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What's your favourite/preferred brand of lubricant?

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What's your favourite/preferred brand of lubricant?

Pugglt Auld Jock

Pugglt Auld Jock

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Do you have a preferred brand of engine/transmission oil? and if so why?

I'm asking because I've used Fuchs for many years with first class results ie. no problems and quiet running engines - although I will consider others if the required Fuchs product is in short supply. However, it has to be ordered on line as there are no local stockists, which can be inconvenient if I need it in a hurry. Even if not buying the Fuchs product I tend to buy "big name" brands, just for the sense of security I feel it gives However, I'm about to step way out of my comfort zone. My local Factor, who I've been using for many years, recently got bought out by NAPA. They were a local Scottish organisation with 3 or 4 branches in the central belt and sold mostly big name brands of stuff like filters, suspension parts etc Now most of the stock is NAPA branded and I've no idea who makes them. Have to say quality seems ok though. I've been asking around the local wee garages I know who use this factor and feedback seems good. For some time now he's been pressing me to buy not just filters etc from him but also engine oil, which I've been resisting. Now Becky is due a service and I'm off to buy the filters etc and he's pointed out to me that one of their 5W-40 oils - NAPA PD 5W-40 LS https://napaautoparts.eu/core-assets/uploads/sites/12/2023/06/N226-NAPA-PD-5W-40-LS.pdf is fully compliant with FIAT 9.55535-S2 which is the FIAT spec for my Panda. His price gives a very worthwhile saving over the Fuchs - So - I've decided to bite this particular "bullet" and give it a try. Here's Tayna's price sheet for it https://www.tayna.co.uk/engine-oil/napa/pd5w40ls/ and I'm hoping my factor's price will be not too different. Just for your info, the Fuchs I've been using in the Panda is: https://www.fuchs.com/uk/en/product/product/150625-TITAN-GT1-FLEX-3-5W-40/
 
I have tended to use Castrol for many many years, mainly because its readily available and because it has a half decent reputation. It seems 90% of garages would have a 200litre barrel of 10W 40 in the back that they would use liberally on every car that came in (no matter what oil spec that car actually needed)

So that is what I have most often gone for, however occasionally when buying service parts they might have had a deal on something else that they stock and rate so I have given it a go.

With my golf however, having owned it from new it has only ever had the genuine VW oil which I think is Quantum ? I have never done a service myself on the car its only ever been done either by the dealership or when the warranty ran out a 3rd party VW specialist who only uses genuine vw parts, I even carry a small bottle of top up oil in the boot that is the same but have never had to use it. because I have never done a service myself on the car I have nothing really to say about the quality of the oil other than its what is recommended by the manufacturer so it can't be bad.
And honestly oil is one of those things that you don't really know if its good or bad when your only experience of it might be on a single car for an average of 4-5 years for most people before they buy a new car. its probably only people like us who keep cars for a long time who really care/give thought to what we put in our engines.
 
PuntoHowTo said:
I have tended to use Castrol for many many years, mainly because its readily available and because it has a half decent reputation. It seems 90% of garages would have a 200litre barrel of 10W 40 in the back that they would use liberally on every car that came in (no matter what oil spec that car actually needed)

So that is what I have most often gone for, however occasionally when buying service parts they might have had a deal on something else that they stock and rate so I have given it a go.

With my golf however, having owned it from new it has only ever had the genuine VW oil which I think is Quantum ? I have never done a service myself on the car its only ever been done either by the dealership or when the warranty ran out a 3rd party VW specialist who only uses genuine vw parts, I even carry a small bottle of top up oil in the boot that is the same but have never had to use it. because I have never done a service myself on the car I have nothing really to say about the quality of the oil other than its what is recommended by the manufacturer so it can't be bad.
And honestly oil is one of those things that you don't really know if its good or bad when your only experience of it might be on a single car for an average of 4-5 years for most people before they buy a new car. its probably only people like us who keep cars for a long time who really care/give thought to what we put in our engines.
Click to expand...
I think in the past most engines were "happy" if there was clean oil in them, when I started in the trade a straight 30 grade mineral oil like Essolube was popluar, then 20/50 came out and was the standard for most vehicles (when racing Karts we used Castrol R which was a vegetable based high performance oil) after that came the 10/40s etc. and now with all the emission equipment used on modern vehicles if you don't use the correct specification the engines can fail.
 
How has nobody said Durex yet?!

