The latest edition of Car Mechanics magazine just dropped through my letterbox yesterday. Opened to the first page to see what the editorial page had to tell me and immediately was impressed by the whole page advert from Castrol for their "new" - even says "new" on the tin - Magnatec. Here's their website advert for it:
https://www.castrol.com/en_gb/unite...ation/engine-oil-brands/castrol-magnatec.html
I've seen them making claims for Magnatec before in relation to this "sticky" feature but never so blatantly as this. 50% reduction in wear? Really? Compared to what? is the question which immediately leaps into my mind. Oh, and I see they are doing it in 4 litre containers, a trend which is beginning to be adopted by some others too and annoys me.

Interestingly, perhaps, when I feed the Ibiza's details into their oil search it recommends their EDGE 5W-30LL with two other EDGE products as second choices. The Ibiza is stop/start, wonder why they don't recommend this new "miracle" product? Hold on though, they do recommend it for Becky our Panda! Anyone got any opinions or comments?

Pugglt Auld Jock said:

50% reduction in wear? Really? Compared to what? is the question which immediately leaps into my mind.

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compared to no oil at all :idea:

I believe the reason castrol recomend edge is because castrol edge is oem oil for a lot of vw brand cars, I know it’s the oem oil for my 2.0tdi it just comes in a vw can. Also it’s oem for mercedes and porsche as well. Chances are it may have some of the same additives as the Magnatec so a similar benefit. I seem to think edge is more expensive as well?

I know the oil for the 1.4 16v 100 HP (Multiair or not) is Mobil1 5W-30 Full Synthetic Oil.

Rocco Reviews said:

I know the oil for the 1.4 16v 100 HP (Multiair or not) is Mobil1 5W-30 Full Synthetic Oil.

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O.P. doesnt drive a panda 100 hp though

Pugglt Auld Jock said:

The latest edition of Car Mechanics magazine just dropped through my letterbox yesterday. Opened to the first page to see what the editorial page had to tell me and immediately was impressed by the whole page advert from Castrol for their "new" - even says "new" on the tin - Magnatec. Here's their website advert for it:
https://www.castrol.com/en_gb/unite...ation/engine-oil-brands/castrol-magnatec.html

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Back when our 'panda driver' tested oil and fuel

She was sat with me when an ad. for 'New Castrol Magnatec ' was shown

Oh.. we've had some of that in.. failed all our tests..

It wasnt long before a 'new improved formula' was launched..

Sceptical .. me..

* Tested vs the API SN wear limit in the Sequence IVA test, and the ACEA wear limit in the OM646LA test


So 50% more then the absolute minimum required to pass grading Tests then

So probably about the same wear as any other oil

chris3234 said:

* Tested vs the API SN wear limit in the Sequence IVA test, and the ACEA wear limit in the OM646LA test


So 50% more then the absolute minimum required to pass grading Tests then

So probably about the same wear as any other oil

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Most likely to be the case chris. Charlie uses a good word - Sceptical?

Actually I think Castrol make really very good oils and they have been doing it since long before I started "fiddling" around with mechanical things. However making spectacular claims like this, which I think all people who are knowledgeable about vehicles will view with the greatest scepticism, does them no good at all. For me it reduces the respect I have for them and edges them towards being perceived as the dodgy purveyors of "snake oil" which P.B. mentioned recently in another post about fuel additives.

I prefer the lower key factual type of approach, like Fuchs: https://www.fuchs.com/uk/en/ Whose products are at this time in the entire "family fleet" except the Rio which is still under Kia's warranty so getting whatever "uncle Arnold's bargain purchase of the month" happens to be.

By the way, how do you folk feel about the modern trend of reducing pack size to 4 litres? The Ibiza, for one, takes that at an oil change so leaving nothing in case a top up should be needed. I've seen it stated that it's being done to cut down on waste as most modern cars now take less than 4 litres and people like me who need more should just buy a 1 litre with the 4 litre if we need it. Trouble with this approach is it significantly increases cost compared with a 5 litre pack.

My cynical head, thinks the 4 litre pack was just a way to up the price without people noticing, and by that I mean keep the price the same but reduce the amount of product.

Realistically who doesn’t keep the remainder of the can of oil in the shed for top ups when we do are engine checks? If you’re going to be doing your own oil changes you’re going to do your own checks?

