10 TV detectives and their iconic motors

Morse - Jaguar Mk II

Supposedly the most recognizable Jag Mk II in the world, by the time it was retired Morse's Jag had over 79,000 miles on the clock. John Thaw, the actor who played the sullen inspector, once described the car as being 'a beggar to drive'.

Knight Rider - Pontiac Firebird

KITT was a customized Pointac Trans Am with the hefty price tag of $100,000 designed by Michael Scheffe of Back To The Future fame. William Daniels provided the voice of KITT but chose to remain uncredited.

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Is there such a thing as normal oil consumption?

Firstly it should be mentioned is that if you find your oil levels are depleting then it is either down to oil consumption or an oil leak.

Oil consumption is the 'burning off' of oil in the engine and is common in older vehicles or ones which have been subject to high mileage. Commonly this is caused by worn valve stems and seals, and worn piston rings which allows the oil to slip into the combustion chamber where it burns off. If this is happening you may see wisps of blue-ish coloured smoke coming from the exhaust. Oil consumption is almost certain to happen as the vehicle ages. You can maybe even expect to see some consumption occur if your engine requires an oil with particularly low viscosity, 0W/20 for example.

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The New FS Range: The Next Generation

At Granville we are determined to set the Gold Standard when it comes to motor oil and now we are pleased to reveal our new look Engine Specific range to reflect that.

The refreshed packaging comes as a result of months of research and development to bring our Customers a range of improved formula Engine Specific Oils which you can be confident will care for your engine as well as looking great on the shelf.

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Granville and Tide Water India shake hands on Acquisition

Tide Water Oil Co. (India) Ltd., a leading player in the Indian Lubricant Industry since 1921, announced today that it has acquired 100% of the shares of Price Thomas Holdings Limited (PTHL). PTHL owns the entire issued ordinary share capital in Granville Oil & Chemicals Limited whose registered office is at Unit No. 29, Goldthorpe Industrial Estate, Goldthorpe, Rotherham S63 9BL, UK.

With a company history spanning more than 50 years, Granville is a well-known manufacturer and marketer of a wide range of automotive lubricants, maintenance, valeting and car care products in the UK.

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Jargon Buster: Translating You Gear Oil Bottle

Gear oil isn't necessarily something that the everyday motorist is in the know about and when you take a bottle of it off the shelf you are confronted with jargon which, unless you are up on the terms, will probably mean very little to you. So let's break it down term by term and make some sense of it all.

Gear Oil Type
One of the first things you should notice on a bottle of Granville Gear Oil is this piece of information explaining which type of gear train the oil is suitable for:

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5 Things Most People Forget When Spring Cleaning the Car

Spring has sprung!

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Sorry... I couldn't resist.

So the weather is finally starting to look up and if you haven’t thought about it already, then it’s time to start prepping your vehicle for the warmer months ahead. Your car took a beating over winter. Freezing temperatures, mud, salt and bad weather all take their toll on your paintwork and interior.

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It’s standard practice to reach for the chammy, bucket and vacuum around this time of the year to bring some life back into your vehicle, but there are some key steps to the vehicle spring clean that most people neglect that are really easy to address. Are you guilty of these top 5 Spring Cleaning sins?

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A new look for the maintenance range

The good folks at Granville have been busy again and are pleased to announce that the new look Maintenance Range is now available.

Repackaged for 2016 using an easy to identify colour coding system, the Maintenance Range covers a wide spectrum of applications from automotive to machinery. As well as best sellers such as Brake Cleaner and Quickstart, Granville now stock new Belt Dressing, Contact Cleaner and Air Conditioning Cleaner as part of the range.

Here's a quick rundown of the range and how it can help your maintenance routine:

Brake & Parts Cleaner

The Red One

Perfect for getting rid of brake lining dust, old brake fluid, and baked on grease and dirt which accumulates on brakes and clutches. It evaporates completely leaving no residue behind. Simply spray on liberally and wipe with a clean cloth.

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8 Heartstopping Hollywood Car Leaps

The Man with the Golden Gun

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AMC Hornet

This was the first computer modeled stunt in movie history and they were able to calculate and predict exactly how the vehicle would perform the stunt. The footage was captured on the first take.

Speed

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GM New Look

Most of the filming for the freeway scenes were filmed before it officially opened. The leap, though computer generated in part, still required enough of a ramp to make sure the bus made it across the 50ft gap.

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What's the Difference Between Gear Oil And Transmission Fluid?