I used Castrol Magnatec on the Panda then in later years if there were the good old Tesco stuff of the right grade on offer, I'd pick that up. Then with the new Panda and DS3 used Castrol again. For the Avensis and CT I use the genuine Toyota bottle stuff, I'm not actually sure who makes it although I know it'll be one of the big oil companies. I think it's different by region also so hard to know...

Why? With Castrol they had the FIAT requirement. And PSA one. Same with the Toyota stuff... they had a special oil for the BMW engine diesels and then a fairly universal one for petrol's with robust engines / drivetrains fitted. I presume beyond the grade / thickness and temperature properties, the long term benefits are the additives and how well they work with said rubber seals and bits and pieces throughout the engine in keeping them healthy under a tough load and the passing of time. Of course, I'll never know first-hand beyond trusting the claims on the bottles.
 
SB1500 said:
How has nobody said Durex yet?!
Click to expand...
Wasn't that "Sensitol Lubricated" from very,very distant memory, along with Buy Two, be one jump ahead, just to divert even further from topic, there was a saying in the 70s re Andrews Liver Salts ( a popular over the counter remedy) "If the bottom has fallen out of your World, take Andrews and the World will fall out of your ???????".;)
 
Last edited:
bugsymike said:
Wasn't that "Sensitol Lubricated" from very,very distant memory, along with Buy Two, be one jump ahead, just to divert even further from topic, there was a saying in the 70s re Andrews Liver Salts ( a popular over the counter remedy) "If the bottom has fallen out of your World, take Andrews and the World will fall out of your ???????".;)
Click to expand...
 
Comma if no good deals on the other brands , comma used to provide Halfords branded oils - not sure if still the case.

Gsf drive tech oil appears ok....gsf shift loads of it
 
Pugglt Auld Jock said:
Do you have a preferred brand of engine/transmission oil? and if so why?

I'm asking because I've used Fuchs for many years with first class results ie. no problems and quiet running engines - although I will consider others if the required Fuchs product is in short supply. However, it has to be ordered on line as there are no local stockists, which can be inconvenient if I need it in a hurry. Even if not buying the Fuchs product I tend to buy "big name" brands, just for the sense of security I feel it gives However, I'm about to step way out of my comfort zone. My local Factor, who I've been using for many years, recently got bought out by NAPA. They were a local Scottish organisation with 3 or 4 branches in the central belt and sold mostly big name brands of stuff like filters, suspension parts etc Now most of the stock is NAPA branded and I've no idea who makes them. Have to say quality seems ok though. I've been asking around the local wee garages I know who use this factor and feedback seems good. For some time now he's been pressing me to buy not just filters etc from him but also engine oil, which I've been resisting. Now Becky is due a service and I'm off to buy the filters etc and he's pointed out to me that one of their 5W-40 oils - NAPA PD 5W-40 LS https://napaautoparts.eu/core-assets/uploads/sites/12/2023/06/N226-NAPA-PD-5W-40-LS.pdf is fully compliant with FIAT 9.55535-S2 which is the FIAT spec for my Panda. His price gives a very worthwhile saving over the Fuchs - So - I've decided to bite this particular "bullet" and give it a try. Here's Tayna's price sheet for it https://www.tayna.co.uk/engine-oil/napa/pd5w40ls/ and I'm hoping my factor's price will be not too different. Just for your info, the Fuchs I've been using in the Panda is: https://www.fuchs.com/uk/en/product/product/150625-TITAN-GT1-FLEX-3-5W-40/
Click to expand...

Napa oil Vw505.01 plus its low saps, for that price is crazy cheap. I would love to know from whom Napa buy it , if from genuine good blender I would use it.
 
jackwhoo said:
Napa oil Vw505.01 plus its low saps, for that price is crazy cheap. I would love to know from whom Napa buy it , if from genuine good blender I would use it.
Click to expand...
Says on the container "developed by Valvoline" when I asked the factor who supplies it he said Valvoline and American Napa website says Valvoline. I think we can conclude it's Valvoline!
 
I currently use Castrol GTX in the Seicento as sometimes on eBay with a discount code you can get 5 litres for around £20 but I've pretty much always used Castrol apart from in my first Classic Mini which for some reason didn't seem to like 20w50 that it was supposed to have so ended up running it on Triple QX 15w40 mineral oil cheap from the local motor factors at the time & it loved it 😂
 
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