Martin Hay-Plumb Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 It is run in now so I am looking at what to run long term in my Sigma 150hp engine - CC recommmend the motorsport 5-50w - but they recommend that for everything except cross flows I was thinking of a fully synthetic alternative such as Mobil 1 0W-40? I have had good experience with that in a high performance BMW engine - except it ruthlessly finds any leaks Any car which holds together for a whole race is too heavy....C Chapman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Cornford Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Thats funny. CC recommended Ford formula "E" 5w-30 to me. and even sold me some! Sigma SteVe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiF Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Always told use a cheap mineral for the first 500miles to help bed in everything RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smpward Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 I was also told to use Ford formula "E" 5w-30 by CC. It was also suggested that running in was'nt that necessary with these modern engines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akakubi Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Same here, 5W-30 and relaxed run-in. I don't like it though, as I trust the old school thinking a bit more. I will stick to the run-in guidelines and then flush it after 500 miles. I also like Mobil 1 oil and Castrol Syntheic (BMW's current choice) as they always performed well for me (no leaks here). But will these work on the Ford's unit just as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Hay-Plumb Posted June 24, 2008 Author Share Posted June 24, 2008 So a quick bit of googling suggests that the Ford formula E 5W-30 is a good quality semi-synthetic for a reasonable price - but seems to be the recommended Ford oil for all Sigma engines> I would have thought in 150bhp state of tune, briskly driven (how else do you drive a Caterham ) it would benefit from a synthetic a la Mobil 1? Any car which holds together for a whole race is too heavy....C Chapman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akakubi Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Well, see, mine is a Duratec R400, so my concern is even greater. What I am not sure about is how "tight" the engine is to allow the synthetic use in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mav Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Martin - who did you speak to at CC. I mentioned this thread at lunchtime to aftersales,a dn they are getting a defininitve from engineering, but the 5w-30 is the right stuff apparantly. Check with James in the morning at aftersales - 01322 625804 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnty Lyons Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Here we go the old running in saga again Yep very very important I know one gentleman who took it so seriously he put his car up on axle stands started the engine and put it in gear set the revs to 2500 and ran a tank of fuel through it Now that shows committment You can't be too carefull about running in a new engine jj N.I. L7C AR 🙆🏻 Membership No.3927. 240BHP 1900cc K Series 40th Anniversary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Ford Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 People seem to have failed to read the first five words: "it is run in now" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnty Lyons Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 So true Roger BUT you can't be too carefull These modern mass produced engines you know Need lots of care and very high quality oil are we sure 500 miles is enough what about all those machining and casting imperfections One can't be too carefull lots of gentle revs and no hard work for at least 1000 miles then a complete oil change and do it all again. jj N.I. L7C AR 🙆🏻 Membership No.3927. 240BHP 1900cc K Series 40th Anniversary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbo Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Johnty... I'll not warn you again BUSA POWWWER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnty Lyons Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Who what me guv never honest just trying to be helpfull Miss ole Simes he'da loved this jj N.I. L7C AR 🙆🏻 Membership No.3927. 240BHP 1900cc K Series 40th Anniversary Edited by - Johnty Lyons on 24 Jun 2008 21:03:43 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbo Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 you have been told about playing with the children BUSA POWWWER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patneale Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Can never understand why people seem to worry so much about oils in their engines! Caterham are by far the most sensible of all manufacturers in their oil changing and filter changing advice, which you will observe is much lower mileages than any other manufacturer.Having driven at least 400,000 miles in many cars over the past 20 years I have only needed to put a total of a pint of top up oilin any of my many cars over this period. ( None however was a Ford engine !). Always however replaced oil and filter at 6000 miles and not what the manufacturers say. At 34000 miles my 2003 140bhp Xpower Caterham SV has never used a drop, my 1999 1.6 Roadsport was the same. Golden rules......... Running in. 500 miles...... Never ever let it labour, but let it rev a bit in the lower gears on very light throttle,but always let the water temperature reach normal before exceeding 3000 revs. I have never found anything wrong with the range of Halfords oils... they are I think made by Comma - Caterhams "Own brand". The Halfords Motorport oil is fine and even has a picture of a Caterham on the label ! When run in treat any enginegently for the period until the water temperature is normal and allow at least 5 miles after that to warm up the oil before "red lining" it. Almost all manufacturers want to have extended service periods and put synthetic oil in from new and have the first service at 15,000 miles. The result in many cases is that the engine takes an age to bed in and uses huge amounts of oil( sometimes a litre /1000 miles) to start with. This is why Caterham use the proper running in routine of first 500 miles on good multigrade oil so all the parts bed down properly and any nasty metal bits are caught in the filter and initial polution of the oil is replaced. Haynes Manuals are interesting on the subject of oil changes. On my BMW engine they say "forget the 15,000 mile oil change indicator and replace oil and filter at half this mileage if you want the engine to last" !! Just do what Caterham recommend... Halfords oil or Comma and warm the engine up properly and you should in theory be able to run your engine just shy of the limiter for hours and hours ! Only done this once however and that was with an 'A' series engine, but that was a proper cast iron engine and not a Ford engine made from melted down saucepans ! Visited Minster ( Caterhams main engine tuner) some years ago and they run all their engines at max power for one hour and if even a drop of oil is seen anywhere on the engine it is stripped and rebuilt. Makes sense... their 200hp engine did 24 hrs at Nurburging in Caterhams one and only car which was totally trouble free and finished 11th out of 210 starters. They also run 73 degree thermostats rather than normal 88 degree ones. Heat is the enemy of every engine and oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnty Lyons Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 They also run 73 degree thermostats rather than normal 88 degree ones. Heat is the enemy of every engine and oil. Yep I can see Minister doing that with an engine for track BUT not normal road use it will never get up to operating temp Too cool is worse than too hot. 😶🌫️ jj N.I. L7C AR 🙆🏻 Membership No.3927. 240BHP 1900cc K Series 40th Anniversary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now