Silly 4G32 oil question

[VGJONO]

Just wondering what oil you guys would use in a 4G32 that has only done 20,000klms since rebuild, the engine is mostly daily driven with some spirited drives on mountains and what not every now and then and track days every now and then. just wondering as it seems my choice of 15w50 wasnt a good one, but the recommended 20w-50 just sounds too thick to me for an engine that hasnt seen much work. any help would be appreciated

Cheers
VGJONO

[Jordan1249]

I use 20w-50 in my 4G32 and pretty sure previous owner did as well after its rebuild and it was his daily as well as rally car ahah

[davetrees]

What's wrong with 15W50 ?

I'm using Penrite HPR15 (which is 15W60, fully synthetic) in my freshly-rebuilt rally engine and have done since it's first 500km of running in.

This was recommended by the guy that built it. Engine has now done probably 1500km or so (including 3 events).

[cheaterparts]

Just wondering what oil you guys would use in a 4G32 that has only done 20,000klms since rebuild, the engine is mostly daily driven with some spirited drives on mountains and what not every now and then and track days every now and then. just wondering as it seems my choice of 15w50 wasnt a good one, but the recommended 20w-50 just sounds too thick to me for an engine that hasnt seen much work.
Cheers
VGJONO

myself I would use HPR30 penrite how ever I know plenty that use lighter oils
the biggest thing is doing regular oil changes - and the harder you run your engines the more offen the changes should be

[75glnt]

I use the same stuff.. If you read the fine print on the bottle, it says suited to engines running 20w50

[VGJONO]

Cheers for the replies guys

What's wrong with 15W50 ?

a few weeks ago i went for a drive to the sunshine coast which meant highway driving, started off doing 100kph @3200rpm and 60psi of oil pressure, about 45 minutes into the trip @3200rpm i had 40psi, i took it easy and stopped a few times when i noticed the pressure dropping and once letting it cool off i would get on the highway and it would be back upto 60psi, i had a talk with some people and they suggested it was the wrong viscosity oil.

Im about due for a service again so i will give HPR30 a shot, i dont baby this car around so i want to make sure i get the servicing correct so i can make it last.

Cheers
VGJONO

[tandanus]

Penrite is good oil imho - I used it in my Ducati.
However, the Ducati was a high performance motor.
Unless your 4G32 has really been worked, especially the head, it probably doesn't qualify as a high performance motor.
No offense meant. I love Saturns to bits.
I've always used 20w50 from Woolworths, or Castrol GTX if I couldn't get Woolies brand.
No problems ever.
You can spend a lot of money on oil, but personally, unless there is really sound reason for doing so (anxiety and vanity don't count), I'd be using Woolies in a 4G32.
:-)
T.

[VGJONO]

im going to these measures as i recently learnt how much was spent on my 4G32 by the person who built it, sadly i dont know all the specs but i have been able to find out that it has a decent amount of headwork done (to what extent is unknown), regrind cam, 40thou oversized pistons (dished low comp ones for a turbo) and my guess is as much forged bits and pieces thy guy who built it could get a hold of (the only way that much money could have been spent). although not running boost yet it does cop a fair but of abuse so i want to take care of it the best i can. the motor this one replaced was fed woolies 20w50 though, got too expensive to be buying good oil at the rate it went through it

[davetrees]

There's not that much difference in price between known, good quality oil & "cheap stuff" ... so I use the good stuff & change it regularly (every 2 or 3 events). Cheap insurance I reckon. The day I can't afford to spend $40-odd on oil a couple of times a year, it's time to stop rallying .....

..... and while I agree that my engine isn't necessarily "high performance", it does spend most of it's time pulling lots more revs than your average road car would so I figure it can use all the quality lubrication it can get !

[cheaterparts]

There's not that much difference in price between known, good quality oil & "cheap stuff" ... so I use the good stuff & change it regularly (every 2 or 3 events). Cheap insurance I reckon. The day I can't afford to spend $40-odd on oil a couple of times a year, it's time to stop rallying .....

..... and while I agree that my engine isn't necessarily "high performance", it does spend most of it's time pulling lots more revs than your average road car would so I figure it can use all the quality lubrication it can get !

my astron would get an oil and filter change before every event it didn't matter if that was a hillclimb - sprint or state race round

and a hillclimb would be at most 10 Km of running ( hard running over 7000 rpm ) of cause like dave has said it's cheap insurance -- every oil change the oil would be droped into a clean draining pan then the oil was put in a clean container for my road car
a small amount of oil left in the draining pan would be checked for any metal or other materials before the next outing

heres the reason if you finish racing and everything seams good like temps and oil presure - you dont feel any strange vibrations or noises
the only other thing you can check without tearing the engine down is what comes out in the oil
so its worth doing a little gold panning for debris
if there is anything a bit sus then cut the filter apart and check what in there

heres where the insurance comes in if your engine seamed ok but you found some bearing material in the oil or some thing that should not be floating around in the oil
it would be better to pull the engine down a repair it before it blows up properly

[tandanus]

Fwiw, I think the best insurance is changing the oil regularly - and, as suggested, checking for debris (and carbon).
For me, cheap oil made it more likely I would do that more often.
So, I agree with what's been written by the HP folk above - I've been here long enough to respect their views.
Which approach you take depends on the sort of person you are.
In the end, we all want to look after our machines as best we can.
T.