I ran in my engine for the standard 500 miles then switched to halfords 20/50w which i have since covered a further thousand miles or so. Initially i was pleased with the oil, oil pressure was up a couple of psi at idle and the engine was also quieter. The acid test however was being stuck in slow moving traffic for around 2 and a half hours at 36 - 40 deg heat. The cooling system performed impeccably keeping the gauge at a quarter but my concern was the ticking coming from the top end (this is a sprint, i've known the 8v to do the same though), the heat had obviously affected the oil and it was struggling to cope. The next day was a lot less harsh on the engine and there was only the occasional ticking after idling for a while in the heat which cleared with a blip of the throttle. Now, i will be fitting an oil cooler after the eye opener of last week, i'd even say it's a must have, it's been on the cards for months but i've had other priorities. For long jouneys in cooler weather this oil seems fine but once the heat picks up or there's loads of traffic it struggles to cope. I understand that it's rare i get into these situations, i just want this engine to cope with all that's thrown at it!
Has anyone else had this problem and if you've changed your oil to something which has made a huge difference (even if it was synthetic) i'd really appreciate your thoughts and experiences.
Rob.
