Thicker oil in a 172?

[Pricey98]

I've noticed my 172 has been using a bit of oil recently. No obvious leaks, smoke, etc, although I have been driving it a bit more 'enthusiastically' shall we say. I had the oil changed around a thousand miles ago when I first bought the car, and the garage used 5w40 (although it was Renatec in Bristol, so it could very well have been vegetable oil, as they were very vague about what brand they used. I know it wasn't Elf).

I was wondering if there was any benefit in swapping to a slightly thicker grade oil? I know some people use 10w40 without issue, however as it's the same viscosity as 5w40 at operating temperature I'm wondering if I could use 5w50 instead? Car has only done 74k, however even though I drive it sympathetically until it's warmed up, I have no idea if it was caned by previous owners. Thoughts?

 

[Ol’ Tarby]

How much has it used in that 1000 miles?

 

[Pricey98]

How much has it used in that 1000 miles?

I've had to put in half a litre in total. Well within spec I know, however it seemed to have used about a quarter of a litre in a week when I checked last weekend (measured on dipstick). Granted the work car park where I checked isn't 100% level and the engine had been run for a minute or so, so wasn't completely cold. Will monitor it over next few weeks, however finding somewhere completely flat to check in the South Wales Valleys is easier said than done lol

 

[imprezaworks]

I read these use a little oil in 1000 miles or whatever. With the 7/8 clios I’ve owned I can’t recall any using much if any oil :/

 

[Pricey98]

I read these use a little oil in 1000 miles or whatever. With the 7/8 clios I’ve owned I can’t recall any using much if any oil :/

From what I've read it seems to be a bit of a lottery. Some cars use a bit of oil, some don't. I think Renault's acceptable level is something crazy like 1L every 600 miles or so.

 

[imprezaworks]

Was same with hondas. My ep3 used none, not even that much after a day at Oulton.

Maybe I should play the lottery :/

 

[JamesBryan]

Mine uses a little bit, but then it is weeping out the sump gasket ?

 

[Greeny.]

Mine uses a little bit, but then it is weeping out the sump gasket ?

Ditto, but never enough to ever have to top it up in the track car, although when I used to run a 172 as a daily I probably topped it up once a year which was around 6k for me.

 

[JamesBryan]

Ditto, but never enough to ever have to top it up in the track car, although when I used to run a 172 as a daily I probably topped it up once a year which was around 6k for me.

Yeah, mine does 5k a year including a few track days. I probably top up no more than 200ml over the year.

 

[Pricey98]

Does anyone use 5w50, or would it do more harm than good, to dephaser, etc?

 

[JamesBryan]

I doubt many use 5w50, not that common of a grade. 10w50 is the usual next grade up.

A thicker oil is just masking the problem though i think, you're better to look into why it's using it in the first place and go from there.

 

[Pricey98]

I doubt many use 5w50, not that common of a grade. 10w50 is the usual next grade up.

A thicker oil is just masking the problem though i think, you're better to look into why it's using it in the first place and go from there.

Thanks. Will monitor level over next few weeks and see how it is.

 

[Greeny.]

I use this stuff, love it!

https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-60122-...-racing-ester-fully-synthetic-engine-oil.aspx

 

[Pricey98]

I use this stuff, love it!

https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-60122-...-racing-ester-fully-synthetic-engine-oil.aspx

How does it compare to elf?

As mentioned above I have no idea what brand 5w40 the garage put in my car. When pushed all they said was it's low ash. Probably some cheap cr*p which is likely not helping things...

 

[Greeny.]

My very basic understanding is that that Gulf stuff is ester based and the Elf isnt, although I wouldnt hesitate to put the Elf stuff in a road car, but my track car is driven flat out for the majority of its life so would rather pay abit more for abit more protection, at least thats how my mind works anyway.

https://mobiloil.com/en/faq/ask-our-auto-experts/questions-for-auto-experts/what-is-ester-oil

 

[JamesBryan]

I use Triple QX 5w40 from Euro ?

It's RN700/710 spec so it's good enough for me.

About £18 for 5L

Regular changes with a cheaper oil is better than leaving a decent brand in for longer, IMO of course.

