[Ghallardi]

Folks,

do we have a current reference for "best practice" lubricants? If not, it could make for a useful thread that those of us that are genuine hackers could benefit from.

[Gwagensteve]

Best practice is outlined in the owner's manual/FSM - The demands on the lubricant haven't changed. (and in fairness, a G series engine isn't very hard on it's oil - it's not spinning very fast, there's no Vanos/VTEC etc, no timing chain - it won't be fussy. Change at ~10K intervals or annually.

Many people are very brand loyal and will have anecdotal evidence that whichever brand they prefer is the "best". Each to their own - I put expensive oil in my high power/forced induction cars, I put Penrite in my Discovery because it's affordable and comes in convenient sizes. My preference would be Rotella, but that's a bit harder to get.

My Sierra gets whatever 15W-40 is reasonably priced from a well regarded brand.

[Ghallardi]

Thanks Steve,

I'm guilty of spending too much time reading, so rather than ending up with a definitive opinion, I get the opposite. My subject post was poorly worded. I am looking to generate a discussion on more or less, every consumable we put into these little beasts. I haven't been servicing my own stuff for about 10 years (kids sport/laziness etc). They've grown up so I have dusted off the shed and skillset and feel a bit uneducated on what may have changed.

Personally, I tend to lean towards the upper end of the market on cost element for no other reason than it feels like I am doing the right thing. I still have 3 complete G13BA gasket kits that I never used. These have mostly cork gaskets and I understand that many favour other combinations now.

Right now, I find myself staring at my cabinet full of grease/sealant/parts wash etc and asking, fek what if there is better stuff now? For example, I don't recall white lithium coming in a spray can? I might be wrong, but l prefer smearing shit on with my fingers. Perhaps I just need to relax and do what I know worked for the 20 years prior to my DIY hiatus!

Anyway, thanks for your response. It did lean me towards "relax, nothing has really changed"

[Gwagensteve]

TL,DR: Any consumable on the market today will meet or exceed the requirements Suzuki laid down in 1991.

I'm only really going to talk about engine oil - There have been minimal changes outside of engine oil - 80-90W for gearbox/diff etc has been the same for probably 60 years. Whilst racing applications etc might use more exotic fluids you'd know when you'd be in that territory.


With regard to engine oil lots of things have changed. Emissions requirements, extended oil change intervals (prevention of varnish and sludge), tighter tolerances(emissions again), high pressure oil operated mechanisms (Typically valve timing) widespread turbocharging, high ethanol fuels amongst them.

These pressures have demanded oil manufacturers engineer products with specific features. (such as the removal of ZDDP for emissions compliance)

Suzuki specify API SD, SE, SF for G13BAs and add SG for the G16B, but according to the FSM, SD is the minimum requirement.

Under the current API release, SJ is the current grade engineered for <2001 engines, however, putting a 1991 vitara into Penrite's application guide shows even a pretty low-grade oil from them - their "premium mineral" meets API SN, so it comfortably exceeds the engineering requirement Suzuki laid down back in 1991. Would there be an advantage in spending big on, say, and API SP oil (like Mobil 1?) No, I can't see any point because none of the engineering conditions that require grade SP exist.

I know plenty of stories where people smarter than me don't recommend putting premium synthetic oils in engines specified for old grades like SF/SG - they were made too "loose" and the detergents in modern oils are too aggressive - the end result is oil consumption and leaks.

Beyond that we're typically talking about old cars that are well worn now. Changes in consumables won't make a measurable difference to performance or life.

I'm surprised how much time I spend talking to people about engine oil choice and change intervals. For something like the H20/H25/H27 it's critical - multivalve engines with timing chains, but G engines aren't fussy.

PS - White lithium in an aerosol can is awesome - you can get it into places you can't get your finger or you'd need to disassemble something to grease.