HELP required..please read

I need some help...especially the TECH if possible. I have a C280 with FSS. Ok I have just drive my car for approx. 15000km, and at 15000, just few days ago I did my first oil change. I was using conventional oil before the change, but at the change I switched to Mobil 1
I've heard it is not ok to switch that soon considering the engine is not fully breaking in yet....is it true?
people said it might burn up the engine.....and I am curious about it too.....

will there really be any side effects if I change to mobil 1 that early?

I know the one about burning the engine sounds pretty stupid, but I just want to know if switching to mobil 1 early is a good idea or not



[Edited by SKY on 06-24-2001 at 02:39 AM]

[joel]

just drive and enjoy your car, cheers!!

its broken in enough. some cars use mobil 1 as factory fill.

[stevebfl]

There probably isn't a hotter topic at any level of auto interest.

My answer to all questions about brands, viscosity, service interval, etc., is to point out that we see absolutely no oil related failures in modern engines using almost any service plan.

I hate to say this but you are probably only maintaining that car for future owners, because as a new car owner it is VERY, VERY unlikely that you will have the car till any of this matters (let alone 100,000 miles).

The current service problems we see are from cars traded at the end of warrantee by people who did at best the ridiculous intervals mandated by the marketing people.

Hi...thanks for everyone's reply
I really appreciate it
another question is I learned that on the market is 5w30, 10w30 and 15w50. but the 15w50 don't have the "AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE for gasoline engines certified" stamp and also missing the "energy conserving" 5w30 lable like the others...has any one use 15w50 and what does that means if missing those lables,stamps? but I didn't find out about this until after the oil change

and for my first oil change, I use the 15W-50 one....the reason was that before the change, my car quite often runs up to 90-100 degrees celcius....so I figure since my engine is hot running, I should go for 15W-50 one.......did I do the right choice?

[Edited by SKY on 06-24-2001 at 01:18 PM]

[stevebfl]

Oil viscoscity is another hot subject. For years I used 20w50 Castrol in everything. Being in Florida, it fit in MB's chart.

Over the last decade I have read much that says that the largest source of wear in a motor comes in the first instances before the oil pressure is stable in the motor on cold starting. Based on these findings. it is widely recommended that light weight oils be used as they fill quickly and the pressure is stabilized more quickly. We have been using 10w30 Mobil 1 in cans untill we get a 55 gal drum. I think we will use 15-40 after that. We then will have three types of oil: 20w50 dino, 10w30 synthetic blend, and 14w40 Mobil 1.

Originally posted by stevebfl

Over the last decade I have read much that says that the largest source of wear in a motor comes in the first instances before the oil pressure is stable in the motor on cold starting. Based on these findings. it is widely recommended that light weight oils be used as they fill quickly and the pressure is stabilized more quickly

I am sorry, but I still don't quite understand yet
and as for light weight oil, what does it mean by light weight?

and where do you get 15-40? I couldn't find it anywhere...my dealer recommends 15-40 too, but I couldn't find it so I settle for 15-50....is 15-40 also a synthetic oil?

and I will appreciate if someone can tell me about what it means to be missing those stamps I talked about earlier on the 15W-50 bottles.....

sorry for asking so many questions, but I would really want to know the answers

[stevebfl]

By light weight I am referring to viscosity. Thinner might be a better term. The concept is that the thinner oil will get lubrication to areas measurably faster than a thicker oil and the belief is that this small amount of time (probably measured in seconds) makes a big deal. Such a deal that it becomes more important than the decrease in wear caused by higher oil pressure available with heavier oils.

The description 15-40 is a measure or statement about viscosity not its source. I say statement because the actual viscosity is a single number say 20w. The statement 15-40 infers multi-viscosity. The statement is that when cold the oil will exhibit characteristics of a 15w oil. This would be thin and a benefit to quick lubrication. The 40 refers to the statement that when hot the oil will exhibit the characteristics of a 40w oil. This will mean that it will carry more oil pressure as a heavy weight oil might. Actually a multi-viscosity oil is just the opposite. It is an oil that has its viscosity stabilized (in other words it is mostly the same viscosity all the time). So it can be thin when thin is cool and thick when thick is hot.

Synthetic means that it is created from chemicals not pulled from a mixture as is dino oil. The benefit here is that the synthetic can be designed to handle a situation whereas with dino oil you can only pick the best of what's there already. The stabilization of viscosity is one of the main design factors in synthetic oil.

