Correct engine oil

[t-dawg1]

Castrol spend all their money on advertising instead of the oil itself which is why everyone remembers liquid engineering, magnatec etc yet still buy something else I don't do properly modern stuff but AIUI mb229.51 is the 'long life' version of 229.31 so... Petronas Syntium 5000 XS 5w30 4ltr or Oils and Additives Fuchs Titan GT1 Pro Flex 5W30 Engine Oil - 5 Litre - F5W305L | incarmotorfactors.co.uk Note the Fuchs in the second link comes in 5 litres containers so it's barely any more £/litre and under a fiver/litre if you buy a 20L tub. These oils aren't 'artificially' expensive because they don't have to recoup the costs of huge advertising campaigns (plus the perceived brand quality thing) like Castrol and Mobil Wave those prices at Opie oils and they say they'll beat them (don't think they stock Petronas though?). Whether that's a delivered price or not i don't know and can't remember how much you have to spend at Opie to get 'free' delivery but Incar factors and carparts4less prices are both all in, delivered to your door no idea how much you need, 7.5 litres was mentioned earlier and is probably right. Assuming your cars handbook doesn't really say 'ask on a forum' it'll be listed in there along with with various other useful bits and pieces

Agree with you PETRONAS is very good Oil. I'm running it in my OM642 V6

 

[Twistedmind]

Shell helix for me. Never turn back lol

Sent from my iPhone using MBClub UK

 

[Ted]

View attachment 40760

Change every 5,000

 

[Rory]

I wonder if the drivers of all the old Merc's running around in Africa get their knickers in a twist about oil?

Reading the handbook for my car, you can put just about anything in it. We don't even have to worry about viscosity (within normal ranges) as our climate is relatively moderate.


Next question: Fleece or paper oil filter?

 

[paul_c]

I wonder if the drivers of all the old Merc's running around in Africa get their knickers in a twist about oil?

Reading the handbook for my car, you can put just about anything in it. We don't even have to worry about viscosity (within normal ranges) as our climate is relatively moderate.


Next question: Fleece or paper oil filter?

Are older Mercs ie W123, W124 series so sensitive about oil? Or is it just the newer technologies such as turbodiesels, common rail, direct injection, etc which have meant that engines now require higher quality oil?

 

[E55BOF]

The Oe Merc filter for the W210 petrols is a fleece type, and cheap enough. I'd be surprised if the OE filter for yours was not also a fleece type.

 

[hotrodder]

Are older Mercs ie W123, W124 series so sensitive about oil? Or is it just the newer technologies such as turbodiesels, common rail, direct injection, etc which have meant that engines now require higher quality oil?

Partly and it's as much about about all the fragile and expensive emissions tat modern engines are saddled with, low SAPS/ash oils and DPFs for example

'Higher quality' oil can be a bit of a missnomer for kinda the same reasons... in the old days ZDDP (zinc something i can't spell but ends with phosphate) was one of the additives used in engine oils. Not the only reason it's used less/been phased out but one of them is that it's not so compatible with said emissions tat. ZDDP is an excellent anti wear additive and in short this means that a 'higher quality' modern oil is often worse than an old fashioned oil if you run a classic, especially if it's tuned/historic race car... 2 valve heads = big heavy valves which need stronger valve springs to control them = higher loads on the valve train than modern multivalve engines. A modern low zddp low ash oil that was brewed to suit a multivalve engine with cats and dpfs can wipeout cam lobes relatively quickly on a classic as it was never designed with them in mind

Perversely wikipedia credit Castrol with invention of ZDDP Dunno about them but Millers and Valvoline both make a good oil rich in zddp, around double the levels found in 'modern' oils and a much better choice than a watery synthetic if you run something like a tuned small block Chevy with valves the size of dustbin lids

 

[pachanga 231]

Rang my merc dealer who told me that the oil for my car is 0w 30 ??
I picked up two tubs of magnatec for £36 so this time round I'll see how it is.

 

[markjay]

I wonder if the drivers of all the old Merc's running around in Africa get their knickers in a twist about oil?

MB made quite a few very different engines over the years, 4-cyl, 5-cyl, 6-cyl, 8-cyl, 12-cyl, inline, V, petrol, diesel, and now we will even have MB engines made by Rehault... and yet all these varied engines require (almost) one spec of oil, from which you should not deviate... it does makes you wonder how 'specific' is MB Approved oil to MB engines....?

I do accept however that MB Approved oil is definitly good oil, while non-MB Approved oil may or may not be of good quality or suitable for the engine etc.

Said that... the above are my 'scientific' contemplations... on a practical level, I do use MB Approved oil, simply because the car is serviced only once a year and I did not see any noticeable difference between the price of MB Approved and non MB Approved branded oil.

What does make me wonder is why some people seem to bend over backwards in order to NOT use MB Approved oil..

It's a bit like using a torque wrench - granted, it is not always important to tighten some bolts to the manufacturer's given torque figuers, but if you do happen to have a torque wrench to hand, why not use it...?

