oilman

Coolant and antifreeze is a topic we are asked about on a regular basis, and often causes confusion; types, colours, service life etc. Perhaps the most frequent cause of confusion is what the difference between anti-freeze or coolant is. Basically, they’re the same product (although the term “coolant†could just be applied to plain water; see below!) To help clear some of the confusion up on the more technical details of antifreeze and coolants we enlisted the help of Martyn Mann – Technical Director, Millers Oils UK - who has provided the information below. Not all antifreeze / coolant is the same! Coolant can be plain water; water is a very effective coolant but would not protect against sub freezing temperatures or protect against corrosion inside the engine. The use of antifreeze protects against both problems. Antifreeze not only suppresses the freezing point of your engine coolant, but provides good corrosion protection and increases the boiling point during use. Most commercial antifreeze formulations include a glycol (to suppress the freezing point and raise the boiling point), corrosion inhibiting compounds and a coloured dye (commonly orange, green, red, or blue fluorescent) to aid in identification. A 1:1 dilution with water is usually used, resulting in a freezing point in the range of minus 37 °C to minus 42 °C, depending on the formulation. There are two basic types of coolant available today dependent on the corrosion inhibitors used: ·inorganic additive technology (IAT) ·organic additive technology (OAT) Inorganic Additive Technology This is the traditional coolant based on inorganic additives and is called inorganic additive technology (IAT). It is a tried and proven chemistry that provides a fast acting protective film. The additives deplete and the coolant needs to be drained and replenished every couple of years. This type can be used on all mixed metal engines with components including steel, cast iron, copper, brass, aluminium and solder without any detrimental effect. Organic Acid Technology The newer OAT coolants work differently than the older silicate based IAT coolants. Aluminium and ferrous metals form a surface-layer of corrosion in the presence of moisture, even with the little bit of moisture in the air. OAT coolants prevent this metal-oxide layer that protects the surface against this corrosion. Inherent with their design, the OAT coolants last longer than the older traditional IAT coolants. This category of antifreeze cannot be used in systems containing yellow metals. A couple of questions and answers. Why are coolants different colours? Coolants/antifreezes are coloured so you can visually see them; colour intensity can be an indication of over dilution. The different colours are non specific to the different types of antifreeze. The manufacturer can dye the product any colour they want. The colour is no guide to the actual type of antifreeze type and the label should be read before use. What is best for performance use? It is always best to use the engine manufacturer’s advice. If engine contains yellow metals [copper and brass as in older vehicles] then the long life products based on organic technology should not be used. As a general rule, most modern engines require the long life organic antifreezes. Is there any advantage to using concentrate over pre-mixed coolants? None other than the user may want to use the pre-mixed product due to ease of handling or cost and visa versa. Can concentrate and pre-mixed coolants be mixed? A simple answer is that you can, however do not mix IAT and OAT antifreeze together. So, there we go. Hopefully this information has been useful, if you have any further questions not covered here please ask and I will try to get the answer. With thanks to Martyn Mann and Millers Oils. Cheers Guy and the Opie Oils team.