 

[JB21]

I wouldn't use any thicker than 40. Could have oil pump issues with flow and pick up especially if its using more oil than it should and levels get low. Also you'll lose a smidge of power and mpg due to the increased friction of the moving parts, which in turn will create more wear on these parts.

Stick with 5w 40 and just keep an eye on levels. My old ep3 used well over a litre in 1000 miles and i had the car for 5 years and 80k miles without a single engine problem.

 

[JB21]

Regular changes with a cheaper oil is better than leaving a decent brand in for longer, IMO of course.

Haha I bet our R&D lab who formulate engine oil additives would argue with you there mate, lol.

 

[Greeny.]

Regular changes with a cheaper oil is better than leaving a decent brand in for longer, IMO of course.

Regular changes with a decent brand for me, win win

 

[JB21]

I've used the same oil for years and never had an issue...Shell Helix Ultra 5w 40

Used it in modded turbo charged units, modded N/A screamers, mapped TD's to bog standard low output petrol and diesel units.

Track cars changed every 3-4 days and my dailies every 8-10k miles.

 

[JamesBryan]

Haha I bet our R&D lab who formulate engine oil additives would argue with you there mate, lol.

Haha, don't get me wrong good oil is good. Only put the best in my gearbox.

Regular changes with a decent brand for me, win win

Money to burn ?

 

[Greeny.]

Money to burn ?

I wish, im just abit anal about stuff like that, would rather know the engine is as protected as it can be whilist its getting thrashed, it gets changed once a year which is normally 4 track days. Funnily enough I put the standard Elf NFJ 75W-80 gearbox oil in my box, although I change that every year as well but it always looks really clean but for the sake of £30 I do it anyway.

 

[JamesBryan]

I wish, im just abit anal about stuff like that, would rather know the engine is as protected as it can be whilist its getting thrashed, it gets changed once a year which is normally 4 track days. Funnily enough I put the standard Elf NFJ 75W-80 gearbox oil in my box, although I change that every year as well but it always looks really clean but for the sake of £30 I do it anyway.

Yeah i put the Redline MTL in my box and change once a year, it's about £70 worth ?

 

[Greeny.]

So all in all then we spend about the same yearly just in different areas

Im paranoid about the box as well, but thats why I use the Renault recommended stuff, I used Redline MTL(I think) in my old 330ci manual and said to myself I would never use it again.

 

[JamesBryan]

So all in all then we spend about the same yearly just in different areas

Im paranoid about the box as well, but thats why I use the Renault recommended stuff, I used Redline MTL(I think) in my old 330ci manual and said to myself I would never use it again.

Yeah we probably do actually lol.

The Redline was recommended by Northloop on here after he rebuilt my box and fitted a diff.

You not get on with it?

 

[Brigsy]

Thicker oil not a fix for wear and tear. Just keep topping it up - however its a slippery slope once they start burning oil so would stick some money aside for rebuild or new engine or rebuild in the future

 

[Pricey98]

Thicker oil not a fix for wear and tear. Just keep topping it up - however its a slippery slope once they start burning oil so would stick some money aside for rebuild or new engine or rebuild in the future

Yeah, I kind of of have that in the back of my mind tbh. My gearbox whines a bit too, so may well be a used engine and box job at some point in the future...

 

[Greeny.]

Yeah we probably do actually lol.

The Redline was recommended by Northloop on here after he rebuilt my box and fitted a diff.

You not get on with it?

In my case at least on the 330ci manual box it was noticeably worse than the original BMW stuff, but that’s hardly a reason to not use it, but im happy to keep using the Elf stuff as ive never had a problem with it in any of my Clios, but I don’t have an expensive diff to worry about

Yeah, I kind of of have that in the back of my mind tbh. My gearbox whines a bit too, so may well be a used engine and box job at some point in the future...

Can you not check the engine number against whats on your V5?

 

[Pricey98]

Is original engine at the moment (as far as I know lol), was just thinking if it needs one further down the line it's considerably cheaper to buy a used one than to have a rebuild.

 

[Pricey98]

Just ordered some Elf 5w40. I'll get that in there next week and keep an eye on level. Will feel better knowing what oil is actually in my car other than the unknown brand used by garage and Mobil 1 I've been topping up with ?