Rotax 914 Oil

[t-bird]

I have been using Shell VSX blue bottle for the last 6 years in my 914’s.
Shell have apparently discontinued the Oil and no current replacement from Shell is available.
What other brand of oil is recommended for the 914?

[BONZAI BELL]

The replacement is Shell advanced AX-7 , and i have bought some of it already.
if you cant find any , you could use Elf oil , which they use for super bikes

[t-bird]

The Shell advance AX-7 have not been approved by Rotax only the ELF oil “per Vanesh at Aviation engines.”

[Low Level]

You can get VSX at Silverton Midas. My brother ordered and received 100l two weeks ago.

Some useless info from Shell, why there was not stock.

We do not have stock of this, it’s an old grade that we trying to secure additives for, we have a waiting period.
We are awaiting to produce new stock but awaiting additives.

And then two weeks later.

Our waiting period is 3 to 4 weeks we flying in additives in order for us to produce the required demand, we will also have a replacement for this product going forward which will be Advance Advan4TAX715W50SLMA2

Aviation engines sell the following oil for the 914 because of a lack of stock on VSX.

ELF.jpg (42.54 KiB) Viewed 3804 times

[OzGyro]

Hi All

Just a friendly word of advice, be a little wary of 10W 40 oils at this time of year. 10W 40's tend to have a lower viscosity than the Advance VSX4 that most of us have been using. I would be very interested to see whats in the Elf oil, if anyone has a spare 50ml I would love to grab it for some testing.
Swannie I would also be very intersted to see whats in the Shell AX-7 your speaking of.

Cheers
Darren

[t-bird]

Getting the shell oil is not the problem.
The fact that Aviation Engines have not approve it it.I dont want to gamble with a R 300 k engine

[JvTonder]

Hi All

Just a friendly word of advice, be a little wary of 10W 40 oils at this time of year. 10W 40's tend to have a lower viscosity than the Advance VSX4 that most of us have been using. I would be very interested to see whats in the Elf oil, if anyone has a spare 50ml I would love to grab it for some testing.
Swannie I would also be very intersted to see whats in the Shell AX-7 your speaking of.

Cheers
Darren

Hi Darren,

Have you tested Castrol Actevo X-tra? According to the Rotax manual it meets the specifications and I am considering using it in my 912.

What they say about it" Castrol Actevo X-tra with Tri-Zone technology is a premium, part synthetic 4-stroke engine oil. Its specially formulated Heat Protection Molecules work to protect your bike’s engine against the build-up of harmful high temperature deposits even when you work your bike hard – on the open road or in dense city traffic. Suitable for use in all hard working on- and off-road motorcycles and quads. "

Cheers
Jaco

[Ian]

Rotax info attached..

I also need some of the best available (Semi syth) if anyone can assist...

rgds ian

[OzGyro]

Hi All

Jaco, I haven't tested that Castrol oil you mentioned. If you know anyone who has 30-50ml they could spare than I am more than willing to test it or any other oil you maybe considering for that matter.

Cheers
Darren

[JvTonder]

Hi All

Jaco, I haven't tested that Castrol oil you mentioned. If you know anyone who has 30-50ml they could spare than I am more than willing to test it or any other oil you maybe considering for that matter.

Cheers
Darren

Darren,

I use it in all my bikes and have some for you, just in the middle off moving so ones settled will let you know.

Cheers
Jaco

[OzGyro]

Jaco

No problems at all, let me know once your all settled in and we can make a plan.

Cheers
Darren

[Relborg]

Hi Oz

I've just done a service on my 912 ul 80 horse with the new oil from comet. My CHT now run instead of between 90-100 at 115-120. Can the ELF oil be the cause? I was going to change the coolant but maybe try and get VSX and change back.

I'm at Panorama and still have some of the oil if you want.

Dirk

[OzGyro]

Hi All

Dirk, The oil may very well be contributing to the increase in temps you are seeing. Most 10w 40's are thinner than the Advance 15W 50 that you have been using, I wont have a definitive result until we have a had a good look at the new ELF oil.
We will all probably notice an increase in temps due to the onset of summer and warmer days, hence the reason why oil choice and grade becomes important.

Pm me your contact details and I wll give you a call and make a plan to grab that oil for testing.

Cheers
Darren

[Learjet]

Managed to find one last bottle of Shell Advance VSX on the shelf at a motorcycle shop today. Everywhere else only stocking Shell Advanced AX-7 which I see is 15W-50 but the AX-7 label says that it's "synthetic based" not "semi-synthetic" like on the old VSX label. Does this mean the same thing or fully synthetic? I share T-Bird's concerns about not wanting to use it unless Rotax approved and my understanding has been that fully synthetic oil isn't a good idea if using AVGAS at all?

Both the ElF Moto Eco and Castrol Actevo X-tra are 10W 40 so the Shell Advanced AX-7 looks to be about the only 15W 50 viscosity option oil available?

[BONZAI BELL]

the AX-7 label says that it's "synthetic based" not "semi-synthetic" like on the old VSX label. ]

Hi Learjet
I see on the VSX , it also says , Synthetic based .
According to the Shell suppliers i went to see here in the east rand , they confirmed that the AX-7 will be replacing the VSX , and i saw the spec sheets on the two oils , which confirmed that the AX-7 has a slightly higher spec than the VSX.
I will get my hands on the spec sheets which shows the difference