Now on the way to solving my air suspension problems, am looking at an oil change. Any suggestion on the best oil to change to? The car is a 2005 XJ LWB 4.2 Supercharged with 138,000 on he clock.

 

You could try looking in the manuals available in the 'Sticky's' in this Forum?

 

Oh boy - are you opening a can of worms (oily worms, but you know what I mean) with this question. Ask 10 people whats the best oil and you will get 14 answers. The cars call for 5w30, a full synthetic is desirable, along with:

• The latest API rating (this just went from SN+ to a new SP rating that includes protection from some events more common to small displacement, turbocharged, direct injection setups, versus our "medium/large displacement, conventional fuel injection V8 and V6 engines. (assume you don't have a diesel X350, not one of Jaguars best efforts)
• The new ISLAC rating that was just bumped from GF-5 to GS-6

Just about all modern full synthetic oils, with current ratings for anti-sludge, pre-ignition protection, high heat conditions, longevity and improved fuel mileage are okay, as long as they are in the right weight - As a rule, stay away from 0w/x oils (0w20, 0w30 etc.) They are quite thin, and can help achieve high fuel efficiency, but are better suited to higher tolerance (engines with less gaps or spacing around moving parts) I don't know that they would actually damage an engine, but a)I don't want to use my car as an experiment to find out, and b) I am reasonably sure that there would be more "blow-by" in cylinders of older cars with high mileage on them - In simpler terms your 100k mile Jaguar and to some extent even a "low miles" car that's at least 11 years old will burn some oil if you run Zero Weight Oil in it.

Having said all that, most people are more "Brand Loyal" than Product Loyal, meaning if you LIKE Valvoline as a Brand, or Pennzoil, or Whatever brand then go with that, and get the recommended weight. As a good value, middle of the road, quality product, if forced to name an oil, I stay on the safe side and advise Mobil 1 Extended Performance (or High Mileage where appropriate) - If you have a Walmart near you and aren't ideologically opposed to shopping there, you can get Extended Performance for about $25-27 for a 5 Quart/Liter bottle. 2 of these and a filter will put you right and give you plenty of extra for top-ups. I do this a few times and ultimately get enough spare oil to be able to buy just one jug every 3rd or 4th oil change.

So for a "safe bet" trust worth oil (one of the earliest full synthetics, even if they switched to conventional oil base stock

For what is widely considered "the best" synthetic oil in terms of scientific comparison test,I think Amsoil is way out in front, but unfortunately they are aslo way out in frontin price as well. An oil change with Amsoil Signature will run $100 for the oil, not including filter. This will still be less than oil service shops like Jiffy Lube, for THEIR "Signature Synthetic" Service. I don't know what oil you will get, just that it will be synthetic, in no way comparable to Amsoil extended interval oil.

So, there is WAY TMI to get you off and running. Hopefully helpful. If not, I apologize for it. If you LIKE being buried in statistics, specifications, speculation, opinions, and hearty, passionate arguments about stuff most people could care less about, be SURE to visit "bobistheoilguy.com"


ISLAC OIL RATING INFO on GF-6: https://www.motor.com/magazine-summa...eptember-2019/

API "SP" and ISLAC "GF-6" Ratings, explained: https://www.valvoline.com/en-austral...Coming-In-2020

 

Dear Mr Hwaiken,
This Forum recently resolved to dispatch a cruise missile targeting the next person initiating an oil thread.
By way of reply, please provide your exact address.
Regards,
Cruise Missile Arm and Launch Committee

 

“0” oils = 5WXX with viscosity enhancers for very frigid temps, when hot there’s no difference in thickness. A 5W oil is still very competent in pretty much all below freezing conditions. 10W anything is for all intents and purposes obsolete.

Even within grades there’s a lot of variation. Belgian Castrol 0w30 is significantly thicker than both Mobil 1 0w30 and 5w30 and most other brands for example.

 

Hi Henry,

An easy answer to your question is that Jaguar recommends Castrol full synthetic 5W-30 for your car. In the U.S., the most commonly available oil that meets Jaguar's requirements is Castrol Edge 5W-30. The product may be branded differently in the U.K., but Castrol is a brand of British Petroleum so you should have no trouble finding it. In our area of the U.S., a 5-liter jug of Castrol Edge costs $22.99 plus sales tax at Walmart. Two jugs gives you enough for an oil change and top-ups between changes.

Will other brands of oil work? Absolutely. How much time do you want to spend researching and worrying about it? Jaguar, Audi and BMW recommend Castrol, so that's what I use in those cars. Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Corvette recommend Mobil 1, so that's what I use in those. See how much simpler my life is?

For the filter, consider the Mann W719/7. Mann+Hummel is an OEM that makes many of the Jaguar-branded filters used at the factory and main dealers. Except for the graphics applied to the outside of the can, the Mann W719/7 and Jaguar C2C41611 filters are identical.

Cheers,

Don

 

In the UK/EU the magic words (as in the Owner's Handbook) are 'Ford/Jag specification M2C-913-B' (or -C, or -D, which both exceed -B).

Shell-AF (5W30) is one such.

