Here is a supportive plug for DT they have a great deal on their Oil Change Kit for $42 you get 5qts of Royal Purple 5w30, oem filter, and o-ring.

I ordered mine earlier this week got it this afternoon so later this afternoon doin a oil change.

 

Using German Castrol (0W30) the UOA came back fine compared to other Mini's. It also showed I changed it to early at 5000 miles. I will run this one until the UOA shows it is worn out, then change to M1 0W40. Just to see. FYI.

 

I'm almost positive Castrol Syntec is a full synthetic. Audi actually started requiring using it on the 1.8T to prevent the sludge problems that they were having. Seemed to have worked too as long as oil changes were done on time. I do however run M1 on my pickup. I just saw that they recommended Castrol so I grabbed the Syntec for the Mini and the M1 for the pickup.

Steve

 

I believe the GC 0W30 Syntec is considered full synthetic, but some of the other Syntec's are group IIIs.

 

I believe you are right because looking at one of my 5W-30 bottles of Castrol Syntec although it says "full synthetic" on the front, it actually says in very very very small writing on the back "not for sale outside the americas" which leads me to believe that its a group 3 oil since group 3's can't be marketed as full synthetic outside of the USA

I guess I'm gonna switch to Royal Purple my next oil change and see how I like it. Thanks for the heads up Detroit Tuned and everyone else

 

Part of the confusion comes from the fact that in the U.S., "full synthetic" doesn't have a legal definition - if it's not a purely conventional oil, it's either "synthetic" or a "synthetic blend" (synthetic mixed with conventional). There are no marketing terms or buzzwords that can be used to market/label a Group IV oil that can't also be used to describe a Group III oil.

"Full synthetic" is a term that enthusiasts use to differentiate Group IV oils from Group III oils, but the courts have ruled that they're both the same thing - "synthetic".

 

dont really know too much about Royal Purple but I'm guessing its a group IV/V true full synthetic right?

 

So....Does that mean that using Redline Oil will give you 10 more HP?

Jim

( I switch between RP and RL, whichever is cheaper at the time. 162k miles and still going strong!)

 

Keep us posted on how you like the Royal Purple.

 

yeah will do....I got another 1000 or miles left before the change, probably gonna end up being around april or may cuz I don't drive the car that much not by choice but force......bald Falken Azenis' do that to ya! lol

Steve

 

Yeah, the snow belt and performance tires don't really mix, bald or not.

I had a set of Pirelli P600 an a Rabbit GTI way back when. So I am away from home and end up spending the night. It snowed and I get stuck in a relatively flat driveway. I mean the tire tracks of other peoples car are giving me fits. I called a buddy to bring up my snow tires, we swapped them, and I drove out without even spinning the tires. Lesson learned.

 

oh yeah very true, even if I had any tread left on them they are still pretty much useless in any frozen precipitation. I was going to put snow tires on my original R90's but just got so lazy and didn't feel like spending the money. That's what i have a 4x4 pickup for!

 

Does DT still have this deal?

I cant find it on their site, im assuming the deal expired...

 

Sorry the Sale Ended on the 15th. We will have another sale of sorts in the work next month. But we still have the kits on the web site, just for a bit more now.

 

What are your thoughts on chanigng the oil within the first 100 miles on the engine?

Thanks.

 

I change my oil on any new car or new engine at about 1000 miles. When I do, I catch the oil, which is always black, in a clean disposable turkey pan. I then filter the oil through a paper towel and examine the catch. I also dissect the oil filter. Really easy in the MINI because it filters from the outside to the inside, so you can just look down into the paper pleats and see what it caught.

On my 06 MCS, at 1K miles there were all sorts of copper turnings, aluminum bits and grit. I wanted that stuff out of there.

One of the things that most people do not realize is that only a small portion of the oil that your oil pump sucks up goes to the filter. It is like a tree. The trunk sucks up the oil and sends it out to all the branches. The oil filter is just one of those branches. Unfiltered oil goes to all the bearings and other places for lubrication.

It works on the principle that sooner or later all of the oil will eventually go through the filter, but not all of the oil all the time.

If the grit and scrap metal can get pumped up to the filter, it can pumped to all the other places. I want to get it out of there.

At my second oil change on a new car (at 5K miles), it is again black and always is, but no more scrap metal found in the oil or filter. I am obviously and admittedly OCD about my lube maintenance, that is just the way I am. I have torn down and rebuilt too many engines and seen too many failures from lack of oil changes to do anything else.

