[W124] Oil change time

[Steve Nervig]

On Jun 30, 2007, at 9:31 AM, MICHAEL BURLEY wrote:


>

> Greetings from sunny Oregon,

>

> I do my own oil changes. Do any of you w124 folks have a  

> recommendation for oil filter brands? Are synthetic & synthetic  

> blends OK in this engine?

>

> Mike B


Mike, the oil filter brands to buy are Mann, Hengst, or Knecht. They  
are all OE suppliers. Personally, I would stay away from most  
'commercial' brands like Framm, etc.

On synthetic oil, my opinion is that it is never too late to use the  
best, and a good synthetic is superior to a mineral oil. It will not  
form sludge like a mineral oil, it will provide better shear and  
pressure protection, it will withstand much higher temperatures, and  
they will generally last much longer.

However, mineral oils of today are much better than they were 20  
years ago, and if you change your oil and filter at recommended  
intervals, and never see extreme conditions, it will be just fine, also.

I just like the extra protection that I get from synthetic. If you  
are traveling in 104F heat and your coolant temp is approaching 110C,  
your engine bearing temperatures are going to approach probably  
275-285F. Mineral oil begins to break down at about 300F, so you have  
very little margin of safety. A good synthetic will probably go to  
450F, at least, before starting to break down.

But, I don't want to start an "oil war" here. There is plenty of info  
on the various car forums about mineral vs synthetic, and each side  
has it detractors.

Regards,
Steve
1992 300CE Sportline, M104 170,000 miles, using Schaeffer's 9000