Fluids, the life blood of our cars

What my question is, do high horse power engines require special oil? For people like myself, who drive the car once a week, with the car sitting idle for most of the week, can you still get 5000km per oil change? Also, can anyone give me the run down on how oil catch cans are supposed to work, (as the 33gts-t already had one on there when i bought it), as well as how to change oil which is in there.

Finally, the radiator fluid in the car is pretty brown. I suspect that the previous owner either hasnt changed it in ages, or he has used water. I have heard that water has a higher thermal conductivity than the additives placed into radiator fluid to increase boiling temperature. Has anyone heard of people doing this, and what recomendations do people have for getting rid of the dredded big T?

Don't ever try to save money on oil/coolant/brake fluid.

You need a high spec oil for tuned cars. And if you got a turbo it isadvisable to change oil many times. the turbo cracks the oil. High spec oil. Has long CH-chains. these chains are needed to lubricate the bearings when under high load. due to high temps (turbo) or high pressure (crankshaft bearings)these CH-chain begin to break into shorter chains.

Cause you drive your car not regularly. and you probably try to have much fun, the oil will wear out fast.

The question about the catch, i can't give you an answer. I'm interested in the answer to.

Brown coolant can mean to things(as far as i know) rust in your system. (which is very unusual) or a leak head gasket. Which means that the oil is mixing with the coolant. That is the least funny option.

Derby

I'm sorry for my bad english.

Cheers Derby

Do you know of any brands of oil which specialise in high performance oils? I know your run of the mill synthetic oils from mobile and shell are around the $50 mark. But i have a feeling these are designed to work on brand new falcodors which have 20000ks between oil changes, despite the fact that ferraris are screaming round in all of their adds.

Take a brand. Shell, Mobile, Elf or Q8. Don't go to wallmart and get the house brand. The 'known' brands are all good brands for lubricants. Look for specs. Go down to the local gas station. take a brand oil. and wirte down the specs. Acea 1.1b, MB a1, VW 111.5. All that shit. Go to google and search for the specs and you will see which car makers are happy wth that oil. If you find one an oil that has many specs from different manufactures, your can be pretty sure it is an good oil. MB and VW standard are pretty high.

Yeah and synthetic is the best you can get. If you buy an oil which is made for 20k lifetime it is good. change it every 10k and your pretty save. it is all about the dopes that are added. The dopes nowadays are working longer and are present in higher rates. so they will work longer. Yeah and as i said don't try to save money on fluids.

Do you change the oil yourself? if you do you are a wise men already. The dealer fills your car up with an standard spec oil. The same that is put in the micra's and primera's. The less powerfull cars. So they need less high spec oil. That is gonna kill your car and you wallet.

It depends much on your driving style. You got a heavy foot your mpg is bad/low so it is gonna cost you...same with oil. fun costs money.

on the other hand. if you drive only short times (<15 miles) and you certainly don't use your turbo you have to change your oil before the 10k. So take the car out only for long runs. it saves you money, in mileage and engine/oil wear.

Derby

castrol has high preformance oils. As do Elf (competition) shell, mobile. But i don;t know the oils that nissan advises. a 0w30 is pretty good i think.

Derby

Hey derby.

Cheers again man for all your efforts. You really know your shit. Have you ever heard anything about forged pistons requiring different oils to normal pistons. i would presume there is no difference, but you never know.

I do change my own oil for that exact reason you stated. In Australia, we have a major chain of sevice centres called ultra tune, and at the back of their shop, they have a huge oil container which stands taller than 6ft, and about 4ft wide. I just looked at it and shook my head. And their assurances that it was "good stuff" didnt increase my confidence one bit.

Also, i found out that there is a line coming from the bottom of the oil sump to the engine, which should drain both when i disconnect it all together. So it shouldnt be too complicated after all.

Cheers again derby

No prob. i just can't take it when people got nice cars and ruining by driving it to wear it out. or to save money on oil.

if the forged piston need a special kind of lubricant, it will be stated on the package. but i really can't believe that's ever gonna happen. Just the high spec oil will do fine.

