Does brand of oil matter? - genuine question!

Hello,

I’m completing my second service on my landy (defender 90). Last year I used Castrol Magnatec (A3/B4) Engine Oil - 10W-40. I went to DLS to get a service bits and was told the Pennine version was the same, if not better. I’ve bought it but not seen anything online about Pennine oil.

Can anyone give me some advice on this? I’ve got no experience (as you may have guessed) and I’m not sure if to return the Pennine stuff and go back to castrol. TIA

Hi

personally I’ve first always looked up in the owners / workshop manual of what specification etc the oil is for ur engine

then when buying oil ensured that matches the specs , if u look on opie oils and put ur reg in it will show the oils matching ur engine

for a good while I’ve been using millers oil , they also have an oil list , indeed always bought the best oil as possible , along with a genuine oil filter , mahle is also a good make

Also very important to change the oils and filters as per service intervals , last year I only done around 1,000 miles but regardless I still changed everything

hope that helps

Opie

https://www.opieoils.co.uk/

millers

https://www.millersoils.co.uk/#a

DerbyDefender said:

Hello,

I’m completing my second service on my landy (defender 90). Last year I used Castrol Magnatec (A3/B4) Engine Oil - 10W-40. I went to DLS to get a service bits and was told the Pennine version was the same, if not better. I’ve bought it but not seen anything online about Pennine oil.

Can anyone give me some advice on this? I’ve got no experience (as you may have guessed) and I’m not sure if to return the Pennine stuff and go back to castrol. TIA

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Spec and spec, make does not matter, make is a marketing thing that people get obsessed by.
All oils have an ACEA code (the a3/b4 bit) this is the bit to pay attention to, lots of codes are now outdated and have been superceded.
I use Mannol from fleabay in all sorts of engines, specced to suit with no issues.

Oil either meets a spec or it doesn't. Maybe ssome brands maintain spec for longer during use, i don't know. Maybe some brands use different ingredients for detergents etc, probably

kermit_rr said:

Oil either meets a spec or it doesn't. Maybe ssome brands maintain spec for longer during use, i don't know. Maybe some brands use different ingredients for detergents etc, probably

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As I understand it it works like this, Kermit oils manf co makes oil to a certain spec, then they get said oil tested by an outside testing company, then if it passes kermit oils can then put that spec on their containers.
I am sure there are some shady cos out there, but I have not seen cheap shttiy oil for a long time now, you know the fleamarket 5 litres for 10 quid specials.

lynall said:

As I understand it it works like this, Kermit oils manf co makes oil to a certain spec, then they get said oil tested by an outside testing company, then if it passes kermit oils can then put that spec on their containers.
I am sure there are some shady cos out there, but I have not seen cheap shttiy oil for a long time now, you know the fleamarket 5 litres for 10 quid specials.

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I'm not sure they test how long the oil lasts before it starts to break down and lose its shear strength etc

DerbyDefender said:

Hello,

I’m completing my second service on my landy (defender 90). Last year I used Castrol Magnatec (A3/B4) Engine Oil - 10W-40. I went to DLS to get a service bits and was told the Pennine version was the same, if not better. I’ve bought it but not seen anything online about Pennine oil.

Can anyone give me some advice on this? I’ve got no experience (as you may have guessed) and I’m not sure if to return the Pennine stuff and go back to castrol. TIA

Click to expand...

I have always used Comma, Carlube, or the local oil merchants own brands. Some of my vehicles and machinery have run for hundreds of thousands of miles, or tens of thousands of hours.

As stated above^^^^^^, if you have the right grade and spec of oil for your vehicle and the usage it will get, don't waste your money.

DerbyDefender said:

I’m completing my second service on my landy (defender 90). Last year I used Castrol Magnatec (A3/B4) Engine Oil - 10W-40. I went to DLS to get a service bits and was told the Pennine version was the same, if not better. I’ve bought it but not seen anything online about Pennine oil. Can anyone give me some advice on this? I’ve got no experience (as you may have guessed) and I’m not sure if to return the Pennine stuff and go back to castrol. TIA

Click to expand...

There will be a difference, however, as @lynall said "All oils have an ACEA code (the a3/b4 bit) this is the bit to pay attention to,". the difference is in the packaging, marketing and there may also be additional inhibitors added.
Will a land rover engine know ?
No

Regular oil changes is the key, nice clean amber nectar goes in and black contaminated residue comes out. It's those deposits that cause problems. They gum up the oil ways like cholesterol in your arteries, they are rough so wear/grind away metal surfaces like cam shafts and crank shells, they block up the pores in the oil filter and reduce the flow around the engine. All of these 'effects' are bad.
The little differences in oils (of the same spec) will not adversely effect the engine of your land rover if you change the oil and filters yearly.
Obviously if you use the car to run up and down the motorway @ 70mph every day for 4 or 5 hours, pulling a laden trailor and thrashing the engine - then you may need to change the oil more often.

I use a low cost synthetic oil in my 300tdi D90
I bought COMMA last time and recently NAPA oil for my Toyota and her'indoors Audi TT.
I do only use Mahle filters, which are a tad more expensive that some but they haven't caused me any problem over the years.

kermit_rr said:

I'm not sure they test how long the oil lasts before it starts to break down and lose its shear strength etc

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No idea, but if its meets the specs then I assume it is as good as the car makers advise to use.

Must confess years ago on my old series 2 A would throw in any old oil that matched the specs , however these days with the more modern engines have found it even more confusing looking through all the specs etc

plus dont know if it’s just me but seeing more and more people getting there engines or gearboxes flushed , personally wouldn’t ever put any flushing machine anywhere near my motor

apologises as I’m waffling as per usual, lol

As long as the oil you use meets or exceeds the manufacturer's specifications, then you can't go wrong.

gstuart said:

Must confess years ago on my old series 2 A would throw in any old oil that matched the specs , however these days with the more modern engines have found it even more confusing looking through all the specs etc

plus dont know if it’s just me but seeing more and more people getting there engines or gearboxes flushed , personally wouldn’t ever put any flushing machine anywhere near my motor

apologises as I’m waffling as per usual, lol

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Old mech I knew would put diesel oil through a petrol engine to flush it. Much cheaper than flushing oil. He reckoned it worked cos diesel oil had some sort of detergent quality that petrol engine oil dint.
I reckon if you really want to clean the engine best start by removing the sump and cleaning that out. It's where all the black sludge collects.
W did once use those very high filtration filters you could get, can't remember the name of them, they worked by having two filters in them, one higher flow than tother so they were a bit bigger, but they worked well. Actually cleaned the dirty oil, which was impressive. The local stockist closed down so we stopped getting them. All I can say is that they were green in colour and taller than the conventional replacement.
(Just waffling too!)

Yes, diesel engine oil did have a detergent in, not sure if it still does. I am of the belief that sometimes a flush can cause more isues, so leave alone unless you prepared ...
Also, the TD5 had two oil filters, centrifugal up top then the standard lower down.

Does brand matter? Yes and no.
I'm not an oil engineer, but i expect different oil manufacturers use different ingredients of differing qualities to meet a particular spec.
You would expect a higher quality oil to provide better protection for longer, but a cheaper oil (of the correct spec) replaced more frequently, is likely better than a higher quality oil that's left in for longer

If it meets the spec, and not just the correct viscocity then it will be just fine, brands just make people feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

lynall said:

If it meets the spec, and not just the correct viscocity then it will be just fine, brands just make people feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

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Maybe some people.

Brands make me feel poor, and like I have paid for a name.