paulv

Found this article in the April issue of Lubes & Greases -- it's an interesting read if you enjoy this sort of subject.

Regards,
paul...

RickP330

Thank you for posting that. Quite interesting. I am "shocked" at how much empahsis is on environmental concerns rather then Longevity and performance.

On that note I noticed that the last time I got an oil change they used "Synpower 5W40" I thought that Mobile 1 0W40 was the only approved oil?
RickP

paulv

Rick,

Don't be shocked --- the priority order is for cars nowadays is 1) reducing emissions, 2) increasing fuel economy, and 3) Performance (quality, etc).

Obviously, all three of these engineering requirements cannot be met simultaneously, so guess which one is going to suffer.

Check out this site: http://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevoli...ets-sort1.html for oil recommendations depending on which spec is called out in your manual (229.1, 229.3, 229.31, 229.5, 229.51).

Regards,
paul...

masterross

Hmm
Strange.
Top quality oils are less price then medium (castrol)?

vettdvr

Paul, Lube & Grease is a great source of info and I suscribed to it prior to retiring. Note one piece of info I found was that the oil companies were really concerned about the low viscosity oils with lack of scuffing additives causing engine wear. This resulted in new oils that are not backward compatable with engines that have flat tappets. The new oils will destroy a flat tapped cam quickly.

Auto makers decided that even with the shorter engine life on new lubricants that the higher "CAFE" would allow more profits through sales of more expensive cars. So engine life would suffer and to quote one car maker, "it is good enough to get the engine through the warranty period".

So it is really important to use the correct lubricants in cars today. Thanks for the update. Miss L&G since retiring. vettdvr

DanG2

vettedvr,

If you go to http://www.lngpublishing.com/LNGmagazine/index.cfm and click on "Current Issue/Archive," you may be able to catch up with whatever you've missed since December 2004. I don't know what it takes to be a qualified subscriber to the digital edition, but at least for now I appear to be one of them, so most likely you are, too.

Dan

Misterel

http://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/d/d/en/Spec_224_1.pdf

Basically, use fully synthetic (Mobile 1 - there are others). In the southern part of the US, make sure that a 40 0r 50 weight oil is used. A 20W-50 is acceptable by MB.

In Northern climes, Canada, Northern US a 5W-40 or 5W-50 meets MB specs. See link above

Diesel Benz

How should I read the document from your link to conclude that Southern states need 40 or 50 weight? There is no difference indicated in the document for the hot range (even if there was a difference, the document does not show it).

Misterel

My comments pertain to gasoline engines only. Sorry I was not more specific. The W in the 10W-40 refers to Winter. In warmer parts of the world, there is therefore no need for operating the engines in the cold temperatures referred to in the chart that is found in the link.

Where I live the temperature variations are from a -30F to 100F therefore the multiviscosity oil with a wide range is an absolute necissity.

lkchris

You've of course made this up, as there is nothing in the article that suggests longevity and "performance" (?) have been compromised and that with respect to environmental considerations it's "either/or."

There's a long list of approved oils: http://www.startekinfo.com/StarTek/o...stedDocId=9511

Might want to read: http://papers.sae.org/2007-01-4133/ to get an idea just where motor oil technology now is in the 21st century.

lkchris

Except of course you CANNOT FIND a 20W-50 oil that meets Mercedes 229.5 or 229.51.