o all, I have found a source outside of Ferrari NA for Shell Helix Ultra 5W-40 Synthetic oil. Thats the good news!! The bad news is that I can only get it in 50 gallon drum size. The good news is that I can buy it for a lot less than the equivalent of $15.00/liter that Ferrari wants. I would like to buy a drum and then offer to resell it to everyone who wants it. I would package it in one gallon and/or five gallon plastic containers and sell it for somewhere between $5.00 and $7.00 per quart. (Dependes on cost of containers.) plus shipping. This is real Shell Helix (My source is Shell itself!) and I would include full certs with each sale. I need an idea as to whether this would be of value to everyone at Ferrari chat. It would be a bit of a pain for me and I would not be making much, if any money on it but would allow me (and others) access to Shell Helix at Mobil One prices! Please give me your feedback!
Put me down with Dan and Art for a couple of quarts. One shipment to anyone of the three of us should work. Gary
In fact, I'll take a kilo, ah, I mean, a barrel. That's right, a barrel would be cool. Dr "We call it awl down here" Tax
I apologize for my ignorance, but what it is so special about this oil? I'm in on anything that is good for my car. Thanks!
The problem is that you can't buy this oil anywhere. This means that the dealer has to do all the oil changes, which means $$$$$ If you are like me, and have a warranty, you run a risk if you use Mobil 1 and have a problem. This Shell oil is the factory spec and that's that. (How anyone can tell Shell from Mobil 1, if you don't tell them, beats me. But that their story, and they're sticking to it.) So for me, it will be far cheaper (and easier because the dealer is 50 miles away) to buy this oil in bulk so that I can do oil changes more much frequently. Question: Does oil degrade? If I buy a barrel, will this oil still be good a year from now? DrTax ps I have also heard that Shell has some super duper anti-freeze out that will freeze over hell. Again, it is not available in the states for some reason. But I'd love to check this stuff out.
I will check with Shell about "shelf life" of oil but I believe it is probably in the decades (Centuries) if kept from light, heat, oxygen, etc. If some body wants me to order them a complete barrel and have it dropped shipped to an address then I guess I can do that. Remember that a barrel is 50 gallons (200 quarts!) so you are talking about a lot of oil! If somebody wants a barrel or if an group wants to get one please pm or e-mail me. Brian Willis [email protected]
BTW, if you use Mobil 1 it will not void the warranty. That's been validated by FoOC and also your manual recommends Shell Helix and does not insist on it. Having said that I'd rather use the good stuff
Sorry to ask this but what is so special about this oil? (Besides being used by the Ferrari F1 team) What makes so different or better than Royal Purple, REDLINE, Mobile 1, etc....
Regarding shelf life... how come most all mechanics I speak suggest I do an oil change every 6 mos even if I only drive 1K miles or less during that period. They cite the oil's ability to turn to sludge. How wld that differ from it simply being stored in the barrel? Does its structure change as soon as its subjected to any heat? PS - no "garage queen" slams please - sometimes I just dont get the opportunity to drive as much as I'd like.
Greg, Good question-but there is a simple answer. If you have driven the car at all (say 500-1000 miles) you will begin to contaminate the engine oil with certain products of combustion that make their way past the rings. Usually the worst of these are acids that start to affect the oil. With only 1000 miles the problem is not bad. This along with carbon bits, etc, is what makes oil black etc. Also the VI (Viscosity Improvers) break down with temperature and shearing action (Friction). This is why you replace oil. Note that you do not replace gearbox oil very often but the oil is basically the same stuff. The difference is no combustion gases to dirty up the oil.
Throughout this thread I have not heard one person state what is so special about the shell oil. The truth is probably that it is no better than Mobil1...but Shell has to recoup all the $$ that they spend on the Ferrari F1 team....so why not the Ferrari owners. They seem to be a gullable lot with some money to take. Hell, Ferrari dealers have been fleecing us for years...so why not their suppliers too. I can understand the 6 month oil chane thing with regular oil (I am neurotic about oil changes)....but with a full sythetic? I don't think so. Why does BMW specify 15K oil service intervals. Even AMG in my SL55 specifies 10K oil service intervals. Sounds like another way for our local Ferrari store to empty our wallets on a more frequent basis. I have been using Mobil1 for years in all the Fcars from 348s to F40 with spot on reliability. Ciao Dino
Lots of good oil info here from AEHaas: http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12135&highlight=helix That should give you some technicalities regarding the Shell Helix oil. Also, it runs ~$14.95 a quart at your local F-dealer. Given a 550 with 10 quarts, well... you do the math.
Two reasons: 1) Other locals might be able to enjoy our savings as well (Norman, Noel, etc. - basically 'our crew'), and 2) depending on the shelf-life of this stuff (which seems to be in contention here), it may be prudent just to keep it on hand. --Dan
Doc. We store oil for our machines for several years. Doesn't seem to degrade at all. After all, it's good in the ground for a long time, right? Dave "oils well that ends well" M.