Engine Oils

[sarbanoxley]

^^ Haha.. now you know why everyone says Castrol oils are crap!

We all know that.This thing i found on their 2007 Annual report:

"Cost of materials reduced by 5.6% from previous year to RS 1098 crores due to lower volumes, saving's in raw material cost on account of effective procurement strategy and favourable forex.

Operating and other expenses increased due to Advertisement and sales promotion expenses....."

This from 2008 report:

"Overall, 2008 was a good year for Castrol India, with a 13% increase in gross profit despite a 20% increase in raw materials costs and marginal volume drop. We managed to offset the sharp increase in cost of goods by pricing actions and mix enrichment. Coupled with effective overheads management, the company delivered a 20% growth in net profit for the year

This is an extraordinary result given the escalation in raw material prices during the year......."


THough this does not PROVE castrol is CRAP but my experience with Power 1 fully "synthetic" oil makes me interpret the above statement differently .

[Sava]

thanx abhilashabhi12 i will not use that before 6k. but one my freind yesterday told that he is not able to find any xxw40 grade semi-synthetic oil what he is getting is 15w50 in motul 5100. Any suggestion. he will use that in his fz-s. well recommended is 20w40.

He can use Petronas Sprinta 10W40 semi-synthetic or synthetic. I'm using the synthetic one in my FZ right now. Here is my review http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/universa...tml#post342365

[HydBiker]

^^^
I said this may be 10 times in this thread itself - Castrol oils are NOT crap. They are dependable if you make sure you get a genuine one and not a fake. Apart from lot of fakes in the market another problem is that for that price there are better oils we can buy.

Castrol is the only oil you can depend on for quality and availability all across India provided you manage to get hold of a direct dealer.

[abhilashabhi12]

He can use Petronas Sprinta 10W40 semi-synthetic or synthetic. I'm using the synthetic one in my FZ right now. Here is my review http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/universa...tml#post342365

I am running Sprinta at the moment in my bike, from my experience I dont feel like advising it to others..

Just 1.5k & its as good as Mineral oi

[Thunder]

Im Planning to Try the Hero Honda Oil 10W30 in my Bike Flame125....
Is it advisable to change to that ?
Is that oil is Mineral or Semi-synthetic?
Advice please./...........

[umarajashekher]

shell

Hello folks....
atlast my first post on the xBHP, been following it for more than 6 months to now. I have a bullet Electra abt 7k kms and 10 mnths old..... i have always used only Castrol 20 W 50 but wanna change to shell. I have read few threads tht said Shell wasnt gud and few tht cupported it also.... just confused can u guys suggest if i can use shell Helix 20 W 50.......

P.S: Sorry if i have missed on other threads and initiating a redundant discussion. But do gimme more gyaan on it.

Love
Umarajashekher

[kalsi]

i have always used only Castrol 20 W 50 but wanna change to shell. I have read few threads tht said Shell wasnt gud and few tht cupported it also.... just confused can u guys suggest if i can use shell Helix 20 W 50.......

Shell Helix is for cars and not bikes. For bikes shell has Shell Advance but I dont find any w50's in Shell India website. You can try other brands like Motul, Valvoline, Gulf etc.

[umarajashekher]

shell

Thnx buddy.....was about to buy Shell Helix to try it out..... now i will not...... Hey and ya i change at 2k intervals and some times at 3k intervals .... im just apprehensive of the castrol oil quality.... can any body throw light where in hyderabad we can get Castrol (gud quality)


thanx and
Love
Umarajashekher

My heart stopped beating......it only thumps now!!!

[abhilashabhi12]

Im Planning to Try the Hero Honda Oil 10W30 in my Bike Flame125....
Is it advisable to change to that ?
Is that oil is Mineral or Semi-synthetic?
Advice please./...........

Hero Honda oil is 10W30 where as IIRC Flame 125 needs W40 grade.. Why do you want to use wrong grade oil. try something else like Gulf, Elf in W40 grade..

& yeah HH oil is a mineral oil..

[abhichotu.abhi]

Hey friends,
Is it harmful to engine if i use a API-SG(old rating) grade oil instead of API-SL(new rating and company recommened).

[udayrrr]

Hey friends,
Is it harmful to engine if i use a API-SG(old rating) grade oil instead of API-SL(new rating and company recommened).

why do u want to go old rating API-SG when most of them are at API-SM
which one is that

[udayrrr]

Im Planning to Try the Hero Honda Oil 10W30 in my Bike Flame125....
Is it advisable to change to that ?
Is that oil is Mineral or Semi-synthetic?
Advice please./...........

if u r serious towards 10w30 u can go for gulf 10w30 which has better thermal characteristics than gulf 20w40 again which is best in its category(their website has pdf u can go through )
anyway 10w30 is not recommended to flame but u can try as it is winter
but remember to dry it before summer strikes!

