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REVIEW: EXOL 0w/30 Fully Synthetic Engine Oil

F6HAD

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Guys,

You might find it a bit strange to see a review on Engine Oil, as it's probably not as obvious a thing to review as brakes or something more tangible.

However with the plethora of oils out there, and big name brands spending £100m's on marketing, and therefore commanding high prices... the less discerning amongst us (myself included) often get suckered into the hype around big name brands, as ultimately we all want the best for our engine.

I won't go into the details of what is in an engine oil etc as there is already good useful and factual information on this site. This is quite a good read, and written by one of our already recognised traders.

http://typeaccord.co.uk/forum/index.php?/topic/76-oil-information/

I think what is absolutely essential to remember, whether you own a petrol or a diesel, is that oil is THE single most critical element that will determine the longevity and reliability of your engine. It will also help/hinder with things like fuel economy and general 'feel' of the car.

Since ownership, I've always bought big brand name oils in the belief that I'm getting something 'more' for my money. Crucially, they've always been 0w/30 which is the correct oil for the diesel. However at around £70 a pop (after all member discounts) it's quite pricey, especially if you want to maintain oil change intervals over what Honda recommend.

Recently, we discovered a company called Lubetech who supply EXOL oils. Their pricing seemed really too good to be true, and to be honest, we initally wrote them off as a team thinking perhaps their products would not be on par with the big names..

However on further investigation, when Andy (monks) took the initiative and delved a bit deeper, he discovered that actually their engine oils comply with all the main industry recognised accreditations and it seems to be a very good product indeed.

Andy's experience was good, and he commented that he noticed no change in engine feel from his previous Motul engine oil. That was good enough for me, and I also switched to this oil yesterday (also from Motul).

I'll try and keep this thread upto date as I cover some miles, but I wanted to get this out on the forum to ensure you are considering EXOL in your maintenance regime.

The price... well after our member discount (PM one of us for the code) it cost me around £90 delivered for a 25 litre container. The container is quite easy to handle and dispense oil into a smaller container. For the ICTDI, 25 litres is enough for 4 oil changes and a bit left over for top ups.

Consider that I was paying around £70 just for one oil change!

At the moment (20/08/2010) the Lubetech website www.lubetechshop.co.uk is down for maintenance, but they tell me it will be back up very soon. In the meantime if you want to place an order, then contact Tony at Info@lubetech.plus.com and mention you are a club member here. Might be worth you getting the discount code from one of us first just in case he needs it.

Important info to consider on the EXOL 0w/30:
The 0w30 is a high specification product. The important specs are the ACEA (European car manufactures) specifications this product meets A3, B3, B4 which is a guarantee of quality, the ACEA grading is a more stringent requirement than the API (American petroleum institute) and is strict in the quality of base oils and additive packs.

The product also meets BMW longlife 98 spec and Mercedes 229.3 again a good indication of quality. All the above specs mean that you are getting a sheer stable stay in grade product so it will be 0w30 when you put it in and a 0w30 when you take it out.

The price is good because Exol are not a brand name although they are the largest independent manufacturer in Europe, and they do not spend millions on advertising. They can therefore offer much better prices than Castrol, Mobil etc.

The quality when compared to brands is as good and sometimes better..

Lubetech also sell every other product relating to lubrication requirements for vehicle maintenance, so be sure to check them out.

www.lubetechshop.co.uk
 
nice to hear about products other than the mainstream stuff :eek: ...lol i can see your garages being clogged with barrels of oil lol
 
Yup :eek:

Actually the container is surprisingly small and compact.

Also, I wanted to mention that chatting to Tony at Lubetech, it's clear that they have deliberately kept their prices low to penetrate the trade market and a lot of garages etc will use their oils. They operate on very low margins, and don't advertise meaning they can pass the savings on.

I don't want to slate any brand, but personally I don't feel I'm getting good value for money when paying top dollar... after 6k - 8k miles, I can feel the engine oil is ready for change, whatever the brand.
 
Thanks for this, just in time for to give it a try, oil change due in the next few weeks. I'll pm you for the code Fahad if I may.
 
Great review Fahad, i spoke to andy and he said the same thing that the car feels the same as he was using Motul oil. I do my oil changes every 6k religiously so its a huge relief to know that this is a top spec oil with a great price. My oil change is due in a couple of weeks so i will be ordering some this week and i will keep an eye on this thread and update too.
 
Good stuff guys, already had a few PM's for orders :eek:

Sorry, I don't by any means want to take credit for this - it was Andy (monks) that took the plunge first and secured the deal with them in the first place. The discount is around 5% but with the prices already so good, it's still worth it.
 
Great write up Fahad thanks.

Im on my second oil change with Exol at the moment overall Ive done about 6k miles since I started using it. I really cant tell a difference from when I was using Motul.

The main difference for me is the price and the fact I can now afford to do more regular oil changes which Im convinced will only be a good thing for my engine.

