Eddie Cairns Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 For the older form members your memory of engine oil availability please. I started getting interested in cars say circa 1965. I'm not talking about special orders here. I'm trying to remeber what was in Halfords or your local auto shop or garage. Circa 1965 Monograde still available on the shelf 30 weight comes to mind but 20W/50 was the only multigrade available off the shelf. Circa 1977, I remember buying some Duckums Oil not the 20W/50. I think it was called QXsomething. It was much lighter than the usual 20W/50 so assume it was 10W/40 Bought a Golf GTI in 1981 and used VW oil for changes and I think it was still 20W/50 but by say late 1986's VW were supplying 10W/40 and it was coming more common possibly later than that. I was still using ASDA 20W/50 in the wifes VW Polo. By 1995 10W40 was the standard oil on sale. It was nearer 2000 or so before some of the newer cars started using 5W/30 and today the standard oil varies between 10W/40 and 5W/30. What are your thoughts about the timescale of the lighter viscosities eddie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alec Pringle Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 10W/30 was the first multigrade, just about contemporary with the TR2 introduction and was pioneered by Philips 66. Synthetic 10W/30 didn't come in until 1972, Amsoil. 20W/50 oils came in later, end of the 50s, although they'd already been used in motor sport for a decade. Less well known than the lighter multigrades, it was the use of combined engine/gearbox lubricant (as in fwd) that brought them into general availability. This is referring to pukka production motor oils, as in API classified for road use for example, as opposed to special purpose lubricants for racing. Cheers Alec Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Eddie Cairns Posted January 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 (edited) Alec Your suggesting the Mini engine gearbox combo was the driving force in 59 or 60 for 20W/50. I think I heard that somewhere before. Was the 10W/30 ready avilable in the UK high street as I always thought it was a US oil grade. In saying that there are UK adverts for Castrol XL which i think was 20W/50 when it was a multigrade before GTX came on the scene in say 1966 but there was also adverts for Castrolite I have seen in web searches. From some research in the early days Castolite and XL were a mono grade but possibly it was a 10W30 in the early days of multigrades for cars. This is just a bit before my time but not a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! eddie Edited January 30, 2014 by Eddie Cairns Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alec Pringle Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Hi Eddie, a bit before my time too, I was only born in 1951 . . . . 20W/50 was a competition oil spec, I used to read about in Dad's American car mags as a nipper - Mechanix Illustrated, Road & Track and Hot Rod. Torco was the racing oil of preference. Once you had cars with shared engine/transmission lubrication the heavier spec multigrade oils suddenly became more relevant for everyday applications, as opposed to high performance cars. My impression has always been that UK oil manufacturers lagged a few years behind the USA when it came to new developments. Cheers Alec Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Badfrog Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 I'd go along with Alec: 20-50W was the "sport oil" reference. A good example was the Valvoline "Racing". Expensive but so chic in the boot. Then, Castrol R 40W was flashy, too. For the average banger driver, the kick was 40 or 50W in summer and 30W in the winter. A sure way to go as it was the recommendation for sporty Austins in the '30s. You had to account for the distance between walls and rings ... Badfrog, but whazzat smell? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alec Pringle Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 " but whazzat smell? " Castrol R . . . . . . Cheers Alec Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TR Mitch Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Recommended elsewhere on this forum, a much more interesting read than it's title might suggest is Which Oil?: Choosing the right oils & greases for your vintage, antique, classic or collector car - Richard Michell. Covers the development of modern oils and how to work out which one is best for your car/style of driving. Putting Castrol R in the lawnmower petrol seems to make it run ..... "sweeter" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 ...the neighbours would just love you Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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