Online Shop Operations

What Shipping Methods Are Available?

Greyhound Retail is in partnership with The Courier Guy and Fastway to ensure swift and affordable deliveries.

What are the payment Methods Available?

Greyhound Retail is with partnership with Peach Payments to ensure swift and affordable deliveries.

How Long Will it Take To Get My Package?

The Courier Guy’s average delivery times: Local Same-day: 1-6 hours. Overnight: Central: 1-2 business days. Overnight: Regional: 2-3 business days. Please note with some exceptions it takes about 2 hours before delivery to prepare the stock by Greyhound Retail Team.

How Do I Track My Order?

Courier Guy portal helps to view the status of your order, once waybill was created by Greyhound Retail Team. Please find the link The Courier Guy Tracker or Fastway Tracker

How Do I Place an Order?

Select the items of your choice, add them to the basket and proceed to check out where you will be propted with all the details for delivery and payment confirmation.

How Should I to Contact if I Have Any Queries?

Please send us an email to info@greyhoundretail.co.za or alternatively call us on +27 11 974 0797 or +27 63 695 8085

Do I Need an Account to Place an Order?

No, anyone who is interested in our products is welcome to make purchases in our online store.

Lubricants

My vehicle owners manual recommends I use a 5W-30 grade engine oil. Can I use a 5W-40 oil instead?

Yes, in most cases, there is no problem in moving to a higher operating temperature viscosity. At Greyhound Lubricants, we believe that having a higher viscosity at operating temperature i.e., SAE 5W-40 viscosity will be of benefit to your engine over 5W-30, particularly in African, hot operating environments. Such oil choice will provide for a slightly thicker oil film between the engine components when the engine is at operating temperature. This lowers frictional heat which causes wear and hence provides better protection for the engine.

Whar is the difference between Hydraulic HM and HV grades?

  • Greyhound HM mineral hydraulic oil: Mineral oil with anti-foaming, anti-corrosion, anti-rust and anti-wear performance.
  • Greyhound HV mineral hydraulic oil: Mineral oil with additional anti-foaming, anti-wear, anti-corrosion, anti-rust performance having a viscosity index > 140; used for hydraulic circuits subject to strong temperature variations as well as load constraints and very high pressures and perfect for heavy-duty equipment and African hot weather exposure.

Why your car needs engine oil?

While synthetic oil might imply this product is man-made, it’s slightly misleading. Yes, these oils are modified (chemically converted) and purified according to processes developed in a laboratory by research and development engineers, but these recipes are then turned into processes to mass-produce synthetic oils.

Advantages of synthetic oil over the mineral type

  • Synthetic has high-quality additive packages, resulting in increased performance under extreme conditions;
  • It is a cleaner oil thanks to most impurities having been removed;
  • Free-flowing in cold conditions, as the wax-forming deposits are removed;
  • Thermal stability is improved at high temperatures, which prevents oxidation;
  • Longer service intervals are possible owing to the mentioned benefits.

The process of creating synthetic oil is more complex and costly than mineral oil and those costs are passed on to the consumer. Apart- (or semi-) synthetic oil is a blend of mineral and synthetic oil. To use the term “part synthetic” on the packaging material, the contents must include at least 10% synthetic oil.

An engine's oil system exlained

A basic lubrication system includes the following:

  • Sump or oil pan, where the oil accumulates in a wet-sump application (dry sumps are for race cars, in which cornering forces may move the oil away from the oil pick-up).
  • Oil pick-up that feeds the oil pump.
  • Oil pump that supplies the oil galleries with the lubricant at pressures ranging from two to six bar depending on engine speed and application.
  • Oil filter that’s tasked with removing debris from the oil.
  • Oil galleries, supplying the moving parts with oil, including the main and big-end bearings, as well as the valve train (cylinder walls are wet mostly because of spraying or splashing). The highest contact forces are on the lobes of the camshaft and can be as high as 10 tonnes per square centimetre – about the same as 10 light hatchbacks on an area the size of the sole of a stiletto’s heel.
  • Oil pressure switch to inform the driver when oil pressure is lost. If all oil pressure is suddenly lost, damage occurs almost immediately.