Thanks
I am beginning to understand what you mean by thin and thick and the concept of think oil spreads sooner than thick oil......
let me just clarify something....for 15-50....so 15W...the 15 stands for the thickness reading in winter....would the 50 stands for hot temperature reading?....so would that means in hot temp, the oil is thick and harder to spread around and therefore increase motor wear???

[autozen]

Sky,

Just to add to Steve's explaination about viscosity,the numbers of 15W and 30W etc. are directly related related to the viscocity of the oil in Saybolt Universal Seconds. In other words an exact amount of oil is poured into a container, and the omount of time it takes to drain through a precisely metered orifice at an exact temperature ( I think it's 100F) is measured in Saybolt Seconds.An oil with a viscosity of 30 would take twice as long to drain as an oil with a viscosity of 15. Tribologists can use this measurement standard in machinery design. I hope this helps you understand the numbers on the can, Sky.

Peter
Auto Zentral Ltd.

[stevebfl]

Look back, I said: "Actually a multi-viscosity oil is just the opposite. It is an oil that has its viscosity stabilized (in other words it is mostly the same viscosity all the time). So it can be thin when thin is cool and thick when thick is hot."

It isn't deciding to be one thing one time and something else later. It is a "Statement". It is trying to show how a particular type of oil does differently than previously. In other words: Old dino oil, 40w. When it is cold it is actually 90w (example only), when hot it is actually 10w. Now we look at viscosity stabilized oil (multi-viscosity is the term). When cold it probably is probably 40 weight, when hot about 20w. Its properties at cold temps are like those of a 15w straight weight oil. Its properties at engine temp are similar to a 40w oil. The range is different.

I hope you are getting this as I am getting confused (bg).

ok....after all this discussion....i only have one question in mind.....would 15-50 mobil 1 be too much for my C280? I thought my car is hot running since my friends' mercedes don't usually go over 90, (in fact it rarely goes over 90) while mine goes over 90 easily...but apparently that is not hot running....so would it do damage to my car since i already put 15-50 in?
if yes, what should I do?
I live in Vancouver where temperature are usually in the 10-20 celcius (50-70 F degree)..in summer around 20-25 degrees (70-80 degree F)
sometimes it reach as hot as 30 degree celcius (85 degree F) in summer and as low as minus 5 to 10 degree celcius (20-25 degree F) in winter.....most of the time in winter are around 0-10 degree celcius...(34-50 degree F)


[Edited by SKY on 06-24-2001 at 05:31 PM]

I find that FSS interval somewhat ridiculous too, but the dealer keeps saying the interval is the way to follow

BMW's interval are even longer at 20000km.......I will follow ur advice and change oil after I drive it for 7500km
one of the problem is I am not a DIY person, so I might need to find some place to help me change the oil....will the dealer help me change it even if it is not at FSS interval???

as I mentioned before the 15W-50 don't have the "AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE for gasoline engines certified" stamp and also missing the "energy conserving" 5w30 lable like the others...what exactly does "energy conserving" means?





[Edited by SKY on 06-24-2001 at 05:54 PM]

Thank you for the clarification
I would like to try changing the oil myself, but I fear I would screw it up, and screwing the car up is the last thing I would want...therefore I feel better to have people who knows how to change to change it for me. I would love to give it a try, as long as there is some TECH to help me or as long as the first try is not done on my car LOL


thank you and steve for spending the time on the inputs and replies

Call me old-fashioned, but I still like the notion of draining the oil from the bottom. I buy my own oil and filter and visit my friendly mechanic, who does the work. Just got back, in fact. Labor was $15, and for the money, I got a thorough inspection, too. Also, I follow the recommendations in the owner's manual, and because this is summer, I put in 20-50 Castrol, which was recommended by an MB mechanic. Regarding frequency, my policy is better safe than sorry. So I pop in for a change every 3,000 miles. I asked my friendly mechanic about Mobil 1, and he said it's fine if that's what the car started out with. But if you're switching, you may encounter some problems. That has been his experience. Oil, from what I understand, primarily does two things: It lubricates, and it traps stuff. As far as the lower viscosity is concerned, I would think it's better to stay in the high end in summer. That way, not all of the oil drains off crucial engine parts when the car sits. In winter, of course, when temperatures dip, the problem changes, and you want to use a lower viscosity so that the engine turns over, is lubricated at the outset and continues to be lubricated while running. I have an '84 380SE that is getting ready to turn 134,000 miles. Purrs like a kitten.