oilman

Hi all, For the next two weeks from the 23rd of Jan to the 6th of Feb we will be running the following offer. Engine Oils Cost oil - Fuchs XTR 10w-40 (semi synthetic) 1 x 5ltr £19.99 2 x 5ltr £33.99 Medium cost synthetic - Motul 8100 5w-40 1 x 5ltr £25.99 2 x 5ltr £45.99 - Fuchs Supersyn 5w-40 1 x 4ltr £23.99 2 x 4ltr £42.99 Ester Syntehtic - Silkolene Pro S 5w-40/10w-50 and Pro R 15w-50 1 x 5ltr £39.99 2 x 5ltr £72.99 - Motul 300v 5w-40 3 x 2ltr £52.99 5 x 2ltr £82.99 300v 15w-50 1 x 4ltr £33.99 2 x 4ltr £60.99 Gear Oils Fuchs Gearsyn (semi synthetic) @ £5.50 Per ltr. Castrol Syntrax (semi synthetic) @ £6.99 per ltr. Motul Gear 300 75w-90 (ester synthetic) @ £8.99 per ltr. Silkolene Syn5 75w-90 (ester synthetic) @ £7.99 per ltr. Silkolene BOA90 ls (mineral lsd diff oil) @ £5.99 per ltr. Brake Fluid Silkolene Pro Race 2000 @ £8.99 per 0.5ltr Motul RBF 600 Dot4 @ £7.99 per 0.5ltr Motul Dot5.1 @ £4.99 per 0.5ltr Remember, carriage is free for any order over £30 to mainland uk, if your order does not come to £30 add £5 carriage to the order. This offer is not available on our website so you will need to call me on 01209 215164 to place an order. All technical data on these oils can be found here http://www.opieoils.co.uk Cheers Guy. Opieoils.

Opie Oils would like to take this opportunity to wish all here a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2007. Thank you for your support in 2006 and we look forward to being of continued service in 2007. Cheers Simon & Guy

Our last offers of 2006 are now on until Friday 22nd December. You'll find details here http://www.opieoils.co.uk We also have the following specials (call to order only) 01209 215164 APEXI SAFC2 Fuel Controllers (for JAP cars only) £199.99 (£100 off rrp!) MOMO Millenium EVO Steering Wheels 350mm (excl boss) £135.99 (£50 off rrp!) May we take this opportunity to wish you all a merry xmas and thank you for your business in 2006. Regards Guy

The Magantec is not all that. The car will have a semi in from factory fill so either a 5w-30 or 10w-40 is suitable. We recomend Silkolene and Motul http://www.opieoils.co.uk Cheers Guy.