Brake fluid... Bit of a mystery topic! To help dispel some myths and for some good solid general info on the mysterious world of brake fluids I decided to contact Millers Oils up in West Yorkshire. Their Technical Director, Martyn Mann was on hand to give us some useful info… below is Martyn's article on brake fluids. There is a degree of confusion regarding the specification of brake fluid and this article sets out to clarify the situation. The Department of Transportation (DOT) classifies brake fluids to defined specifications. These specifications relate to their boiling points and chemical composition, both of which are important. All currently available brake fluids are covered by one of the following specifications; DOT3, DOT4, DOT5 and DOT5.1. The laws of thermo-dynamics dictate that the energy from motion is turned into heat through friction. A braking system only works efficiently if the fluid remains incompressible. If the brake fluid boils, it turns to gas, which is compressible and the braking system becomes “spongy†or in extreme cases fails completely. A brake system is not perfectly sealed and moisture can get into the system and be absorbed by the fluid. The effect is to reduce the boiling point of the fluid, which reduces the efficiency of the braking system, as described above. The DOT specifies two reference tests for brake fluids. * Dry boiling point - the boiling point of fresh fluid * Wet boiling point –the boiling point once the fluid has absorbed moisture (representing brake fluid after time spent in a real situation). There are two main types of brake fluids: * DOT 3, DOT 4, Super DOT4* and DOT 5.1 which are based on poly glycol compounds. * DOT 5, which are based on Silicone. Note the two types of fluid are not compatible and must not be mixed in a braking system. SILICONE BRAKE FLUID (DOT 5) Silicone based DOT 5 was originally introduced to give higher temperature performance over glycol DOT 4. Silicone fluid also has other advantages, it does not damage paintwork and it does not absorb water. However, silicone fluid is a poor lubricant and does not lubricate ABS pumps as well as PAG fluids. It is also more compressible than PAG fluids, which can result in a sluggish or spongy pedal. It therefore requires special design considerations in braking systems. Further, because it does not absorb water, any water remains as globules, which can pool in low spots in the system and cause corrosion. This water can vaporise when heated under heavy braking giving a disastrous effect on braking efficiency. DOT5 fluids are not recommended for motor sport applications. POLY GLYCOL BRAKE FLUIDS (DOT 3, 4 AND 5.1) Glycol based DOT 4 fluid is the current mainstream brake fluid, and you will see that the specification is considerably better than DOT 3 which it replaces. DOT 5.1 has higher specification still and is for fast road and occasional track day use. It has a similar spec to DOT4 for the boiling point (>260) but is a lot lower viscosity @-40C typically 900 centistokes (compared to 1500 - 1800 centistokes for DOT 4 and super DOT 4). Listed in the table below, are the minimum dry/wet boiling point specifications for each DOT level. BOILING POINT: DOT 3 - 205°C (dry) / 140°C (wet) DOT 4 - 230°C (dry) / 155°C (wet) DOT 5 (silicone) - 260°C (dry) / 185°C (wet) DOT 5.1 (PAG) - 260°C (dry) / 185°C (wet) Super Dot4 * - 300°C (dry) / 195°C (wet) (racing brake fluid) * Super DOT4: The main difference between DOT 4 and Super DOT 4 is the dry boiling point. Normal Dot4 is >260C whilst Super DOT 4 is more like >310C With thanks to Martyn Mann - Technical Director Millers Oils. Cheers Guy. Opie Oils

At this time of year, it’s beneficial to use an oil that has good cold start flow properties as it will get to the parts of the engine that need it far more quickly when you turn the key on those sub zero mornings. The "w" number which means winter is the key here and the lower it is the better cold start performance the oil will have. A 15w or 20w rated oil will struggle to get around the engine in very cold temps and we would strongly recommend using a 10w, 5w or 0w for better cold start performance. It is a fact that around 90% of all engine wear occurs on cold start because the oil is at its thickest. The colder it gets the thicker the oil becomes and this affects the rate of flow which affects the rate of wear. These numbers help to explain the oils thickness and therefore cold flow performance at various temperatures. Grade.................At 0C.................At 10C..............At 100C 0W/20.............328.6cSt...............180.8cSt............9cSt 5W/40.............811.4cSt...............421.4cSt............14cSt 10W/50............1039cSt...............538.9cSt............18cSt 15W/50.............1376cSt..............674.7cSt............18cSt 20W/50.............2305cSt...............1015cSt............18cSt Centistokes (cst) is the measure of a fluid's resistance to flow (viscosity). It is calculated in terms of the time required for a standard quantity of fluid at a certain temperature to flow through a standard orifice. The higher the value, the thicker the oil. Winters in the UK are fortunately not too cold but, below zero temperatures are regular features in some parts of the country. Compare the thickness of the oil at 0degC and 100degC and you will see the big difference. Just something to consider on those frosty mornings. The Opieoils Team.

