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Topic: Engine oil for Cosworth? (Read 5490 times) |
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catalina
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Engine oil for Cosworth?
« on: Nov 15th, 2010, 10:24pm » |
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Have just bought an "R" reg Cosworth to replace my scrappie "P" reg.
I note that the recommendations for engine oil are totally different in the instruction manuals for these two cars.
Main difference is that synthetic oil is not recommended for the "R" reg. This is a surprise to me since I ran my "P" reg on full synthetic and it did 160,000 miles with no problems at all except a split thermostst bypass hose.
So, does anyone know why synthetic oil was not recommended for the late model Cosworths. Could it give problems if it was used? I spoke to the technical dept of Morris's Oils and was told that synthetic could sometimes give problems, but he did not give further details.
If I simply use a SAE 10W-30 mineral oil as recommended in the instruction manual, I would have expected a shorter engine life!!
Anyone got views on this issue?
Cheers
John
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tlundkvi
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Re: Engine oil for Cosworth?
« Reply #1 on: Nov 16th, 2010, 7:25am » |
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My opinion is you can run semi-synthetic. Full synthetic will last better though and resist temperature changes better. I would go for a 5W30 Ford Formula E+F. It's marketed over here as synthetic (it's probably semi). Before that I used Mobil1 ESP 5W30. The Ford oil is very economical, half the price of the Mobil1 (over here). I would not use a 10WXX oil. I have never seen a sludgier oil than the 10W40 that was in (for 10k miles) when I bought the car and changed oil in it.
I didn't have any issues with the Ford oil, no "oil eating", the colour was good for the entire service interval (approx 1 year/6-7k). Mine was a -95, but can't imagine why a newer engine made of the same parts could behave better with mineral oil. Regardless of the manual I would never put mineral oil in this car.
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bonnietiler
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Re: Engine oil for Cosworth?
« Reply #2 on: Nov 16th, 2010, 8:05am » |
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It is entirely possible that the correct viscosity of synthetic was unavailable at the time (unlikely) all that sythetic will do is last longer and preclude engine wear. I have a close friend at Ford (ENGINE DEVELOPMENT) and he says that the only reason that modern engines can run so lean and so hot is entirely down to synthetic oils.
Synthetic oil cannot damage anything as long as you adhere to factory viscosity instructions.
Regards
Bonnietiler
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Pegasus
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24V Cosworth Ultima Born: Sept 97, sold Aug 23
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Re: Engine oil for Cosworth?
« Reply #3 on: Nov 16th, 2010, 9:44pm » |
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I've always used 5W30 cos that's what the guys at Ford have always recommended. It just happens to be Castrol (semi synth) but any other good make should do. Never had a problem and engine still purrs/growls/roars as it should do 
(but then oil gets changed around every 4000 miles)
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Tenfut
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White Cosworth Saloon
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Re: Engine oil for Cosworth?
« Reply #4 on: Nov 16th, 2010, 9:58pm » |
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I change mine every 4000 miles as well, but thats all I do in a year. I also use 5/30 but the Mobil variety
Tony
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catalina
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Re: Engine oil for Cosworth?
« Reply #5 on: Nov 16th, 2010, 10:15pm » |
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Thanks for your advice guys. The concensus seems to be that a synthetic or semi-synthetic oil is the best.
This doesn't explain why Ford found it necessary to change their recommendations for the later model Cosworths.
John
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gozz
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Re: Engine oil for Cosworth?
« Reply #6 on: Nov 16th, 2010, 11:03pm » |
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New fancy oils with exotic names are continually appearing,naturally they are more expensive,therefore the frighteners are put on us to use them or face the consequences  If the oil is changed frequently along with the filter,there really is no need to waste money on hype.If you intend to thrash your car,or go huge mileage between oil/filter changes,there may be something in it.
GOZZ.
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scorpio_man
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Ford Kuga awd
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Re: Engine oil for Cosworth?
« Reply #7 on: Nov 17th, 2010, 4:26pm » |
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hi there
ford formula e (5w-30) oil is no longer available.
ford formula f is the new recommended oil.
hth
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Marcello
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Re: Engine oil for Cosworth?
