Different type of oil used in cars here?? HELP

[hychamaz]

Hello everyone, I just moved here with my Finnish wife and we are using a 1999 Peugeot Partner 1,4l Gasoline. I am confused as to the oil that you use in your cars here in Finland. In the states we used regular oil and semi-synthetic and fully synthetic oils were reserved for high end cars and race applications. When looking in the store all I see are semi-synthetic and fully synthetic oils. Why is this? In the US we change our oil every 3 months or 3000 miles. I could not believe that Peugeout reccomends every 2 years or 30,000 kilometers. What is up here? Also what is most commonly used all season here 5W-40, 10W-40, 10W30?? Thanks

[Jukka Aho]

I am confused as to the oil that you use in your cars here in Finland. In the states we used regular oil and semi-synthetic and fully synthetic oils were reserved for high end cars and race applications. When looking in the store all I see are semi-synthetic and fully synthetic oils. Why is this?

I’m by no means an expert on these matters, but this Helsingin Sanomat article seems to suggest that calling nearly all motor oils “synthetic” is mostly a marketing trick, made possible because there are currently no clear regulations (either on the national level or on the EU level) as to what counts as “synthetic”. Perhaps the definitions and regulations are more strict in this regard in the US?

[Rob A.]

Don't get caught up in the motor oil marketing BS...

Here's a wikipedia link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_oil

Which grade you use and how often you change the oil and filter depends on the conditions you will be driving in...and whether your car is stored in a heated garage or not....and whether you are using a block heater... Coming from the US you probably don't know what the heck a block heater is...

Cold (and heat) affects oil viscosity...when you start the car, you want to get the oil to the moving parts as quickly as possible...that's why you go with 5W-30 particularly in winter... In Finland you aren't going to need 40-weight...it just won't be hot enough...but if you are going to be driving in Greece or Turkey all summer then change to the 15W-40 just before you leave Finland...

Otherwise I would just follow the manufacturer's recommendation (for Finland) and not think anymore about it.... You could go ask a Peugeot dealer in Finland what they put in your model of car...

[Hank W.]

In the US we change our oil every 3 months or 3000 miles. I could not believe that Peugeout reccomends every 2 years or 30,000 kilometers. What is up here?

Fully synthetic oils

See now oil costs money not only to put in but also to get rid of.

[donald]

Best to ask a few car dealers, mechanician or ask in a car related forum.

But 20000-30000km between oil changes is normal.

[Karhunkoski]

Remember also that if you do a lot of kms, some car makess allow for "long life" oil changes. Most cars I've had need a change around 15,000 km, performance models perhaps 10,000km. 30,000 km with long life oil is possible.

[No.6]

Calling all modern oils as synthetic is a marketing trick started in the US a few years back. Before it had to be non-mineral, now it is enough that a mineral oil reacts in a non-natural way through its processing.

You can get "fully synthetic" for under 20e/4L can false economy to save on buying anything less. For all year use (that means changing the oil once per year or *less* go for 5W or 10W for that age of car (possibly 0W but check the handbook maybe it is too good!). Mobil stuff is all over priced due to branding success in Finland (thank you Mika Häkkinen!) but you can find the exact same stuff in an Esso can 5-10e cheaper in many stores! Of course there also good Teboil and Shell oils in a lot of places.

More important is to know the what quality code API (SJ/SL) or Europe's ACEA (A1/A3) - also IIRC Puegeot have there own quality standard so best to take something that exceeds that and is marked on the can.

If you do change only once a year do it in the autumn so it is in best condition through winter. Oil will last a loong time but the filter capacity is the limiting issue most often.

This site i found a few months ago and there is loads of good car tips:
http://www.carbibles.com/maintenancetips.html
(page down to Checking your oil level - sic)

Hope this helps!

[Muddy Zuk]

wow every 3000miles! even when i was getting oil and filters free back home (Scotland) i did it at every 5000miles and that was serious overkill but it was a performance car getting abused. on an everyday run about every 10000 is plenty if you are using decent quality oils. cheap oil needs changed more often as it tends to build up sludge deposits in the engine quicker.

service schedules are moving further out as build quality supposedly improves and quality of oils does also. 3000miles seems rather excesive or a car dealer who is rather greedy!

[mCowboy]

wow every 3000miles! even when i was getting oil and filters free back home (Scotland) i did it at every 5000miles and that was serious overkill but it was a performance car getting abused. on an everyday run about every 10000 is plenty if you are using decent quality oils. cheap oil needs changed more often as it tends to build up sludge deposits in the engine quicker.

service schedules are moving further out as build quality supposedly improves and quality of oils does also. 3000miles seems rather excesive or a car dealer who is rather greedy!

My Chevy is scheduled for a check up after every 5000 miles, and lot of my US web friends do change oil that often too. They flush the tranny oli regularly too etc... No harm in driving with clean oil (except for the environment of course).

[hychamaz]

This info has been very helpful. I guess that I will go with a 5W-30 weight oil but I will ask Peugeot exactly what they use as seemingly here the API or ACEA quality code matters (especially with Peugeot reccomending something else, as per one post here, and I have no idea what IIRC is and the manual doesnt tell you anything).
I have worked in numerous repair shops in the States and no matter where you go from New York to California you will be told that your next oil change is due in 3K or 3 months whichever comes first. Or it will start to break down. Mechanics I guess are just programmed that way. I dont know of any marketing tricks in the States for Synthetic oils as 99.9% of the thousands of cars that I have worked on used regular old mineral oils as reccomended. Mobil 1 was the only Synthetic that I ever really saw used, again once in a blue moon.
I had no idea that synthetics could last that long. In the states you were told that you could go 5000 miles with a synthetic oil before it started to break down. I can see now that thats not true. Must be the oil companies wanting to sell more oil.
Thanks again for all of the info everyone and if anyone knows of anything Peugeot specific as to what to use it could save me a trip to the dealer. I must just figur eout a good way to ask them what they use as Im sure a question such as "What is comparable to your oil? TeboilSilver, Teboil Gold, Teboil Gold LL, or Teboil Diamond?" would not be appreciated!

[Jukka Aho]

I have no idea what IIRC is

It’s quite an old acronym for “if I recall correctly” which dates back to the pre-www days of Internet – Usenet, IRC, dial-up BBSes, and the like. See here for more. (Compare to IANAL and BTW.)

[Hank W.]

IMNSHO with the peugeot RTFM to avoid SNAFU with your oil. WBRGDS

Some of the stuff is from telex times when you had to pay per rows.

[No.6]

After all there is no Peugeot-specific classification. According to this link the ACEA-A3 is the recommended class of oil (BTW, that is the most general for synthetics on sale), so that's just bog-standard stuff.
teboil "Gold S" *5w-40* is a good choice, or whatever is equivalent for other makes.
Page down and there is a comparison table of various makes demands and how they have changed over the last few years.
http://www.mainio.net/print.asp?path=1; ... 0100;75188

Enjoy!

[hychamaz]

Thank you No. 6 this is great!

[bevanrl]

In the US we change our oil every 3 months or 3000 miles.

do you mean that US made models have that recommendation or all cars sold in US are treated like that ? I can't believe that cars like mine (2005 BMW) which are sold in USA in big numbers would have much different service intervals than the one I own here. i've done 40,000 km in the two years since new and first service was just an oil change at 20,000 and first major service+oil change was 40,000km.
Perhaps it's a reflection on how accurate modern engines are made but the time to the first service from new is growing longer and longer. My 1999 Saab had first trip to the dealer at 10,000km and this BMW was 20,000km !