Rate my oil based on specifications and usage

[LubeLuke]

Hello. Please rate my oil based on the specifications and my usage.
Usage. 2 liter square bore/stroke engine with turbo. Approx 14.5 psi pressure. Redline approx 7100RPM. Fuel cut approx 7400RPM.
Vehicle has OEM oil heat exchanger (heated/cooled by engine coolant).
Turbo is oil and water cooled.
Engine has been rebuilt approx. 80,000 KM ago by national rally champion and his engineer, who was technical director for a factory (manufacturers) rally team.
Vehicle is used daily.
Vehicle sees redline and max boost daily.
No track work, but lots of fun driving?
Has Forged Pistons and Connecting Rods.
Engine was NOT race balanced, as it was built to a budget.
Engine was built to a minimum of factory specifications for all clearances. Runs better than new, and people that take a ride with me actually mention how smooth it seems.

Now the oil.
Marketed as a 5W-40 full synthetic oil with low SAPS.
It says it 'meets' the following specifications.
API: SN, SM, SL, SJ, SH, CF, CE, CD
ACEA: A3/B4-08, A3/B3-08, C3-10
General Motors: Dexos 2
Mercedes Benz: 229.31, 229.51
BMW Longlife: LL-04
Porsche: A40
Renault: RN0700, RN0710

Details from product sheet. (not tested personally)
Density, kg/lt @15oC 0.856
Viscosity, cSt @100oC 13.8
cSt @40oC 75.8
Cranking, cP @-30oC 6250
Viscosity Index 174
HTHS, cP 3.66
Total Base Number, mg KOH/g 7.3
Sulphated Ash, % wt 0.77
Phosphorus Content, % wt 0.08
Sulphur Content, % wt 0.2
Flash Point, oC min 200 (I confirmed with a technical advisor that the flashpoint is approx. 230 celcius / 446 Fahrenheit

The company uses both Exxon and Chevron base oils. I was advised that the base oil for this product comes from Exxon (Mobil).

Let me know what you guys think!

 

[Merkava_4]

What is the make and model of the car ?

 

[LubeLuke]

I specifically left that out so I don't have people tell me to use what the manufacturer recommends?
The manufacturer of the engine is now my mechanic anyway. Since he put it all together.

Original manufacturer recommends 10w50 oil. My mechanic recommends xxw40 oil for normal use and xxw50 oil for track/racing. He was technical director not just for a factory team. But the same factory as my vehicle make.

Edit.
Vehicle is Toyota Celica GT4 ST205. Engine is 3S

 

[bigt61]

I'd say the oil is fine. I'd use M1 0W-40 or 15W-50. That's a fair amount of boost to run on a daily basis with a lot of cylinder pressure. That can be hard on rod bearings so make sure you have good oil temperature (at least 160F) before you put your foot in it.

 

[LubeLuke]

Thank you for your replies.
I guess I was more curious in how people would rate this oil based on the product sheet data or information available (VOA/UAO) compared to other oils.
For example one might say that the HTHS and TBN is lower than some competing oils, and whether this is good or bad is up for debate.

The two benchmark oils seem to be T6 5w40 and M1 0w40. Even though they may not have the 'best' results (which is subjective). It seems to be like this because they are two oils which are readily available in most civilized markets around the world, and return 'good' results according to lab analysis.

P.S. My engine builder recommended this oil as it is what he uses. Why? Because it is a privately owned business and he likes to support that. I use the oil for the same reasons as he does.

 

[A_Harman]

HTHS looks good for a turbocharged engine.
Phosphorous content looks pretty low for a performance application, but maybe the oil has other antiwear additives? Does your car still have a catalytic converter?
TBN is pretty low, so I wouldn't run it for more than 10,000 km.

 

[LubeLuke]

Yes. The vehicle still has a catalytic converter. It would be illegal not to have one.
I plan to have the oil tested at 10,000km.

Thanks for your opinion, A_Harman.

 

[chrisri]

Why do you use C3, mid Saps oil in old, modified Celica? There are better choices out there.

 

[LubeLuke]

For 5w40 oil they only have 2 choices. Their technical support advised me this one would be more suitable.
The other 5w40 is listed as a FULL SAPS oil.
Sulphated Ash, % wt 1.17
Phosphorus Content, % wt 0.09

Is there any reason this would be more beneficial? My understanding of oils is limited.

 

[chrisri]

Full-SAPS oils have higher initial TBN. Usually over 10, while mid/low SAPS is around 6-7.5. Higher TBN means it should fight oxidation and acidity from combustion process better than oil with lesser initial TBN. C3 oils are developed for diesels with DPF, and Euro V petrols to protect emission equipment. If I'm not mistaken your Toyota is neither.
Cheers.

 

[LubeLuke]

Thank you for your input.

Yes the 5w40 oil 'high SAPS' does appear to have a higher TBN and also a higher HTHS 3.9 vs 3.66 of my current oil.
I wonder why their technical support would advise me to use the low SAPS oil. They mentioned that the high saps oil is only for special purposes that require BMW LL-01 as opposed to the newer LL-04 specification.

Is it advisable to use the high SAPS 5w40 next time?

 

[chrisri]

HT-HS doesn't correlate to additive package, it doesn't matter if oil is low/mid or full SAPS in that regard. For your Full SAPS 5w40 oil to have higher HT-HS is simply coincidence, it could be other way round too.
So yes, for your mid 90s Celica I would use Full SAPS oil for sure. Out of interest, who gave you recommendation to use Low SAPS oil? Your engineer or somebody else?

 

[LubeLuke]

The oil company recommended the low SAPS oil. As they said the other oil (high SAPS) is only for vehicles that require LL-01 as opposed to LL-04. My vehicle does not specify either.

My engineer/builder only recommended a 5w40 oil for street and 10w50 oil for track and race conditions.
He told me what company oil he uses. So I thought I would use the same. I am unsure which of the two 5w40 oils he actually uses. I will ask him though.
They are locally owned and have a warehouse within 15 minutes from me. So very convenient.

I think with todays oils I should be ok leaving the current oil for it's full cycle. But It seems as though I should buy the high SAPS version 5w40 next time.

Thanks for your input so far. I'm still open to hearing anybody elses opinions.

 

[chrisri]

No problem. Try asking moderator to move this thread to a European oil subforum, you would probably have better respond there.

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: LubeLuke
The oil company recommended the low SAPS oil. As they said the other oil (high SAPS) is only for vehicles that require LL-01 as opposed to LL-04. My vehicle does not specify either.

My engineer/builder only recommended a 5w40 oil for street and 10w50 oil for track and race conditions.
He told me what company oil he uses. So I thought I would use the same. I am unsure which of the two 5w40 oils he actually uses. I will ask him though.
They are locally owned and have a warehouse within 15 minutes from me. So very convenient.

I think with todays oils I should be ok leaving the current oil for it's full cycle. But It seems as though I should buy the high SAPS version 5w40 next time.

Thanks for your input so far. I'm still open to hearing anybody elses opinions.



Yes, the high SAPS oil would be a better choice for next time. You may be able to extend the oil change interval.