Oil Recommendation

[dsnyder]

What kind of oil/weight to you folks like to run.

I like Castrol from my VW days. Is that good for Fiats? Also, synthetic or regular and what weight. I have a 1978 with the original 1800 engine in it. Supposedly it only has 30000 original miles on it. It is a daily driver very few mods.

Dave

[So Cal Mark]

do a search, this has been discussed at length. Whatever you decide on, make sure it's got zinc or use an additive

[dsnyder]

Based on the search of old discussions, I went with Valvoline Synpower 10W30 Full Synthetic. Though I can't find it on the label, posts indicated it has the needed Zinc additives as well as some other benefits. The four quarts fit in the hole nicely. Thoughts anyone?

Dave

[maytag]

Dave;
Like SocalMark said; this is a topic that get discussed ad nauseum on just about every automotive / motorcycle forum in the world. It's not that nobody has an opinion; more that there are waaay too many of them. So most of us try to avoid getting drawn into them again and again.

I'm sure the oil you decided on will be just fine.

me personally; I collect the used oil that my neighbor's lawnmower repair business throws away after draining it from lawnmowers being serviced. I use that in my car when I change the oil every year. It saves me money, and helps the environment because that oil is not going to a landfill or other.

[pope]

I will surmise what we have found out about motor oils. Fiat recommends 15W-40. Shell Rotella seems to be the most used product, but most other brands are good also. Some drivers also add ZDDP to the Rotella to increase the Zinc. 10W-30 is too light of an oil and lacks the Zinc needed for our flat tappet engines. Any oil lighter than 10W-40 had the Zinc dramatically reduced due to new car standards. This will result in camshaft wear or failure.

NO! New car oils are not better for our old engines. New oils are formulated for new cars.

At least you had practice changing the oil, so that changing it again this weekend to 15W-40 will be a snap. Please post any other questions you have about this.
Good Luck

[maytag]

AHA!

See? I told you!

HERE WE GO.......

(where's my popcorn?)

[pope]

and this comes from a guy that uses old lawnmower oil in his car!

I am only talking about the Fiat Spider and there is a reason for this. Spiders have flat tappet engines that are not serviced correctly by new modern oils. Maybe you can send your old oil to maytag, he'll use anything.

[mdrburchette]

I'm running full synthetic in my 72 and straight 30 wt in my 71.

[mbouse]

this is a topic that get discussed ad nauseum on just about every automotive / motorcycle forum in the world. most of us try to avoid getting drawn into them again and again.

me personally; I collect the used oil that my neighbor's lawnmower repair business throws away after draining it from lawnmowers being serviced. I use that in my car when I change the oil every year. It saves me money, and helps the environment because that oil is not going to a landfill or other.

agreed with the comments on re-discussing this topic to the point of dizzyness. that is why i won't comment on my choices anymore.

but.... properly recycled used oil will not end up in a landfill anywhere. in fact, there is a high demand for used engine oil. the majority of used oil properly recycled ends up being used for projects like new asphalt for our roads and highways. i highly recommend recycling this product... after all, the state of Minnesota is going to continue to use asphalt, whether you recycle or not. Better that they have the access to the used oil, rather than putting a drain on the supply of new petroleum products.

save the environment and save your tax dollars by properly recycling used engine oil.

[narfire]

I use either 15-40 or 20-50. seems to work for me to date.
I personally won't use the oil from my lawnmower as,... I think I changed it once a couple of years ago.

Mike is right about recycling the oil though. One use here was a company in North Vancouver collected the used oil, cleaned and filtered it, added some kind of stuff that made it sticky and was sold to the loggers/fallers as chain bar oil. Zillions of liters were sold of the stuff till recently.The stuff worked great at a reasonable cost.

[maytag]

hey.... uh.... I WAS TEASIN' !?!?

I'm a died-in-the-wool Red-Line & Royal Purple guy, for everything.

But I admit that for me it's a gut thing. It's a tried-n-true formula for me on the race-track; I don't want to be worrying about oils and lubricants (mine or anyone elses) when I'm at the apex with a knee on the ground.

[Ken]

oil preferences is up to the user, its all good.

http://www.gf-5.com/the_story/why_gf_5/ ... standards/

[pope]

Ken, what does new oil specs have to do with Fiat spider engines?

[mdrburchette]

Instead of all this speculation about what oil to use or not to use, I'd like to see some evidence the modern oil is damaging our engines. Does anyone have pics?

[maytag]

Ken, what does new oil specs have to do with Fiat spider engines?

Pope:
I guess I'd have the same question for you about your previous comment:

"Spiders have flat tappet engines that are not serviced correctly by new modern oils."

What part of a flat-tappet is not serviced correctly by modern oils?
The sheer properties on modern oils are significantly better than any old dinosaur stuff. Especially what they had in the 70's.