That Shell oil is okay and if it's not using any, then I'd stick with a 5w-30. There are some better oils than the Shell, the Redline, Motul 300V and Fuchs Pro S are top end ester based oils. http://www.opieoils.co.uk/c-653-5w-30.aspx?pagenum=2 Cheers Tim

Really extreme track with a massively modified car? Otherwise a 10w-50 would be fine.

Glad to help

Semi synthetics are totally mineral based, therefore all the molecules are randomly sized and when the oil gets hot, the smaller molecules will evaporate and burn off. That is usually a large part of the oil consumption. It also means the remaining molecules are not an even mix of sizes and will not have all the properties that the oil did to start with. Synthetics are mad of uniformly sized particles and they are much less likely to evaporate and burn when hot, meaning the consumption is reduced and the oil properties remain the same for much longer. Give a 5w-30 synthetic a go next time, it doesn't need to be overly expensive (just buy when it's on offer), something like Motul X-Max or Gulf XLE and see how it goes. http://www.opieoils.co.uk/c-653-5w-30.aspx Cheers Tim

To be honest first service is fine, engines these days are built with such fine tolerances that the run in process is virtually non existent compared to what it used to be. Americans have a mentality of chaning oil every 50ft, so dont pay too much attention to it. America generally runs on the principle of use crap oil and change it often and if you look at the big lumbering lower power gas guzzling v8's they have used for so many years its not really a problem. 9,000 miles is fine for the oil as long as you dont take for ever to get to first service. Cheers Guy

Handbooks give the minimum requirements, the least you can get away with using, so if the car is somewhere random in the world that has no top quality oils, it tells you what you can get away with using. Also, why would nissan want to recommend an oil that gives far better protection and therefore makes the engine last longer? 9000 miles is quite a long time for a mineral oil to last, especially with a track day thrown in as track use is the quickest way to break an oil down. By the time you've reached 9k, the oil is going to have lost most of it's properties. I've just had a quick look on Pistonheads and it seems that a 6-7 year old 350Z is about £10k and a new engine is £2-3k off Ebay. Isn't it best to spend a few quid extra at service time and look after the car a bit better if you want to hold on to the car a while? Especially if you use it for track days or hard use in general. We've got 15% extra off if you use the code MAYOFFER when you order at the moment, making a decent oil even cheaper

In a standard to lightly modified 350Z? Then no, 10w-40 isn't really right. 5w-30 for standard or a little upgraded and 5w-40 for fairly heavy modifications or a lot of track time.

Good choice and thanks for the order

Any advice needed?? Feel free to ask. Cheers Guy

Just the name change

From the 1st May 2010, what was formerly known as the Fuchs Silkolene Powersport Range (which included products such as Silkolene Pro S, Silkolene Pro R, Silkolene SYN 5 and Silkolene Boa 90LS) will be renamed Fuchs Titan Race. The Silkolene name will remain exclusively on the Motorcycle range of products. Fuchs have said that existing users of the Fuchs Silkolene Powersport (4 wheel) products can rest assured that the exacting standards will be maintained and improved within the Titan Race range. Fuchs have also stated. “Titan Race is the pinnacle of performance within the Fuchs brand family and further significant product additions will be introduced. Our long established partnerships with our in-house R&D teams and world class motorsport teams and engine builders ensures the consumer receive the very latest products designed using the most advanced technologies†The products that are affected by this change of name are as follows Fuchs Silkolene Pro S 5w-30 will be changed to Fuchs Titan Race Pro S 5w-30 Fuchs Silkolene Pro S 5w-40 will be changed to Fuchs Titan Race Pro S 5w-40 Fuchs Silkolene Pro S 10w-50 will be changed to Fuchs Titan Race Pro S 10w-50 Fuchs Silkolene Pro R 0w-20 will be changed to Fuchs Titan Race Pro R 0w-20 Fuchs Silkolene Pro R 15w-50 will be changed to Fuchs Titan Race Pro R 15w-50 Fuchs Silkolene Silktran SYN 5 75w-90 will be changed to Fuchs Titan Race SYN 5 75w-90 Fuchs Silkolene Pro SRG75 will be changed to Fuchs Titan Race SRG75 Fuchs Silkolene BOA 90LS will be changed to Fuchs Titan Race Gear 90LS Fuchs Silkolene Comp Gear 80w-90 will be changed to Fuchs Titan Race Comp Gear 80w-90 Fuchs Silkolene ProCool will be changed to Fuchs Titan Race ProCool Fuchs Silkolene ProFST will be changed to Fuchs Titan Race FST Fuchs Silkolene ProCCA Ultra will be changed to Fuchs Titan Race CCA Ultra Fuchs Silkolene Pro Race 2000 Brake Fluid will be changed to Fuchs Titan Racing Brake Fluid There are also two new engine oil grades that will be available in May 2010 and they are Fuchs Titan Race Pro S 10w-60 Fuchs Titan Race Pro R 20w-50 www.opieoils.co.uk will be retailing the renamed products as and when existing stocks of the Silkolene products are depleted so there will be a changeover period. Having been a key UK retailer of the Silkolene products over the last 5 years we are both excited and supportive of this change which ensures that these quality oils stay at the cutting edge of technology and performance. The www.opieoils.co.uk Team

