20W-50 sound like they'd be fine providing they are of the correct type of oil.

I'd say there are a lot more powerful A-series around than urs. But I may be mistaking....

So if they are doing fine then you should be. I also however understand that you've put a lot of money in to your motor and want the best so yeah. But when trying new oils, I'll just say be careful. Maybe give an A-series expert a call or call a couple, or even email some Aseries experts in the UK and see what they think and if there's a common recommendation between them I'd say it's the go.

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1964 Morris 850, 1330 Supercharged - 81.8hp atws.
1975 Leyland Mini S 1100S powered - Nice and reliable.
1977 Leyland Mini LS - Project LS-T

I dont think i said my a-series is more powerful than anyones, but my thoughts are that its a lot more powerful than standard, so a standard oil is not going to cut it.
I may be wrong, but i dont have much to lose by using what i think is the best oil for the job.

I did my research before i chose an oil, i read a lot of the old posts and
I took peoples recommendations in mind given what they were using with their performance orientated engines.
I read about castrol edge sport 25-50 and it seemed to be a good choice, designed for pushrod technology engines.

theres plenty of good opinions and recommendations from here and on the internet and from oil manufacturers, and a lot of what i've read indicates oils aint oils.

Castrol Edge 25W/50 was Castrol Formula R 25W/50, was Castrol GP50.
Only the price got ratcheted up with each incarnation.
Don't get sucked in by their marketing hype...

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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.

Yes, and it remains a very good oil, is the only oil I run in the race engine and have done so for years. But as you say, the key is changing it (& filter) regularly if you want your engine to have any sort of life.

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Steve

I thought I'd throw my 2 cents worth into the ring, and perhaps start the argument all over again.
After suffernig from diminishing oil pressure during extreme competion use in my Cooper S about 10 years ago, I contacted Penrite and asked for their recommendations.
I was using HPR 30 or 50 (depending on conditions) and it was fine except for long races in hot conditions on a track like Philip Island where you sustain high revs and full throttle for long periods of time. Oil temperature was extremely high even with a cooler, and therefore it was unable to maintain viscosity and pressure.
The recommendation was to try their 'new' 10 Tenths 25, competition engine oil, which is a synthetic with a 25W-60 rating. I was given 5 litres to evaluate and it did the trick. The engine is only 1293cc, but it revs to 8,000rpm and shares the oil with a straight cut gearbox and Quaife LSD. Since then reliability, or wear in engine, box or diff hasn't been an issue.
The oil is expensive, but I am so impressed with it that I use it in 2 other competition vehicles as well, one of which runs a small-bore A-series engine.
The general consesus in this thread seems to be away from synthetics because they are too light. This one has a similar viscosity to the other oils recommended here and because of its synthetic nature is more resistant to breaking down under extreme heat. And Doc, it doesn't leak from any seal or gasket joint.

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Curly
'64 Cooper 'S' (Group Nb spec)
'67 Mini Marcos GT www.mm7056.wordpress.com

That's the one of the shelf in the Autoshop right? The semi-synth HPR25?
It costs the same as any other Penrite HPR.

I've used that before after being reccomended, and really liked it. It was rock solid in viscosity hot or cold and didn't seem to discolour at all right up to change out. Gear changes also feel the same straight from cold through to hot as well.
It states that it is without friction modifiers so therefore with that in mind it would suit a motorbike gearbox as well!(motorcycle clutches are usually immersed in oil, so friction modifiers are a no-no) A rare gem on the supercrap shelves.

I've never heard anything said about this oil and would like to see more experience as it really seems quite good in use.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

If you want to go nuts with oil the Penrite SIN 25 sounds good. $69.95

http://www.penrite.com.au/files/64UJLXK ... d%2025.pdf

I don't think much out there beats Redline Oils.. 3.784L will set you back $123

http://www.redlineoil.com/products_motoroil.asp?productID=8&subCategoryID=1&categoryID=1

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Starlet Conversion:
http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15484

There's the semi-syth for around the 32 dollars mark.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Cool, I like KMX myself or Castrol Edge 25w50. These are the only two i use in the mini. I find both give a good feel to the gear changes.

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Starlet Conversion:
http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15484

Yeah I went back as well, not for any good reason, just because I had heard so little about the oil.

Reactions between oil used to be a savage problem leading to build up in the oil ways and galleries of engines. this doesn't seem to be a problem anymore and no-one seems to bother sticking to the one brand these days because of it.

Anyone know why? What changed?

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

HPR30

get stuck in to the black gold...

http://martiniracing.com.au/html/lubricants.htm

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No! 10 tenths is fully synthetic, I can only ever find the it at the Penrite warehouses. It obviously doesn't sell in enough volume to warrant going on the shelves at Super Cheap etal.
This is it here:
http://www.penrite.com.au/html/s02_arti ... _top_id=55
Not sure about the price, but I think it's somewhere around $75 for 5L.

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Curly
'64 Cooper 'S' (Group Nb spec)
'67 Mini Marcos GT www.mm7056.wordpress.com

i thought for competition use you drop the oil after every race meet?

SIN is more like what i was thinking, but i couldnt afford to keep buying it on a regular basis really.

my engine feels and sounds a bit nicer with the castrol edge in it now compared to before.

I now use KMX, but would still be using Castrol EDGE if the price didn't steadily go up for about 2 years. When it was Forumula R, it was good priced.

I've done 2500km in the last month since my oil change. The KMX, which is the 2nd or 3rd change i've done with it, is cleaner than i've ever seen in that car after 2500km!

I had HPR30 in for only one oil change, and was in there when my gearbox broke. I'm 99.99% sure it wasn't the oil, but still a bad omen as far as i'm concerned!!

HPR30 is too new, IMO. You want an SF or SG oil, which is SM!

Anyone know what Penrite Classic Light is like? Cost?

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