what oil ?

Steveo1 · 09-06-03, 08:04 PM

I just got a 1996 M-3 ,What kind of oil are you guys using? Brand , weight? TIA..

thepolarfoxqx · 09-06-03, 10:26 PM

well, the factory would tell you to use Pentosyn 15W40, it's hard to find and very very expensive (say $7/quart). It's good stuff. Lubro-Moly's voller synthesse (SP?) is just as good in the 5w40 weight (but again, like 7 bucks a quart). I've had good saccess with Mobil 1's 0w40, which sells at about 5/quart. They're all very good and will meet the needs. Anything less expensive and you are likely not saving yourself money in the long run.

LateNightCable · 09-06-03, 10:45 PM

You kiddin' me? I use 10W40 in both my cars, 98 cents a quart at Napa!

No I'm kidding, Polar's got the right idea

.

thepolarfoxqx · 09-06-03, 10:49 PM

i didn't scroll far enough to see the i'm kidding.

i nearly shat myself. god. don't scare me that way.

i know people who buy the 69 wal mart oil and change when the oil light on the dash comes on

oh well, most of 'em drive chevies and fords, nothing i'll cry over.

LateNightCable · 09-06-03, 10:56 PM

Those Chevys and Fords are probably some of the only vehicles in the world that could handle that, and come out alive and well. Remember the '84 GMC van, no oil change for a year? More like two years, she survived on a couple quarts of the cheapest oil when ever the light came on, for a long time. Still going strong - with an oil change :P .

thepolarfoxqx · 09-06-03, 10:58 PM

that's because american cars are built with the most loose tollerances in the world (well, some are, others have actually modernized).

that is one of the advantages. they can take shit.

LateNightCable · 09-08-03, 11:09 PM

Tollerances can only be so loose before stuff just doesn't work the way it should. I think it must be something in the metal or something. Old American motors are just beefier, and more elemental all around. European engines are a lot more sensitive to the kind, and condition of oil you put down their gullet. Any oil will lubricate the parts. There is a bunch finnicky technical junk to go wrong in a European motor.

thepolarfoxqx · 09-09-03, 01:03 AM

uh, no, tollerance at the american manufacturers are signifgantly higher for such things as main bearing tollerances and piston ring/cylender clearance.

american engines were designed to be resilant. they were designed to be simple, and easy to repair. i bet your old van doesn't perform as well as new?

i had a volvo with almost 200,000 miles on it. EVERYTHING was fully functional, i still got rated gas mileage, and track tested to better than factory number 0-60. That impresses me.

LateNightCable · 09-09-03, 01:11 AM

There ya go, thats my point.

As for how the van performs, I noticed the passenger power window doesn't work, and the odometer says 35,000 mi. but that before it stopped, which was probably over a decade ago. Its' a 19 year old van thats been through some shit, but the fact is, she runs like a trooper. Other cars, you have to maintain on a strict schedual or else it will throw a fit. Somebody probably cared for that Volvo very closely for everything to still work - or maybe it was just because it was an old car. Pretty solid and true back then you know?

thepolarfoxqx · 09-09-03, 01:25 AM

oh, i know about that. volvos were just built to run forever. my BMW which is still a very good car doesn't show the same level of durability attention as that volvos. The E30 power window swithces are the worst ever though up. take one apart sometime (i have to to clean them, else they fail), they are sad.

cars just aren't built as well as they were. it's sad.