Yes, 9-10K will be fine

Thanks to everyone who entered our Christmas competition! Congratulations go to Paul Canadine from MCR-VTEC (for Honda performance cars in the North West) who wins the Garmin Nuvi sat nav and to Kenny Adnitt from the SV1000 Portal (for Suzuki SV1000s) who wins the AGV K3 Rossi Gothic helmet. We had a great response to our competitions, with a high percentage of correct answers! The answers The mystery bike answer was Yamaha - the bike is a Yamaha YZF R1 (from around 2001, we're told!) The mystery car answer was Mazda - the car is a Mazda RX7 (circa 2002?) Better luck next time if you weren't one of the winners! A big thank you too to all our customers for their support during 2009... we value your custom. Our Christmas and New Year opening hours can be found on our web site at http://www.opieoils.co.uk/t-christmas-delivery.aspx With Seasons Greetings and all the best to you and your families for 2010, - The team at Opie Oils

Hey all, Our competition ends tomorrow, so make sure you enter our competition before midnight tomorrow(friday 18th December). Enter Competition Here!

It's time for the Opie Oils Christmas competitions! We've got some great prizes lined up for you, whether you're driving or riding... Enter our "mystery car" competition to win a Garmin nuvi 255w Sat Nav with full EU mapping and colour wide screen. Enter the sat nav competition here >> Or if you're on 2 wheels, have a go at our "mystery bike" competition and you could win a cool AGV K3 Rossi Gothic replica helmet!. With its distinctive shape and amazing design, it's a cool helmet that would normal set you back £160 or more. We'll get the winner a size to fit, so no worries there. Enter our Rossi Gothic helmet competition here >> Both competitions are free to enter, no purchase necessary and close on Thursday 17 December 2009 and we'll be contacting the winners on Friday 18 December 2009. Good luck and "seasons greetings" to you all! - The team at Opie Oils

Any idea what oil temps they are getting? A decent ester oil should be able to cope

We have winners! Thanks to everyone who entered. Once again, we had plenty of correct answers and some lively debate on the forums... but very few COMPLETELY correct answers for those who had a go at guessing the make AND model. In fact, hardly any of you who had a go at the model of the mystery car got it right. It was actually an Aston Martin DB4 Volante... not a DB5 or DB6 as was commonly guessed, photographed in the British Racing Drivers Club car park when we were at Silverstone last month. If you answered correctly... well done, you were one of a handful! The bike guesses were nearly all spot on - it was a Honda CBR1000 Fireblade Have a look at the "revealed" pictures on our web site. Whilst there, you could pick up some quality Fuchs screen wash free with any purchase of £15.00 or over. Makes 10 litres summer use, 5 litres winter use. Use code SCREENWASH at the checkout before the end of the month. The winners were: Phil A (Mitsubishi Lancer Register) - who wins the £150's worth of cleaning and detailing products Anna M (Honda Civic Forum UK) - £50 Opie Oils voucher Rob R (Bike Tech Forums) - £50 Opie Oils voucher Feraz S (South East Lotus Owners Club) - £50 Opie Oils voucher Congrats to all. And of course there will be an October competition some time soon! Cheers oilman

Whats your order number? I will check it out. Cheers Guy

I would love to hear the replies from from an owner of one to that!

