Oil Types??.. Im confused!

Right, my bike manual says I should use 10W-40 oil...
either API SE, SF or SG...

or API SH SJ with JASO MA


What the heck does all that mean? I usulay go out and buy oil.. but I have 4 litres of oil unused in the garage... except its API SL JASO MA
Will that be safe to use? I dont want to go out and buy more oil, when I have some unopened here already....

the bikes a ZX-6R B1 just incase it helped.. lol


I wish all this oil malarky was a tad easier to understand!

cheers!

Just shove in 10w-40 and be happy with it. Semi synethetic all the way. If you're THAT worried, go to Hein Gerike and buy some MOTUL, bike 'specific' stuff.

P.S I have no idea what all that means but I have no intentions of finding out too. I ignore it all!!!

[embee]

OK

API = American Petroleum Institute, the technical body who lays down the test specs etc. The other one you'll see is SAE = Society of Automotive Engineers

10W-40 = the viscosity (how runny it is), the "W" refers to cold temps (-18C or actually 0F since iy's American ) and the othet number is at about 100C (actually 210F). The 2 temps use different scales for viscosity, so the numbers don't correspond. The bigger the number the thicker it is. Thicker isn't necessarily better, rule of thumb is to use as thin (low viscosity) as the manufacturer recommends (it flows better and cools better etc)

SE, SJ etc = the test spec standard, "S" refers to spark (gasoline/petrol) engines and the second letter goes alphabetically in sequence as new test standards come along, general rule of thumb is later is "better" (well, ish anyway).

JASO MA = the test to show it's suitable for a wet clutch running in the oil (like most bikes are). Japanese Automotive Standard Organisation. JASO FC refers to 2-stroke oil. JASO MB has friction modifiers and isn't intended to be suitable for engines specifying MA.

So theoretically speaking, it should be safe to use API SL stuff then ?
Its semi synthetic...

cheers!

Originally Posted by valleyboy

So theoretically speaking, it should be safe to use API SL stuff then ?
Its semi synthetic...

cheers!

Yes - the oils are designed to be 'backward compatible' so SL should cover anything earlier.

If you think that's confusing most car oils also have the individual manufacturer's oil specs on as well. By the time they've listed all the specs that the oil conforms to, there's no room for the brand name !

Cheers Keith

Great news I didnt want to spend £20 on something I already had..

Just got to wait for the bike to cool down enough now so I can do an oil change!

And whats with the oil colours ?? Most oils I have used have been red in colour... now this stuff is your basic dark yellow/brown stuff.... is there a reason the other stuff is red?

cheers!

Hi

API SH is a no no for high performance bikes. The API produced this standard as an energy efficient oil. The oil was designed so that it produced less drag itself on the engine. This meant the oil was prone to sheer. This is fine for your average American gas guzzler with their low revs and high torque. Now consider your bike, the oil has to deal with the stresses in the gearbox as well as the engine. Meshing gear teeth create huge amounts of sheer stress the oil has to cope with.

I would never use API SH in my bike.

Kind regards
Tim

Check out this link. Some of it does sound like an ad for Silkolene but it backs up what I have said about API SH.

www.turbodynamics.co.uk/oil_facts.htm

Kind regards
Tim

[embee]

Like Tim says .......that was why I put

"general rule of thumb is later is "better" (well, ish anyway). "

but didn't want to go that deep