Technical Engine Oil For TwinAir.

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Technical Engine Oil For TwinAir.

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The Antarctica will need a top up soon.

How important is it to buy the recommended brand that Fiat recommend?

Clearly I would not alter the grade of oil recommended.
 
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So long as the oil really conforms to the spec - and it is rather a weird one - the brand's immaterial. On the other hand, saving a few pounds rather than being certain of what you're buying is a false economy.

By the way, so my first Antartica here in Italy the other day - sorry, think it's a mess.
 
So long as the oil really conforms to the spec - and it is rather a weird one - the brand's immaterial. On the other hand, saving a few pounds rather than being certain of what you're buying is a false economy.

By the way, so my first Antartica here in Italy the other day - sorry, think it's a mess.

That's a little harsh. They asked about oil, not what you thought of their choice of car. Sorry, I think you're out of order :(

Kudos for the oil info though.
 
I'd go with Selenia K Pure Energy (if it's the same as the 500 TwinAir, which i'm 99.9% sure it is). Some of the 4 cylinder MultiAir engine's have had MultiAir unit failure's because of oil not being changed soon enough or the wrong spec being used.

My Sister had a UniAir control failure in her MiTo TwinAir 85bhp too, which I believe is essentially a TwinAir version of the MultiAir unit, if that makes sence!?

Not heard it happen on any other TwinAir's, but Selenia's barely any more expensive from what I can tell, so I'd just go with that to give the engine the best chance.

In regards to the Antartica comments above, it's essentially a white 4x4 with a few add ons & a Penquin sticker on the door, so I dunno what there is to dislike tbh, it's hardly a controversial design.
 
That's a little harsh. They asked about oil, not what you thought of their choice of car. Sorry, I think you're out of order :(

Kudos for the oil info though.

I think you're being over-sensitive on someone else's behalf.

How much oil is the TA using? I've done nearly 9000 miles since an early precautionary oil change and have added less than a litre.
 
I've just got some oil.

The level was just above minimum and a small amount, maybe 100ml, took it up to around 2/3rds mark.
 
I used the one recommended in the handbook which was fully synthetic 5W-40.


Ok thanks, I've a bit of confusion with my 500 TA as I'm not sure if it's euro 5 or 6! It was built last week in dec 13, the handbook says 0w the fiat website states 5w when I enter my vin so very confusing. The upshot is I'm not even sure what's in the engine now!
 
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Ok thanks, I've a bit of confusion with my 500 TA as I'm not sure if it's euro 5 or 6! It was built last week in dec 13, the handbook says 0w the fiat website states 5w when I enter my vin so very confusing. The upshot is I'm not even sure what's in the engine now!

Have a read of my take on this here. Back then I said

"I'll make one prediction, though; now the TA fleet of otherwise identical cars have different recommended oil specs depending on the date of manufacture, there are going to be a lot of cars which are serviced using the 'wrong' grade of oil."

Hmmm.
 
Have a read of my take on this here. Back then I said

"I'll make one prediction, though; now the TA fleet of otherwise identical cars have different recommended oil specs depending on the date of manufacture, there are going to be a lot of cars which are serviced using the 'wrong' grade of oil."

Hmmm.


Hmmm indeed! I wonder which is worse, putting 0W in an engine speced for 4W or vice versa? My gut tells me to use 4W as that's what the engine was originally designed to use.
 
I think what's worth remembering,
oil has a grade
0W-30, 0W-40, 5W-30, 5W-40, 10W-40 etc

And and Spec,
either a manufacturers (car makers) spec
Fiat 9.55535-G1, 9.55535-G2, 9.55535-H2, etc
Ford M2C913-B, M2C913-C etc
VW 502.00, 503.00 etc

Some are successors, so an engine requiring M2C913-B can happily use M2C913-C as C replaced B sometime ago.
Some aren't.

Or
an oil industry spec which are set by different institutes depending on where in the world it's made and tested
ACEA *** (Euro)
API SAE *** (USA)
JASO *** (Japan)

Needless to say, you need the right Grade AND Spec.
Which is harder than it appears, as oil develops faster than manufacturer print or rewite handbooks.
(up till 2009 Jaguar H/B's didn't recognise Synthetic oil)

Handbooks cover all climates, Siberia to the Uconn Delta, so grades will over lap.