It's time for another Opie Oils competition! In something of a reprise of our competition back in June, we're giving away over £150's worth of cleaning, polishing and detailing products... but this time you stand more chance of a prize because there's the added bonus of 3 runners up prizes, each of a £50 voucher to spend at Opie Oils. Free to enter, no purchase necessary. Read enough? Scroll down for the link to the competition entry form, or read on for more details... It's a great prize, containing everything you need to get your car looking the business inside and out! There's car shampoo and wheel cleaner, clay bars and polishes - a huge selection of products from Meguiars, Muc-off and Bilt Hamber. How to win it? Easy! Just let us know the make of the "mystery car" on our web site and fill in the competition entry form with your answer. If you like, you can tell us what model it is too, but you don't need to... and there are no bonus prizes! It's free to enter and there's no commitment to buy anything, so give it a go! You've nothing to lose... except, as we said before, a whole weekend spent cleaning and polishing your car if you're the winner ;-) The competition's not open for long, so get your skates on... last entries by close of play this coming Sunday, 4th October 2009, please. If you're the winner, you'll get all this: A bottle of Bilt Hamber Auto Wash (mega-concentrated; a teaspoon per bucket's all you need) A bar of Bilt Hamber Auto Clay - Regular (for a first time claying to get rid of paint impurities) A bar of Bilt Hamber Auto Clay - Soft (for the more regular detailer) A Muc-Off Device and Screen Cleaner pack (for everything from spectacles to your satnav screen) A can of Muc-Off Disc Brake Cleaner (does what it says on the tin - also good at removing permanent marker from whiteboards when you use the wrong pen, as we found out last week) A Muc-Off Ultimate Wheel and Tyre Kit (Muc-Off Nanotech Wheel Cleaner, Muc-Off Wheel Seal plus 3 brushes, a sponge, a cloth, 2 sponge applicators and a nice tub to put it all in) A Meguiars Lambs Wool Wash Mitt (soft and fluffy) A bottle of Meguiars Ultimate Quik Detailer (Never good at spelling, those Americans) A tube of Meguiars Scratch X (for isolated scratches and blemishes) A bottle of Meguiars Hot Shine Tyre Dressing Spray (if you like the wet look) A bottle of Meguiars Carpet and Interior Cleaner (you know it's overdue!) 4 Meguiars soft foam applicator pads (round and yellow) A bottle of Meguiars NXT Tech Wax 2.0 (good stuff, this, and comes with a sparkly purple applicator pad) A 1 litre bottle of Fuchs Screen Wash concentrate (makes up to 5 litres for winter use, twice that in the summer) ... so that'd keep you busy. There's also the option for the winner to substitute the product selection above for a more motorcycle-focussed prize instead. Contact us for details if that's of specific interest. Rules? Well, Opie Oils staff can't enter :-( The prize is as stated and there's no cash alternative, entries received after Sunday 4th June won't count and just the one entry each please! Good luck! Guy and the team >> Enter now <<

You can use either in the Zed, however true synthetic is better. Hard to list all the "real" ones but price generally plays a factor, Asmoil is a genuine pao synthetic as are all of the premium ester based oils such as Sikolene Pro S, Motul 300v, Redline. Mobil 1 0w-40 and 15w-50 are true synthetics, but the Mobil 1 Synt S 5w-40 is not, its hydrocracked. Cheers Guy

