Oil Weight

[Dr.Drew]

ok my warrenty is going to expire this month I will be doing my own oil changes from now on, what I am wondering is what everyone is running as far as oil my dealer and mb canada is clueless when it comes to this kinda question.

my car to my knowlage has been running non synthetic oil since it was new, any issuse switching to synthetic

[fastmayte]

well i got a 95 c220 and i just run either regular mobil 10w30 or 5w30 (1.69 each at walmart). 3k oilchanges. and get the filter from the dealer (10 bucks).

only if u're running on synthetic, u can't switch to regular oil,

but if u've been using regular, u can switch to synthetic. i'd just go with what u've always been running (regular) becuase the seals and everything have broken in with the regular oil. but either one is fine.

doing great so far. :)

[stox]

Originally posted by fastmayte
if u're running on synthetic, u can't switch to regular oil

This is completely untrue. You switch back and forth as much as you want. This is an old wive's tale. I know several people who run Dino in the summer and Synth in the winter with no negative results.

Personally, I run Mobil 1 0W40 year round. Even in sub-zero weather, the car starts right up. Since I started using synthetic all the time, 20 years ago, I have not had a single engine component fail due to frictional wear.

[manny]

You SHOULD be running one of these oils:
http://www.whnet.com/4x4/oil.html
I buy my Mobil 1 0W40 at the dealer.
It's about the only place where you can get it.
Best oil for all kinds of temperatures. ;)

[Dr.Drew]

thats a good link but again shows no uniformity in the viscosity of the oil

[jnenad16]

0w-40, 5w-40, and 10w-40 will all work as a year round viscosities. now, the choice between the synthetic and regular depends on your driving style, the amount of driving you do every day, traffic/prolonged idling or freeway driving...
I would recommend sythetic since all of us are stuck in traffic on daily basis, and every now and then we floor the gas pedal on the freeway.
as for the brand, mobil 1 or shell rotella synthetic are the cheaper and relatively good choices. high end synthetic oils are redline, amsoil, and royal purple.
here is my independent, non professional study of lubricants, may or may not help you out.
http://www.club202.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5613&highlight=lubricants+optimal

nenad

[coolin]

Neenad => Shell Rotella 0W-40 doesn't have an "SL" API rating...is it ok to use?

I've been using 5W-40 Castrol Syntech and seems ok...it's also the only oil that is readily available.

Mobil 1 0W40 is a pain in the @#$$ to find at Canadian Tire - never in stock.

[jnenad16]

Originally posted by coolin
Neenad => Shell Rotella 0W-40 doesn't have an "SL" API rating...is it ok to use?

I've been using 5W-40 Castrol Syntech and seems ok...it's also the only oil that is readily available.

Mobil 1 0W40 is a pain in the @#$$ to find at Canadian Tire - never in stock.
shell rotella is fine, Ive been using it in my 300se for the past few oil changes and its works fine.

nenad

[choppers_rule]

Am I the only one using 15W 50? Are they too heavy?
My car has 107,000 miles....so, I am affraid to use synthetic.

[jnenad16]

Originally posted by choppers_rule
Am I the only one using 15W 50? Are they too heavy?
My car has 107,000 miles....so, I am affraid to use synthetic.
50 weight is the recommended grade for most benzes and it ensures the longest engine life, but it lowers gas mileage, which is why the 40 weight should be better these days, you can go as low as 30weight and still have adequate engine protection level, which is what I ran in my C280 for as long as I had it.

nenad

[jlomon]

You can also alter the weight of your oil to suit the season. I use a 10w40 between June and August, and switch to a 10w30 for the remainder of the year. I use dino oil in mine (a 1994 C280) and I do my own oil changes as well. I use the 30 weight instead of 40 for 9 months of the year as the car mainly sees short trips, so I'm not as concerned about engine heat (especially as I'm running a Cool Harness).

As far as not being able to use dino after you've used synth is concerned, this is completely untrue (as stox pointed out). You can switch back and forth as often as you like, and most major brands of synth (Mobil 1, Castrol, Quaker State, etc) will even allow you to top up with dino if you're low on oil and don't have synth available. So you don't need to worry about making a life-long committment.

There is a persistant rumor that synth will make an old motor leak. This isn't entirely true. Synth will not make a motor leak in and of itself. However, if your motor is gummed up with sludge or other garbage, and this garbage is actually preventing a leak, you can expect the synth to expose this weakness and you might end up with an oil leak. There is no way to tell if this is going to happen or not. I'd love to be running synth, but I have a very minor oil leak on the head gasket, and I'm concerned about potentially making this worse with the synth.

There are great advantages with synth. It flows through your motor much more quickly at start-up, and it will also allow longer change intervals. For all post '98 MBs, that's what you'd get from the dealer.