Halfords oil

dripple · 08-12-2013 9:01pm #1

Is halfords 5w30 fully synthetic oil ok for my ford focus 1.8 tddi?? Is the oil good??

Wheelnut · 09-12-2013 11:00pm

Check the ACEA requirements in the hand book and then compare with the ACEA spec on the oil can. The oil is probably OK but nobody can tell you that unless they know the requirements and specifications.

cletus · 10-12-2013 11:39am

Depending on the price halfords are offering, you may get branded oil in a motor factors for the same money

dripple · 15-12-2013 10:51am

I found the hand book and it says acea a3/b3 or a1/b1 what does that mean?? I thought oil was oil, just the weight and whether part or fully synthetic was used

dripple · 15-12-2013 10:52am

I found the hand book and it says acea a3/b3 or a1/b1 what does that mean?? I thought oil was oil, just the weight and whether part or fully synthetic was used

Wheelnut · 15-12-2013 7:37pm

Now you need to look at the can in Halfords and see if it has either of those specifications on the label.

"A" class oils are for petrol engines, "B" class oils are for diesel engines. Nowadays most oils are dual purpose.

A1/B1 is a "fuel efficiency" oil, supposed to save fuel. It has a lower shear strength so is not suitable for some engines. Personally I would not use it in cars that do long fast journeys on a regular basis, but I am probably being too conservative.

A1/B1 seems to be largely superseded by A5/B5.

A3/B3 is normal oil which is suitable for longer service intervals (I suggest a max of 9k - 10k miles), You will often find it written as A3/B3,B4.

Those codes are the ACEA standards (or specifications) for oils used in European conditions. The weight or thickness of the oil is given by the grade number and you are most likely to be looking at 5w30 or 5w40 which are probably both fully synthetic.

Read all about it here: http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html

dripple · 15-12-2013 8:03pm

Cheers wheelnut. I serviced the car today with mobil 2000 10w40 a3/b3. I hope I got the right oil.....

Bpmull · 15-12-2013 8:23pm

dripple wrote: »

Cheers wheelnut. I serviced the car today with mobil 2000 10w40 a3/b3. I hope I got the right oil.....

How did you go from thinking of using 5w30 oil in your op to using 10w40 there different viscosity oils. Is 10w40 what was recommended for your car?

George Dalton · 15-12-2013 8:25pm

As above. You ask about the oil that is right for the car and then end up ignoring the advice you were given and using a different oil altogether?

That's the wrong oil for the car.

However it may not matter too much in the old 1.8 engine. What year is the car?

Wheelnut · 16-12-2013 3:04pm

Ford would recommend a 5w30 oil for that car. However, you'll probably get away with it, just listen for camshaft rattle on start-up and if it gets too bad change the oil again. What you have in it now is better than old oil or no oil.

dripple · 16-12-2013 6:00pm

It says on the handbook I can use 10w40 depending on ambient temperature. Its a 03 tddi. Im sure its ok
I was more concerened about aeci spec

Wheelnut · 17-12-2013 5:39pm

dripple wrote: »

It says on the handbook I can use 10w40 depending on ambient temperature. ..

You're OK then, It's just that Ford have been recommending 5w30 for a long time.

turbostan · 17-12-2013 8:58pm

dripple wrote: »

It says on the handbook I can use 10w40 depending on ambient temperature. Its a 03 tddi. Im sure its ok
I was more concerened about aeci spec

My advice (and Ford's) would be to use nothing other than 5w-30 in future.

dripple · 17-12-2013 9:07pm

Ok lads thanks for all the advice. After much thinking I decided to bite the bullet and change the oil again. I got mpm semi 5w30 especially for my engine with the correct aeci spec.

turbostan · 17-12-2013 9:15pm

dripple wrote: »

Ok lads thanks for all the advice. After much thinking I decided to bite the bullet and change the oil again. I got mpm semi 5w30 especially for my engine with the correct aeci spec.