By reducing the amount of oil in the can, even if you do only need 4 litres in the engine, it leaves you nothing for top ups so looks like you’re going out to spend probably £10 on a litre of the nearest petrol stations finest.

Just going slightly off topic I also hate the trend with modern cars to do away with the dipstick in favour of some software on a screen telling you the oil level, thankfully our current cars all have a physical dip stick but previous cars we’ve had didn’t and I know a lot of other cars are also doing away with it. Let’s face it if someone isn’t dipping the oil then why are they going to suddenly be looking in some hidden part of the infotainment systems menus to see what the oil level is, they’re not!

AndyRKett said:

My cynical head, thinks the 4 litre pack was just a way to up the price without people noticing, and by that I mean keep the price the same but reduce the amount of product.

Realistically who doesn’t keep the remainder of the can of oil in the shed for top ups when we do are engine checks? If you’re going to be doing your own oil changes you’re going to do your own checks?

By reducing the amount of oil in the can, even if you do only need 4 litres in the engine, it leaves you nothing for top ups so looks like you’re going out to spend probably £10 on a litre of the nearest petrol stations finest.

Just going slightly off topic I also hate the trend with modern cars to do away with the dipstick in favour of some software on a screen telling you the oil level, thankfully our current cars all have a physical dip stick but previous cars we’ve had didn’t and I know a lot of other cars are also doing away with it. Let’s face it if someone isn’t dipping the oil then why are they going to suddenly be looking in some hidden part of the infotainment systems menus to see what the oil level is, they’re not!

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100% Do not rely on electronic oil level unless you do not have a dipstick.
I have recently seen a 2010 renault, oil level ok shown on display , level indicator on display showing oil just under high mark. Checked dipstick nothing on it, put half litre in still nothing on dipstick, another half litre just on bottom of stick. Getting silly at this point so decided it needed oil changed. Drained out 1 and half litres. So only had 1/2 litre in engine. Oil level sensor had failed reading normal .
Insult to injury new sensor is over £70 .
Luckily with sensor unplugged no fault shown and no level display on dash and no false oil level ok . So owner back to using dipstick. I cut connector off faulty level sensor to stop any one think oh that's unplugged I shall plug that back in.

Change the oil at the manufacturer's intervals and all will be fine. The fancy stuff might go for longer but unless you have an oil test lab in your back shed how would you know?

Make sure the spec on the can meets the spec your engine was built for and all will be good and keep the oil change at or before the next mileage interval.

HGV diesels rarely if ever change the engine oil. They have ultra fine bypass filters which scrub the ultra fine particles from the oil. On a car it's not worth the bother so we change the oil before it gets depleted.

AndyRKett said:

My cynical head, thinks the 4 litre pack was just a way to up the price without people noticing, and by that I mean keep the price the same but reduce the amount of product.

Just going slightly off topic I also hate the trend with modern cars to do away with the dipstick in favour of some software on a screen telling you the oil level, thankfully our current cars all have a physical dip stick but previous cars we’ve had didn’t and I know a lot of other cars are also doing away with it. Let’s face it if someone isn’t dipping the oil then why are they going to suddenly be looking in some hidden part of the infotainment systems menus to see what the oil level is, they’re not!

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Don't think that's cynical of you at all Andy - the supermarkets have been doing it, very successfully, for years!

My new Ibiza doesn't have a traditional oil warning light, by which I mean the wee oil can symbol lights up when you switch the ignition on for the, now universal, bulb check. However it then goes out. So when you start the engine you have no immediate indication that oil pressure has been established. I understand that if oil pressure falls below a certain level (don't know if it's Zero or 5psi or what) for a certain length of time - maybe 30 seconds? but I don't know, then the ECU will illuminate the light. I absolutely hate this! So the idea that I'm going to have to rely on another light, or even worse, some obscure indication on that "infotainment" screen (which I almost totally ignore when driving) to tell me that the oil level is now lower than I would normally be maintaining it at anyway seems to me to be a good reason to reject buying any vehicle which doesn't have a dipstick. Luckily it seems to be the "higher end" models which are adopting this, cars which my impecunious resources preclude me from owning, so maybe it'll be a wee while until the Dacias of this world take it up?