(Yours isn't a diesel I know, but for for the sake of completeness (in case a diesel owner reads this thread) Jag changed the spec (sometime after 2009) from that given in the Owner's H/B and for the Tdvi (only) it is now M2C-934-B, a C1 low-SAPs oil, eg Shell AF-L).

 

lol. A motor oil post .
I use this :

AmazonBasics Full Synthetic Motor Oil, SN Plus, dexos1-Gen2, 5W-30, 5 Quart

Flames away.

 

A long, but very good read + analysis. Only issue with this testing is longevity. How does the oil test once it has 3k miles on it?

https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/201...-test-ranking/

Based on the above testing, I have moved my cars over to Renewable Lubricants brand. The testing showing very good results even at very high temperatures.

 

Thanks Don, not overly stressed out by this and had checked the Catrol site and saw they commended Edge. Just wondered if I needed to consider a different spec now the car is on 138k miles.

 

What is on the oil cap?

I believe it says Castrol 5W30...

Case closed!

 

Hi Don Thanks for all the info on the oil. Amazing price differences. Here in Ireland Castrol Edge 5 - 30 is 65€ for 5 litres so have decided to go for the Valvoline which is ONLY 38€ !

 

At 75$ per 5 liter in Ireland, case is still open. Have opted for Valvoline at a meager 38

 

Valvoline full-synthetic 5W-30 should be fine if it meets the specs in your Vehicle Maintenance Booklet. But you won't find many of us on this forum who recommend making your Jaguar maintenance decisions based on the lowest price. Sometimes spending more is cheap insurance.

Cheers,

Don

 

According to Opie Oils (a UK outfit) website Valvoline SynPower FE 5w-30 Fully Synthetic complies with M2C-913-D ... so if your Valvoline 5W30 is 'FE' you're fine.

 

Thanks Don, I feel suitably chastised for being mean but prices here in Europe are ridiculous for some things and one feels one is being made a fool of sometimes. However have ordered 10 liters of Castrol edge now. Just wont eat for a week!

The front suspension saga continues. Having checked the near-side suspension for suspension spring type and seeing the red dot ordered a pair of second hand sport struts primarily to change the off side which was the main suspect and go from there. When the replacement struts arrived we went to replace the off side and found the the offside had a green dot!! I have had the car 12 years which means i have been driving it for 12 years with different front struts! We went ahead and replaced it anyway so at least they are both the same. Car does now feels a little harder in ride.
The result has been that so far there is no apparent drop in the suspension height at all when the car is left for 24 hours so obviously that strut was leaking. The air suspension warning light has gone when the car has been left standing for a while. However when starting and driving arter 1 mile the air suspension fault light comes on again permanently until the car has been left switched off and standing again for a couple of hours.

Now unsure what suspension this car had originally. Although effectively a LWB XJR it is not 'R' badged. My gut feeling is that it would have had comfort struts originally as a super fast limo but have no evidence for this. There doesn't seem to be any way to view the rear springs easily to establish their types?

Might be a time to to visit a Jag main dealer for a diagnostics?

 

Thanks Patrick

 

Thanks

 

Thanks John for the great detailed reply, consensus seems to indicate staying with original Jag spec is best option, just was really concerned if there was any need to alter the spec now the car has done 140k miles. Price of Castrol edge does seem very high here though for 5 litres your talking over $75

 

Henry,

Both John and Partick are leading you to water. I also believe the answer is in the spec of the Valvoline. I believe the corallary is true, the spec or better is more important as we age. You want more accessible nutrients, not less.

I can't opine on your specific case since I don't have your bottle of Valvoline. Our bettter version stateside is a red container with Max Life.

At Walmart the red jugs and the black or green jugs are within spitting distance of each other ( , price wise as well) .

This anecdote is coming from a guy that has poured Castrol almost exclusively since it came in cans. Not quite unobtainium then, but sold at 'european auto parts' stores.

"Almost exclusively"... coming up on two years ago, I grabbed a badge that while I respected, I had no direct experience with. It's the same era as your Jag. , It's sport suspension is electronically controlled dual valve shocks. It has 345hp stock, and knows how to use 'em. The tyranny is silk and is spec'd for a proprietary fluid.

After doing the tyranny fluid battle, I decided to actually check the service manual for the engine fluid. My dear old friend didn't have All the numbers. The wizards at Bob's Oil & OCD Clinic, thought it probably didn't matter... just dump in black or silver bottles. Interwebs.

Valvoline Max Life did meet that other spec. Still does. I already use Total Quartz for low sap in twin turbo-diesels, so I veered off historic prefence again and am using Valvoline in the 4.5 liter.

It's at 160k miles and is my regular and long distance runner now. I've made 4 runs since the covid scare of almost 1700 miles each. The last KOEO, right at 23 hrs and a nick under 22 mpg. (The injectors haven't been done yet. If I can get one and a half more mpg in the triple's, I can eliminate a fuel stop, door to door.)

Is the Valvoline doing that? It damn sure hasn't prevented it.

Valvoline got is chops the same place Castrol with John Force did, pounding ground.

​​​​​​If it meets your numbers, I think you're good to go.

I fully expect I'll be back in black in my X35x, but red is staying in the Q.