That was a good move. I would have done exactly the same if I thought I had used the wrong oil first time. As a general rule of thumb Ford=5w-30. You will now have peace of mind.

sebastianlieken · 18-12-2013 9:13am

personally, I'd be happy enough using Halfords oil but I wouldn't leave it in the engine as long as a premium brand oil. e.g. I'd leave the halfords oil in there for say 5000 miles, but i'd be happy with castrol edge for 10000 miles; so there's no saving to be made as far as i'm concerned.

maidhc · 28-12-2013 7:59pm

sebastianlieken wrote: »

personally, I'd be happy enough using Halfords oil but I wouldn't leave it in the engine as long as a premium brand oil. e.g. I'd leave the halfords oil in there for say 5000 miles, but i'd be happy with castrol edge for 10000 miles; so there's no saving to be made as far as i'm concerned.

I'm glad to see Castrol's marketing dollars are paying good dividend.

I don't think there is a discernable difference between two brands of oil that have similar specification sheets. The main thing people fall down on is leaving the oild change to 10k miles plus to begin with.

Also, I hope everyone has stocked up on Halfords oil @ €10 for 4L fully synth. It is an absolute no brainer.

Stella Virgo · 28-12-2013 8:05pm

maidhc wrote: »

I'm glad to see Castrol's marketing dollars are paying good dividend.

I don't think there is a discernable difference between two brands of oil that have similar specification sheets. The main thing people fall down on is leaving the oild change to 10k miles plus to begin with.

Also, I hope everyone has stocked up on Halfords oil @ €10 for 4L fully synth. It is an absolute no brainer.

heres a linky to the above......
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/categorydisplay_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_categoryId_212419_langId_-1

eringobragh · 28-12-2013 9:12pm

sebastianlieken wrote: »

personally, I'd be happy enough using Halfords oil but I wouldn't leave it in the engine as long as a premium brand oil. e.g. I'd leave the halfords oil in there for say 5000 miles, but i'd be happy with castrol edge for 10000 miles; so there's no saving to be made as far as i'm concerned.

Your a marketers dream - Halfords oil is supplied by Comma, like everything it's just a different label on the bottle.

Halfords CommaOil MSDS: http://www.my-sds.co.uk/(F(oa9pjUhmYJ4FooT96YjDIIw7Ig7BifwNlk4KTEK-xsm258jAGSD-ilEpPJJ_-ROVFzLboAItiZcf_kjMKhbc6artOcqQvj2MGUNQK1S1C1mjyc_oiRoLFFLa4V1pcSiREV_Dk4hoGFmp6PfwukWxpBpxtQ-a1Z-Ep8bdwc1RGoA1))/Admin/ViewDocument.aspx?SDSNo=10144&headingID=1&MasterCompanyID=257&primaryReportId=0

kilianmanning · 28-12-2013 9:31pm

eringobragh wrote: »

Your a marketers dream - Halfords oil is supplied by Comma, like everything it's just a different label on the bottle.

Halfords CommaOil MSDS: http://www.my-sds.co.uk/(F(oa9pjUhmYJ4FooT96YjDIIw7Ig7BifwNlk4KTEK-xsm258jAGSD-ilEpPJJ_-ROVFzLboAItiZcf_kjMKhbc6artOcqQvj2MGUNQK1S1C1mjyc_oiRoLFFLa4V1pcSiREV_Dk4hoGFmp6PfwukWxpBpxtQ-a1Z-Ep8bdwc1RGoA1))/Admin/ViewDocument.aspx?SDSNo=10144&headingID=1&MasterCompanyID=257&primaryReportId=0

Is comma oil good stuff then? Was thinking about stocking up.

eringobragh · 28-12-2013 9:36pm

kilianmanning wrote: »

Is comma oil good stuff then? Was thinking about stocking up.

Yes top stuff - its made my esso all the mobil1 stuff is made by them.

http://www.commaoil.com/passenger-vehicles/products/category/1

I'd have bought more only I've the next 20k miles sorted so that should take a while for me (change my oil every 5k)

kilianmanning · 28-12-2013 9:44pm

eringobragh wrote: »

Yes top stuff - its made my esso all the mobil1 stuff is made by them.

http://www.commaoil.com/passenger-vehicles/products/category/1

I'd have bought more only I've the next 20k miles sorted so that should take a while for me (change my oil every 5k)

Ok, thanks. :-)

Ah I see,I change it that often too, I usually buy a 20ltr drum

Halfords oil

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