5 litres buys me a change in both cars
4+4 does 3 and a bit.. pointless for me

Our older 2012 Mini didn't have a dipstick, with the 1.6 PSA diesel engine. It was a good car and I never had any problems with it but would much preferred to be able to check the oil myself. The current 2.0L mini countryman my wife drives weirdly does have a dipstick.... I think because its a BMW engine and its a much bigger car with much more space under the bonnet.

Thankfully as VAG cars go, my golf being the cabriolet, while build in 2015 is more like a 2009 car as its the Mk6 shape (they have as yet, never made a newer golf cabriolet) so conventional oil lights, normal dipstick and everything about it is more akin to what you would expect to see from something made in the mid 2000s with all the plus sides of a newer car like a euro 6 engine and updated technology in the car such as Apple Carplay

Another thing that really annoys me about cars and oil is how difficult they make it to do a simple oil change sometimes.

The punto for example has the sump plug on the side of the sump and the whole bottom of the engine is covered with plastic panels that all need to come off. The oil filter on the 1.6 is on the back bottom of the engine, just above the subframe and so inaccessible its amazing anyone can get to it to change it, you can't get a socket between the bulk head and the filter cap. When you do open the filter any excess oil pours out onto the subframe with no way of collecting it from bellow. The sump plug is the type that doesn't remove it has holes through the middle with three outlets one the plug is withdrawn a certain amount, this results in a 'sprinkler' effect when you do take out the plug sending oil in 3 different directions.

I think the main problem with the punto is the engine is effectively designed more for use in Vans than small cars.

Aye Andy. But there seems no reasoning as to which are difficult and which not? My old 1999 Cordoba had an all enveloping undertray - all in one piece and went up both sides of the engine quite a bit so the front end had to be quite well elevated to get it out from underneath, The rear retaining screws, which screwed into the crossmember, lasted quite well but eventually stripped out so I used speed nuts - worked quite well. Also, because it was all enveloping, it stopped the steel sump from rusting - looked as good after 20+ years as it did when I bought it 18 months old.

My new Ibiza has a much reduced affair altogether so you can pull the sump plug really easily but then you really need to drop the guard to get at the filter! Well, probably you could bend the guard out of the way but you might damage it and it would still be difficult to get at the filter. I'm very impressed with the sump plug though - cast ally sump - which is a good length so has lots of threads in contact with the hole so less chance of stripping.

Our Fiats - several Pandas over the years and now a Panda and a Punto - all had/have the steel sumped FIRE engines with the conical sump plug which just "jams" itself in the hole without needing a sealing washer. I've never had a problem, never had one leak or strip threads and it's a doddle to drain Oil filter on the front of the block is easy to access too.

On the other hand I was looking under the bonnet of my pal's new Mini the other day as he thought he had a water leak. Now that's crammed in! Must remember not to promise him anything without having a look first.

My Dad's 3 series E90 has no dipstick and just a digital level which can will only show the level after about a minute or two of running... Very useful! It does bing and tell you the oil is low when it gets near the bottom of the 'virtual dipstick'.

The Twinair on the other hand has a physical dipstick, which is plastic... brown plastic... thanks Fiat, makes reading the actual level quite tricky

The 1.6 punto multijet is a nightmare to change the oil on, on the other hand the 1.3 multijet had the filter on the top of the engine right at the front of the engine bay. The sump plug was very similar to the fire engine, in the front of the sump right on the front of the car. I could change the oill on my 1.3 multijet in under 15 minutes.

The 1.6multi on the other hand you have to jack it up high as you describe jock, to get to the screws at the back of the engine cover. The drivers side front wheel has to come off and then the wheel arch liner has to be removed to get to the oil filer. All of which takes longer than the entire oil change on the 1.3. The sprinkler sump tries to decorate everything in a 12 inch radius (up down left and right) with used motor oil and what the sump plug doesn't get the oil filter will coat.

I've not done the oil on the Golf but I assume its very similar to other VAG cars of its era, (2015 era as its a 2015my engine) I know some Golfs and other VWs like the R use a vacuum to suck the oil out of the sump and being a fan of the Humble mechanic on youtube he found doing this leaves quite a bit of oil behind, despite there being a conventional sump plug.

What is interesting is while most companies are selling 4 litres of oil, the official stuff you can buy from VW is still a 5 litre bottle.... because at least they realise you want enough to do an oil change.

One thing that always annoyed me about Fiat particularly is that they recommend Selenia oil which is not available anywhere in the UK (even my nearest fiat dealer doesn't sell it) and in places I have seen it for sale, its about £20 for a 1 - 2 litre cans.

