Mainly out of curiosity what oil to you lads use? Previously we've used VWs Quantum silver semi-synth 10w-40 stuff but since the untimely self-destruction of the original incarnation of the engine due to an oil related failure of some description, I've been trying to gather as much info on suitabiliy of oils for the engine as I can. I spoke to Simon from Opieoils earlier in the week and he strongly recommended against the use of the Quantum and also generally against use of semi-synth oil for heavy on-track ragging. He's specifically recommended Silkolene Pro S 5w-40 for our purposes... (this is for a lightly tuned VR6 - we saw 120 degrees c on track though we'll hopefully bring that down abit by moving the cooler) Any thoughts/recommendations from you lot? What do you all swear by?
i believe that guy posts on the mr2 forums...he really knows his stuff. i think i'd go with his recommendation as a lot of mr2 turbo owners use it with no probs. Edited by: acf8181
IMHO regular 120 on track is too much for non proper synthetics anyway & that temp needs reducing. You can spend 40 or so on pukka oil- like Castrol Rs or Mobil 1 etc, but personally on N/A not particauly highly stressed engines, ive always been of the reckoning to use a cheaper (but not utter 'el cheapo) oil & change it more regually. I've run plain old quantum multigrade for a while now, but changed after each trackday (tho did 2 winter days on the last lot) & no real road miles to speak off on that oil either, I have low track temps- 90 max, & thus feel that its fine, posibly over kill changing so often & will prob swap to synta next & go 2-3 trackdays, or as a lot of folks advise, simply change it when it starts to go black. Years ago I used to use either Mobil Super S, Vauxhall semi synth, or Castrol magnatech, all 10/40 semi synths, no grief with any.
I use Motul 'Power Racing' 5W 30 fully synth for racing and trackdays. The viscousity makes it ideal for high revving engines under the prolonged stress of racing. See Demon Tweeks link below for more info: http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ProductDetail.asp?cls =MSPORT&pcode=MOT8255/21
I just use Shell Helix 15/40 and change it every few months. My engine does use oil anyway, so I see it a waste to burn oil that's 40 a gallon Opieoils is popping up on every website/forum going, I've read a lot of his posts on PassionFord, knowledgeable chap. It was more like using 7000+ rpm constantly on a VR with a stock bottom end that killed it, not the oil IMO Edited by: GVK
Used Castrol RS (10/60)for 80k in a standard 16v; never tracked but driven hard and long on many occasions - no problems. I now use Quantum 10w/40 semi for hydraulic lifters and Quantum 5w/40 fully synthetic for solid lifters - for sprints / hillclimbs / trackdays. Regularly see 120`C but for short periods only - no problems. Optimum temp range for a decent oil is 80 to 105`C pp Autotech (USA) website info.. Other than viscosity the difference between oils is mainly down to their additive packages, which is driven by their applications. What do the VW Racing guys use in their VR`s ?
That's one thing we didn't ask the VW Cup guy we bumped in to... One thing he did say was that their VR6 engines are not that modified. Certainly he said that the stock bottom end is strong enough even for them... The bottom end was pretty much intact after it died except the crank bearings which were absolutely buggered presumably from running dry?! Old engine + high oil temperatures + cheap oil + cornering ability we weren't expecting (hey, mk2 VRs are rubbish right? ) = bang. We've already got a 19row cooler on it though not really ideally positioned (kinda shielded by the bumper) - I was assured by the chap at rallydesign that this cooler would be adequate. The VW cup chap said their VRs run bang on 80 degrees during racing with a similar cooler so there must have been something up. Also Gary... the limiters at about 6800 Mind you, neither of us were pushing it near that much. We could have pushed it harder Edited by: Rigs
Just started using the Fuchs/Silkolene Pro R 15/50. Seems great so far, esecially in a slightly higher mileage 8v VW and a relativly low mileage Rover K series in Lotus Elise's. in fact the 15/50 is reccomended for the Elise on track. Brunty
Seems like your cooler is / was definitely in the wrong place then. Does the VR come with a water jacket `cooler` ? What`s the recommended oil grade for the standard engine ? Edited by: jamesa
Valvoline Racing... oil pressure NEVER drops evenafter "sustained" high rpm use (8000+) for long periods (25-30 mile road test route/by-pass.. sorry private test track !), and its about 15 quid for a gallon.
What about turbo lump motors? ie 8v G60 1800 lump running a t3 turbo? Currently running fully synth oil, plan to use on track/hill/sprints. List of mods to come are a 19 row 235 mm oil cooler etc from rally design (best price that i have found so far!) Which oil do u turbo boys use then???
VW recommend their own 10w-40 semi-synth stuff for road use. The VR does has the water jacket oil warmer yes...
If a stock VR powered mk2 has given up the ghost I wouldnt immediately point the finger of blame at the Oil itself. Synta Silver is used by a great many VW owners on road & track without problem....myself included However, if there was an issue with adequate Oil Cooling, this could certainly contribute to a failure, especially on an engine with high mileage.... The previous history of the engine could be a contributory factor too...
I know it's an old thread but it fits my question. I have 150k miles 22 year old 16v KR in my mk2 gti. It runs semi synth Mobil 10W40. I visited my first track day, and want to go to another. The engine doesn't eat oil. The temp was 95-98C, so not so much, maybe in summer it will be higher. I'm not pushing my mk2 to much, he is still faster than me I was thinking about changing oil to fully synthetic. Anyone exprencied any problems after going from semi synth to fully synthetic after 150k on the engine? I will try 5W40 or 5W50, and before that I want to do engine flush with Millers. Any opinions?
120c isn't that bad - use a higher rated oil, we use 20w/50 Valvoline Racing and we've never had oil problems. You only want a thinner oil if you're running in cold conditions - once the engine's up to temperature you won't have that problem anyway
I was seeing 130 degs in my Mk2 ABF recently on track (assuming the sender is reading correctly!), although the car ran fine and was cooled down properly between each session. From speaking to a few knowledgable automotive engineers I know, oil degradation/thinning is a real problem as you approach 140-150 degs (most engines are tested to extremes of course). This depends on how good your oil is, although keeping it below 115-120 degs is obviously not a bad idea!!
Problem with oil temps getting that high is also drop in pressure due to how thin the oil has got, I used to see 120 on my old ABF and the catch tank would actually start to collect oil not just vapour? Fitted an oil cooler and it dropped to 100 when on track, now Iv put my 6A lump in I never see over 90deg on fast road, my opinion from what I have read is that anything over 120 is too hot and ideal temp is 90-110, different qualities of oil will effect temperature massively so if you find you have high oil temps its well worth trying a different brand of oil.
