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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Halfords Engine oil

My car is due for an oil and filter change and having been very happy using Halfords Part Synthetic 10W40, I set off for my nearest store and was very surprised and delighted to find that they have a promotional offer of 4L for £12.00. Last time I paid £23.99 for 5L.
Great deal for anyone planning an oil change soon.
Happy shopping!
Peter Blockley

says for cars built after 1990 and suitable for most fuel injected engines. ? whats wrong with the 20/50 mineral. i think that is what most use.
bob.
bob taylor

Yes, that's correct, and there's nothing wrong with mineral 20/50 if you like changing the oil every 6 months.

There's been lots of discussion on this forum about which oils to use and 10/40 is one of a number of grades originally recommended for our engines. Synthetic oils were not available back then and have the advantage of more advanced formulation and longer oil change intervals. Some use and swear by Mobil 1 10/40 fully synthetic. Others, like me, prefer to use a part synthetic rather than a wholly mineral or fully synthetic oil.

The Halfords one has served me very well indeed and I think the the promotional price tag of £12 for 4L deserves sharing with those of like mind.
Peter Blockley

Well... I think thats the point of this thread

Halfords has 10/40 full synthetic oil on sale for £12 for a 4l bottle normal price is £25

To those that use this oil, thats great news, to those that dont use this oil... perhaps 20/50 will be on sale next week... keep a watchful eye

Considring we just had this big debate on oils pros and cons, brands verse oil chemistry, ect ect not all that long ago, I dont see the need to rehash this old tired pub debate that started with arnie palmer adverting pensoil vs. jack Nicholas shilling for shell oil back in the early 1970s while playing golf

Or do we just want to for the pure spite of it

FWB anyone ?

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Don't forget to add ZDDP if you are not using an oil designed for use with flat cam followers
dominic clancy

Peter,
I like your independent thought and £3 a litre is a very good price for a decent oil

I'm not sure if you meant Mobil 1 10w-60 (Extended Life) fully synthetic rather than >>Mobil 1 10/40 fully synthetic<< (in the UK at least)

I have a mate that swears by Castrol 10w-40 Magnatec (part-synthetic) in his soaped up Spridget
Nigel Atkins

"soaped up Spridget"

Does that reduce drag.....sorry.
Dean Smith ('73 RWA)

I couldn't think how the word was spelt but did mean it to sound and read like 'souped' (up) rather than soap :)

but surely I have the spelling wrong (again) and perhaps the way the word is pronounced

perhaps its 'supped' or 'sup'd' like super(ed) up

any one remember?
Nigel Atkins

nigel

Id just go with fat fingers :-)

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Souped :-)

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/souped-up?q=souped
Dean Smith ('73 RWA)

Although (and you might suggest I'm on a dull conference call at work and have tooo much time on my hands) it appears the actual derivation is from the war and adding super-chargers to engines. i.e. Sup'd up might be more accurate.
Dean Smith ('73 RWA)

Well I appreciated your joke Dean! Well spotted.
Graeme W

sorry the joke didn't really hit but that's the way with jokes so it's not to say it wasn't good more like I'm a bit dull with too much heat

yeah I think I'll take 'souped up' as the cars we meant at the time wouldn't generally have had a supercharger fitted, more like a smaller steering wheel and go faster stripes that's all

Prop,
I can't blame my fat fingers this time (anyway I can only one finger type) I thought about how the word might be spelt - and then typed it wrong
Nigel Atkins

Peter your thrift has just cost me £50 - so as usual I'm saving very little if anything, I can't be bothered to check as I'm just happy it's another item I don't have to think about getting and then forget until the last minute

and it's stuffed full of ZDDP so Dominic and the other ZDDP worriers will no doubt claim my use of it as the reason why my car goes so well and its use will probably improve the steering, suspension and tyre pressures :)
Nigel Atkins

I never used the synthetic oil, but a buddy of mine did.. and it seemed to leak from everywhere...even places it didn't before. I like the idea that the oil could last longer and its other benefits.

Do you guys that are using it find it better than the old 20/50 mineral?
Steven Devine

>>>>>and it's stuffed full of ZDDP so Dominic and the other ZDDP worriers will no doubt claim my use of it as the reason why my car goes so well and its use will probably improve the steering, suspension and tyre pressures :)<<<<~

It also cures bad breath, ED, male pattern baldness, your children will love you more, and women will find you much more sexier, give you a promotion and a raise


But its still going to run out you engine and piss all over your driveway

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Some words of caution, doesn't matter what oil you have if you don't look after the engine. The biggest problem is laying cars up with old oil in and even worse firing the car up and not driving it. Initial starting/running conditions produce a lot of unwanted and undesirable contaminants , especially acids, these usually burn off or neutralise under 'proper' running conditions when full operating temps are reached. Leaving acidic oil in the engine allows damage to anything with pressure such as piston rings and cam followers, ugly black pitting from the acid can be seen.

