what OIL and COOLANT?

[dineth]

Hey guys, its time i servcied my R33 Gts-t and i was wondering if any of u guys reccomend a really good OIL and Coolant for my car? i donno whats in there Now, and there are so many diff brands on the market! what is the most commonly used and most effective for Gtst's? / or jap imports.

[Ronin 09]

use the SEARCH! search is your friend.

[JimX]

The factory spec is 7.5W/30, but I've used both 10W-60 and 5W-30 synthetic with no problems at all. The 10W-60 is too thick though, and robs power from your engine with no real extra protection benefits. I would use the 10W-60 if the rings were a bit worn, but if not, then something thinner.

Keep in mind that any oil designed for high revving 4cyl engines is also good for Skylines, even though it's 6cyl. The reason being it's a small 6cyl engine and revs quite high. The pistons in an RB25 are actually smaller than those in an SR20.

A lot of people use 0W-40 with excellent results. Just whatever you get, stick to something semi or fully synthetic and you should be right.

As for coolant, just a good brand that's designed for alloy engines. I've got some Nulon concentrated stuff ready to go in. Mix it with distilled water if it's not a pre-mix to make sure you don't get weird metals in your engine.

For more detailed answers, take Ronin's advice and search

[WazR32GTSt]

i use penrite 15w60

i like the fact that it goes up to 60, as it revvvs lots and i like the fact that i am protected even at 7000rpm!

and for coolants, make sure u use anti-freeze/anti-boil not just the normal stuff. this prevents corrosion as well as working well. 50:50 ratio works wonders...

[JimX]

Thick oil does not mean better protection. You only need thicker oil if thinner stuff is getting excessively burnt due to worn rings.

[gunner]

so can i ask what the different numbers mean...

i think im using 10 - 50. but not sure can someone explain what they mean ?

[Guest RedLineGTR]

Been using 5-40 Motul 8100 seems okay...was using Shell Helix Ultra 5-40w with useing the shell oil...the engine ran cooler the engine temp was lower and because of that the coolant temperature goes lower than it ever did with motul..after this i think i'll stick with shell...unless i wanna spend $100 for redline oils.

[Guest RedLineGTR]

but really whatever is in your budget.. i would like to find a full synthetic oil the has a 10-40w rating that dosent cos like 80+ bucks for 5litres.

[Ronin 09]

Try the new Castrol Formula R stuff? Next oil change thats what is going in my car.

[Guest RedLineGTR]

which rating did you try out of the castrol formula r stuff....?? i only saw like 10-30w 10-60w or something like 5-30w which i think is abit too thin for my liking.

[JimX]

I like Formula R too. Currently using 5W-30 but used 10W-60 before that with no ill effects other than losing some power. It's not the best synthetic oil out there but still excellent IMO. If you change your oil often (5000km or so) then you can get by with the cheaper stuff. It's only $50 for 5 litres anyway (5W-30).

Gunner, the numbers are the viscosity numbers. The first one is the cold (starting) temperature viscosity, and the second number is the hot (operating) temperature viscosity. I'm not sure at what exact temperatures the numbers are rated at or what they directly translate to, but generally speaking a "10" is fairly thin, and thin oil (cold weight) is required on modern cars, especially with turbos.

It can go down to 0, which is ultra-thin. This seems to be ok with Skylines with engines in good condition. I wouldn't want to go any thicker than 15 or so for the cold viscosity in a Skyline.

The second number is less important. It can be thick or thin (to an extent) but most Skylines are happy in the 30-40 range. Any thicker than this and you tend to lose power.

Thicker grades are generally only for engines with worn rings. The thicker oil doesn't get past the rings as easily and you burn less oil. If your engine is in good nic you should be able to get by with a fairly thin (30-40) oil.

Thicker oil is also required in extremely powerful engines. I don't know where to draw the line, but it's not at my car's power output (approximately 200rwkw).

RedLineGTR, the 5W-30 isn't too thin at all. It's designed for high revving 4 cylinder cars, including the SR20 engine, which has larger pistons than the Skyline's. So you could even say that the RB series of engines are more of a 4 cylinder engine than an SR20 The factory spec for Skyline oil is 7.5W-30. There are plenty of people running 0W-40 with no problems so obviously you can go lower than this (cold weight) without any problems.

Edit: If you are burning oil in your engine, or you have buckets of it in your catch can, you probably need thicker oil (50-60 or so). If the engine is tight as a drum, the thinner stuff (30-40) is fine. Even with 5W-30 oil in my engine there wasn't a drop coming out of my crankcase breather for over 2000km.

[Guest RedLineGTR]

Thanks for your info bro...IMO you are right from my own experience and reading.

[gunner]

thanks for the help.

Im currently using turbolight oil.. seems to be great. i get good power from the car 140rwk's ( sr20 ) i think i one in there is about 10 - 40. seems to be fine, thank's for the info.

so i could put something a little thinner in there and the engine would be just as happy. ??

[JimX]

Gunner, if you are not burning any oil and don't have much blow-by from the crankcase (check the inside of your intake, or oil catch can if you have one) then the thinner oil will be just as good. Better even, because there will be less drag on your engine internals and you should get slightly better power and economy (that is the main point of using the thinnest oil that your engine will tolerate).

Do a compression test on your cylinders if you want to be doubly sure. If it's all good then 5W-30 will be fine.

[WazR32GTSt]

people keep saying that you lose power if u use an oil with a high temp viscosity greater than 40.

what i want to know is: has anyone actually moved to a thicker oil then thought holy sh1t i can actually feel a power loss. Or, is this just something someone said and everyone agreed with because they want to look like the know stuff (happens a lot from what ive seen)?

[JimX]

WazR32GTSt, I can say the opposite. I was using 10W-60 oil then switched to 5W-30, and the engine felt more free-revving at the top. Not by a huge amount, but noticable. My fuel economy also improved by around 0.3 to 0.5L/100km.

There is no doubt that thinner oil will give you better economy and power. It's just physics! Everything that adds drag to your engine will reduce its power. Thicker oil creates more drag than thin oil. You can't go too thin though or else it would all drain down the gaps in your rings and not lubricate properly and/or burn excessively. That's why as your engine wears, you need to use thicker oil.

There is generally no harm in using oil that's too thick. Aside from the cold weight - if it's too thick it won't reach the upper parts of your engine and turbo quick enough and create excessive wear on cold starts. But if you use oil that's too thick for the condition of your engine you will be sacrificing power without any extra engine protection (see my exception above about uber-powerful engines).

Thinner oil is free power. Thick oil doesn't provide better protection unless your rings are worn.

[WazR32GTSt]

thanks mate

i know by the physics of it that thinner oil should be better for power but i was looking to see if it was a difference that was actually noticable or not.

has anyone else had this experience?

btw, dineth: i hope this isn't hijacking your thread as i thought it was relevant to the topic. if it is i will start a new thread...

[StockNissan]

mate I used MOBIL S semi sinthetic 10W 40

quite good result. Motul 10W40 full synth is good

value. the only thing you'll get out of 0W or 5W oils

is some fuel consumption.

bear in mind factory standard when all is new is 7,5W

so as your car ages you should go a little thicker,

but all dependant on your engine age, kms etc etc

10-15W seems a good choice ...

Hope it helps

[gunner]

so how much oil is the right amount in litres..

for my car.

SR20 ?