Due to a court case in the states between Mobil and Castrol, you may not always be getting what you think you are so be careful, hydrocracked oils are not synthetics in the true sense of the word as they are molecularly converted petroleum oils, synthetics are not, they are built by chemists in laboratories "brick by brick" and are far superior. Unfortunately, apart from in Germany, a manufacturer can label the inferior "hydrocracked" oils as synthetics and therefore the only true way of working out the quality is price although even this is not certain as there are some very expensive "hydrocracked" oils out there which are sold on their brand name, Castrol is a good example as they were the Company that Mobil took to court over the labelling issues. Here is some more reading for those interested: “HYDROCRACKED†(HC) or MOLECULARLY CONVERTED (MC) BASESTOCKS There are many petroleum oils available on the market that are so pure and refined, they can now be passed off as synthetics. They are not made from true synthetic basestocks (at least not in the way that synthetics have traditionally been defined), but they have so little in common with traditional petroleum basestocks, it is really somewhat silly to classify them as petroleum oils. Petroleum oil basestocks can be put through a super-extreme refining process called “hydrocrackingâ€. In some cases, as in the case of one particular name-brand "synthetic" oil, these highly refined petroleum basestocks can actually be termed and sold as "synthetic". It is completely legal for lubricants manufacturers to label these oils as "synthetic". These are extremely high performance petroleum basestocks, but they are not truly synthetic the way that most people understand the term and will not necessarily perform to the same level as a premium synthetic oil like PAO (poly alfa olefins) or Esters. Hydrocracking involves changing the actual structure of many of the oil basestock molecules by breaking and fragmenting different molecular structures into far more stable ones. This results in a basestock which has far better thermal and oxidative stability as well as a better ability to maintain proper viscosity through a wide temperature range - when compared to a typical petroleum basestock. Although contaminants are still present, and these are still petroleum basestocks, contamination is minimal and performance characteristics are high. This process also can turn a wider range of crude oil stock into well-performing petroleum lubricant basestocks. TYPES OF SYNTHETIC BASESTOCKS Synthetic basestocks are not all the same. There are few different chemical types that may be used as synthetic basestock fluids. There are only three that are seen commonly in automotive applications: Polyalphaolefins (PAO's) These are the most common synthetic basestocks used in the US and in Europe. In fact, many synthetics on the market use PAO basestocks exclusively. PAO's are also called synthesized hydrocarbons and contain absolutely no wax, metals, sulfur or phosphorous. Viscosity indexes for nearly all PAO's are around 150, and they have extremely low pour points (normally below –40 degrees F). Although PAO's are also very thermally stable, there are a couple of drawbacks to using PAO basestocks. One drawback to using PAO's is that they are not as oxidatively stable as other synthetics. But, when properly additized, oxidative stability can be achieved. Diesters These synthetic basestocks offer many of the same benefits of PAO's but are more varied in structure. Therefore, their performance characteristics vary more than PAO's do. Nevertheless, if chosen carefully, diesters generally provide better pour points than PAO's (about -60 to -80 degrees F) and are a little more oxidatively stable when properly additized. Diesters also have very good inherent solvency characteristics which means that not only do they burn cleanly, they also clean out deposits left behind by other lubricants - even without the aid of detergency additives. They do have one extra benefit though, they are surface-active (electrostatically attracted to metal surfaces), PAO’s are not “polarâ€, they are “inertâ€. Polyolesters Similar to diesters, but slightly more complex. Greater range of pour points and viscosity indexes than diesters, but some polyolester basestocks will outperform diesters with pour points as low as -90 degrees F and viscosity indexes as high as 160 (without VI additive improvers). They are also “polarâ€. Other synthetic basestocks exist but are not nearly as widely used as those above - especially in automotive type applications. Most synthetics on the market will use a single PAO basestock combined with an adequate additive package to provide a medium quality synthetic lubricant. However, PAO basestocks are not all the same. Their final lubricating characteristics depend on the chemical reactions used to create them. Premium quality synthetics will blend more than one "species" of PAO and/or will blend these PAO basestocks with a certain amount of diester or polyolester in order to create a basestock which combines all of the relative benefits of these different basestocks. This requires a great deal of experience and expertise. As a result, such basestock blending is rare within the synthetic lubricants industry and only done by very experienced companies. In addition, although such blending creates extremely high quality synthetic oils, they don't come cheap. You get what you pay for! Or do you? Cheers Guy