2008 Aston Martin V8 Vantage oil question

[wytstang]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: Pitbull
I never race the car and I don't even get close to the 7500 rpm redline.

Why not?

+1 I'd drive it like I stole it each and every day.

 

[Pitbull]

So for normal driving using this lighter weight oil and changing it per Aston every 12K miles or once a year should not be a problem?

 

[Quattro Pete]

What's the oil sump capacity of this engine?

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: Pitbull
So for normal driving using this lighter weight oil and changing it per Aston every 12K miles or once a year should not be a problem?

Lighter oil should be fine -- IF Aston Martin agrees with what the dealership is saying.

For the 12k intervals, it depends. If most of your driving is highway, but you're taking it easy, you should be fine. However, if you're doing a lot of short trips, you'll want to let Aston know and verify that interval for your usage pattern.

 

[Pitbull]

Well I talked with the AM dealer and they admitted that they were out of the 10w60 and 5w50 so the tech put 5w30 in my car and told me that it was what AM wants them to use. He also over filled my AM by about 1 qt. I took my car to the local BMW dealership and had the Castrol 10W60 synthetic that is recommended. BMW dealership did a great job. I am sending the bill to the AM dealership that is over 200 miles from my house and I am only going back to them if something breaks under warranty. The AM dealer claims that the Castrol Syntec would not harm my engine, but I put 400 miles on my Vantage with the 5W30 synthetic, but I never went above 5K RPM's. What do you guys think of this [censored]?

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
Pitbull - You were wise in your approach to this matter. This sort of issue was made clear to me at a recent visit to MB in Stuttgart

I would document the process and comments and forward a copy to the Dealer and the NA Importer. This will keep a clear path to any (unlikely) Warranty claim that may occur now or later

I found this sort of thing common in the Australian Trucking Industry when I was operating my Consultancy business over a period of 20 years - and many years before and after this period too!

In many cases Claims would be made under Warranty when it was very clear that the incorrect (not Manufacturer Approved) lubricanst were being used. In these cases Warranty was denied - in many cases I acted as the nominated independent Arbitrator (for Oil Co, engine Manufacturer, vehicle/fleet Owner)!

 

[JAG]

Overfilling by 1 qt. is not cool, especially when done by a dealer of a high end brand.
The dealer's claim that AM wants them to use Syntec 5W-30 is suspect. I'd make them sweat and ask for proof.

 

[RTBandit]

I would trust any 5W-30 that meets the GM4718 spec - If it can protect the Corvette - then it should be O.K. for an Aston. Especially if the car is not tracked or driven to the redline.

 

[SilverC6]

Originally Posted By: Pitbull
Owners manual calls for Castrol Synthetic 10W60, dealer claims Aston has now changed that and they are using Castrol Syntec 5W30 in the V8's and 5W40 in the V12's. It just seems like an extreme drop from 10W60 to 5W30. What would be +/- of this change?


Great car.

Go to the BMW dealer and get the BMW Castrol in the proper 10W60 weight.

 

[Pitbull]

Originally Posted By: RTBandit
I would trust any 5W-30 that meets the GM4718 spec - If it can protect the Corvette - then it should be O.K. for an Aston. Especially if the car is not tracked or driven to the redline.


Well I talked with the AM dealer and they admitted that they were out of the 10w60 and 5w50 so the tech put 5w30 in my car and told me that it was what AM wants them to use. He also over filled my AM by about 1 qt. I took my car to the local BMW dealership and had the Castrol 10W60 synthetic that is recommended. BMW dealership did a great job. I am sending the bill to the AM dealership that is over 200 miles from my house and I am only going back to them if something breaks under warranty. The AM dealer claims that the Castrol Syntec would not harm my engine, but I put 400 miles on my Vantage with the 5W30 synthetic, but I never went above 5K RPM's. What do you guys think of this [censored]?

 

[RTBandit]

Although Castrol Syntec would not be the 5w-30 of choice for your car ( it does not meet the GM-4718 spec.), - I am sure it can handle 5000rpm - remember we are still talking about synthetic oil.

 

[sprintman]

You seriously need a new AM dealer. If Am say 10W60 they mean 10W60, not the U.S universal oil 5W30. This problwem is so rife on the three U.S BMW forums I frequent(ed) I got banned from one by pointing out the oil needed to meet ACEA A3,B3 and LL01 and the mods sided with the board 'hero' who said I was "elitist and an oil snob". Canging your own oil/filter is a very good idea.

