Please help me choose my next oil among these

[JohnSaints]

Hi all,

time for my next oil change. I have narrowed the chosen one to a handful and would love it if the experts could give me a hand in choosing one.

First, car info:

1. European car (Renault Laguna mk1, March 1997, 1.8 liter Gasoline 95hp engine, 5.2 quart sump)
2. Manual recommends anything above ACEA A3/B3 and API SH. Viscosities from 5w40 to 15w50 and everything in between). OCI - 15.000 km/1 year (9320 miles/1 year)
3. I use the car in an area where it is very hot in the Summer(40º, 104F) and moderately cold in the winter (-5º, 23F).
4. I don't usually drive it hard, and rarely get it above 4000 rpm (Red Line is at 6000)
5. I do a daily commute of 17 + 17 miles on the highway mostly. Once a month I do a 350 mile round trip on the weekend. City driving accounts for 5% of my mileage and maybe 15% of my driving time.

I would prefer it to be a full synthetic.

I've narrowed it down to these oils. Please recommend only one of the following:

#1 REPSOL ELITE EVOLUTION 5W40
DATA SHEET
MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET

#2 ELF EXCELLIUM NF 5W40
DATA SHEET

#3 TOTAL INEO MC3 5W40
DATA SHEET

#4 TOTAL QUARTZ 9000 5W40
DATA SHEET

#5 SHELL Helix ULTRA 5W-40
DATA SHEET

#6 WOLF VITALTECH 5W40 PI C3
DATA SHEET
SAFETY DATA SHEET

#7 WOLF EXTENDTECH 5W40 HM
SAFETY DATA SHEET
DATA SHEET
DESCRIPTION

 

[Ken42]

What kind of fuel?

 

[Garak]

I'm not terribly familiar with choices 1, 6, and 7. I don't like 1's sheet - its claims are ambiguous at best, and I don't like their Castrol style technical data (i.e. listing minimums and maximums). Between 6 and 7, I'd prefer 7, with 6 not technically an A3/B3 lube. I'd also disqualify 3 as it's technically a C3 rather than an A3/B3 lube, though that's splitting hairs on both counts.

So, disqualifying 1, 3 and 6, I'd choose by price. What are you able to get most cheaply and most easily?

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Ken42
What kind of fuel?

Excellent point. He says gasoline, and I'm assuming it's low sulphur pure gas in his locale. That's why I called the ACEA C rather than A3/B3 splitting hairs, as long as he doesn't go too far on the OCI, plus I'm assuming he's long out of warranty.

 

[JohnSaints]

Originally Posted By: Ken42
What kind of fuel?


Gasoline. 95 octane unleaded respecting European Union Standards.

 

[JohnSaints]

Originally Posted By: Garak


So, disqualifying 1, 3 and 6, I'd choose by price. What are you able to get most cheaply and most easily?


Thanks for your input!

Those 3 have around the same price and would be bought from the same online store

 

[JohnSaints]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: Ken42
What kind of fuel?

Excellent point. He says gasoline, and I'm assuming it's low sulphur pure gas in his locale. That's why I called the ACEA C rather than A3/B3 splitting hairs, as long as he doesn't go too far on the OCI, plus I'm assuming he's long out of warranty.
Yes, Indeed. Warranty ended in 1999.

 

[Garak]

Fair enough, then. With warranty gone and your quality fuel, if it were me, I'd choose by price, preferably avoiding 1, 3, and 6. Heck, even some E7/E5 lubes would do the trick, if you were thinking outside the box.

 

[JohnSaints]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Fair enough, then. With warranty gone and your quality fuel, if it were me, I'd choose by price, preferably avoiding 1, 3, and 6. Heck, even some E7/E5 lubes would do the trick, if you were thinking outside the box.


I plan to follow a 9k miles OCI. Which do you think would handle it best? Or are the remaining 4 oils very equivalent?

 

[229]

TOTAL QUARTZ 9000 5W40

 

[skellyman]

Shell Helix

Total Quartz

 

[dparm]

The Shell Helix Ultra is a very good choice, but I agree with Garak -- almost all of those oils you suggested would work well and I would get whichever is the least expensive.

 

[JohnSaints]

Thanks, everyone!

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Johnyjj1212
I plan to follow a 9k miles OCI. Which do you think would handle it best? Or are the remaining 4 oils very equivalent?

For such intervals, I suspect those would all do rather fine, and it fits within your manual's recommendations.

 

[JohnSaints]

Thanks, man/guys.

Right now I'm undecided between the Total Quartz 9000 and the Wolf Extendtech.

They are both roughly the same price (one is 25 euro, the other is 26,90). Which of the two do you think is better, even if by little?

 

[sgvaibhav]

Originally Posted By: Johnyjj1212
Thanks, man/guys.

Right now I'm undecided between the Total Quartz 9000 and the Wolf Extendtech.

They are both roughly the same price (one is 25 euro, the other is 26,90). Which of the two do you think is better, even if by little?


I haven't heard about Wolf Extendtech. I don't know much about reading data sheets. I am quite sure that Total Quartz 9000 is a very good oil - top end oil of Total, thus if it were me I would go with Total Quartz 9000.

Actually I bought a bottle of Total Quartz 9000 5W-40 for my next oil change.

 

[JohnSaints]

Thanks for your input.

The only main difference I'm seeing with thesee two oils is TBN. One has 8.8, the other 9.6.