Forums Forums Enthusiast Forums A - Z Autowirral Cheapest engine oil?

Hi All,

Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

Just wondered if anyone knows the cheapest place to buy car engine oil?

It's for a 1.6 Petrol Zafira on a V plate if that helps.

Cheers,
Volly

Don't use cheap oil if you like the car, oil is the blood of the engine, spend a few quid extra and get some decent stuff... Catsrol Magnatec or Shell Helix only for me.

Btw, National Tyres use Castrol Magnatec and Edge, dependent on the engine, and they do oil and filter changes for less than what you can buy the oil in the shops. Not really worth getting your hands dirty, unless your doing other work to the car, or its a performance vehicle.

Lot of Vauhalls cars need A3 oil, Vauxhalls recommend full-synthetic but as long as is A3 it shouldn't matter that much.

Cheapest I have found recently was Wilkinsons (£7.99 for two litres), I think it was 10W-40. Looking in ASDA tonight, they weren't too far behind.

A3 oil is dear unfortunately.

Don't be fooled by oils that say they meet the latest Ford specs, they don't have to be A3 but just A2 or A1.

If you need to top up your oil regularly, I can't see the advantage of using an expensive oil, the reduced amounts of additives will also be topped up every time.

If your car never/rarely needs topping up then it will need all the additives it can to last the full service interval and can justify an expensive oil.

ASDA's diesel oil was rated at A3 as well (A is petrol, B is Diesel, many oils have both ratings), I was tempted because it was a good price but worried it was a misprint.

Thanks for the replies.

We do have to top this up quite regularly so I guess the cheaper ones would be ok.

I'll be going down to Wilko's later, lol.

Thanks again

could try LVW 0151 6661000

hangon NETTO in wallasey have a 5LTR for £6 i think only 10w 40 tho

think asda's own cheapy 20w 40 4/5L is around the £6 mark too

My dad has been using the cheapest of the cheap since he driven cars and not had a problem. I can't say most of the special lubrication claims are just gimmicks, but unless you drive enthusiastically, I think you can use any old stuff. I wouldn't trust it to hammer round a racetrack though.

On a car that doesnt get driven hard i dont think it matters so much but either way, id always recomennd the best oil you can afford. Expensive oil is expensive for a reason, and you do get benefits like better protection and more efficient running.

You need to look at the ACEA rating of oil A1, A2 or A3 for petrol or B1, B2, B3 or B4 for diesel. This is the quality of the oil and how well it lubricates. Car manufacturers always specify a certain minimum grade. The grades go up to A5/B5 but I have never seen them, guess we would be into F1 oils at those ratings.

The ratings are for many things including temperature stability, foaming, sheer (high speed forces), sludging any many more.

Clicky ACEA Specs

The 10W40 etc is just the viscosity at different temperatures and most ratings are suitable for our climate. Occasionally a manufacturer will specify a different viscosity especially where they have had problems with narrow oil-ways getting clogged. Sometimes it is specified to obtain a better MPG.