What i just put in the Clio

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So been thinking about various things i have read on here.

Primarily using thinner oils in colder temps. Say 5w30 instead of 5w40 for example.

Now the 06 Clio is specced for mainly 0w40, 5w40 or 10w40.

The later ones with a FAP/DPF are specced for a low saps 5w30 so obviously the motor can take 5w30

After Christmas and NewYear and a quiet Jan on the work front i am a bit skint.

So looked in the garage and found nearly 4 litres of 5w30 Castrol Magnatec A3,B3, B4. Around 1 litre of Mobil 1 New Life 0w30 and some 5w30 A5/B5 Mobil Super 3000 X1 FE used for the Volvo/Fords i owned and some CarLube 5w30 C3 oil that i put in the Pathfinder a couple of years ago.

So i reckon if use all the Magnatec and New Life i will nearly have 4.5litres i need. And then maybe top off with either the Mobio Super or Carlube if i really need to.

Oil in there has done 10k minimum whicb is a lot for me. It is 0w40 Mobil1 and the filter was a good one.

I have a new filter ready to go on. A Mann i seem to remember.

Anybody think this is a bad or even good idea.
 
Ofcourse I have no idea of the pricing on oil in the UK. But I assume 5 litre of a Renault approved 5w-40 is not that expensive. And then it,s not a mix with unknown result.
 
I think that the Magnatec would be fine with the M1 used to make up the rest.
Since the Magnatec is an A3/B4 oil it should be plenty thick enough at operating temperature.
How long would you want to run this oil?
 
Oci now done. Hadn't checked the oil.on the Clio for a couple of weeks as wife doing less than 150 a week usually.

Except she forgot to tell me she has been doing extra journeys across London in rush hour traffic!

And has done nearly 800 in 2 weeks!

Less than 4 litres came out. Which could be worse as it only takes 4.5 litres

Now has a blend of just over 3 litres Castrol Magnatec 5w30 A3/B3/B4, a litre of Mobil 1 New Life 0w40 A3/B3/B4 and a drop of Mobil Super 3000 X1 FE 5w30 A5/B5.

The filter was a Mahle. One that came off was a Wix. Can't even remember when i bought that. Must have been a Sunday purchase when Euro was closed.

Engine certainly sounds better.
 
I honestly can't remember when that last oci on that car was done.

We have moved house, i lost both parents and god knows what else since i last did it.

Waiting on £2000 invoice to be paid and wanted the oil done this weekend.

Engine is specced for 5w30 on later models.

So both are within specs for the engine.

The Mobil Super is also a top spec oil and certain Renault diesel engines, the one in my Pathfinder specifically are specced for normal and reduced HTHS oils if you check the workshop manual.

Oil would be £30. So no not the end of the world.

Unless you are owed £2000 and need that £30 to put diesel in your car and make sure there is food on the table.

I personally feel the bigger risk would be leaving ood knackered oil in there.

Actually looking at my footnote it might have been in there over 13k! Oops.

There was certainly some staining of the yellow plastic dipstick which would indicate that the oil was pretty saturated with soot and contaminants.
 
I have made a note of the miles this time.

So my dodgy memory can't cause an issue again.

I would think i will run this 5k or so.

If the fuel economy shows any improvement then next fill may well be 5w30 A3/B3/B4 of some description or perhaps a 5w40. Had my eye on Shell Ultra at EuroCarParts but the price kept changing from £23 to £30 and back.

I have a feeling the car will be getting sold this year.

Probably to be replaced with a Prius or an Insight.

Thought about a Renault Fluence. But no oil to change and you have to lease the battery pack.
 
I always find it strange when people have to make a choice between spending money on food, gas or an oil change, yet they're also intending to buy a new 3rd car.
 
Who is intending to buy a third car?

Thanks for the moral judgement.

Feel free to pay my outstanding £2000 invoice and i will pay you back. Honest.

Oh. Wait.

Wait.

Wait.

Wait



Judgemental idiot.


Or i could put it on a credit card like most of the world does.

Keep the bankers in the comfort they expect.

Or i could use what i already have as it will do the job perfectly well.

And much better than the used up oil that was in situ.

I do wish, Food, oil, water, gas, electric, taxes, cars and houses were as cheap in the UK as they are in the US.
 
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Justin

Renault spec a xW/40 A3B4 to cover their 18,000 mile OCI. As you are using a 5W/30 and some of it is A3B4 and some A5/B5 that has the anti wear and the diesel stuff in it.

It may fail on shear after a while due to it's 30 weight or it may not.

Therefore I would be happy with 5,000 miles but longer than that may not be too sensible but I reckon there are plenty of Clio's running about with worse oil in their sumps.

eddie
 
Originally Posted By: bigjl
I do wish, Food, oil, water, gas, electric, taxes, cars and houses were as cheap in the UK as they are in the US.


I've heard this argument before. The US is cheaper because things are mostly done better and people work harder. US productivity is way higher than UK productivity and that is reflected in higher incomes and lower costs.

BUT, not everything is cheaper for many people because not everything is subsidized as much or in some cases the system has been set up poorly by idiot politicians.

#1 is healthcare. Free in the UK and 10% of the economy through taxes that those on higher incomes pay. Not free in the US, paid by employers and employees and 17% of the economy.

Education - I top up underfunded public schools and pay for a host of extra curricular activities. College will cost $200k-$400k per child when my kids grow up.

And the financial sector in the UK is more competitive than the US. Its one of the things the UK does well. Mortgages are closer to the base rate for example. Yet everyone working in the City of London is denigrated.

