Oil recommendation for a 2022 Suzuki Jimny (1.5L gasoline)

[Drew7a]

Pick an A3/b4 rated oil and sleep well at night.

 

[jstert]

bonjour drazyor, i suggest 5w30 because this oil is in my france-built 2014 toyota yaris 1.5 liter engine. yes a different car, i know, but 5w30 is an almost universally excellent choice.

i often encounter the suzuki jimny in southeast asia, i really wish that we could get it in the usa. please tell us more about your experience with it. merci.

 

[Petr]

Really appreciate the detailed answer and your experience with some of these low viscosity oils. a -40 grade does seem unnecessary to you regarding my engine and my use? I do one oil change per year (since I never do more than 10k kilometers a year) so I need something that does a great job during summer and cold winter mornings (well "cold" not that much) I heard that the 0W was a great thing for timing chain engines in that situation so that's why I was going for this, was that advice an overstatement?

As for the oil brand, it's not that I have a particular affinity with Mobil1, actually it'd have been my first M1 oil, I always sticked to Castrol and Total oils in the past.

One change per year is quite normal in Europe, 10 000 km OCI is reasonable as long as you do not have high ratio of very short trips.

I do not see any relation between 0w and timing chain protection. Anyway, the MB229 approvals have included timing chain protection for many years and this is one of the reasons I really like the MB229 approval - they really go beyond the basics.

As for the brands, while all big brands have some excellent oils, I believe that on average a randomly picked Mobil1 oil will be better than randomly picked Castrol or Total. Additionally, I try to avoid Castrol as I dislike their "smoke and mirror" wording, which makes it difficult to make a qualified guess about the oil "class". Other brands provide less foggy information.
For the same reasons I really like Ravenol oils. Ravenol provides very good information - a lot of data, reasonably clear descriptions and a list of key distinguishing properties.

 

[Drazyor]

One change per year is quite normal in Europe, 10 000 km OCI is reasonable as long as you do not have high ratio of very short trips.

I do not see any relation between 0w and timing chain protection. Anyway, the MB229 approvals have included timing chain protection for many years and this is one of the reasons I really like the MB229 approval - they really go beyond the basics.

As for the brands, while all big brands have some excellent oils, I believe that on average a randomly picked Mobil1 oil will be better than randomly picked Castrol or Total. Additionally, I try to avoid Castrol as I dislike their "smoke and mirror" wording, which makes it difficult to make a qualified guess about the oil "class". Other brands provide less foggy information.
For the same reasons I really like Ravenol oils. Ravenol provides very good information - a lot of data, reasonably clear descriptions and a list of key distinguishing properties.

That's settled then, I'm going for a Mobil1 5W30 with the approvals you just gave me and call it a day! Thanks again

 

[Mazomopar]

Hi everybody,



I, a French fella, come here today to finally receive some definitive answers from people more knowledgeable than me when it comes to oils, sorry this is going to be a bit long but I’m really lost right now..



I’m the owner of a 2022 Suzuki Jimny (Petrol), it has a 1.5L 4-cylinders naturally aspired engine (102hp) and it is a timing chain engine, if that can already give you an idea of what’s best for it. My car has reached 10k kms so I’m looking for the best oil to buy to perform its very first oil change, but that’s where my questioning start…



The owner manual has a lot of different recommendations, the one described as the best one being a 0W16 oil. Now from what I understand about oils, I tend to believe that recently those very low grades have something to do with fuel efficiency, sacrificing sometimes engine protection from wear and overheat, on some French forums I’ve had two different side, people claiming to strictly stick to the manual recommended oil (0W16 / 0W20) and others claiming that the best thing you can put in an engine is a 0W40 because it has good cold start and a good protection during intensive and prolonged use (like highway), for reference this vehicle can do quite a lot of nonstop highway (2-3 hours) and we have temperatures here going from about -6°c during winter to 40°c during summer.

View attachment 141477

View attachment 141478

(sorry for the french manual but at least the oil viscosity and quality are universals)

Well from what I can tell the image from the manual does go from 0W to W40 so I thought that the 0W40 could be a great thing (combining the best of two worlds) even if it’s not explicitly said (I don’t care at all about fuel economy I just want what’s best for my engine on the long run), but then I used the Mobil 1 oil selector and it redirected me to an 0W30 ESP-LV.



