What oil do you use?

[JazzyB]

I am asking the members what oil they use in their Honda Jazz's. Please quote what make and also what grade/spec your using.

The reason I am asking is because I cant seem to get a definitive answer

Castrol recommend Edge 0W-30 

Comma recommend Syner-G 5W-40

Honda recommend several grades in their handbook, why cant there just be one or maybe two. It would be a lot easier to choose.

[RichardA]

Halfords 10W/40 part synthetic (green bottle), as recommended by Halfords (see the flipchart in your local store).

[JazzyB]

Ive just been on halfords website and used the oil selector and thats says use 5W-40

[olduser1]

Oil is key to the life of any engine, so nip down to your indi mator factor and ask for Castrol Magnatec 10w-40 for petrol engine, any quality oil to the correct Uk spec 10-40 will be fine.
always change the filter and fit replacement with a quality product .
Oil spec based on 1.4l engine

[jazz club - nice]

Ive just been on halfords website and used the oil selector and thats says use 5W-40

5W-40 is probably Halfords own recomendation (costs more). 10W-40 will be suitable and cheaper.

[culzean]

Have always found castrol magnatec to be a very good oil, 10-40 or 5-30, instead of paying £45+ for a fully synthetic oil, pay around £25 for a good semi and change it every 6 months (it's really not good to leave oil in the engine for too long even (or especially should I say) if you only do low mileage.  Oil asborbs all the muck that your engine produces and the additives counteract the acidic products of combustion, short journeys that never get the oil hot tend to be harder on the oil than longer trips.

If you need to save a few bob, change the oil every 6 months and the filter every 12 - I always use genuine Honda filter, some cheaper ones have filter  mesh with larger holes which can let particles circulate around the engine that shouldn't be there.

[culzean]

Anyone interested in oils here is a website, bear in mind some of the people who appear on there sponsor the site (at least they are marked) so some claims may be a bit OTT.

Interesting info on oil additives and what they do, especially molybdenum disulphide ( normally called molyslip in UK) which I have used in many cars over the years with good results.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/cms/

[ivorbeck]

Magnatec 10 40

[altamar]

Magnatec 5W 30, probably because I was beguiled by the adverts which said it sticks to the components from start up - and as our car does mostly short trips this seemed to be a good idea.

Changed every year despite mileage of around 7k pa, and always a Honda filter.

PS anyone know whether the hype about the magnetic effect of Magnatec actually works?

[culzean]

I trust Castrol oils, I don't think they would risk their good name by making bogus claims about Magnatec that could easily be disproved by rival companies.

IMHO molyslip is the best additive to use if your car does short journies and lots of cold starts because it is proven to attach itself to metal surfaces and does not get flushed away by the next oil change. It is also very beneficial in gearboxes and will make them silky smooth.  Molybdenum disulphide is well proven as a tenacious extreme pressure lubricant in industrial applications and I have used it in many cars (and many miles) over the years and have never had to put a car into a garage for any engine or gearbox related problem.

And no, before you ask I do not work for Castrol or molyslip but am speaking from experience......

[altamar]

Culzean, do you (or does any other contributor please) know if there are different types of molyslip?

Halfords seems to have two - one pink and one blue packaging if that helps. One is £10 and the other £15, both for 325ml

[culzean]

The only two types I have come across are the one for engine oil and the one for gearbox oil.  The gearbox one is more concentrated normally costs more.

If you are going to do your gearbox I would change the oil at the same time and use a good quality synthetic gearbox or engine oil, pre-mix the molyslip with the correct quantity of new oil to make sure it is evenly spread around the gearbox. On the GD jazz the drain and fill plugs are on the passenger side of car close to the front suspension arm. You will need a sqeezy bottle with a tube on it to make it easier to get oil back in.

[RichardA]

I've bought some Castrol Magnatec [fully synthetic] 5W30 Oil 4 Litre from Tesco for £22.99. That's cheaper then what the dealer charged me last time for Shell 5W 30 and even cheaper than the Halford own brand oil.

[culzean]

For Jazz manual gearbox I used CASTROL MANUAL SMX-S (fully synthetic) - you will need 1.5 litres for a drain and fill. 

With normal UK conditions it will need replacing every 72K miles, it is fairly easy to get the old oil out but is challenging to get the new oil back in if you don't have a pump with a flexible tube on it) I had to use a plastic funnel and a tube about a metre long (threaded down under the battery and into the filler hole) to get oil into the gearbox. Getting access to the fill and drain plugs involves folding the plastic under-guarding out of the way, as the plugs are in the region of the nearside driveshaft. You will need ramps or axle stands to get access under front of car.

You need a 17mm ring spanner for fill plug and a 3/8" socket drive wrench for drain plug (the square fits nicely into the drain plug recess). Make sure you undo the 17mm fill plug before you undo the square drain plug because you don't want to drain the oil if you can't get the fill plug out to refill the oil!!

To make the gearbox quieter and the gear-change extra-slick I added a tube of gearbox molyslip to the oil and gave it a good shaking before pouring it in.

Be warned, it's a bit of a fiddly messy job - unless you are doing it for the love of it you may want to get a garage to do it.

[poolmaster]

Engine oil should be 5w40 but 0w30 can be used.