We are asked all the time about the use of magic addatives / miracle cures. This one is certainly no exception in its claims. Having read about it, I asked Silkolene was this a miracle addative and were the claims possible or more importantly technically possible? If you're interested in this sort of stuff, please read on as it's an eye-opener! Quote: John Rowland (Silkolene's Chemist) The mode of action of the ‘NanoLub’ particles is based upon a fallacy, i.e., that very small spheres can reduce friction and carry high loads by rolling between two moving surfaces, by analogy with ball bearings. (Their ‘Technical Note’ states: ‘NanoLub………….is extremely strong and rolls along surfaces to provide excellent lubrication. In fact, this simply does not happen due to effects that are not important at ‘macro’ scale, but significant at ‘micro’, and very important at ‘nano’ scales. If an average size ball made of hard material rests on (for example) a toughened steel surface, it will make a small indentation. (Nothing is perfectly rigid, not even diamond.) If a force is applied to the ball, the depth of the indentation will increase, but so will its area; with a large ball, the area will be large relative to the depth. Provided that the elastic limit of the steel (Young’s Modulus) is not exceeded, the indentation will be restored to its original size when the force is removed. Thanks to this effect, precision ball and roller bearings have been successfully used for about 120 years. However, if a I micron (1000 nano-metres) diameter sphere is pressed into contact with a steel surface, the maximum possible area of the indentation will of course be equal to the maximum cross-sectional area of a 1 micron sphere, which is 7.9 x 10 to -13 square metres! In other words, a very light pressure will easily exceed the elastic limit of the steel and embed the sphere in its surface. Even 1mm hard steel balls, only used in very lightly-loaded ball bearings, have a cross-sectional area 1 million times greater. (The NanoLub particles are said to be 80 – 220 nanometres, or 0.08 to 0.22 microns in diameter.) The embedding of hard particles into bearing surfaces is well known to bearing manufacturers, and its effects have been well understood for many years: by initiating micro-cracks and grain boundary dislocations, the fatigue life of rolling-element bearing surfaces is severely curtailed. All manufacturers insist that long bearing life depends upon clean oil or grease. There have been numerous studies published showing that particulates reduce bearing life, so NanoLub must not be used in any application where this type of bearing is used. (Similar effects occur between gear teeth.) High-speed plain bearings as used in all present-day automotive engines depend upon ‘hydrodynamic’ lubrication, which depends upon thick (100 micron or more) fluid films generated by motion and viscosity. (This was researched by the Victorian engineer Beauchamp Tower in the late 19th Century). So particles smaller than 1 micron will have little opportunity to act as a lubricant in a much thicker oil film. Even so, embedding can occur at start-up/shutdown where ‘boundary’ thin film lubrication is dominant, leading to bearing damage. As with rolling bearings, hard particles in the oil are not a good idea, hence the use of oil and air filters on all engines made since about 1950. The makers of NanoLub correctly point out that: ‘Common solid lubricants are layered compounds like graphite, molybdenum disulphide and tungsten disulphide. The layers slide past each other to reduce friction.' Unfortunately, they seem to have failed to understand that layered solid lubricants act as lubricants only because they are layered. One sheet of graphitic carbon atoms for example is not a lubricant; two are! If a layered solid lubricant is treated in such a way so that its layers cannot move relative to each other, it cannot act as a lubricant, so the ‘nested sphere’ structure of NanoLub actually prevents it from acting as a lubricant. In practice, I strongly suspect that the ‘nano-spheres’ actually disintegrate under high pressure, so the WS2 can act as a layered solid lubricant. (All rather ironic that NanoMaterials Inc. have gone to great lengths to stop WS2 working, and the only occasion when it has some effect is when the nano-particles break down!) Although they draw comparisons with the C60 buckminsterfullerene spherical ‘nano-particle’, this is a much smaller (0.7nano-metre) sphere which is a true molecule and consequently very resistant to fracture. The ‘NanoLub Technical Note’ includes some wear test data, without stating the type of apparatus used. It is well known that some primitive wear testers such as the ‘Falex’ and ‘4-Ball’ generate unrealistically high pressures which do not replicate 'real-world’ conditions. (In the 1980s Shell published a table of wear test results ‘proving’ that milk and beer were superior lubricants to SAE 90 gear oil according to some types of wear test. I can send a copy I you wish.) The NanoLub tests are not very rigourous, using unspecified ‘Gear Oil 85W/140’ with and without the additive. A correct and believable procedure would involve using a mineral base oil with various levels of NanoLub, dispersed ‘conventional’ WS2, and a sulphur/phosphorus EP compound such as Anglemol 99. I confidently predict that properly controlled wear and friction tests using reputable apparatus such as the FZG Gear procedure would show NanoLub to be no more effective than conventional particle-free additives which act chemically or electrostatically, thus having no adverse effect on bearing life. As a general comment, I find it difficult to believe that the founders of ‘ NanoMaterials Inc’ could be so ignorant of the vast amount of research and practical experience that has gone into lubrication problems over the past 200 years. Tomas Young, who researched the elasticity of materials around 1810, would have clearly understood the fallacy of very small ball bearings, for example. Any first-year Engineering student could have pointed out the pitfalls. In common with many ‘magic additive’ advocates, there is also the curious belief that dry-lubricated bearings can operate at low friction. In fact, any reputable engineer avoids oil or grease-free bearings like the plague, because regardless of the coating used the friction is always ten times worse than an oil-lubricated situation, and over 100 times worse than a pressure-fed hydrodynamic bearing! Even so, they’ve got a unit on the ‘Weizmann Science Park’ and a (virtual?) office in New York, so presumably somebody believes in them! But of course, looking on the Internet I see that they have the support of Wall Street, where fools are soon parted from their money. Unquote: I rest my case on magic addatives! Cheers Simon

This offer has been extended till Friday 24th of November so get in quick to catch a bargain. Regards Simon & Guy.

Kind of agree with Amsoil up there. 5w-30/10w-30/5w-40 and 10w-40 are all fine in our climate. Cheers Guy.