Best bet if laying up over winter or for whatever reason is to change the oil and filter, crank it up to get pressure, squirt some oil in the bores and crank it again, then leave it till you need it.

Olde worlde engines do not like thin oils no matter what anyone tells you, we have been there, done that and seen the zero pressure at idle and buzzers/lights letting you know all about it when hot (think traffic jams not necessarily race use hot). 15/50, 20/60....perfect, even a good race 15/40 synthetic but forget the 0 somethings.

Peter
Peter Burgess Tuning

Something niggles in the back of my mind about flat tappets and zinc content, but I could have dreamt it.
P Ottewell

There is no ZDDP in modern oils because exhaust catalysers don't like it very much. If you use a modern oil, you need to add the ZDDP
dominic clancy

Did you mean flat caps and ferrets?

We use, when necessary, a zddp additive....
http://www.chemodex.co.uk/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=493

Peter
Peter Burgess Tuning

E by gum lad!
P Ottewell

having learnt by making the mistake (and not taking Daniel's advice) I can confirm from experience what Peter's put about not using 0w (although it was useful during the coldest part of winter)

I've now got a whole load of ZDDP - from a modern oil, well it's fully synthetic so modern compared to the engine

should I coat the outside of the engine with it as well ?

perhaps the carbs ??

myself ???

can you ever get too much of this stuff?
Nigel Atkins

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm zddp :)

Peter
Peter Burgess Tuning

>>>>>I've now got a whole load of ZDDP - from a modern oil, well it's fully synthetic so modern compared to the engine

should I coat the outside of the engine with it as well ?

perhaps the carbs ??

myself ???

can you ever get too much of this stuff?<<<<<<

Nigel for the best application for zddp drink it, then just wizz it out into the oil hole of the valve cover... carfully with that funnel, the stream bounces all over the place

Hahaha

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Thanks for all those comments and advice, both useful and amusing.
Mine's in the engine now along with a new filter and has had a good long run in this lovely midgetting weather. Incidentally, I have had no oil loss (and zero oil consumption between changes) since starting to use this oil 2-3 years ago, other than the usual odd drip that I've always had. No loss of oil pressure when hot, either.

Just out of interest, does anyone know the zinc or zddp content of Halfords 10W40 Part Synthetic Petrol & Diesel Oil?
Peter Blockley

mmm... zinc... zinc... where can I get some zinc...? beef is high in zinc I believe, maybe some beef dripping in my oil.

At the risk of starting a 300 post thread... Do you think I have buggered my cam already. I was not aware I needed to put some acronyms in my oil before starting the engine?

alcolm
M Le Chevalier

Here's the stuff on ZDDP that Russ Carnes posted on the MGABBS a few years ago


A little background...A few years ago the EPA mandated a lower ZDDP zinc/phosphorus spec oil to extend the life of catalytic converters to the min. 125,000 miles. This new SM spec reduced the sped by about half, causing flat tappet gasoline engine failures to begin to appear. Car clubs like Porshe and Corvette clubs started raising questions and funded research programs for answers.
The following links to an article requested by the Porsche Club of America and quoted by many clubs regarding why the new SM specification was ordered by the EPA and why flat tappet camshaft engines are failing. Gasoline engines were the subject because diesel engines did not have emission controls until recently. This is a great article with good background and links.

http://www.lnengineering.com/oil.html

I rebuilt my 1500 about 15 years ago, broke it in and drove it with Castrol 20-50 GTX. I put about 200 miles a year on the car, changing the oil & filter every spring, no problems. I bought a new case of oil a year ago, changed it, and immediately the engine was noisier and rougher. I ran a few months and changed the oil and found fine metal on the magnetic drain plug. (A must for our engines as an impending failure indicator if nothing else). It happened again. I raised a question regarding this on this BBS and was advised that the metal was probably coming from the cam/tappet interface due to the new oils. That is exactly the case with my engine. I researched and found that long range Diesel engine oils were available (CI-4 old spec, CJ-4 new lower Zddp spec).

dominic clancy

Peter,
contact Halfords and they'll probably tell you but remember that this is just one bit of the oil's make up and it will be balanced with the other parts that are used to make up that particular oil

it's a bit like the food we eat to keep us in reasonable condition concentrating on just one food over looks the wider picture, there needs to be balance


Dominic,
you don't consider that the 200(!?!) miles a year might have had a contributory accumulative effect
Nigel Atkins

Dominic,
the link you provided goes to some engineering company's home page

can you provide a link to the article you are referring to?

thx,
Norm
Norm Kerr

That page hauls up a virus warning when I go to it, so it is rejected by my browser

But here is lots of information as bed time reading!


http://zddplus.com/about-us/tech-briefs/
dominic clancy

This thread was discussed between 11/07/2014 and 14/07/2014

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