In the handbook, the spec could be in any format, industry (and in any institute format) or manufacturers (usually one oil will met many manufacturers specs)

On a worrying note, the main reason for turbo failure these days is owners sticking the wrong oil in, as the turbo bearing is really oil pumped into a small passage so the shaft "floats" on oil.
The wrong oil really buggers this up!
 
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Having had many FIATs and Alfas in the dark , distant past , then moving onto the Japanese for the reliability thing ( sorry ! ) I've now got a new Panda TwinAir Easy to join the family fleet - 2 Japs , 1 German and the Italian .
Anyway , all those years ago , with the old Alfas and FIATs there was forever the problem of them changing the spec or supplier of parts etc . Which , of course , created absolute mayhem when trying to source replacement bits . And the dealers never had a clue about any of this , " No mate , got to be the right bit . Must be you . Sorry , not taking it back . "
Well , the new FIAT needs some oil ( 5,000 miles ) to top-up to the max mark . Handbook specifies quite clearly 0W30 grade . Every local dealer I've spoken to , however , states it's 5W40 they put in . " Don't bother with the 0W30 , " they say . " We never put that in . The handbook must be wrong . Costs us too much anyway . You want the 5W40 . " Nor do they even stock the stuff .
So , once again , FIAT dealers haven't a clue . No wonder they remain hopeless in all the customer surveys . Anyway , could the fact that dealers are putting 5W40 into TwinAir engines rather than the correct specification ( possibly for the more recent engines ? ) 0W30 be the reason behind the spate of engine problems/failures and turbo issues ?
With the factory fitted oil I've been getting terrific mpg - upper 50's + . Even been in the mid 40's when driven with gusto . I suspect I'd lose this with the older , lower spec oil . To say nothing about the hidden damage going on !
Our Subaru Forester also gives great economy even though it's 4x4 and an auto . 0W20 is the grade recommended , though others can be used too .
So , I'm going to persevere for the TwinAir Panda and ignore the dealers and go for 0W30 . I'd be interested in your comments .
 
the two numbers in a oil rating apply to Winter (the 'W') and Summer viscosities. It rarely is cold enough to need 0Wxx oil in the UK. But an oil marked 0Wxx will be 'thinner' or 'runnier' when its cold than one marked 5Wxx giving an easier cold start. The figure after the W shows the viscosity in summer. Too low a warm rating is more of a problem than too high a W figure.

Here's an interesting read: http://www.driverstechnology.co.uk/oils.htm and (techy talk alert) http://www.kewengineering.co.uk/Auto_oils/oil_viscosity_explained.htm
 
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Fiat and oils are just blo*dy hopeless. They need to work out a reliable database that dealers can put the customers VIN or reg number into, and get accurate oil spec info, based on the vehicles build date. If they have one already clearly the dealers tend not to use it, because they never seem to know about oil. Either that or Fiat in Italy need to pick an oil spec and stick to it, instead of changing every year, especially with engines like the TwinAir/MultiAir, which are so damn fussy anyway.

Another massive bugbear of mine are the amount of dealers using other brands of oil to Selenia. Fiats service charges are pretty damned expensive for average car brand standards, so when you're paying what they charge, the least you expect is the exact oil recommended in the handbook. I recently had my Alfa MiTo serviced. The dealership was excellent, but even they used Shell Helix. Now, it might be better than Selenia, I've no idea, but if you're paying nearly £300 for a service (and they were the cheapest quote) at a Fiat/Alfa main dealer, I expect them to follow the handbook to the letter, and that includes oil. My experience seems just the same (in terms of price and different oil brands) as Fiat owners on here. My Parents were quoted £370 at two different dealers for a 500 TwinAir service, and I've no idea if that was for Selenia oil either :(

Personally in the OPs case I would go with what the handbook says. At least then if/when the UniAir control plays up, he can show Fiat the invoice and the service book and prove that he only used what they recommended - you can guarantee the dealer won't wanna know if it all goes ti*s up with their oil choice!
 
I've never any issues with putting the right oil in Fiats, Lancias and Alfas in 50 years. The TA engine HAS to have the right oil in it as the viscosity of the oil plays an integral part in controlling the valve timing (as I understand it) - my 4x4 TA has done just over 24,000 miles in 22 months; I changed the oil after the first 5,000 miles and then after I'd had it a year and it will get another service/oil change in July/August. Oil consumption is zero - so my topping-up supply - which caused some confusion at the factors as it's a diesel spec - has been unopened in two years.
 
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