Good *car* oils - Discussion / List

[85jas]

I apologise for starting ANOTHER oil thread... AND something which is specifically mentioned in the sticky! Admin, feel free to trash this for all eternity if needs be :smt051

Does anyone here use non-MC specific oil in their SV? Talking to a friend of mine and he has used the VAG-spec Quantum Synta 10W-40 semi synth in his bandit (which he rides the absolute nuts off) for 40k / 3 years with no issues. Buying bike oil at £30 / 5lt when I get the Quantum stuff for £38 / 20L poly drum seems a bit bonkers, and I buy it in bulk for the vr6 anyway!

If anyone knows of a place to get bike oil at similar prices then please share the love [-o<

Of course it's false economy putting in a cr*p oil then having to sort out the mess, and full respect to the "it's a bike, put bike oil in it" crew (of which I am currently one!). Clearly a 10 year old sv will be more tolerant than a brand new gixxer too but if ya done it, and it worked fine, tell us (me!).

How about some sort of list like this?

Bike Oil Grad Since
Bandit '06 Quantum Synta 10W-40 Semi Synth 40k / 3yr

[MJC-DEV]

I've always used car Full Syn oil in my motorbikes without problem but these have been the 'cheaper' brands without the EC (Engergy Conservation) markings that can cause problems with wet clutches (and probably some without it). Seems people have had problems with well known top brands (eg Castrol).

I normally used Fuchs Titan 5W/30 or 5W/40 in past Suzukis

[maxinc]

Compared to the price of petrol used for the mileage between oil changes I would say the difference in oil price is negligible and could easily be absorbed by filling in at a different petrol station. I would say is false economy and although I would like to know more about the science of it, for the simple reason state above, I would stick with MC oil.

[yorkie_chris]

A lot of the cases of "I've used it for x miles/years" are not really valid evidence IMO as there aren't enough miles included to tell you what's occuring.

I've used it before but I wouldn't absolutely say I'm sure it's fine as I haven't used it for the full life of an engine.

Even failures while running car oil aren't proof unless you can pin the failure down.

That said, a very important fact I rarely see mentioned is the manual specifies API SF/SG oil (IIRC) which is an automotive standard, no mention of JASO spec that I can see.

I'd be happy using a semi or full synth oil for petrol or diesel cars in bike, anything 0>10W40.

[85jas]

Hmm I agree YC, 40k isn't really a full test of the oil - I suppose in my mind the main issue tho is clutch slip. Before posting this up I did loads of reading to try and find out what the differences are in formulation of these oils and it turns out to be very difficult to find out the precise additives (unsurprisingly, bloody trade secrets!) The Quantum stuff is API SL rated so supersedes the SF rating... should be fine in theory :S

Yeah MJC thought that would be the case, I'd have thought though that the new long-life energy saving oils would wreak havoc on the clutch - but they all seem to be non-API rated and only rated to specific manufacturer specs, and are usually 5w30 or 0w30. So no-go there!

Well I'm gonna do it - if it works then I'll be changing the oil after every ride - gotta be a good thing :D