Initial feelings: A little smoother idling and overall driving. Idle seems to have stabilized a bit. I'll have to put some good miles on it for feedback on any gains/losses. Right now, I'm at 30.1 average.

 

Part of me is....kinda....sorry

 

I do prolly 75% or more city driving so it's expected to be a little low.

 

yeah I do a lot of city and I only get about 28, but hey I was getting 12 mpg so I can't really complain lol

 

OK I usually put redline oil, but not as easy to find as rp (auto zone), I like redline cause its 5/30 blend is "lighter" (30) under temps, but retains the ability for cold start ups (5), lighter meaning it can run through engine "faster". Pete Taylor SCCA MINI pilot says it gives 1-1.5 hp with redline oils, of course he's sposered by them. BTW the numbers given by oil brands is usually not their own research but based on API ratings. (sorry meant API ratings not sae) Anyway, RP is similar to redline both highest grade base stock synthetic oils. (no blends or refined dinos)
redline oils 5/30 at 100cel move at a rate of 10.6 (fastest)and at 40 cel at 62
http://www.redlineoil.com/pdf/4.pdf
where mobile 1 at 100 celsius moves at 11.3 (3rd fastest)and 64.8/40 cel
http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lub...bil1_5W-30.asp
RP- 100 cel/11.0 (2nd fastest) and 40 cel/65.3
http://www.royalpurple.com/motor-oil-pp.html
(go under "Product Sheet" on top right)
I'm no expert, but did some research, when I considered moving to RP. For my purpose RP is better than Mobil1, but redline still runs faster. Although, they did not post the numbers for the XRP (extreme race performance) blend I imagine its more like redline.

 

"Happy Ending, huh?

Machine or "Hand-Job"

 

Please read below...

Royal Purple oils use Group IV PAO's and other synthetics along with synthetic additives that contain diluents.

Castrol is a Group III hydrocracked mineral oil that is now commonly being called synthetic.


GI- solvent refined petroleum base stock. It is common belief that no SL rated oil uses 100% GI basestock, but some of them do have some GI in them.

GII- hydrotreated petroleum base stock. More refined, with less gunk in it. More stable, and usually with a higher viscosity index. Chevron and pennzoil oils use nothing but this group in their oils. Common belief that all SL oils use this in a certain amount.

GIII- "hydrocracked" or severely hydrofinished base stock. Castrol won the right for oil blenders to call this group "synthetic". Most OTC synthetics are made from this base. I think they use the same process to make it as GII, but take it a step further.

****Groups 1 to 3 are petroleum base stocks. ****

G-IV PAO base stock. Chemically produced from ethelene gas. True synthetic oil, and primary basestock used in mobil, amsoil and most top tier synthetics. Much more stable and has higher VI index than GIII. Can handle more extreme temps.



Recently, Mobil accused Castrol of reformulating its synthetic by substituting other basestocks in place of its synthetic polyaphaolefins (PAO's). Castrol is a hydrocracked oil. That's right, Castrol has replaced the PAO synthetic base stock with hydroisomerized petroleum base stock. Hydrocracking, as it's called, is the highest level of petroleum refining. Castrol isn't even a Group 4 synthetic yet Castrol ended up winning the battle when the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus ruled that Castrol could still market its oil as "synthetic" despite their new formulation. Basically, they expanded the definition of synthetics to include Group 3 hydroprocessed petroleum oil. This high profile case took place because synthetics are recognized as the market's best hope for growth. Synthetic oil sales have outpaced petroleum oil sales by a wide margin and the gap continues to widen every year. Consumers are getting smarter and demand the best for their vehicles. Read the full story on the Castrol issue in our informative articles section.
Additionally, just as soon as Castrol won this battle, several other major oil companies jumped in and came up with hydroprocessed motor oils of their own and labeled these products to be "100% synthetic", when they still are Group 3 hydro processed petroleum oils.

Incidentally, the Castrol 5W-50 allows for a 2.284 mm wear scar (ASTM D4172 4-Ball Wear Test), compared to the a Group IV 20W-50 Racing Oil which allows for a 0.454 mm wear scar. [/SIZE][SIZE=4]That's 5 times greater wear with Castrol!

 

I believe that is true for all the Castrol Synthetics except the 0W-30 Castrol German Synthetic.

 

Don't know if this has been posted or not but it is what changed my mind about my once "trusted" Mobile 1. I now use Royal Purple.
http://www.animegame.com/cars/Oil%20Tests.pdf

 

For something available at Autozone, O'Reilly's etc., Royal Purple looks really good. That and a few extra HP are hard to beat.

 

While there's nothing inherently wrong with the test they were using, you have to take the results with a grain of salt.

The authors were correct in saying that the test only measures one specific attribute of the oils' performance (specifically, the how well the oil holds up to high pressure between metal surfaces when the oil is new), but then they go on to say that "The idea of this test is to demonstrate long-term wear in a short period of time, giving an idea of how a lubricant can protect your engine over long distances and periods of time."

