40 replies to this topic

[mini-luke]

Not dig at you Danny, I just can't understand the trend of using 20w50 when I would hope Rover wouldn't have got it that dreadfully wrong in their original choice.

[ZKruly87]

just thought i would add in my 2 cents. I am currently running full synthetic 20W-50 bike engine oil in my mini right now. it is probably the best oil i have ever put in to an a series engine. 2nd gear scratch went away immediately, i gained 2 MPG, and not a single leak. i figured since a mini engine is pretty much the same as a modern bike engine minus the wet clutch i would give it a shot. low and behold. it works amazing.

P.S. bike oil is designed for engines that share oil with the transmission, and also has none of the additives removed as most bikes dont have a cat.

[Cooperman]

Not dig at you Danny, I just can't understand the trend of using 20w50 when I would hope Rover wouldn't have got it that dreadfully wrong in their original choice.

Rover got just about everything wrong over the years, that's why they are no longer in business. For example, they mixed Imperial and Metric threads on the braking system, and you can't get much more wrong than that.
The change of oil spec by Rover was just another example of their hopelessness. In my business I used to deal with the old Austin-Rover Group, but gave up because they were impossible in so many respects.
If you can afford the fully synthetic 20w50 bike oil then that's probably about the best you can get. However, a good quality mineral 20w50 has always been regarded as the best compromise, especially as ideally the gearbox should be running a gear oil.

[Sprocket]

Im not sure how anyone can say that a synthetic oil will make your engine and gearbox leak, compared to the same grade mineral, after all the synthetic oil is just as slippy as the mineral, and still made from petroleum mineral base stocks. Synthetic oil is only called synthetic as a result of the greater refining and manufacturing processes involved. It is still a mineral base. The real difference between mineral and synthetic is synthetic oil takes longer to degrade compared to the mineral oils. One is not slippier than the other.

[maggies_minder]

how has this topic been allowed to get to 2 pages??

its a question that has been asked literally a thousand times...
just searching for a topic on oil and you could have a days worth of reading on this place.

most will agree with 20w50, and if cooperman suggests it, its probably worth a punt

anything question like this to do with minis is likely to cause "friction" (see what i did there? oil, friction, nevermind).
every Tom, Dick and Harry has an opinion on whats best, if your not to sure be a sheep and follow the masses.

[Cooperman]

A few years ago a Shell Distributor gave me some 5w30 synthetic to try in my Cooper 'S'. It was a new-generation oil back then and I used it on a rally. Before then I had always used Duckhams 20w50. The pressure with the 5w30 seemed to hold up well at very high sustained revs, although the pressure at initial start-up was a bit lower. After the rally I discovered that the cam bearings were damaged, mains and big-ends scored, 2nd and 3rd gear syncros were shot and some 'nasty bits' had gone through the SC CR. The whole lot cost me over £400 to correct in parts alone.
That kinda put me off synthetics and the guy who did my machining back then, a very knowledgable guy, asked what oil I had used when this damage had ocurred. He called it 'weasel p**s' and recommended a 20w50 called Kendall Racing Oil. I then used that for all my rally cars for years until it became NLA in the UK and I switched to Valvoline Racing 20w50 which is a fantastic oil, but not cheap. For ordinary road minis I usually use Castrol Classic 20w50 or Millers.
I changed the oil in my Wife's mondeo TDCI on Saturday and that uses a 5w30 which is right for that engine. The Mini engine is old technology from the 1950's and, IMHO, needs a thicker oil to work, whilst the gearbox really needs a gear oil, so 20w50 mineral is my preferred choice, although I'm sure a 20w50 synthetic would also be a great choice.

[maggies_minder]

i dont know what oil was in my mini when i bought it, but it leaked.

even after changing all the usual culprits, once i changed to 20w50 from halfords. the leaks virtually stopped. (relatively speaking).

now its a couple of drops as opposed to a puddle.

one thing i have noticed though, if you use your mini daily especially through the winter, the 20w50 is like treacle when its really cold, and can drain a weak battery when trying to start it up.

i made the mistake of changing the oil last november while it was snowing and on a cold engine, it mustve taken an hour and a half for the oil to drain

Edited by maggies_minder, 17 October 2011 - 01:03 PM.

[firstforward]

just thought i would add in my 2 cents. I am currently running full synthetic 20W-50 bike engine oil in my mini right now. it is probably the best oil i have ever put in to an a series engine. 2nd gear scratch went away immediately, i gained 2 MPG, and not a single leak. i figured since a mini engine is pretty much the same as a modern bike engine minus the wet clutch i would give it a shot. low and behold. it works amazing.

P.S. bike oil is designed for engines that share oil with the transmission, and also has none of the additives removed as most bikes dont have a cat.

+1

[Cooperman]

just thought i would add in my 2 cents. I am currently running full synthetic 20W-50 bike engine oil in my mini right now. it is probably the best oil i have ever put in to an a series engine. 2nd gear scratch went away immediately, i gained 2 MPG, and not a single leak. i figured since a mini engine is pretty much the same as a modern bike engine minus the wet clutch i would give it a shot. low and behold. it works amazing.

P.S. bike oil is designed for engines that share oil with the transmission, and also has none of the additives removed as most bikes dont have a cat.

+1

What is the brand and make of that oil?

[jaydee]

Royal purple probably?

[maccers]

1.5 Miles? You could walk it? I use Castrol 20W50 from Mini Spares for the record.

[Dangerously-low Danny]

Thanks for all of the replies, its been quite insightful rereading through it all. Just to let you know then, I've decided to stick with fully synthetic. However I'll give 15w50/20w50 (possibly bike oil) a try next spring when it warms up again and pop some 10w40 in for now to get me through the cold weather.

Cheers everyone!

[Spitz]

I use Castrol Grandprix 4 Stroke Motorcycle oil ( 20/50 )...which is mineral.
It still has ZDDP as opposed to GTX which longer has it.

I don't see ZDDP listed for the Miller oil ( Can't get that over here anyway )
http://www.millersoi...classic&cart_id=

[ZKruly87]

just thought i would add in my 2 cents. I am currently running full synthetic 20W-50 bike engine oil in my mini right now. it is probably the best oil i have ever put in to an a series engine. 2nd gear scratch went away immediately, i gained 2 MPG, and not a single leak. i figured since a mini engine is pretty much the same as a modern bike engine minus the wet clutch i would give it a shot. low and behold. it works amazing.

P.S. bike oil is designed for engines that share oil with the transmission, and also has none of the additives removed as most bikes dont have a cat.

+1

What is the brand and make of that oil?

Royal Purple. Not the cheapest i know, but there are other bike oils out there that are cheaper that should work as well. Mobile 1 i know makes a pretty good 15W-40 that might be worth a try

[govig]

after all the synthetic oil is just as slippy as the mineral,

Why do rings not bed in with synthetic then? Just wondered.....