Because (and that’s the other interrogation I have), I have no idea if my car is equipped with a gasoline particulate filter and apparently the Mobil 1 FS 0W40 we see quite often is not suitable for cars with that kind of pollution system, hence why I looked for another 0W40 still from Mobil 1 and that’d be the ESP-X3 0W40. Although I’m really not certain to have this GPF, otherwise wouldn’t the manual give the ACEA C(1-2-3-4) recommendation instead if that was the case?



Now I really don’t know what to pick, the 0W30 does have more certifications on its datasheet (I mean, that match the manual recommendation) but the 0W40 has the API SN plus on the other hand, do you think having one of the recommended certifications is enough?

Here's the link to the 0W30: https://www.mobil.fr/fr-fr/products-industrial/mobil-1-esp-lv-0w-30
And here's the one for the 0W40 : https://www.mobil.fr/fr-fr/products-industrial/mobil-1-esp-x3-0w-40

I feel like it's best if you just download the product datasheet yourself instead of me sending multiple screenshots.


So as you can tell, I have a lot of different interrogations regarding this choice (I’m most likely overthinking it too) but I wanted to have some advices from your forum that helped me back in the days with my Miata. Thank you all in advance!

This is such unique little vehicle. I wish they still had a presence in the US. As someone who has a 95 Geo branded Tracker 4x4 that is a blast to drive, people should realize you don't need 32 inch wheels to have fun off roading and still have a vehicle to zip around town with. What does something like this retail for.

 

[Drazyor]

This is such unique little vehicle. I wish they still had a presence in the US. As someone who has a 95 Geo branded Tracker 4x4 that is a blast to drive, people should realize you don't need 32 inch wheels to have fun off roading and still have a vehicle to zip around town with. What does something like this retail for.

Oh you'd be surprised, it is considered a cheap vehicle all things considered, the one sold in France doesn't have any options besides some metallic paints, so its unique price is 21k$ new. Which is pretty affordable when you consider that it has very impressive off road capabilities despite its tiny size! Whenever I look at a comparative the Jimny is often in the top 3 and I believe it's deserved!

Sure, you have no leather sits or steering but is that really something you need and/or want for an off-road car? As far as I'm concerned I'm having a blast with this Jimny, and I'm surprised to hear that this isn't a vehicle you often see in the US, I know you guys typically go for way bigger 4x4 or for pick-ups but I believe it has a lot of pros for city driving andd when you need to be able to drive on all kind of terrains with the same vehicle.

 

[Vander1]

Mobil1 ESP 5W30 and life is good

 

[Graham Piccinini]

On the highway around 150km/h with the regulator on, when I use this car it's mostly for a big portion of highway and then sinuous mountain roads.

As for the range of temperatures we get here in south of France, during winter it can go -6ºC in the morning to +10/15ºc during the day, during summer it's mostly 23-25ºc already in the morning and can easily hit 45ºc under the sun (we're usually being told 38º under shelter), sorry I don't have the conversion in my head for Fahrenheits.

Yeah compared to Japanese and American traffic we do hit a higher average speed I guess.

Based on these details, and the fact that your Owner's Manual clearly states "ACEA A3/B4" - I would use an oil that meets that spec, regardless of SAE grade. Mobil 1 offerings should be locally available to you. Other great certs to look for in an oil are MB 229.5, Porsche A40, VW 502/VW 505, BMW LL01. Oils that carry these certifications are usually very robust and are held to a higher standard.

A 40-grade is for engines that have actual performance - you have a baby 1.5L gas engine, it's absurd that you're entertaining this.

Pick a 5w30 and call it a day

A little clarification is needed here... An oil grade doesn't have much to do with engine performance. Climate and usage do.
Small engines always work harder to keep the vehicle going at higher speeds.
For example:
- Per owner's description so far - this Jimny is often used for 2-3hrs of highway at 150km/h (93MPH) on cruise control. Plus twisty mountain roads.
- Now let's say a G-wagen Brabus, with 6.3L V12 Twin Turbo, was put through the same exact usage. (Why G-wagen? Because Jimny is a baby G lol.)
- On the same oil, with same usage, same climate, and same OCI - I'm willing to bet that the oil in the 1.5L Jimny (Spinning at 4500-5000RPM) will be much closer to end of its useful cycle, while the oil from 6.3L Biturbo V12 (Likely spinning at 1700-2500RPM) would be still very usable.
- Simply put - the bigger engine isn't nearly as stressed to push the vehicle at 90MPH+, and isn't revved out as much through constant accelerations and decelerations in the mountains. So the oil isn't pushed to its limits either.
- Not all 5W30 oils are the same, but those with A3/B4 approval should serve the Jimny well with the usage that @Drazyor describes.