My take on the UK is that too many things are handed to people. Things that are expensive are expensive because those things are done badly or there is a lack of competition because there is a lack of entrepreneurial spirit.

Knocking the US for things being cheap denigrates the efforts of entrepreneurs and honest employees who are the hardest working people in the world with the highest productivity that has enabled huge rises in living standards in the US and the rest of the world. The least well off people here work hard and expect no handouts, complete opposite of the UK where free housing is given to those on 6 figure salaries and there is little outcry.

Your entitlement mentality is why things are more expensive in the UK. There are things wrong with the US but the cost of living being lower than the UK is not down to luck or circumstance!
 
Got bored after i read.

Things mostly done better in the US

Well if you are rich and have easy access to credit.

Don't worry the good ol US of A had no problem cashing the cheques the UK sent paying them for services rendered in WW2.

In case you didn't know. So in that book that must mean rather than help the UK and Europe they were merely employees.
 
You've written that you were a bit skint, so I can understand your desire to conserve cash by using the oil that you already had.
Everything is cheap here in the US, especially fuel and motor oil.
You have US level incomes in the UK and about 1.3X average US prices.
Some items, like fuel and motor oil, are around 3X US prices.
I think that the oils you used should be fine in the little diesel.
Good luck with a quick collection of your 2K GPB invoice.
It is tough when someone owes you and you have to patiently await payment.
 
The average American works harder and smarter than the average Brit.

Not everything is more expensive there and there is more consumer protection. Tax returns are more straightforward as are most decisions such as healthcare, insurance, financial and tax planning. People there complain about their politicians but overall they are great compared to what we have to put up with.

Healthcare is free, benefits are greater for those on low and mid incomes, education is cheaper, job protection is higher. Many get free housing including a union leader on a 6 figure salary. The authorities that hand out benefits will behave as if they have to prove that you are not entitled to the benefit, not the other way round. And you can even get oil at US like prices.

There is little excuse for not being able to make something of yourself there.

Btw, smart people the world over use credit cards without paying a cent in interest payments. I use cashback and other rewards to pay for half the cost of my vacations. A little bit of creativity goes a long way rather than an entitlement mentality.
 
Also, be careful about the name calling.

If you don't want people to comment on information you put out there, then don't put the information out there.

You clearly told everyone that you have no money and were deciding on whether to change oil or buy food.

Then in your follow up posts you talked about buying a Prius or Insight.

This was information you put out there presumably for others to read. So don't be surprised if people respond to that information.

And you need to look at the length of your own four posts that opened this thread, prior to saying that my posts are too long.
 
Do you have any actual data to back up your ascertion that the average American works harder and smarter than the average Brit?
The data I've seen seems to indicate parity in labor hour productivity.
There was a time when British manufacturing was very inefficient, like when my MGB was built.
There was also a time some years later when American manufacturing was very inefficient, like when the Chevrolet Citation we once owned was built.
Both countries have had vast improvements in efficiency since then and both are world class in labor hour productivity although neither are the lowest cost producers.
The US is the lowest cost producer only in certain agricultural commodities like corn and soybeans.
 
Originally Posted By: bigjl
Oci now done. Hadn't checked the oil.on the Clio for a couple of weeks as wife doing less than 150 a week usually.

Except she forgot to tell me she has been doing extra journeys across London in rush hour traffic!

And has done nearly 800 in 2 weeks!

Less than 4 litres came out. Which could be worse as it only takes 4.5 litres

Now has a blend of just over 3 litres Castrol Magnatec 5w30 A3/B3/B4, a litre of Mobil 1 New Life 0w40 A3/B3/B4 and a drop of Mobil Super 3000 X1 FE 5w30 A5/B5.

The filter was a Mahle. One that came off was a Wix. Can't even remember when i bought that. Must have been a Sunday purchase when Euro was closed.

Engine certainly sounds better.



Nothing much unusual (blend is pretty much ok), but there will be no bigger fuel savings (only a drop of ACEA A5/B5).

However, If I mixed the oil, I'd try to do it in a transparent glass bottle. Just in order to see eventually possible precipitation from various additives (of different oils), or oil bluring. It`s safer to try this with smaller samples, and wait for a week or a month.

Anyway, next time you could try elf`s RN0720 (ACEA C4) for fuel economy, despite your clio has no FAP/DPF. Otherwise I`d stick with RN0700/0710 oils.

Btw, Mahle filters are (mainly) great.
 
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Originally Posted By: TrevorS
Sure. This link suggests the US is 33% more productive than the UK.

http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DatasetCode=LEVEL

LOL did not realize the Spanish were also more productive than the UK


Did you realize that Ireland, Norway and Luxembourg were considerably more productive than the US?
These figures are not to be taken quite as literally as you might think.
Measuring labor productivity by dividing total GDP by hours worked is not in itself a good measure.
Too many other variables.
Here's an example:
Why does Norway's labor productivity appear to be so high?
If the OECD figures included the extractive economies of the Middle East, the answer would be obvious.
 
There are other statistics as well that point to the same conclusion.

The other small countries you mention have specific things going on that skews their GDP.

The major countries do not. If you understand the numbers and economies in their totality, you would not pick a few data points to cast doubt on the entire analysis. This is a classic recent technique by those who like to question science.

Do some more research yourself and you will find many studies that clearly show the UK very low on productivity vs similar countries while the US is near the top of all countries and certainly the leader amongst major economies.
 
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