The most obvious answer to this question is that gear oil is generally intended for use in manual gear boxes and transmission fluid is for automatic transmissions. However, as is always the case with automotive lubricants, there are exceptions to this rule. In order to fully understand what the differences are between the fluids, we first have to take a look at the key differences between gearboxes and transmissions.

Both a gearbox and a transmission essentially do the same job in that they allow change of gears to control the speed, force and direction of travel, but they achieve this in different ways and so require different support fluids in order to operate properly.

Manual Gearbox

Manual gears operate based on a system of two shafts with gears which mesh together after user input via the clutch and the gear stick.  This means that the manual gearbox creates a lot of heat, a lot of force and a lot of friction as the two moving objects come together...

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Motor Oil 101: the importance of making the right choice

Oil is the bread and butter of what we do at Granville. We love the stuff and we love making sure that when you pick up your oil off the shelf you know you are making the right choice for your vehicle. And you know we go on and on about why its important for you to make sure you have the right oil for the job but please, humor me once more as I take you through everything you need to know about engine oil.

Why do you need oil in your engine?

Essentially, oil is in your engine to do three things:

     1. It lubricates the moving parts of your engine

When you consider the speed and frequency that the metal parts of your engine move at, it's easy to see why they might need a little help to keep them going. Engine oil coats these components even at high temperatures ensuring smooth movement whilst protecting them from friction damage.

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Is commercial screenwash better than water and home-brewed alternatives?

The short answer? Yes. Absolutely. It can be tempting to settle for plain water in your windscreen washer system or to attempt to make your own with household detergent or alcohol but whilst you will make cost savings in the short term and its effects are kinder to the environment, the risks involved to your vehicle in the long term just aren't worth the short term savings. Here are the top reasons you should be sticking the screenwash in your system:

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Cleaning Power

When it comes to getting rid of traffic film, grease and insect residue, screenwash has plain water beaten hands down. The alcohol and detergent in screenwash cuts through dirt quickly and effectively, getting rid of visibility obstructions which plain water could end up smearing across the glass. Home-brews with alcohol or household detergent, washing up liquid for example, would help to remove the dirt but depending on the substance used, it could leave residue behind on the glass or cause damage to rubber and paintwork.

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Classic Car of the Week: Lancia Appia (1953)

My pick of the week is the 1953 Lancia Appia.

The Appia debuted at the Turin Motor Show in 1953 along side the Alfa Romero B.A.T. 5 concept. Intended as Lancia's entry level option marketed opposite the luxury Aurelia model, the Appia sought to emulate luxury feeling of it's sister whilst replacing and substituting materials to save on manufacturing costs.

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Classic Car of the Week: Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (1954)

My pick of the week is the 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL.

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The first incarnation of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL was the W194 issued by Mercedes-Benz for the racing season of 1952. It saw wins at Le Mans, Nürburgring and the Carrera Panamericana thanks mostly to its design rather than what was under the hood as the original model only saw up to 175hp on average. It was its weight and aerodynamics which ultimately made the model competitive.

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How healthy is your transmission fluid?

Ask the average motorist and it’s likely they will know how and where to check their oil and coolant level but ask about transmission fluid and they might not be so savvy.

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It’s not always immediately obvious how to check the health of your transmission fluid and indeed in recent years manufacturers have made it increasingly difficult for the end user to interact with the transmission at all unless you have the correct tools to get at the undercarriage of the vehicle. Should this be the case then we highly recommend that you allow your professional mechanic to perform any maintenance checks on your transmission fluid as you could risk voiding your warranty. If, however, you have a vehicle equipped with a dipstick under the bonnet for checking the transmission fluid then here are some things to look out for which may signal it’s time to book in for a fluid change or top-up.

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CLASSIC CAR OF THE WEEK: Mercury Cougar (1967)

This week's pick is the 1967 Mercury Cougar.

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Mercury's first pony car became it's second longest produced nameplate in the range. The Cougar was modeled after the Ford Mustang with the emphasis being placed on luxury over performance. The Cougar shared many components with it's twin initially, with the key difference being it was an extra 3 inches longer than the Mustang and the 'electric shaver' style grille.

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PRODUCT FEATURE: Running In Oil

In response to popular demand, Granville is pleased to announce a new edition to the growing lubricant range.

Running In Oil is a low detergent, non-friction modified oil specially formulated to promote the bedding in of newly machined mated surfaces in re-built engines. High quality additives overcome bore glazing allowing accurate seating of the piston rings and valves. Can be used for up to 1000 miles of normal road use.

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