Our November Sale is now on until Sunday the 19th November. Offers throughout our website on oils, spark plugs, filters, gauges and accessories at http://www.opieoils.co.uk Don't forget that the best prices are in the Members Section, if you have forgotten your access code you can obtain a new one here: http://www.opieoils.co.uk/Members.aspx Happy Shopping! Regards Simon & Guy

Please use this thread as it will keep the oil debates in the same place and serve as a useful document for new Members. Cheers Simon

At the end of the day we are talking performance levels on all these oils that way exceed API or ACEA tests. These oils, Motul, Silkolene, Amsoil (and some others) are better than the average so called synthetic on the shelf. It's a question of what you do with your car, driving style or modding that determines the oil recommendation. Personally I am a big fan of all the oils I stock otherwise they would not be on the shelf. The best test of a good oil is the Customer feedback and all of these oils are used and tested by my Customers in the real world and they stand up to punishment. Are they overkill? No, in my opinion they are insurance. Cheers Simon

We are pleased to announce that we now have an expanded range of Castrol Oils in stock including Castrol Edge 0w-30, 5w-30, 10w-60 (replaces TWS), Edge TD 0w-30 and 5w-40 Castrol Edge Sport 0w-40 (replaces RS) and Edge Sport 10w-60 (replaces RS) Bike Oils including R4, R2, GPS, GP and a full range of gear oils, brake fluids and workshop items including SRF Brake Fluid. You'll find the range here and the Club prices in the Members Area. http://www.opieoils.co.uk/performance_l ... strol.aspx Happy browsing! Regards Simon & Guy

Oil, Spark plugs and Filters etc on offer until 5.00pm on the 5th October. Grab an end of season bargain. http://www.opieoils.co.uk Arriving this week Castrol Edge and Edge Sport, check site for prices and details which will be viewable in the next 48 hours. Regards Simon & Guy

Our August offers are now available until the 31st August at http://www.opieoils.co.uk The best prices are in the Members Section of our site. You can buy online or call me on 01209 215164 Cheers Guy

If you would like to collect oil, filters, spark plugs etc at JAE, you need to place your order by the 19th July latest please. You can either call Guy on 01209 215164 or order online via the Members Section of our website as follows: 1. Go to our site http://www.opieoils.co.uk and log into the "Members Section". 2. Select the products that you want to buy and click on "buy now" they will appear in the basket on the left of the page. 3. Click on checkout and you will be taken to the "Delivery or Collection" screen showing the delivered and collected prices. 4. Select JAE and the day you want to collect the oil from us on and then click the link to collect your order. 5. You will then be taken back to your basket and you can add or delete products as you wish. 6. Click to go to secure checkout. 7. Complete your details and you're done. 8. You will receive email confirmation with instructions. Please note: Credit card payments will not be taken until 48 hours before the show. Collect at JAE save paying carriage costs. Any questions please feel free to ask here or email us on sales@opieoils.co.uk Cheers Simon & Guy

Amsoil is pretty good stuff, PAO synthetic and a good one at that. They are not the best though, the ester based synthetics have the edge. Prices of Amsoil are on my site here http://www.opieoils.co.uk Cheers Simon.

Our July offers have started and will finish on Friday 14th. If you are going to JAE you can save carriage by taking advantage of our "collect your oil at shows" facility in the Members Section. Closing date for JAE collect orders is 18th July. http://www.opieoils.co.uk Regards Simon & Guy

What’s written on your oil bottle and what does it mean. This post may seem like going back to basics but I am constantly surprised by the amount of people who do not know or understand what is written on a bottle of oil and therefore no idea of what they are buying/using. To be blunt about the subject, if a bottle of oil does not contain the following basic information then DO NOT buy it look for something that does! 1) The purpose for which it is intended (i.e. Motor oil, Gear oil etc) 2) The viscosity (i.e. 10w-40, 5w-30 etc for Motor oils and 80w-90, 75w-90 etc for Gear oils) 3) The specifications that it meets (should contain both API and ACEA ratings) 4) The OEM Approvals that it carries and the codes (i.e. MB229.3, VW503.00, BMW LL01 etc) Ignore the marketing blurb on the label it is in many cases meaningless and I will explain later what statements you should treat this with some scepticism So, what does the above information mean and why is it important? THE BASICS All oils are intended for an application and in general are not interchangeable. You would not for example put an Automatic Transmission Oil or a Gear Oil in your engine! It is important to know what the oils intended purpose is. VISCOSITY Most oils on the shelves today are “Multigradesâ€