Also worth a mention is the fact my parents merc, father in laws MG and of course my wifes Almera are going strong on the 5w40 exol as well. I mean at £70 delivered for 25litre it would be mad not to.
 
Sounds Great. I am due an oil change in a couple of months so no doubt will be ordering one of these B) Great work guys and a good spot and research Andy

Muchos Grassias :lol:
 
I thought I'd update the thread to say the the lubetech shop is now back online. If you create an account, and enter the discount code as you progress through the checkout that we've been given from any of the mods, then we get the discount applied automatically.
 
Yes I updated the main traders thread a few days ago, but thanks for updating here as well.
 
Guys I promised to keep you updated on my experience with this oil..

Well covered close to 1500 miles now and the engine is sweet as a nut. It's had some hard driving too over this time, quite a lot of red lining and constant 3k rpm runs..

The engine is just as quiet, smooth and not a drop consumed.

If you're still thinking about it, don't... JUST DO IT and enjoy the savings!
 
I've been swayed to only using fully synthetic ester based oils. Any indication of what percentage the synthetic ester is in their Exol Optima 0W30? I.e. Motul's 100% or Magnatec's 0.01%?
 
I don't know Alan, try contacting them and asking Tony the question

info@lubetech.plus.com
 
;)Hi guys.

Just to say I've used Exol 5W 40 (bought from Lubetech) in my 1.8i for the last three or four years and it's been great - I've had no problems whatsoever. Before that I used Halfords 5W 40 until they stopped selling it at half price during bank holiday weekends, as their full price is a bit hefty.

In fact I've just changed over to Total Quartz 9000 5W 40 because it has an API SM rating whereas the Exol is rated SL. But I'm convinced the engine doesn't feel quite as good now so I'm going back to Exol when I've used up the Total.

I strongly believe it's better to change a decent specced but reasonably priced oil often - say between 3.5 and 5k - rather than paying top dollar for some Rolls Royce brand and then running it for 10k.
 
Welcome Cliff, be sure to say hello in the newbies section.

Thanks for your insight and comments, i'm with you on this. Covered maybe 2.5k miles now and no difference to the so called 'premium' brands I was using before.. of course I will need to run it a lot longer to have a properly formed opinion but it's all good so far.
 
Im now on my 3rd oil change with exol and the only thing Im annoyed about is I didnt make the switch sooner.
 
Im now on my 3rd oil change with exol and the only thing Im annoyed about is I didnt make the switch sooner.


Well what more of a recommendation can you give than that!!

Ordered some the other day, changing it at the weekend,

Thanks to both yourself and Fahad for highlighting and getting such a great deal for the club
 
Ordered mine Monday morning and received delivery tuesday. Not only a good product and excellent value but excellent service to match. Cheers guys for finding this one!!

Stevo
 
just filed my Arrow with that oil.
Thanks fellas for exelence.
 
Is there any problems with this oil going "off" once opened, with it being such a large container?
 
No mate iv asked the question and its fine.By the way guys i did my oil change last Wednesday and very impressed with the oil so far.
 
Is there any problems with this oil going "off" once opened, with it being such a large container?

Its got a three year shelf life before the additives are affected so as long as you use it within three years you will be good.
 
Just done my fourth oil change with the exol everything is running just as it should.
 
Just done my fourth oil change with the exol everything is running just as it should.
Nice one Andy so is it all gone now.Just a quick one mate can this oil also be used in the 8th gen type s.
 
Nice one Andy so is it all gone now.Just a quick one mate can this oil also be used in the 8th gen type s.

Yep pretty much all gone now mate, so will be ordering some more :lol:

Due to the additive pack in the exol oil it is not DPF compliant and therefore not suitable for the 8th gen. This is good for our cars as additive packs are good and we dont have a DPF to worry about.
 
i've read fahads post and i'm ordering a 25 litre drum. Could someone give me the discount code?
no wonder the team didn't initially take lubetech seriously with those prices!
thanks
pete
 
Yep pretty much all gone now mate, so will be ordering some more :lol:

Due to the additive pack in the exol oil it is not DPF compliant and therefore not suitable for the 8th gen. This is good for our cars as additive packs are good and we dont have a DPF to worry about.
Cheers mate nice to no that info so i don't buy to much.Probably in the next 12 months as your probably aware the type s may be my next car :)
 
Cheers mate nice to no that info so i don't buy to much.Probably in the next 12 months as your probably aware the type s may be my next car :)

I know Im super jealous already, by the time your car arrived I will be a wreck :lol:

BTW Im already looking at oil options for the 8th gen ;)
 
Off topic, but will your brake calipers transfer over as well? :unsure:
 
Hi Guys
I am quite often asked best way to decant the oil from the 25 litre drums, it does pour easily but if you wanted to keep things a bit tidier you could go for a drum tap which is a pretty cost effective dispensing soluction, they fit the drums we supply and are specially designed for lubes and chemicals please see
http://www.lubetechshop.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=65&products_id=230 .
If anyone has any questions will be glad to help
Cheers
Tony
Lubetech
 
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