The problem is, that's not a valid assumption you can draw from this particular test. The authors basically increased the pressure between the metal surfaces until the oil broke down, and then measured the resulting wear. But if the bearing pressures in your engine never reach 1000 psi, it doesn't really matter whether the film breaks down at 3000 psi or 6000 psi - any extreme-pressure capability above and beyond what's experienced in your engine is just overkill.

Subjecting the oil to extremely-high pressure for a short period of time is not the same as subjecting it to lower pressures for longer times - that's why their test isn't a valid indication of long-term protection (which is what the authors' stated intention was).

Think of trying to measure the impact-resistance of a pane of glass. Throwing a rock at the glass *once* isn't the same as throwing a ping-pong ball at the glass a million times. There isn't a linear tradeoff between the intensity of the stress and the duration of the stress.

 

Great article Only wish they had rated one specific SAE/API class of oils, it would make it more apple to apples rather than apples to oranges comparo. But it does shed to light on breakdown

+1, think a comparo of similar class (sae/api) of oils would be a little more conclusive too. But it does shed some light on breakdown properties.


I found that there is no BMW approved list, but there are "appoved BMW oils" that require them to certain standards that meet: BMW LL-04 (latest) and BMW LL-01 (previous) the lit provided makes it sound like they got to meet both, 04 may be an addendum? I will try to compile a list of oils that meet them.

 

So, where does that leave us? Which oil is the goodest of 'em all??

 

All of them are good in the 7,500 miles interval range. Maybe the APO base like RP & Redline, etc. are slightly better in longer interval period. I store my car 6 months a year that's why I want that extra protection for peace of mind. Synthetic oil has better film strength and I believe that it clings to metal surface longer. For a few dollars more, I am OK and have nothing to lose.

 

Depends on what you're looking for, also. Power? Check Red Line, RP, or possibly AmsOil. No warranty worries? Go to the dealer. Out of warranty and don't want sheer power? Castrol or M1 will be good choices. There are also some smaller companies who make their own line of synthetics.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ghlight=biosyn

 

Yes, amsoil, redline, RP, even mobil1 all good, 5/30 blend (for cold starts) especially, if you in cold climate.

For power maybe a straight 30WT (like redline 30wt race oil or RP 30wt XRP) especially if ya live in California no cold weather. 30wt may be minimal result in power, but there are some results. Not really the best choice for daily drivers as they have no detergents and not meant for cold weather starts. Have not tried Amsoil, mainly cause I like to buy my oil at the store, and the two shops I go to carry both Redline and RP. I like supporting my local shops like Winchester Auto in Santa Cruz and Speed Scene in Watsonville.

 

I haven't read about anything higher than 5-30 in these posts.I have for 4 years and 16k trouble free miles ran 10-30 Pennzoil synthetic oil.I have a friend that runs a race engine facility and has a 5gal unopened pail of R/P 10-40 he says i can have whatever i need (5qts) to change my Mini's oil if i want it.I'm considering it,at least this summer as temp hover 90+ here a lot but would change it back in the fall,although by at least Nov she goes into hibernation until spring (thats why she's only got 19.8k miles on her and shes a 9/02 build) What do you guys think about the 10-40 grade (R/P)?
Bill

 

A No. Carolina summer? I think you'd be just fine with 10W-40. PA doesn't get as hot and I run 10-30 in the summer. Add in southern temps and humidity and you'll be juuuusssst fine.

 

I just did an oil change about three weeks ago. I switched from Castrol that the old owner used to Royal Purple. I thought I was nuts, but there is a something different in regards to less vibration that I feel. Hard to put into words. I took the advice of a friend that has been running it for years and he just smiled. As for any more horsepower, I don't think so, however if it is doing anything different then perhaps it's so smooth that the engine just responds a bit faster in the power curve when running, but no more output of power to the wheels. I also just used a can of BG44K and mpg dropped. I'm thinking this is just due to putting a can into 13.2 gallons of gas and not a bigger tank. The engine has 30K on it and I'm just doing a small bit of house cleaning. I'm now on a new tank and the car is running very well. Won't use BG44K for another 30K, but I figure to clean the carbon, what the heck, it can't hurt.

I've been a steadfast user of mobile-ONE in both my cars and my Harley with great results, but this Royal Purple is good stuff. I give it a thumbs up

I also used a WIX filter, so now I have two cases of RP and four WIX filters on the shelf in the garage. The bottles are purrty! Wife just rolls her eyes at me.

As for the question, which is better, there are many oils on the market. The top tier oils are all good, difference is beyond what could be any big deal. There are also budget oils and those we know to stay away from.

 

Higher visc 40wt??? Don't see why MINI would need it. But if you do seems summer would be best time. Also, better mpg with lighter 30wt. the 10wt part of the "Blend" is for cold weather, not summer?
Truth is any of these oils is probably trouble free, but for those in search of smoothness, performance then high quality synthetics play a role. But I have not considered 10/30 or 10/40. Only, 5/30, straight 30wt, and a blend of straight 30wt mixed with a light 5/20.

 

yep, 0W-30 (GC) is a true synthetic. not "cracked".