare it to Duckams though it seems to be the same stuff) as I've yet to find anywhere round here that sells the stuff

Morrison have a v similar oil. Never been a problem for me using the Asda stuff - engine still has excellent oil pressure and doesn't burn any significant amount

Mine was fine on it too - good oil pressure and no significant leakage (other than usual).
The car definitely feels and sounds smoother now though. Tappet noise is non-existent whereas before there was a very faint but noticeable tap.
This is probably down to the extra viscosity as much as anything.

I think the main question is is the Halfords £18 oil a better spec/ oil than the Silkolene 10 quid 20/50?

Is there somewhere local stocking the Silkolene stuff?

I find my car goes very much better when I wash it

Never happens so I can't comment. I did try washing it once but it only got all dirty again..

dunketh wrote:

I think the main question is is the Halfords £18 oil a better spec/ oil than the Silkolene 10 quid 20/50?

Is there somewhere local stocking the Silkolene stuff?

Scats did have it, probably still do but it's been a few months since I did a proper oil change (both cars are now leaking/ burning so much there's a constant cycle of fresh going in...). I'll try and remember to take a look at what Breedy's has next time I pop in as well. They're certainly better than anywhere else around here for off the shelf imperial nuts and bolts (as in they have a wide range and not Halfords blister pack prices!), and do have a fair few tubs of oil and grease around

(both cars are now leaking/ burning so much there's a constant cycle of fresh going in...).

So you use the cheap stuff then ?
I always use the really posh stuff, gives me peice of mind, and it's just not worth the risk for the sake of a few quid extra. Check out this website, a lot of reading but worth the time and it does bring the point home that the long term effect of cheap oil will reduce the life of your engine quite considerably.
http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html
This chap has obviously done his research and does know his stuff.

Robins wrote:

(both cars are now leaking/ burning so much there's a constant cycle of fresh going in...).

So you use the cheap stuff then ?
I always use the really posh stuff, gives me peice of mind, and it's just not worth the risk for the sake of a few quid extra. Check out this website, a lot of reading but worth the time and it does bring the point home that the long term effect of cheap oil will reduce the life of your engine quite considerably.
http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html
This chap has obviously done his research and does know his stuff.

Both cars are also scheduled for engine changes/ serious work this year (both were less than healthy when I bought the cars) so I don't worry too much about it. When they're sorted there's no way the cheapo cak is going near them again!

The Metro is mostly inhaling it through the valve stem seals I think, and as the synchro on 3rd is going (this was when I was still putting the good stuff in too) I might as well hold out till I can drop my spare good lump in before forking out for good oil. The Midget is burning it, leaking it, and I suspect selling it on the black market behind my back. I'm saving up to get one of my 12G295 heads reconned and converted at which point I'll go back to good stuff, and eventually hope to find the cash to rebuild my spare lump for that which'll hopefully reduce the overall oil use a lot.

I'm no fan of the recycled muck, but when you've got already clapped out engines that use a gallon or so every 500 miles it seems more cost effective to save on the gloop and put the money towards a long term fix!

Robins wrote:-snip- http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html
This chap has obviously done his research and does know his stuff.

Good link!
Looks like those sludge problems are caused by high service intervals and the design of modern engines. If you change the oil regularly on your Minor (twice a year, every couple of thousand miles) you will not get the problem.

If you have a modern car- ignore the silly long service intervals, change the oil at least once a year or six thousand miles (whichever is shorter).

If you have a modern car- ignore the silly long service intervals, change the oil at least once a year or six thousand miles (whichever is shorter).

Only problem there, is the modern engines designed for long service intervals, must use the extremely expensive £15 /Litre oil. That's not a typo, 15 quid a litre. My VW does have an oil change sensor, but I do low mileage in that car (3,500 miles /year). I got 18 months out of the first sump full of oil, but only 7,000 miles. The oil is OW-30W and looks like tea!

Looks like those sludge problems are caused by high service intervals and the design of modern engines. If you change the oil regularly on your Minor (twice a year, every couple of thousand miles) you will not get the problem.

Certain engines seem more prone to this too. FOr instance I've never had a 'sludged-up' A series head but I've had lots of sludged-up CVH heads over the years. Some I've literally taken a scraper to, digging chunks of goo out of the valve recesses.

I change my oil every 6 months. Works out a lot more than a 'couple of thousand' miles but then I can't be bothered to change it any more frequently.

[quote="MoggyTech
Only problem there, is the modern engines designed for long service intervals, must use the extremely expensive £15 /Litre oil. That's not a typo, 15 quid a litre. -smip[/quote]

£15 a litre is still cheaper than an engine re-build!

No point trying to copmpare it to Duckams though it seems to be the same stuff) as I've yet to find anywhere round here that sells the stuff

Its the same round here but the funny thing about Duckhams is that at the larger Rallies I go to like Luton Festival of Transport its often for sale normally £8 - £10 a can but why its not in the shops I dont know, the other oil`s that you can still get are Unipart, Comma, Millers and Penright.