Hey to all,
Just a quicky, what type/grade of oil should i be using in my mini (1970) the manual says 20/50 but i got told that todays 20/50 is different, can anybody help me out? thanks.

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With great power comes great responsibility. It also comes with one kick ass ride.

buy a 20w50 for older engines.

Cheers

Aaron

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You are correct, there are many types of different 20w50 oils. You need an oil with an SF or SG rating. I use 25w50 Castrol Formula R (the one with the black label) which has an SG rating.

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Yep that one is good, same as the old GP50, according to Castrol.
In newly rebuilt engines I run Valvoline SF 20W/50. Seems to hold pressure good when hot, and it's cheap- $10 for 4L.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

thanks for the replys, this forum is great!

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With great power comes great responsibility. It also comes with one kick ass ride.

Can I ask the same question but for my car? I've got an A+ engine bored to 1330 with upped compression and mild cam. Do these mods affect the type of oil I should be using?

I need to add some oil so I thought I might as well change it all seeing that I'll be buying some and don't really want to mix two types. I don't know what type the previous owner was using and I don't particularly trust him to have been using the right stuff so I won't even bother asking him.


Also, what do these SF and SG ratings mean?

SF and SG are the ratings of the type of oil. THis is listed on each bottle. Im not quite sure what it means, but i know that with an older engine, SF and SG are the best. It is possible to use an oil with a higher rating, ie SL or SH etc..., but these aren't good for your gearbox, which shares the engine oil. SF and SG oil is like the oil that was sold back when minis were first released.

Does that help???

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Introducing 'LITE'. The new way to spell 'light' with 20% less letters!

I don't know my name anymore.

It helps... now do I use the same oil as an unmodified engine? Because when I spoke to the guy who built the engine he said, "Remember, use only xxxxx type of oil"... The problem is that I can't remember what oil he said and I've since lost his phone number. I could probably find his number if I looked hard but I am constantly finding mistakes he's made assembling the car so I don't think I want to trust him to know what he's talking about anyway.

I'm running a modified A+ engine in Barney, he's got a Tighe 104 cam, twin HS4s etc. I use the same Valvoline SF 20W/50 in both our Minis for road use.
For track days it's the Castrol Formula R 25W/50..

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Why do you use different oil for track days? What is the difference that makes it suitable for one and not the other?

It's a thicker base oil, thins out less when hot under hard driving.
I actually do use it on the road too, particularly in the hotter months- but at the moment both cars have new motors so are running the cheapo Valvoline to bed in.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

So for non-regular use (ie: 3 days a week) what oil would you recommend? I want to do what's best for my little baby and would like to feed her fluids she would enjoy having in her belly. I will be taking her up Mt Tarrengower (Hill Climb) in October and pobably wont change the oil again before then, bare that it mind when making your suggestion.

HPR30 in my beast.
Good stuff to use; a noticeable decrease in the blue smoke on cold mornings.
Its good stuff, and not too expensive

I'd go the Castrol if you are going to fang it hard, or as willy said Penrite HPR30 is pretty good too.
If you buy the Castrol read the bottle- there are 4 different `Formula R' oils. Get the 25W/50 one...

Depends also how much $$ you want to spend.
I change it every 1500 miles....

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

$$$ is not a massive issue... i'm not made of money but it's an important thing to have the engine running at it's best so i don't mind spending a little bit.

Damn, every 1500miles is a lot more frequent than I would change the oil in my Cressida. Is it really necessary to change it that often?