5W 30 oil ?

john432

Tesco are selling 5W 30 oil fully and or part synthetic under 3 different colours, purple, green, and amber. Each colour representing different car makes. Eg Purple for Ford, Vauxhall and Green for Mercedes, BMW. Amber other makes.
Now if your car is meant to have 5W 30 then it is as simple as that. Why are Tesco making it confusing by listing car manufacturers?

force_ten

john432 wrote: »

Tesco are selling 5W 30 oil fully and or part synthetic under 3 different colours, purple, green, and amber. Each colour representing different car makes. Eg Purple for Ford, Vauxhall and Green for Mercedes, BMW. Amber other makes.
Now if your car is meant to have 5W 30 then it is as simple as that. Why are Tesco making it confusing by listing car manufacturers?

www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/car-servicing-repair/engine-oils-viscosity-and-specification.html

have a read of that article from the AA and that will explain that oil can be the same viscosity but has to be different specifications

a diesel car with a dpf will need a different spec oil to the same car with a petrol motor

Iceweasel

Once upon a time, in another life, I was a University Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering.

One of our set lectures was about engine oil - but to get the students attention we compared finding the right oil for an engine to buying a bar of chocolate.

They are not all the same - black, milk, white etc. - then the % of cocoa butter - then the additives nuts, raisins, mint, and the myriad of other flavours. All of these variables are to meet the needs of the chocolate lover who wants a particular bar.

If you don't believe me - try giving a gourmet bar of dark chocolate with chillies to a small child and see their reaction. All chocolate is not the same - and the prices reflect the subtle differences.

So with engine oil.

But if you want a more serious approach to dissuade you of the idea that all 5w-30 oils are the same then read this:

http://www.driverstechnology.co.uk/oils.htm

My car needs oil which is 0W-30 C3 LL04 specification.

It's possible to detect pretty accurately which car I have and what kind of engine it's fitted with.

force_ten

Back in the 70,s and the bad old days of one oil fits all one of the biggest car parts suppliers were gold seal engines and other replacement engine suppliers

If you got 40,000 miles out of an engine you were doing well, we used to fill our cars with multi grade oil that cost about £2.00 a gallon from the local motor factors and it was rubbish

Now most cars are capable of doing hundreds of thousands of miles on the same engine, now advancements in technology have played a part in this but I also think the greatly improved lubricants that we use now also go a long way to improving engine reliability

The £12.00 per litre price tag is still a bit of a chocker though

colino

The price of synthetic oil isn't a choker, its an absolute disgrace. When Mobil 1 first came out (an unbelievable 40 years ago!) it had a very limited market and only enthusiasts bought it for high power cars. With virtually every car now on engineered lubricants, shouldn't volume sales reduce the costs? No, every energy company in the world plays to the mantra, charge what the local market will accept.

bigjl

If you go to Costco you can buy Mobil1 0w40 for £30.

That will stay in the engine for 10k miles in most cases.

They also do Castrol Edge in 0w30,5w30 and 5w40 which meet C3 and they are priced at £30 for 4litres.

Pound for pound oil is one of the cheapest things per mile that you put in your car and also the one whose quality directly affects the vehicle lifespan.

This is MSE.

Why would anybody consider buying oil at Tesco?

Halfords are also pricey unless you find the oil you require on sale.

EuroCarParts is also an awful lot cheaper in my experience.

£20/25 for 4litres of Petronas Fully Synth oil.

Mobil 1ESP 5w30 is £40 at the moment which compares well with my local Halfords at £60 for the same oil.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Tesco own brand oil is produced by Tetrosyl.

They also make the ECPs own brand oil.

bigjl

force_ten wrote: »

The £12.00 per litre price tag is still a bit of a chocker though

I suggest you shop around a bit.

I have never paid £12 a litre for oil.

Not even for the difficult to find and therefore pricey 5w30 C1 oil.

I often stock up when EuroCarPartsnand Halfords have a sale.

Though Costco have not changed prices in all the years I have bought there. Just a pity they only have a small range.

arcon5

Why would anybody consider buying oil at Tesco?

Same reason people would buy oil from Wilkinson - price.

Now personally I don't car what oil goes in - I buy a 5/30 FS but semi-S if it's cheaper. And I suspect a lot of people who drive budget used cars will not be too fussed either. Less than a grand on a car is in a territory where you use is for a year or two then pass on your problems to someone else for which you buy another - and there is certainly not a shortage of cheap cars out there with few or negligible problems..

force_ten

bigjl wrote: »

I suggest you shop around a bit.

I have never paid £12 a litre for oil.

Not even for the difficult to find and therefore pricey 5w30 C1 oil.

I often stock up when EuroCarPartsnand Halfords have a sale.

Though Costco have not changed prices in all the years I have bought there. Just a pity they only have a small range.

I have never actually been out and bought a litre of oil in recent years, so the £12.00 was just a price i grabbed off the net when i googled that 0W-30 C3 LL04 in castrol edge that ice mentioned

My car just goes into the dealers once a year and i just pay the bill and the car never seems to use a drop of oil from year to year

sh0597

You always get ripped off on 1L prices, usually quantities of 4, 5 or 20L are bought. A bit like buying half a pint of milk from a corner shop. Oil quality affects fuel consumption so I'm not sure trying to save money on bargain bin oil is worth it.

arcon5

How much fuel do you think you'll save buying this type of 5/30 over that type 5/30? A negligible sum I suspect.

Realistically a cars more likely to hit its shelve life for a bundle of other reasons long before you see any
affects of using the wrong type of 5/30.

of course the manufacturers aren't gonna be agreeing with this any time soon since they want your money for the 'better' oil your car needs