 

[paul_c]

MB made quite a few very different engines over the years, 4-cyl, 5-cyl, 6-cyl, 8-cyl, 12-cyl, inline, V, petrol, diesel, and now we will even have MB engines made by Rehault... and yet all these varied engines require (almost) one spec of oil, from which you should not deviate... it does makes you wonder how 'specific' is MB Approved oil to MB engines....?

There's definitely more than one specification. Last time I looked at the official table, there were about 8 or more different specifications, for the different engines over the years.

 

[markjay]

There's definitely more than one specification. Last time I looked at the official table, there were about 8 or more different specifications, for the different engines over the years.

Generally speaking, the previous spec was for Diesel engines to use 229.3 - or 229.31 if DPF quipped, and petrol engine should use 229.3 but can also use 229.31. The newer spec is the essentially same but 229.3 / 229.31 has been superseded by 229.5 / 229.51.

There are exceptions such as 228 etc, but as things stand today, the 229.51 spec oil covers the vast majority of both Diesel and Petrol engines made by MB over the past 10 years. My point was that it is unlikely that one type of oil is 'individually tailored' for so many different engines.

(apart for certain parts of North America, where MB do not recommend long-term use of 229.51 oil in petrol cars where the gasoline has high Ethanol contents)

In short, this is very similar to MO tyres (a topic which has been covered extensively in other threads). MO Tyres are suppose to be especially suited for MB cars, yet the same MO tyre is 'specifically suited' for all MB models from the FWD A-Class to the RWD S-Class (OK, within tyre size limitations), in spite of the vast differences in chasis and suspension.

Said that... I have Conti MO tyres on my car. They cost exactly the same as the non-MO tyres, so why not buy 'MB-Approved' tyres?

However, if I need to change / replace my PremiumContact 2 MO tyres with new ones, I will probably opt for PremiumContact 5, and even though there is no PremiumContact 5 MO, I will happily buy these non-MO in preference to the older PremiumContact 2 MO.

 

[grumpyoldgit]

I think it varies from dealer to dealer which they recommend, unless Mercedes keep changing their mind. My local dealer told me that Mercedes recommend Mobil 1 New Life.

A couple of links from Mobil + Castrol to check on their recommended oil for your car.

Which Oil for my Car? - Mobil? UK & Ireland

Castrol Magnatec oil protects your engine from the start | Castrol UK

 

[paul_c]

Generally speaking, the previous spec was for Diesel engines to use 229.3 - or 229.31 if DPF quipped, and petrol engine should use 229.3 but can also use 229.31. The newer spec is the essentially same but 229.3 / 229.31 has been superseded by 229.5 / 229.51.

There are exceptions such as 228 etc, but as things stand today, the 229.51 spec oil covers the vast majority of both Diesel and Petrol engines made by MB over the past 10 years. My point was that it is unlikely that one type of oil is 'individually tailored' for so many different engines.

(apart for certain parts of North America, where MB do not recommend long-term use of 229.51 oil in petrol cars where the gasoline has high Ethanol contents)

In short, this is very similar to MO tyres (a topic which has been covered extensively in other threads). MO Tyres are suppose to be especially suited for MB cars, yet the same MO tyre is 'specifically suited' for all MB models from the FWD A-Class to the RWD S-Class (OK, within tyre size limitations), in spite of the vast differences in chasis and suspension.

Said that... I have Conti MO tyres on my car. They cost exactly the same as the non-MO tyres, so why not buy 'MB-Approved' tyres?

However, if I need to change / replace my PremiumContact 2 MO tyres with new ones, I will probably opt for PremiumContact 5, and even though there is no PremiumContact 5 MO, I will happily buy these non-MO in preference to the older PremiumContact 2 MO.

http://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/d/d/en/Spec_223_2.pdf

14 different specifications for 68 different engine codes. No doubt there's other older engines the table doesn't show the spec for too.

 

[markjay]

paul_c, if you look at the first page, you will note that - with the exception of two models, the SLR and the Citan - spec 229.5 and 229.52 between themselves cover all engine applications on that page, with some overlap to boot.

I am not suggesting that all oil types are identical, just that there is nothing in the MB-Approved oil spec that is specially-suited to each and every engine type.

229.52 for example is the oil that MB currently favour for all their DPF-equipped engines, which again may vary in design and layout etc. So yes, it is good oil, and yes, it will work well with MB engines (and with many other engines), and yes it has been tested by MB, but - it is not specific to the engine, it is simply good generic low-ash oil for modern DPF-equipped cars.

As said in previous post I do suggest to adhere by the MB Spec, and I use 229.51 oil myself, simply because the oil has been tested by MB and it is not more expensive that non-MB Approved oil (as far as I can see anyway), but this is not to say that any other non-MB-Approved high-quality low-ash for-Diesel-PDF-engines oil won't do an equally good job.

My M271 engine for example, can use either 229.3, 229.32, 229.5, 229.51, or 229.52 MB Sheet Spec oil.. All are top-notch oils, for sure, but not really 'specific' for my engine type....