Anyone tried Castrol Titanium oils?

[Goran]

Anyone tried the new Titanium range?
I just noticed these today when I was looking for good deals on Edge 5w30 for my next oil change. I have been reading a bit on various sites such as bobistheoilguy and it sounds like a good new oil.
I may give it a go for my next oil change. Not sure whether to go for 0w30 or 0W40, they seem very similar, 72 vs 79 40C viscosity, 12.3 vs 13.1 at 100C.
Not sure what the High Temp 105C viscosity is, some forum post said its around 3.6

http://castroledge.com/uk/products/oil-range

http://msdspds.castrol.com/bpglis/FusionPDS.nsf/Files/D9F10BA4592D660380257C9F003038FA/$File/BPXE-9HCV4Z.pdf

http://msdspds.castrol.com/bpglis/FusionPDS.nsf/Files/EA379E05EC9FB93980257C9100583EA6/$File/BPXE-9GY8VJ.pdf

[Adrian E]

We should be on 5w40 Goran - 0w anything is too thin and will find its way out of the engine more readily.

If you're looking for better protection for the engine then the Fuchs Pro Race S is still well regarded, but doesn't have Audi spec approval. Mine had Quantum Platinum in at (Edge basically in a VAG bottle) last service, but only because they failed to spot the Fuchs in the boot! The Fuchs does seem to give quieter start up from cold, but it may be my subjective imagination

[Goran]

from what I read that is wrong. The 0 number means it is less viscous at a lower temperature, the number after the W means it is more viscous at operating temp. 0 anything is always better. I posted the operating temp viscosities above the difference is less than 1.

I also read this today, check out post no.5

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...-Oil-Why-5W-40

Also Opie oils reccomends it under the VW 502 standard.

In fact Edge 5W30 is less viscous at operating temp! 12.0mm2/s
.
http://msdspds.castrol.com/bpglis/FusionPDS.nsf/Files/855EDA91E5358A7A80257BF200518884/$File/BPXE-9BZRHU.pdf

Just wondering if anyone is using any of the ones with added Titanium.

[ainarssems]

First digit is viscosity at low temperatures, the lower number means lesser viscosity so it gets lifted and provides oil pressure sooner. This is important at cold climates, you don't really need first digit to be 0 unless you are using car at temperatures lower then -30C. At UK temps(except Scotland maybe) even 15 for the first digit will be fine.

Quantum Longlife III 5W30 (or Castrol Edge equivalent) does good job for everyday driving and can be sourced relatively cheap. It is suitable for PD diesel engines which experience high pressures at camshafts operating PD units, they have plenty of high pressure and anti-seize additives so even at cold starts with no oil pressure there is no metal to metal contact so it does not matter if oil pressure is reached in 1 or 1.5 seconds

If you want better protection when pushed hard like on track you should be paying more attention to second number after W. You want it to be as high as possible to retain viscosity at high temps, 10W60 or 10W50 would be good choice in that case.

[Goran]

I don't track the car I just want lower wear from cold start. Even at 40C you can see the viscosity of even these synthetic oils is 7 times higher than at operating temp.
I just need something to worry about

Also, I have been logging data and the webasto coolant heater barely raises oil temp by 1 degree when ambient temp is 12C so it doesn't help much with the oil.

[ainarssems]

It does not really matter what the viscosity is at low temp as long as pump can suck up oil quickly and provide sufficient pressure in short time, when it becomes like honey is when you should get worried. But even if it could not provide the pressure modern oils contain fair amount of high pressure and anti seize additives that it could probably run for couple several minutes without oil pressure at all lubricating from the remains of oil from previous use. Any damage would appear at hotspots due to lack of cooling that oil flow provides before flow or viscosity play any part.

In general higher viscosity is better in terms of protection unless it's too viscous to for pump to suck it up quickly. But it does have a drawback that more viscous oil need produces more resistance and takes more power and uses more fuel.

As you do not track your car I believe Quantum Longlife III will provide very good protection and value for money, just don't leave it to longlife service intervals but replace it every 8-10k miles or at least once a year which ever comes first.

[Goran]

I normally change the oil every 6k-7k miles or approx. 6 months.
I just noticed there is a 5W40 version with the Titanium additive, its only a few £ more than the 5W30 I have been buying.
Whats the best price of Quantum Longlife III?

[Adrian E]

I should've posted this link earlier:

http://ew5.earlweb.com/search.php?site=44

That's where the 5w40 recommendation comes from for grade, as opposed to spec.

Ref the point earlier about 0w oils - whatever the potential benefits they might offer, you need it to stay in the engine. Older engines don't appreciate low viscosity oils particularly, even for cold start. If they're not designed for them you tend to find your oil consumption/loss goes up to no real benefit.

I used to run 10w60 (can't remember now if that was Mobil 1 but think it was Castrol RS) in my BX 16V because no matter how hard it was driven it would always have oil pressure and it never got too 'runny' when running hot at high revs. Very different style of engine, but for its day 160BHP from 1.9 litres with no variable anything meant it tended to be working quite hard!

The Americans tend to over-analyse oil - as ainarssems says if you put the recommended long life oil in, or any quality synthetic, and change it early it will be perfect for the job. The Fuchs feels a bit like a waste of money at £60 in oil for 4k miles but I've had no issues using it

[ainarssems]

Whats the best price of Quantum Longlife III?

Last time I bought it was £25 for 5l, but this listing looks good on e-bay from Cardiff Audi:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Quantum-Lo...item27ebdb23cb

Titanium is likely to be just a sales word to attract buyers. I have heard of lead and copper being used in oils to fill any wear cavities in the past with both metals being soft and malleable, titanium being hard just does not make any sense, it would wear other softer metal parts out.

[Goran]

Originally Posted by Adrian E

That's where the 5w40 recommendation comes from for grade, as opposed to spec.

Ref the point earlier about 0w oils - whatever the potential benefits they might offer, you need it to stay in the engine. Older engines don't appreciate low viscosity oils particularly, even for cold start. If they're not designed for them you tend to find your oil consumption/loss goes up to no real benefit.

It will stay in the engine, all engines need to have the oil at operating viscosity for minimal wear. No engine 'likes' to be started with oil 10 times its ideal viscosity, its a myth.

As you can see from the Castrol website the 0w30 has slightly higher 100C viscosity than the 5W30, so the 0W does not refer to viscosity at operating temp.

0W oil is always going to be better for the engine, it carries higher quality additives to achieve 0W.

Ideally, the engine should have the oil at around 12mm2/s at start up.

You were probably thinking of mineral oils, synthetic oils are different:

"a multigrade mineral oil like a 15W-40 is basically a 15 weight oil with additives to ‘thicken’ it and under extreme conditions, the additives can shear’ and collapse so your ‘behaves like a hot 40′ oil starts to behave like a hot 15…far too thin for the engine….(bang!) whereas a 0w-40 synthetic starts as a straight 40 and has additives to make it thinner when cold, so under extreme high temperature provocation when the additive package fails (at a much higher temperature point anyway) it behaves like a 40 weight, which is what the engine is designed to use anyway"