Oil grade

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GD78

Active Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2012
Messages
170
Location
New Malden
Car
2008 C180K Sport Saloon - Manual
Just wondering what weight of oil do M271 owners prefer for their engines?

I usually put Mobil 1 0W40 in the Kompressor engine but will try out Shell Helix Ultra 5W40 for the next oil change...

Would a 40 weight oil be better for a supercharged engine generally?
 
Many have their preferences. We use shell helix ultra 5w40 for general servicing
 
I recently did an oil and filter change on my C270 CDI. I used a genuine MB filter as I needed a few other bits which are only available from a main dealer, so got the filter at the same time.
I asked the guys in the parts dept. which was the best oil to use and they told me that Mercedes are currently recommending Mobil 1 New Life 0w40 for all their cars.
The cost from them was a tad under £80 for 6 litres........Shock, horror!!! So I bought it from www.eurocarspares.com using the forum club discount code MBClub30 for a much more reasonable £46.88

Not sure if the code is working at the moment as ECP may have suspended all club discounts until after January 1st, because of special promotions they are running.

I see that you are a fairly new member, so I obviously don't know if you have used ECP before, but the discounts are only valid for online purchases. Either 'Reserve & Collect' (pay on collection) or 'Delivery' which is free, subject to your location.

If you decide to go for Mobil 1 New Life and have trouble finding it on their website, which I did, use their search box facility. The codes are 521771851 - 5 litres & 521771852 - 1 litre.
 
The "0" in 0w40 means that at cold temperatures the oil is thinner to reduce start up friction compared to a 5w40. The "40" means both oils stay the same thickness at hotter temps. So in winter its probably better to use the 0W40 over the 5w40, and the 5w40 in summer.

Mobil 1 in Australia makes a 5W50, where the "50" rating implies better protection in hot weather/ higher temperature engines eg turbo. Its cheaper than Mobil 1 0W40 too.

I've also read as the engines get older, the tolerances between the moving parts become greater, so a thicker oil on start up ie the 5W40 may be more suited.

There are apparently differences in some of the additives in different brands, one of which is the amount of zinc, which may affect engine performance.

My car (1999 c200) has always had Mobil 1 0w40. My dealer no longer recommended it: they recommended a fully synthetic 5W40 or 10W40. I chose a Penrite 5W40 fully Synth with Zinc additives. The engine is noticeably quieter and idles smoother compared to the Mobil 1 0W40.
 
Just wondering what weight of oil do M271 owners prefer for their engines?

I usually put Mobil 1 0W40 in the Kompressor engine but will try out Shell Helix Ultra 5W40 for the next oil change...

Would a 40 weight oil be better for a supercharged engine generally?

Have you had any issues with your current oil - If not, why the change? :)

How much are you paying for the two oils your mention?
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback and for the special discount code available at ECP...I will take a look for sure.

I bought some Shell Helix Ultra 5W40 for about £34 for 6 liters from Euro Car Parts on a sales promo about a few months ago...it was a better deal compared to Mobil 1 so thought I'd give it a try as it meets the same 229.5 spec.

I noticed that Shell Ultra is also spec'd for 229.5 for their 5W30 grade...so I was wondering if it is better to use 40 weight oils vs 30 weight in the Kompressor engine. My car has about 69K miles so I might just stick with the 40 weight oils...not sure what the previous users put in it as the car was owned by the HMRC.
 
Mb north London group were using shell helix ultra 5w40 as a general servicing lubricant up until recently. Apparently a deal was struck with a Malaysian oil company :rolleyes:
 
That sux...anything just to save a few quid :(
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback and for the special discount code available at ECP...I will take a look for sure.

I bought some Shell Helix Ultra 5W40 for about £34 for 6 liters from Euro Car Parts on a sales promo about a few months ago...it was a better deal compared to Mobil 1 so thought I'd give it a try as it meets the same 229.5 spec.

I noticed that Shell Ultra is also spec'd for 229.5 for their 5W30 grade...so I was wondering if it is better to use 40 weight oils vs 30 weight in the Kompressor engine. My car has about 69K miles so I might just stick with the 40 weight oils...not sure what the previous users put in it as the car was owned by the HMRC.

My owners manual has a diagram which suggests that if the ambient temperature is under 30 deg celcius then the 30 weight is fine, otherwise the 40 weight is recommended.
 
That's great info...thanks! I'll check to see if my manual has the same graph.

