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[musmart]

Time to do some service and want to know what you guys think is the best engine oil to get for the brabus forfour.
brand?
i was told 5w 40 but any other best recomendation welcome.
thanks

[CrazyG]

Answers as per previous posts/questions are given here :-

Oil spec info - http://www.forfour.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=156.0

Oil change info - http://www.forfour.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1129.0

[GizzyWolf]

I went for 5w40, fully synthetic 

[mr singh]

most jap engines use 10w30.
i asked my local motor factors and they gave me 10w30.
might sound daft but im tempted to put some Jaguar 5.0 litre engine oil in.
it cost about £20 PER LITRE !  special stuff

[mituc]

The 10w oils are too thick at low temps even for the UK where it's not that cold. Don't use that. The 10w oils are for engines with more open tolerances, either because they are worn or just old, even though the rebuilt old engines these days get 5w or 0w oils.
Also, the small difference between the cold and hot viscosity makes me thing that the oil you've got is semi-synthetic, so one less reason to put it in your engine.

[cecil]

Hi M
I use mobil 1 in mine.
Generally I would recommend fully synthetic, especially as I have an idea of your engine and its capabilities. This means every molecule of oil has been made to the specification chosen. Standard has been refined from dinosaurs. This can mean that the standard does not stay in spec for quite as long.
As a simplification the first number should be as low as possible to stop wear on starting.
The second needs to be high to provide protection when hot. If it is too high mpg can suffer. The molecules open up as they get hot to make them appear thicker.
http://www.upmpg.com/tech_articles/motoroil_viscosity/

Given the time and effort you have spent on yours I can understand why you are asking- also why you want to get it right.
 Consider the turbo bearings. any carbonising here will slow the spin up but not the overall boost pressure. This is the reason why I choose a fully synthetic- it is less likely to break down at high temps.
Hope this all helps

[mr singh]

As a simplification the first number should be as low as possible to stop wear on starting.
The second needs to be high to provide protection when hot. If it is too high mpg can suffer. The molecules open up as they get hot to make them appear thicker.
http://www.upmpg.com/tech_articles/motoroil_viscosity/

i would beg to differ on that.

my uncles old (2000/V) toyota avensis took 10w30 oil but on 1 service i put 5w30 and he said that the MPG improved with the 5w oil over the 10w. both the oils 2nd number was 30... so how does that work out?

[cecil]

Short trips with a cold engine. The lower viscosity of the 5 compared to the 10, when cold, seems to have a beneficial effect for him. It depends on the ratio of long and short trips.

[Brabs]

If you took your car into, say a MB/smart dealer for a service they would just put in the oil as recommended in the service schedule. So why not do the same? Try not to over analyse. 

[mr singh]

Short trips with a cold engine. The lower viscosity of the 5 compared to the 10, when cold, seems to have a beneficial effect for him. It depends on the ratio of long and short trips.

his trips involved several trips to birmingham before the next service, so you could discount the short trips.

If you took your car into, say a MB/smart dealer for a service they would just put in the oil as recommended in the service schedule.

you are right and wrong at the same time brabs.
Mercedes recommend using certain oil brands, viscosity and/or low SAPS oil for diesel engine.
1 dealer may use 0w30 but another dealer may use 5w40, 1 dealer may use Shell and another dealer may use Castrol, 1 dealer may use the same oil for both petrol and diesel engines and another may use 'low SAPS' oil for diesels.
the service scheduled (service sheets) states to replace the oil and filter but doesn't state which oil to use

it all depends on the word from who owns the dealer and where there account is set up... a Pendragon (Stratstones/Evans Ealshaw) dealer may use Castrol, an Inchcape dealer will* use Shell, a JCT600 dealer may use Mobil 1


* i work for Inchcape and we have to use Shell even though Jaguar state we should use Castrol, so we have both to keep every one happy

[CrazyG]

MB 'dictate' what oils are used for servicing their cars by ANY
garage or dealer authorised/approved by MB. They are not given a choice.
S2smarts confirmed that this comes in MB labelled 45 gallon barrels.

Many oils are available that meet the MB specification, but....
from what I can gather, MB dealer's or MB authorised garage's must
only use oil supplied to them under the MB label, otherwise they are
in breach of the terms of their contract and the warranty on any car
that has had non-genuine oil used in it is invalidated.

[Brabs]

The point I was trying to make is that I'm guessing that most people would take their car in for a service and accept whatever oil the dealer put in the engine. They probably wouldn't even ask. I can't imagine that many would even think of questioning what make or grade it is. As long as it meets with the manufacturer's specification requirement then why would it not be suitable?
A friend of mine recently bought a six year old Corsa (petrol 1.2) with about 70,000 miles on the clock and then immediately insisted on changing the oil to Castrol Edge at about £40 a pop... because in his opinion it was the best oil. Maybe so I said but you have no idea what the previous 3 owners put or had put in it! Ho hum eh? His money, his car! 

[mr singh]

MB may dictate what oil is to be used in there engines BUT if you took your car else where for servicing during the warranty period, which you are aloud to do as long as the garage you use uses genuine service parts and stick to what is required at the given service, but how would mercedes know if the oil put in conformed to MB standards? as far as i know only 1 manufacture know what oil is filled in there engines from what i hear in the motor trade and its KIA as they have a dye in the oil, so they know if its proper oil or not

[Brabs]

I'm not saying that MB would know what oil was put in the car. I'm saying that Joe public would take their car in for a service and be obliviously unaware and probably couldn't care less what oil was put in, as they would accept that the dealer would use the recommended stuff. That's all! 

[mr singh]

thats my point aswell brabs... How would Mercedes know what oil has been filled at service?