I find it very interesting that someone would spend whatever it costs $25-50 for an oil analysis to prove that they don't need to spend $30 for an oil and filter change. I'm not trying to bring up an old issue here nor start an oil change argument with anyone. Just my thinking.

I know the concern about the environment and using less resources. I recycle all my used oil. But I consider changing my oil, and using more oil over the life of the car, and putting more oil into the recycle industry and putting more filters in the landfill, a considered trade off compared to the possiblity of having to rebuild my engine or buy a new car because I didn't maintenance my engine enough. I don't put engines or cars into the landfills very often at all. I'm an old fart and proud of it... I think, hehe.

YD

 

Do you have any documentation for this? It was my understanding that oil systems *used* to work the way you described, but that modern engines (i.e. at least as far back as the 60s/70s) work on a "full-flow" system, where *all* of the oil passes from the sump through the filter before going anywhere else.

In fact, AMSOIL makes a "remote bypass filter" kit for the specific purpose of converting modern full-flow systems into a "partial bypass" system similar to what you described.

With the AMSOIL kit, 10% of the oil coming from the sump is diverted away from the factory filter into a second filter that uses an ultra-fine mesh to catch particles that the normal full-flow filters can't catch. (Full-flow filters have to let the really tiny particles pass through, because otherwise they can't pass oil through fast enough to keep the engine supplied with enough oil.) Eventually, all of the oil in the car makes a trip through the second filter, but it may take many passes.

 

Just take a look at the oil circulation diagram on most any engine and see where it goes.

YD

 

Any links to one of these diagrams, I'm not finding anything with a Google Search.

 

I just opened my Bentley and cannot find anything... I may be totally wrong, not the first time for sure, but this is the way I understood how they worked.

I'll be the first to say I'm wrong and sorry for putting out bad info, I'll keep searching myself and see what I can find.

YD

 

Just my 2 cents (as a former automotive/heavy equipment mechanic): I haven't seen any oil circuit diagrams for our MINIs, but I can assure you that modern engines all have full-flow oil filters.

The last engine I worked on with just a bypass-type oil filter was on a 1978 Pettibone forklift.

 

Real OEM isn't much help either as the filter and housing assembly and oil-pump are on different diagrams although it looks like the output of the oil pump flows nearly directly to the oil filter.

 

I'm finding lots of online references that refer to the MINI oil filter as a "full-flow" design. Also, the Haynes manual for the 1959-1969 Mini specifically says that it's a full-flow system and that all oil passes through the filter before it reaches the main oil gallery. I can't believe that they'd go from a full-flow system in the classic Mini to a bypass system in the MINI.

Edit - Here's a quote from BMW's internal memo "Introduction to the MINI" (quoted in this thread):

"Lubrication System
The lubrication system is the full flow filtration pressure feed type. The oil fill process at the factory allows for a tolerance of 4mm above and 4mm below the maximum mark on the oil level dipstick. The oil level will depend on the oil temperature and length of time from the last engine switch off.

Oil Circuit
Oil is drawn up through the oil strainer to the oil pump, which is located at the front of the engine: the oil pump delivers oil under pressure through the full flow oil filter to the main oil gallery.
The main oil gallery runs the full length of the engine block and delivers oil to the main bearings. Diagonal drillings in the crankshaft webs deliver oil to the connecting rod bearings. The cylinder bores and connecting rod small end are spash lubricated from directed slots in the connecting rod thrust collar.
The main oil gallery also supplies oil to the cylinder head assembly via a vertical hole on the exhaust side of the cylinder block between bores two and three. The cylinder head gasket incorporates an oil restrictor to ensure that oil volume to the crankshaft is maintained and oil volume to the cylinder head is reduced.
Upper engine lubrication is provided by one main feed to the number three camshaft bearing cap. Oil is then routed through the rocker shafts to the remaining camshaft bearing caps and rocker arms/hydraulic lifters. Oil returning to the sump pan from the pressurized components supplies lubrication to the valve stems."



It appears that all the oil in the MINI engine goes through the oil filter before it goes anywhere else.

 

It appears I am incorrect, sorry for any concerns. I will take the back seat and be quiet.

YD

 

Hi gang. I'm a real novice at car maintenace

I've always leased my cars in the past, so I didn't go overboard on the care of my engine. However, I've just purchased my MINI Clubman and really want to baby it.

A few questions regarding the simplest of tasks:
1. How do you get under your MINI to perform your oil changes?
2. Is it easy to take the bottom pan off to check to oil debris?
3. How do you dispose of the used oil?
4. Any other basic questions I've missed?

Thanks.