Wrong oil grade

[Herc]

Hi guys, i need your help. My car manual specifies using a 10w50 oil meeting the c3 specifications and suggests using the Selenia Abarth 10w50. I had my car serviced last week and the dealer used Shell Helix Racing 10w60. Can you help me decide if i should change the oil used to a more appropriate or just leave it as it is? Here are the specs?

Shell Helix Ultra Racing 10w60
API SM/CF
ACEA A3/B4
Ferrari, VW 505.00, MB 229.1, Fiat 9.55535 H3
Density: 0.850
KV@40: 151
KV@100: 22.8
VI: 181 (est)
Flash: 215C
Pour: -39C
TBN: ?
HTHS: 5.42
NOACK: ?
Cold crank: ?

Selenia Abarth 10w50
Density @15: 0.850
Viscosity@100: 17,5
VI: 170
Flash: 220C
Pour: -40C
TBN: 7.4

 

[bepperb]

What temperatures would you see over the course of this oil change?

I'd be inclined to leave it assuming you wouldn't have many below freezing starts. What kind of car/engine is this in?

 

[Herc]

It is a Fiat 500 Abarth with a 1.4 Turbo engine. It will see temperatures of about 5 - 30 degrees celcius.

 

[Samilcar]

I continue to find it odd that U.S. and European oil recommendations differ so much for the exact same engines. For the version sold in the U.S., the 2012 Fiat Abarth with the 1.4 turbo engine specifies synthetic only 5W-40 oil.

 

[Herc]

The USA Abarth uses a multiair engine and the European Abarth uses a T-Jet engine. These are engines with different technologies and maybe this explains the difference in the oils used.

 

[chubbs1]

The oil you have in now and the temps you will be operating in should not effect the performance or integrity of your emgine. Just keep it in.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Going thicker (10w50-10w60) won`t hurt a thing. Now going thinner than spec is something I`d never do.

 

[bepperb]

If it's always above 0 (and even if it's a bit below) I'd leave it.

 

[Wilhelm_D]

Originally Posted By: Herc
Hi guys, i need your help. My car manual specifies using a 10w50 oil meeting the c3 specifications and suggests using the Selenia Abarth 10w50. I had my car serviced last week and the dealer used Shell Helix Racing 10w60. Can you help me decide if i should change the oil used to a more appropriate or just leave it as it is? Here are the specs? ...


The 10W-60 Shell certainly won't hurt your engine.

It was actually designed to meet a Ferrari specification, and Pennzoil Utra Racing 10W-60 is sold here in the USA to meet the same requirement.

Selenia's literature is a bit low on details:

Selenia Catalogue

 

[Herc]

My main concern is that such a heavy oil will result in reduced lubrication and increased engine wear.

 

[fdcg27]

The Shell has a higher VI, so it might actually be thinner at your typical low start-up temperatures.
I wouldn't worry at all.
I'm sure that the Shell 10W-60 will do just fine in place of the recommended 10W-50.
It's not like you live in Ohio for the winter.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Herc
My main concern is that such a heavy oil will result in reduced lubrication and increased engine wear.

Don't worry. It'll turn into a 50-weight soon enough.

 

[Herc]

Another thing is that the oil does not meet the C3 specifications which are required by the car manufacturer. Can anyone tell me of a website from where i can find the SAPS content of the Shell oil?

 

[Quattro Pete]

This isn't a diesel engine, is it?

C3 is predominantly a diesel engine spec. C3 requires an oil to be low SAPs in order to protect DPF.

I don't think this Shell 10w-60 is low SAPs, or at least it is not specifically marketed as such.

 

[Herc]

It's a petrol engine which specifies for an oil that meets C3 specs. The Shell racing oil is not C3 compatible but i just wanted to see if it's values differ significantly to the C3 minimum requirements.

 

[Quattro Pete]

I understand. What I was trying to get at is that your car does not have a DPF, so even if the oil is not low SAPs, it shouldn't be an issue. But maybe there is another reason why Fiat requires C3 spec oil for this engine...

I don't know what sulfated ash content is for this Shell oil, but most high SAPs oil have it at around 1.2%. The C3 spec requires it to be no greater than 0.8%.

 

[yannis]

The ACEA C3 is not just for aftertreatment compatibility ( low-SAPS) but it also offers better piston cleanliness .

You can see that in the lubrizol's graph chart if you compare ACEA C3-08 with ACEA A3/B3-08 .
http://sas-origin.onstreammedia.com/origin/lubrizol/EOACEA2009/RPTOOL2010Dep/rp/pc/index.html

As far as I'm concerned 10W50 is to be used in the upgraded version of this engine (it's called the 'SS' pack) . The normal engine takes 5W40 with ACEA C3 .

 

[Herc]

Originally Posted By: yannis
The ACEA C3 is not just for aftertreatment compatibility ( low-SAPS) but it also offers better piston cleanliness .

You can see that in the lubrizol's graph chart if you compare ACEA C3-08 with ACEA A3/B3-08 .
http://sas-origin.onstreammedia.com/origin/lubrizol/EOACEA2009/RPTOOL2010Dep/rp/pc/index.html

As far as I'm concerned 10W50 is to be used in the upgraded version of this engine (it's called the 'SS' pack) . The normal engine takes 5W40 with ACEA C3 .



This is what it used to be. Know the 10w50 is recommended for all versions. At least that's what the book says.

 

[vinu_neuro]

Easy. Use Mobil 1 5W-50.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: vinu_neuro
Easy. Use Mobil 1 5W-50.

Mobil 1 5w-50 is not low-SAPs/ACEA C3, if that's what his engine calls for. I think the only Mobil 1 oil that meets C3 is ESP 5w30.