So no fiat I have ever owned has ever had the recommended brand of oil. Ironically they usually get magnatec as its quite often cheap in my local supermarket.

In fact I am so not bothered about what oils I put in my fiat's i rarely check the exact specs, if the car needs 5w/40 or 0w 30 then that's what I buy.

AndyRKett said:

One thing that always annoyed me about Fiat particularly is that they recommend Selenia oil which is not available anywhere in the UK (even my nearest fiat dealer doesn't sell it) and in places I have seen it for sale, its about £20 for a 1 - 2 litre cans.

So no fiat I have ever owned has ever had the recommended brand of oil. Ironically they usually get magnatec as its quite often cheap in my local supermarket.

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I.ve always been aware of the Selenia being available from our friends at S4p:

https://www.shop4parts.co.uk/?name=...da_III_(09_to_12)_1.2_8v_Engine_Oils_(Selenia)

But it's not cheap! I'm very pleased with my Fuchs:

https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-60166-fuchs-titan-gt1-xtl-5w-40-synthetic-engine-oil.aspx

Much cheaper and fully Fiat spec compliant.

Supermarket Magnatec offers? You seem to see them all over the place don't you, Lidl and Aldi had very good offers recently and I've seen it elsewhere. Always puzzles me a bit as Castro's prices elsewhere would seem to indicate they are into trying to maximize profits?

My cars both have supermarket Magnatech at the moment. But I wont pay the normal prices. It may well be better if oil changes are extended but how would you know. May as well keep with the correct spec oil and change it at the correct mileage intervals.


By the way, the Silkolene/Fuchs manufacturing site at Belper in Derbyshire uses a considerable volume of used engine oil. They clean it, and add new components to meet the product they are mixing.

One of their engineers told me the base oils never degrade but the additives like friction modifiers, viscosity whatevers, etc get depleted and of course fine dirt builds up. Cheap oils have less of the good stuff so become less effective more quickly. He said use them but absolutely don't exceed the service intervals and if mostly town driving, change the oil sooner than the interval.


That was a long time ago, but I doubt the sentiment has changed.

DaveMcT said:

By the way, the Silkolene/Fuchs manufacturing site at Belper in Derbyshire uses a considerable volume of used engine oil. They clean it, and add new components to meet the product they are mixing.

One of their engineers told me the base oils never degrade but the additives like friction modifiers, viscosity whatevers, etc get depleted and of course fine dirt builds up. Cheap oils have less of the good stuff so become less effective more quickly. He said use them but absolutely don't exceed the service intervals and if mostly town driving, change the oil sooner than the interval.

That was a long time ago, but I doubt the sentiment has changed.

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I remember Silkolene from way back in my youth and it was always associated with high performance applications. It was also general knowledge amongst the lads I knocked about with that it contained recovered base oils but was highly regarded as a quality product, especially amongst motor cyclist friends of mine. Relevant because they abused their engines and air cooled engines, with their tendency to have localized hot spots, are well known to stress oil to greater extremes than water cooled engines.

I think also that very cheap oils almost certainly contain less of the "good stuff" so will give poorer long term performance. Back in the days before fuel injection (50s, 60s, 70s) when engines were considerably more "agricultural" and under stressed, I would have happily used a cheap oil and changed it frequently.

Today though I think the additive packages are much more important so I would steer well clear of this sort of product. However when you start looking at the better oils I think there are many really good oils with slightly less well known names, producing product which is fully manufacturer and API/ACEA compliant - perhaps Fuchs falls into this category - which are available competitively priced because they don't have a "big" name to play with. Then there are other very well known, and expensively advertised, brands - of excellent quality - but which capitalize on their image to be able to charge premium prices.

If you find one of these premium brands in a suitable grade for your vehicle and on special offer then Woopee! However, because you can never completely get all the old oil out at an oil change and I like to run a vehicle on the same oil if I can for all the time I have it and this is difficult if you are trying always to buy a product at a reduced special price. So, after careful research, I buy a less well known brand but of high quality, like my present favourite Fuchs, which I know I can access at a reasonable price. The proof of this policy would seem to be in the "pudding" as, over many decades of owning multiple vehicles and running them out to high mileages, I can't remember ever having a problem attributable to a poor lubricant.