[HydBiker]

I am running Sprinta at the moment in my bike, from my experience I dont feel like advising it to others..

Just 1.5k & its as good as Mineral oi

My Brother's RTR is running on Sprinta 5000 for the past 18K KMs. Changing oil every 6K KMs. Holds on very good. Yes, this is not the best we have used. But the best was almost 3 times as expensive and lasted 9K KMs apart from being better. My R15 and even Victor are running very good with Sprinta 5000.

I drain the Sprinta 5000 in R15 at every service - 3K KMs (to stick to warranty guidelines). The oil is good when draining and I know there is good life in it when I drain it. Last time I had to use Yamalube because of unavailability of Petronas. Now I know the difference. Even before 2K KMS after service there is a difference in engine smoothness that was never found with Sprinta. With Sprinta my bike has never shown a difference before and after a service + oil change.

So, there can be many factors playing in - right from the health of the engine to riding style to climatic conditions to dunno what.

Im Planning to Try the Hero Honda Oil 10W30 in my Bike Flame125....
Is it advisable to change to that ?
Is that oil is Mineral or Semi-synthetic?
Advice please./...........

If you really want to try something better you try the Gulf Pride 4T Plus 20W40. I have used both 20W40 and 10W30 in my Victor and must appreciate the 10W30 for holding up to all the heat pretty well. However, the 20W40 takes the cake. The gear shift was the best ever for me. And that was on a 47K KMs run engine.

You can even try the Elf Moto 4 Gold. Very good.

Thnx buddy.....was about to buy Shell Helix to try it out..... now i will not...... Hey and ya i change at 2k intervals and some times at 3k intervals .... im just apprehensive of the castrol oil quality.... can any body throw light where in hyderabad we can get Castrol (gud quality)

hmmm... what type are the Bullet's clutch plates? They should be wet type. If yes, you better stick to Motorcycle oils as a thumb rule.

Hey friends,
Is it harmful to engine if i use a API-SG(old rating) grade oil instead of API-SL(new rating and company recommened).

No It is not harmful. It is only that the SL grade oils are thinner, give better lubrication and also do better heat management (generally!). It again depends on the quality of the oil too. As such, I don't think any motorcycle oil in India is still coming in SG grade. Please let us know if you find one.

BTW, not all engines may be happy with an SL & SM oil instead of SG or SJ. The SL & SM oils are thinner. If the engine clearances are higher these oils might make their way to the combustion chamber a little easier. Same applies to worn out engines. That's theory. Practically, I dunno what engines/bikes might dislike the new grades. Even the first Made in India engine (Victor) is happy with SL & SM oils.

[on wheels]

perfect engine oil for HH Hunk???

Hello guys, please suggest me the good engine oil for my HH Hunk (1850km).
I have already used few, here is the review......

HH Oil (by Honda): average result. engine smoothness is gone after 700km. tough to change gears.
Gulf Oil (10W30) :good response from engine as it becomes smooth, no clutch slippage( I can feel it - my friend who rides Splender, used the 2nd gear instead of the 1st and after I told him, he came to know and I swear, I would not let others to touch the bike any more!!!!). smooth gear change.the engine remains cool after a long drive (at least 30km at a stretch), but smoothness gone after 400 km.
Castrol Power 1(10W30): I feel its average. the gulf was good. the engine is getting hot and gear is little hard. but very good response from the engine. till now smoothness is ok so far, but not so smooth like gulf.

The mechanic told me that he opened the engine of a fiero after 80000km due to spring of the Kik start leaver(I don't know the term exactly) broke down and found a very clean engine - just like a new one. The owner was using Castrol from the begening.

Please suggest me.................

[abhilashabhi12]

My Brother's RTR is running on Sprinta 5000 for the past 18K KMs. Changing oil every 6K KMs. Holds on very good. Yes, this is not the best we have used. But the best was almost 3 times as expensive and lasted 9K KMs apart from being better. My R15 and even Victor are running very good with Sprinta 5000.

I drain the Sprinta 5000 in R15 at every service - 3K KMs (to stick to warranty guidelines). The oil is good when draining and I know there is good life in it when I drain it. Last time I had to use Yamalube because of unavailability of Petronas. Now I know the difference. Even before 2K KMS after service there is a difference in engine smoothness that was never found with Sprinta. With Sprinta my bike has never shown a difference before and after a service + oil change.

So, there can be many factors playing in - right from the health of the engine to riding style to climatic conditions to dunno what.

I totally agree with you.. Infact I have also heard of people having said all good about sprinta, One of the guys claimed using it for more than 6k kms with this oil.

May be it is my bad.. anyway it is worth a try once if it runs good best VFM oil available if not their are other options although we will have to shell out more money