It is a known fact that the sports cars are filled up with a bulk oil. an oil suitable for every car. But that isn't enough for yours. So keep making your hands dirty and think about the engine.

I never had to service a car with a dry sump system(i think your were talking about that earlier) so i don't know how to change oil by suchs engines. sorry about that.

Maybe it looks i know a lot about cars but it is never wrong to ask other people for there opinion. I have no stocks in any of those company that produces good oil. So it is all fair what i say.

Now i got a question for you, it is off topic sorry. What does it mean when people end there reply with 'just my 2 cents' ? if seen it a lot but it doesn't make sence to me...

Derby

"just my 2 cents" means that "that is just what i think" or "thats just my input". Basically all it is, is a persons opinion.

I bought some Castrol Formula R. It was the second dearest oil i could find, but it is recommended for hi performance engines, with turbos. So it sounded right for me. My oil pressure is running a lot lower than before however, i dont know if thats a good think or not. I have overfilled it slightly according to the dipstick, however, from what i can assume, this shouldnt be a problem due to the presence of the oil catch can. The catch can only has oil in it when the engine is kicking arse so there wasnt any in there when i changed the oil.

Does anyone know what is the standard oil capacity for the RB25-t? I ended up putting all 5 litres of oil in and it has only gone slightly over the max level on the dip stick.

Cheers

Hey, ive done some research as to what catch cans are actually designed to do. I noticed that the one on the Skyline has a return pipe back to the sump of the engine. While i assume this is only to return "condensated oil" i wonder if this is a good idea. I would assume that the oils properties would be affected once it has "vapourised" in a sense, so should this oil be left to return to the sump? I know that alot of catch cans have to be emptied manually, so the question remains.

the low oil pressure can have two causes. the previous oil was to thick. or this one is to thin. Has the castrol oil an reference number. like 5w30 0w30 or so.

What is the oil pressure when the engine is warm (15 min driving) at idle (...rpm) and a 3000 rpm. when it is around 1.5 bar 2 bar at 2000 it is just fine.

Never overfill an engine. the engine will spit the oil out that is to much. and when you didn't do anything about the ...the way the engine handles oil vapors. (i forgot the word) the oil fills your intake. then the engine will smoke like hell and possible stalls, stops running and you can't it on until you remove the oil in the intake.

I thought a catch was related to a dry sump system. In dry sump the engine has no carter. the oil is stored at another place. this is done for high preformance engines and of the road vehicles. the the oil pump always pumps oil. instead of oil while on the long straight and air in the corners.

Thanks for the explanation about the 2 cents

Derby

The oil rating was 10/40. I think there is enough pressure, especially at the higher revs. The oil level is just above the max line, so i dont think it will cause to many dramas, and it hasent stalled yet, but i do believe there is more colour to the exhaust fumes. I have seen those dry sumps, and they look like a good idea, but i doubt its a necessity.

I dont think im getting any thing into the intake thanks to the oil catch can, so that should be all good.

Cheers agian Derby

a 10 40 is good. for a 'new' (latest generation) engine it is a little thick. But that has more to do with emissions.

Think the oil pressure is good sounds not good. At high revs it is always good even with a pump working a 50%. but it is the low revs that will kill the engine when using with low oil pressure. The pressure in the combustion chamber is high for a long period of time so when the oil pres. is low the oil can be pushed away very easily. And i don't have to tell you what happens next...

The dry sump is usefull when racing (high g forces.) or when driving off road. So decide for your self. BTW dry sump makes it possible to install the engine low in the car. good for centre of gravity...

good luck with you car. And try to keep it in one piece...

Derby

You did replace the oilfilter, right?

Derby

hey i'm looking at a 1989 skyline GTS-T and before i buy it i want to know where i can get oil filters for it thanks

The standard oil filter for the VL commodore, nissan pulsar and skylines (up to R33) are all the same i'm told. The part number for the ryco part is Z145A and is available at all auto part stores.