Well, hmm.....I believe that I have been trying to make the point that you could safely use another oil, but again, no one would 'listen'.

And I am not arguing for the sake of arguing. In nearly every post, I gave additional information or references. I did not stand on a tree stump and say "A3/B5 is the only choice because that is what the MINI bottle has on it". My posts provide someone reading them with information on which to make their own judgement about what they may or may not want to do.



Additionally, I am an ex-racer (motorcycle) myself. And some teams or privateers (myself) do not rebuild their engines every few hours. I ran the same engine for an entire season (less the top end for a bent valve). I didn't use anything but dyno motorcycle oil and my engine regularly saw 12000-13500 rpms. So, while some teams do, some teams don't.

 

Valvoline synthetic 5W-40 meets the ACEA A3/B3 rating. So, we are on the same page here.

I just frequent these threads so people will understand the ACEA A3/B3 issue. I tend to reply when someone makes a recommendation for an oil that doesn't meet those standards.

My reading of "Viscosity at high temp. & high shear rate" is that it is a viscosity measurement at a specific temp and shear rate. It is a viscosity measurement, not a shear rate measurement.

You might want to look at this:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/oilshear.htm

 

I think both of us have enough of an open mind about this to learn.

I have been going to that site for years. Now comes the bad part.

While I agree and see exactly where some of his tests and conclusions are drawn, I've seen evidence that goes against some of his findings.

Now I may be wrong in this conclusion, but at this point, it's probably moot. But having read the three different papers (including his) I am of the personal (read MINE!! ) opinion that the way they are using shear rating is to measure the break down in viscosity. And in doing so, they are using this measurement in how the long the oil will last with regards to their (MINI's) maintenance schedule.

Having said that....if I use a high quality synthetic that meets or exceeds API SL or SM rating, I will meet or exceed the breakdown that they are looking at if I change my oil at 5k mile intervals.

I am not worried in the slightest that I will damage the engine or not get the 100k-200k plus miles that this engine is capable of.

Thanks for the reply...and have a good one!!!

 

If viscosity is the issue, then the difference between A1 and A5, vs. A3 should be of interest to you because viscosity at temp is where the differences show up.

 

I commend you Robin. There are like 50 threads on here about oil with people claiming they can use this and that oil when it's all already been said. If people can't read and want to use their different viscosity oil, then I would have given up on them already. However, you are always there to try and make sure they are using the right one. Kudos Robin

A suggestion would be to make a simplified sticky that tells you what oils are okay to use and update the first post to include any other finds, although there won't be many beyond what has already been said. Or else, you will be beating this dead horse forever.