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From: Cicero on 31 May 2010 12:26
John Henderson wrote:
> Cicero wrote:
>
>
>>I had no idea either (about the oil designations) so I did a
>>quick 'google' and found this:
>>
>>http://www.driverstechnology.co.uk/oils.htm
>>
>>Part of the information seems to contradict Astra Manual
>>information since it appears that A5 oils are one of the
>>best grades:
>>
>>"Put simply, A3/B3, A5/B5 and C3 oils are the better
>>quality, stay in grade performance oils."
>
>
> A "better" oil might not be a suitable oil, for a number of
> reasons. ACEA A5/B5 oils "may be unsuitable for use in some
> engines" - http://www.lubrizol.com/EuropeanEngineOils/A5B508.html
>
> John
>

======================================================================

It seems odd that Vauxhall should advise owners to 'avoid'
oils graded as ACEA A1/B1 and A5/B5 since they obviously
have quite desirable characteristics - fuel economy and in
the case of A5/B5 suitability for high performance combined
with fuel economy. If there is any real danger to engines
from the use of such oils one might expect Vauxhall to
specify exactly which grade(s) they recommend rather than
telling owners which to avoid.

I wonder what would happen if a warranty claim on a blown
engine revealed that the engine contained one of the oils to
be avoided.

Cic.

--
======================================================================
Using Ubuntu Linux
Windows shown the door
======================================================================
From: Chris Whelan on 31 May 2010 13:48
On Mon, 31 May 2010 17:26:21 +0100, Cicero wrote:

[...]

> If there is any real danger
> to engines from the use of such oils one might expect Vauxhall to
> specify exactly which grade(s) they recommend rather than telling owners
> which to avoid.

They do, as do all manufacturers.

> I wonder what would happen if a warranty claim on a blown engine
> revealed that the engine contained one of the oils to be avoided.
>
> Cic.

If an oil that was explicitly listed as unsuitable was used, there would
be no doubt that they would refuse the claim, and correctly so IMHO.

Chris

--
Remove prejudice to reply.
From: Cicero on 31 May 2010 17:10
Chris Whelan wrote:
> On Mon, 31 May 2010 17:26:21 +0100, Cicero wrote:
>
> [...]
>
>
>>If there is any real danger
>>to engines from the use of such oils one might expect Vauxhall to
>>specify exactly which grade(s) they recommend rather than telling owners
>>which to avoid.
>
>
> They do, as do all manufacturers.

They do, of course - I wasn't thinking straight. I was
side-tracked by the idea that Vauxhall would only advise
people to avoid certain grades of oil rather than an
outright prohibition.
>
>
>>I wonder what would happen if a warranty claim on a blown engine
>>revealed that the engine contained one of the oils to be avoided.
>>
>>Cic.
>
>
> If an oil that was explicitly listed as unsuitable was used, there would
> be no doubt that they would refuse the claim, and correctly so IMHO.

Since Vauxhall seem to have introduced a grey area by only
advising people to avoid certain grades they have created a
golden opportunity for the lawyers to have a field day in
muddy waters. Of course I'm picking up on the OP's use of
the word 'avoid' which may not be how Vauxhall have actually
worded it in their manual.
>
> Chris
>

Cic.
--
======================================================================
Using Ubuntu Linux
Windows shown the door
======================================================================
From: Fred on 2 Jun 2010 13:58
On Mon, 31 May 2010 22:10:26 +0100, Cicero <sheldrake(a)hellfire.co.uk>
wrote:

> Of course I'm picking up on the OP's use of
>the word 'avoid' which may not be how Vauxhall have actually
>worded it in their manual.

It says: "use of engine oil grades ACEA-A1/B, ACEA-A5/B5 is expressly
forbidden as they can cause long-term engine damage under certain
operating conditions" but it doesn't say what these "certain
conditions" are.
From: Fred on 2 Jun 2010 14:12
On Mon, 31 May 2010 07:42:57 +0100, Cicero <sheldrake(a)hellfire.co.uk>
wrote:

>I had no idea either (about the oil designations) so I did a
>quick 'google' and found this:
>
>http://www.driverstechnology.co.uk/oils.htm
>
>Part of the information seems to contradict Astra Manual
>information since it appears that A5 oils are one of the
>best grades:
>
>"Put simply, A3/B3, A5/B5 and C3 oils are the better
>quality, stay in grade performance oils."

Yes, I found similar pages from google and, like you found, they
suggest A5/B5 is the best of the bunch.

I wonder how many people don't know about these grades. I always
though a 5w30 was 5w30. I'm going to look at the bottles in halfords
and see what all those are.

The advice seems to be to take this back and go to the dealer. I am
happy to listen to your advice. I hadn't thought of doing to the
dealer because usually they have the reputation of costing twice
everyone else. What do independent garages do though? Surely they
don't keep a barrel of Vauxhall oil, a barrel of Ford oil, etc.
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