At last they have arrived! Silkolene Pro S 5w-40 / 10w-50 / Pro R 15w-50 now in stock in 1L top-up bottles. Members Price is £9.99 each. We will also have these available at Japshow Santa Pod this coming weekend. Regards Simon & Guy Opie Oils http://www.opieoils.co.uk

If you wish to collect oil, filters, plugs etc at Japshow Santa Pod on the 24th or 25th June don't forget to order online through the Members Section of our website here: http://www.opieoils.co.uk/Members.aspx We will have a limited amount of stock for the weekend but to avoid disapointment, put your advanced order in now and we will ensure we bring it with us. All orders for Japshow will close in one week. Other shows coming up and already open for pre-order (see website) are: JAE 22/23rd July FORD FAIR 6th August BMW Car Club 20th August TRAX 3rd September GT BATTLE 17th September JAPFEST II 30th September JAPSHOW FINALE 7/8th October Cheers Simon & Guy

This offer will end at 6.00 PM on Wednesday 14th June. If you're going to Japshow at Santa Pod why not use our "Collect at Shows" ordering to save carriage costs! Cheers Simon

This offer will finish in 1 week (14th June) Please Note: The pre-order system for collecting your oil at Japshow (Santa Pod) 24th/25th June is now available in the Members Section of our website http://www.opieoils.co.uk If you wish to save carriage and collect your oil that weekend, please follow the instructions at check out and specify "collect" rather than "delivered". Cheers Simon & Guy

If you are "modding" your car and adding BHP or using it on track then consider your oil choice carefully as the stock manufacturers recommended oil will not give you the protection that your engine requires. A standard oil will not be thermally stable enough to cope with higher temperatures without "shearing" meaning that the oil will not give the same protection after a couple of thousand miles as it it when it was new. Let’s start with the fundamentals. An engine is a device for converting fuel into motive power. Car enthusiasts get so deep into the details they lose sight of this! To get more power, an engine must be modified such that it converts more fuel per minute into power than it did in standard form. To produce 6.6 million foot-pounds per minute of power (ie 200 BHP) a modern engine will burn about 0.5 litres of fuel per minute.(Equivalent to 18mpg at 120mph). So, to increase this output to 300BHP or 9.9 million foot-pounds per minute it must be modified to burn (in theory) 0.75 litres. However, fuel efficiency often goes out of the window when power is the only consideration, so the true fuel burn will be rather more than 0.75 litres/min. That’s the fundamental point, here’s the fundamental problem: Less than 30% of the fuel (assuming it’s petrol) is converted to all those foot-pounds. The rest is thrown away as waste heat. True, most of it goes down the exhaust, but over 10% has to be eliminated from the engine internals, and the first line of defence is the oil. More power means a bigger heat elimination problem. Every component runs hotter; For instance, piston crowns and rings will be running at 280-300C instead of a more normal 240-260C, so it is essential that the oil films on cylinder walls provide an efficient heat path to the block casting, and finally to the coolant. Any breakdown or carbonisation of the oil will restrict the heat transfer area, leading to serious overheating. A modern synthetic lubricant based on true temperature-resistant synthetics is essential for long-term reliability. At 250C+, a mineral or hydrocracked mineral oil, particularly a 5W/X or 10W/X grade, is surprisingly volatile, and an oil film around this temperature will be severely depleted by evaporation loss. Back in the 1970s the solution was to use a thick oil, typically 20W/50; in the late 1980s even 10W/60 grades were used. But in modern very high RPM engines with efficient high-delivery oil pumps thick oils waste power, and impede heat transfer in some situations. A light viscosity good synthetic formulated for severe competition use is the logical and intelligent choice for the 21st century. Cheers Simon

Opie Oils June Offers are now on and will finish on June 14th For the lowest prices go to the Members Section at http://www.opieoils.co.uk Cheers Simon & Guy

ROTORSTOCK III pre orders through our website will close at 6pm tonight. Look forward to seeing you there Sunday and Monday. Cheers Simon

Pre-orders through http://www.opieoils.co.uk for JAPFEST collection this Saturday will close at 6.00pm tonight. LAST ORDERS! Silkolene Prices will also be going up at 6.00pm tonight. ROTORSTOCK last orders will be in 1 week. If you would like some advice or just a chat with us at JAPFEST on Saturday, stop by our stand which is C6 and C7 opposite the Tavern Bar. Cheers Simon & Guy OPIE OILS