« Reply #8 on: Nov 20th, 2010, 9:50pm » |
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I've just finished rebuilding my 'R' plate Cosworth engine and having spent half a day reviewing oil available, I ended up opting for Castrol Magnatec 10W 40 semi synthetic. I would have gone for the 10W 30 mineral based oil as recommended in the book but trying to find that was like panning for gold in the Atlantic Ocean.
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Tono
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Re: Engine oil for Cosworth?
« Reply #9 on: Nov 21st, 2010, 4:00pm » |
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My other (better) half works for Comma Oils in Gravesend and according to their specs, they suggest 5W30 XTech (which is their Grade 1 oil) or Eurotech 5W30 (which is their better Grade 2 oil).
I used it in my 24V Estate before I stripped it although I didnt do too many miles in it before stripping it.
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Tompion
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1997 2.3 Ultima estate.
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Re: Engine oil for Cosworth?
« Reply #10 on: Nov 21st, 2010, 9:22pm » |
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I've been using Comma 5W30 XTech for 4 years in my 2.3
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Pegasus
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24V Cosworth Ultima Born: Sept 97, sold Aug 23
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Re: Engine oil for Cosworth?
« Reply #11 on: Nov 23rd, 2010, 9:50pm » |
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Yep - Comma oils are good.
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catalina
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Re: Engine oil for Cosworth?
« Reply #13 on: Nov 24th, 2010, 5:20pm » |
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Thanks again everyone. I went to Ford and bought Ford formula e 5W-30 on their advice. They told me it was fully synthetic but the container gave no hint as to its spec. So I phoned again and was again told it is fully synthetic. Maybe I'm getting old, but I'm not convinced. It's a sad day when you cannot tell from the container what the contents are!!!
John
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Jonnycab
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Re: Engine oil for Cosworth?
« Reply #15 on: Nov 25th, 2010, 4:36am » |
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Ford formula E 5W/30 is indeed semi synthetic as Tompion says 
I've been using AC Delco 5W/30 fully synthetic for the last 80K miles & my 2.3 engine loves it 
The first thing I noticed about fully synthetic oil (after a few hundred miles) was that the engine was running alot quiter (less tappy) than it used to
The second thing I noticed about using fully synthetic was, that because synthetic oil is made up of much smaller molecules than semi-synthetic/mineral oil, then it tends to start leaking through old/worn engine seals. So you may get a small leak/more of a leak where there already was one
Ideally, changing from semi-synthetic to fully synthetic should really only be done on engines that the seals are known not to be at all perished...50K miles ?
My personal verdict though is...go for it ....fully synthetic is the way to go for quieter/smoother running & possibly extended engine life (better viscosity at high & low temps).....but be prepared to top up more often due to possible leaks through worn engine seals
P.S... did you know that semi-synthetic is 70% mineral & only 30% synthetic
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bonnietiler
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Re: Engine oil for Cosworth?
« Reply #16 on: Nov 25th, 2010, 8:37am » |
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Now sorry to disagree here Johnny but..viscosity..is viscosity..is viscosity, if you put the correct viscosity of full synth into an engine it will not leak through a seal, unfortunately what a lot of folk did was find a bottle 0w30 full synth, wack it in and complain that the thing leaked through seals that were designed for 10w or 20w oil
Believe me if a molecule of synth can get through so can a molecule of dino.
Synthetic is just better in all depts apart fron cost
bonnietiler
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tlundkvi
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Ex. Scorpio 2.9 24V -95
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Re: Engine oil for Cosworth?
« Reply #17 on: Nov 25th, 2010, 10:40am » |
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I have always thought the latter figure represented thickness better, eg. use 5W40 instead of 5W30 when one suspects the engine is prone to leaking, as thicker oil is probably less prone to pass through. But the downside is the friction is higher in XW40. AFAIK the 0-5-10-15 has to do more with how cold the climate is/can be for safe starting and running. Synthetic is also better if the car is used in the winter.
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Tenfut
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White Cosworth Saloon
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Re: Engine oil for Cosworth?
« Reply #18 on: Nov 25th, 2010, 8:08pm » |
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Quote:| Ford formula E 5W/30 is indeed semi synthetic as Tompion says |
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But is Ford Formula "F" full or semi synthetic?
Tony
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bonnietiler
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Re: Engine oil for Cosworth?
« Reply #19 on: Nov 25th, 2010, 9:05pm » |
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Ford Formula F is 10w30 Full Synthetic Oil
Regards
Bonnietiler
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