 

[RTBandit]

Originally Posted By: sprintman
You seriously need a new AM dealer. If Am say 10W60 they mean 10W60, not the U.S universal oil 5W30. This problwem is so rife on the three U.S BMW forums I frequent(ed) I got banned from one by pointing out the oil needed to meet ACEA A3,B3 and LL01 and the mods sided with the board 'hero' who said I was "elitist and an oil snob". Canging your own oil/filter is a very good idea.
Have you been seeing lots of engine failures with crankcases full of 5w-30?

 

[sprintman]

More than you can imagine. Do you have any idea of the specific BMW oil specs and why the oil conmpanies and BMW came up with these specs? I'm withholding information for a specific reason but I want BITOG members input. Read between the lines.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: Doug Hillary
I would document the process and comments and forward a copy to the Dealer and the NA Importer. This will keep a clear path to any (unlikely) Warranty claim that may occur now or later

Originally Posted By: JAG
Overfilling by 1 qt. is not cool, especially when done by a dealer of a high end brand.
The dealer's claim that AM wants them to use Syntec 5W-30 is suspect. I'd make them sweat and ask for proof.

I agree with both of these posts. I don't think there's any reason to worry that your car will be damaged, but I definitely think you should make a formal complaint.

 

[Hounds]

Every time I see this thread, I wince. There's a gentleman out in webland with a new Aston Martin who needs oil advice, and his servicing dealer is creating oil recommendations from whole cloth. Worse, when his client asks for something specific -- anything -- to corroborate the advice he's getting, the dealer gets p*ssed. Incredible!

Sir, if you are still out there, I urge you to find an Aston-Martin website (such as astonmartinlife.com or amoc.org), and pose your questions to them. In the alternative, I'd pick up a phone and call the AM's U.S. distributor for their recommendations. I suggest these options because, IMHO, there is no way in [censored] Castol's "domestic" 5w-30 (admittedly a fine product) is comparable to Castrol's (exceptional, euro spec) 10w-60, and I could care less what Dr. Haas (an internist) says about the merits of 5w-20 weight oil in high-performance engines.

You car is automotive art. Were it mine, at a minimum I'd want to see written advice on AM letterhead before I'd allow a non-owner to fill my crankcase with what whatever he happen to have on the shelf.

 

[Hounds]

D**m. Typos galore. Pardon me. I had the bit in my teeth.

 

[Pitbull]

Originally Posted By: Gurney
Every time I see this thread, I wince. There's a gentleman out in webland with a new Aston Martin who needs oil advice, and his servicing dealer is creating oil recommendations from whole cloth. Worse, when his client asks for something specific -- anything -- to corroborate the advice he's getting, the dealer gets p*ssed. Incredible!

Sir, if you are still out there, I urge you to find an Aston-Martin website (such as astonmartinlife.com or amoc.org), and pose your questions to them. In the alternative, I'd pick up a phone and call the AM's U.S. distributor for their recommendations. I suggest these options because, IMHO, there is no way in [censored] Castol's "domestic" 5w-30 (admittedly a fine product) is comparable to Castrol's (exceptional, euro spec) 10w-60, and I could care less what Dr. Haas (an internist) says about the merits of 5w-20 weight oil in high-performance engines.

You car is automotive art. Were it mine, at a minimum I'd want to see written advice on AM letterhead before I'd allow a non-owner to fill my crankcase with what whatever he happen to have on the shelf.


I did that see above post. I had the local BMW put the Castrol Edge 10/60 and make sure it was not above full. The AM dealer that is 240 miles away is sending me the money for the change and they admitted that their tech used the 5w30 because they were out of the 5w50 they normally use. All the posts from the AM site came back with (I don't think most of them know what the dealer is putting in their car??) I put 400 miles on my Aston with the 5w30 in it and I did not go above 5000 RPM's at that time so most agree no damage. I will not be making the 200++ mile drive to my closest Aston Martin dealer for anything other then warranty work and then I will be on top of them the whold time. I do have documentation on what the dealer did to my car so if I ever have a problem during my ownership they or Aston will pay, even if I have to spend 2x's the cost of the car in attorney fee's. Thanks all for your posts and advise. It helped and I used it.

 

[SpitfireS]

The Aston Martin may be art.. on the outside.
The mechanics of the internal combustion engine are no different from the Hyundai parked next to it.

When the "Euro-spec" 10W-60 oils shear down to a 40 weight... why not use a stay-in-grade 40 weight to begin with?
The only reason may be: warranty.

The redline of an engine has little to do with the need for thick "racing" oils.
My S2000 / F20C2 redlines at 9000 rpm and the factory recommended oil is dino 10W-30.
In high revving engines I think its better to have thinner oils to increase oil flow at high revs, thick oil will not make it past the pump bypass valve at higher revs (= higher pressure).

Street engines requiring "racing oils" is just a load of blah blah blah

in my book.

 

[chevrofreak]

Thin for the win.