My only concern is if the 30 weight oil would thin out quicker than the 40 weight oil in a supercharged engine as the engine is under higher stress compared to a normally aspirated engine.

In the US many manufacturers are spec'ing 20 wt oils! Most likely for fuel economy but that's a tad to thin IMO but then again I'm not an oil expert.
 
A word of warning on oils, the base stock from which each oil is manufactured ran from grades 1 to 5, with only oils from grades 4 & 5 being fully synthetic.

In the US, Mobil took Castrol to court as they were using a grade 3 base oil, further refining it & selling it as a fully synthetic, but Mobil lost the case.

Since then, the majority of fully synthetic oils manufactured with grade 4 & 5 base stock have been downgraded to grade 3 base stock, but still sold as fully synthetic as it is a lot cheaper for the oil companies to manufacture it this way. There are only a few examples of grade 4, fully synthetic oil still being produced last time I looked, Mobil 1 was one of them. The rest are now extra refined grade 3 oils or a blend of grade 4 & 2. Personally, I would stick with Mobil 1, always has been the best no matter what anyone says, and buy it from Costco, £29 for 5 litres makes it the bargain buy of the year.

Russ
 
Very true indeed...just one of the reasons I boycott Castrol products...trying to deceive the consumers by selling hydrocracked group 3 oil as synthetic. Too bad Mobil lost the case :(. However, I do think the Castrol Edge version in Germany is a true synthetic as the laws there are a bit more strict.

Any of you guys members of the Bob Is The Oil Guy forums? There's a wealth of useful information on there.
 
Very true indeed...just one of the reasons I boycott Castrol products...trying to deceive the consumers by selling hydrocracked group 3 oil as synthetic.


I think the court case was around 2005, I'm not sure too many people realise that since then a whole load of grade 3 mineral oils are now sold as fully synthetic and even worse, most of the grade 4 "genuine" fully synthetics have changed their formula and are now made from grade 3 base oil as well, but kept the fully synthetic price tag.

As you say, Germany is one of the few markets where fully synthetic grade 4 oil is protected from the cheaper grade 3 or blended oils false claims.

Russ
 
Interesting thread, but how does one know if the oil used is manufactured from grade 3 or 4?
I use Mobil1 and imagine that here in "Swizzyland" we would adopt the German standards as this country likes to be very nitty picky on all things mechanical...
 
I think the court case was around 2005, I'm not sure too many people realise that since then a whole load of grade 3 mineral oils are now sold as fully synthetic and even worse, most of the grade 4 "genuine" fully synthetics have changed their formula and are now made from grade 3 base oil as well, but kept the fully synthetic price tag.

As you say, Germany is one of the few markets where fully synthetic grade 4 oil is protected from the cheaper grade 3 or blended oils false claims.

Russ

Very true indeed. Makes me wonder if Shell Helix Ultra is a true synthetic by definition. I personally would prefer Mobil 1 but thought I'd give Shell Ultra a try as it meets specs of many big time car manufacturers including Ferrari and Porsche. Plus the oil was a bargain in the sales promo.
 
Interesting thread, but how does one know if the oil used is manufactured from grade 3 or 4?
I use Mobil1 and imagine that here in "Swizzyland" we would adopt the German standards as this country likes to be very nitty picky on all things mechanical...

Usually this can be done by doing a virgin oil analysis by private labs or if the oil company would give out this info if asked but usually it's proprietary info.

I've heard the European Castrol products are generally different than the US version but I still would take that with a grain of salt. If buying Castrol Edge/Syntec look for them ones that say 'Made in Germany' on the back of the bottle as they seem to be proven to be solid oils in used oil analyses in the US.
 
Makes me wonder if Shell Helix Ultra is a true synthetic by definition.


According to info from the US it used to be a grade 4 fully synthetic, but not anymore. As you say, different markets are getting different oils due to stricter advertising rules. If it is a true fully synthetic in the German market, you can go on that, in most other countries it could be hydrocracked grade 2 or 3 oil masquerading as grade 4 fully synthetic.

Russ
 
Sigh...looks like true synthetics are far and in between...

Hopefully the European Shell Ultra is a true synthetic...would hate to spend all that cash on a hydrocracked oil :(
 
If an oil type is approved by MB to certain spec sheet ('Approved' as opposed to 'Meets') - does it really matter which virgin oil grade was used to achieve this result?

I don't disagree that some oils are better than others, however my question would be if an oil type is approved by MB to their exacting standards, is in not simply good enough?
 

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