Forum:
Hi all just got a 2003 rally 2 with 60k on the clock. Love it to bits! am quite new to all this form stuff but have a question about oil. Basicly Ive done a service and changed the Oli to 5/30 Fully synthetic which I got from unipart after reading this was a good option. The oil is very dare I use the word thin and I'm concerned that if the engine has used thicker semi synthetic oils in the past that switching now could damage the engine due to previous engine wear and a change in tolerances. I've read lots of the oils discussions and it all seems to have got a bit 'edgy'. I don't rip the car, but I do occasionally like to go through the revs and don't want to damage the engine. I ask this also because there is a light tapperty noise at low revs and thought the wrong oil might make it worse!
Also am yet to buy spark plugs.... Any suggestions.
Any help would be much appreciated :-)
Hi, Although 5w30 is the
Hi, Although 5w30 is the factory fill grade, with a performance engine like this and the mileage now at 60k (not high i know),
A 0w40 or 5w40 fully synthetic in my opinion is a wiser choice to allow for any slight wear and better hot protection.
Any brand fully syn these days is more than up to the job so you dont need to use Mobil or castrol, Brands such as Comma/Halfords own (halfords oils are all made by Comma) meet all the latest specs.
Don't worry too much though, I'm sure 5w 30 will be Ok for now. The fact that it is fully syn vs semi or mineral has no bearing on the thinness grade at running temp. If the grade used is the same (not the W number) then the oil will be the same once up to temperature.
A 0w or 5w gives the impression it's thinner oil only because it pours thinner out the can at ambient temps.
Also, They are a quite a ticky/tappy sounding engine on the top end if i remember correctly so dont be too alarmed, Even my old Rally which I had from brand new was like this.
Your oil won't be any thinner than any other 30 grade when hot. The fact that it seems thin when pouring is good! You want it thin when cold. All oils, even the lightest cold grade ones like 0w or 5w are still actually too thick for perfect fast lubrication when cold.
All oils thin once hot and a 10w30 mineral for example will have still thinned to be pretty much the same once up to temp as a 0w30 fully syn.
Think of the W number as your cold start fast flow protection, you want it as low as possible, and the second number is the normal running temp thinness, higher is better protection (up to a point)
So you cant go wrong with a 0w40 or 5w40 for all year round protection and all styles of driving.
A 5w50,10w50 or 10w 60 would not be needed for this engine unless it was a bit tired and burning oil or abused on track days.
Spark plugs, Simple, Use NGK.
BKUR6ETB-10 is the recommended plug (seen them Ebay for about 3.50 each), or you can use BKUR6ET-10 which is basically identical same plug but easier to find Halfords etc.
I would not waste money on fancy iridium/platinum plugs.
You should also check the air filter. The Rally should have a foam "performance" panel filter fitted in the airbox, but many have now just been replaced with the normal paper style. (people not realising you can just clean and re-oil performance filters)
You can buy a performance cotton/gauze panel filter from Jetex/JR which i would say is a better media than foam (better filtration), and cheaper than trying to get the foam one.