RE:164 S Oil Consumption

["g2 g2" <g2turbo@domain.elided>]

More of my rantings on oils:

Our 164 had 130K miles when i switched it, now 138K+. My 2 cents on your
point of thinning of oil at high rmp/temps. Fully synthetic (the good
stuff mind you, and not over the counter varieties) oil is very viscosity
stable, meaning less thinning at high temp; Hopefully less likely of
blow-by, etc, and your concern of leakage thru seals etc, SHOULD in
theory be much less. I bank on this idea for myself, and seems to be
proved with the 164.

 My understanding is that syn oil is, at least Amsoil, fully compatible
with regular oils. From my components studies of dinosaur oil, with all
it's elements, such as zinc, copper, ash (you want this in your
engine??), various viscosity agents to improve flow charicteristics
(delve into that thought for a moment and you'll likely see the
weakness), anti-foaming agents (of which amsoil has none-- not needed),
and so forth.......ever wonder where all the "junk/crap" comes from?  I
don't know for sure but i bet this is partly to blame.

 Plus there is MUCH less evaporation with full syn oil (NOVAK volitility
test...most reg oils are 10-15% boiled off; Amsoil about 5-8%), perhaps
not giving a chance for sludge to form, etc. I have used Mobil 1, for
several years in one of my beater cars (16V Scirocco) and it definately
helped with easier starting, less noise in the hydraulic lifters, better
MPG....BUT one cannot safely extend the drain interval, like with Amsoil
(25 to 35K miles; depends on oil grade --- 12- 18K miles on Redline.com
oils). I guess knowing all (well some!) the tech info, such as the ASTM
tests by reading the product composition guides available at Amsoil, and
other sites, has really had an impact on me. It's that knowledge thing
again..darn!

The big question, are you, or others, more concerned about a few more
drippings or prolonging one's engine, and various components lifespan? 
(not that in 10+ yrs of full syn oil useage that i've been able to link
the two ideas-- syn oil = more leaks).

Cheers,

Gary

All with fully syn oil; some with syn trans oil, too: 91 164L 5spd....80
Callaway Stage 2+ Scirocco....87 16V Scirocco....76 Eagle 05 Bus
Conversion with 568cu/in diesel (6.5gallons of Amsoil!)

>From: Joe Elliott >To: Alfa Romeo Digest >CC: g2turbo@domain.elided
>Subject: RE:164 S Oil Consumption >Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 01:06:34 -0500
> >At 5:05 AM +0000 3/12/03, alfa-digest wrote: >>Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003
00:28:58 +0000 >>From: "g2 g2" >>Subject: Re: alfa-digest V9
#328.........RE:164 S Oil Consumption >> >>In response to the gentleman
with the 164S that is trying to >>determine >>the "proper" amount of oil
burned in X amount of miles. That i do >>not >>know. However our 164L
used to smoke a bit at startup, and would >>do a >>007 James Bond
smoke-screen occasionally at high revs and full load >>(EGR >>issue?),
that is until i put in a full synthetic oil -- Amsoil High >>Perf.
>>20-50wt. Much better oil pressure when hot, too -- sounds better >>now.
Full >>synthetic oil is much more stable and durable at high temps, and
>>does >>not thin out like dinosaur oil does, and flows much better when
>>cold. >>Plus if you're lucky like us you'll pick up some MPG's. One
note >>about >>over the counter varieties, such as Mobil 1, Pennzoil,
etc-- they >>are >>only about, on avg (different ASTM tests) 1/2 as
"good" as premium >>oils. >> Check out www.amsoil.com. They have a great
deal where you can >>buy >>wholesale. Cheers,Gary > > >How many miles did
your 164 have on it when you switched to Amsoil? > >I'm afraid that my
GTV6 (95k mi) would become Leak Central if I >switched to synthetic (rear
main seal already oozes oil at high >RPM), but I'd really like to
minimize the smoke it blows under hard >acceleration to high RPM. Are
their any synthetics that are known

>to be kinder to old engines, and their associated seals and crap?

NOT THAT I KNOW OF (any full syn is better than fossil oil)

>What about a blend like Agip Sint2000 or Castrol Syntec Blend? Are
>those any less likely to have the strong detergents that dislodge >the
crap that keep my seals from leaking? > >Joe Elliott >'82 GTV6

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