Checking your engine oil levels

It is advised to check the engine’s oil level after the engine has been stopped for a few minutes. As the engine and oil should be fairly hot, which would make the oil thinner (low viscosity), the drain-down time of the oil to the sump would be a few minutes.

How to choose correct engine oil

The best way to choose engine oil is to check your owner’s manual for the vehicle you drive.

An owner’s manual will provide a particular API Specification. This will look something like CF/SF 15W40. CF/SF gives the specifications for both dieselcompression and petrol–spark. The higher the 2nd letter the higher the grade of the oil. 15W40 indicates that describes the viscosity of the oil.

Top-up packs™ explained - which oil is safe to use in my car?

It is better to top up with any available oil, even if it has a different viscosity grade in an emergency rather than risking running with little or no oil. It is preferable to top up with the same viscosity of the oil, if possible.

Therefore there is no problem topping up with mineral if you run mineral oil and can only top up with a better/worse grade of oil as it will proportionally increase/decrease the qualities of the engine oil.

Oil Viscosity Explained

Viscosity indicates the thickness of the oil. Water has low viscosity while oil’s viscosity is much higher. The thinner the oil, the better lubrication your engine gets as the temperature of an engine increases, the engine oil tends to get thinner. As a result, our entry-level Monograde Oil is suitable for warmer, African climates, while European countries with a colder climate will have decreased lubrication in cold conditions, as engine oil is thick and will only start lubricating your engine as your engine gets warmer. A monograde oil (i.e. G-Base SAE 40) may be effective at high temperatures but is too thick at low temperatures.

This is why additives that modify the viscosity were developed to lower the oil’s viscosity at low temperatures and increase it at high temperatures. For example, G-Power SAE 15W-40 oil behaves like an SAE 15 monograde oil at 40 degrees Celsius, but like an SAE 40 oil at the general operating temperature of 100°C.

We offer many different specifications and viscosities of engine oil. Please feel free to contact us for any advice or for a range that might not be included on our website.

Additive Packages Explained

Each manufacturer adds additive packages during the blending process to meet the performance criteria of each product. These additives strive to:

  • Enhance the viscosity rating;
  • Lower the pour point in cold temperatures;
  • Slow down oxidation at higher temperatures;
  • Remove gases from the oil (anti-foaming);
  • Clean the moving components (detergents);
  • Keep contaminants suspended in the oil and prevent them from settling on the metal surfaces (dispersant);
  • Minimise wear;
  • Inhibit corrosion;
  • Protect engine components under extreme pressure.

Because these additives are added during the process of creating the oil, Bowen is sceptical about any possible benefits of then adding further aftermarket additives to your car’s oil: “It is like adding ingredients to a cake after it was baked.”

Mineral vs Synthetic Oil

While synthetic oil might imply this product is man-made, it’s slightly misleading. Yes, these oils are modified (chemically converted) and purified according to processes developed in a laboratory by the research and development engineers, but these recipes are then turned into processes to mass-produce synthetic oils.

Advantages of synthetic oil over the mineral type

  • Synthetic has high-quality additive packages, resulting in increased performance under extreme conditions;
  • It is a cleaner oil thanks to most impurities having been removed;
  • Free-flowing in cold conditions, as the wax-forming deposits are removed;
  • Thermal stability is improved at high temperatures, which prevents oxidation;
  • Longer service intervals are possible owing to the mentioned benefits.

The process of creating synthetic oil is more complex and costly than mineral oil and those costs are passed on to the consumer. Apart- (or semi-) synthetic oil is a blend of mineral and synthetic oil. To use the term “part synthetic” on the packaging material, the contents must include at least 10% synthetic oil.

The future of engine oil

Fuel economy and emissions targets are forcing the viscosity of oil lower to reduce the friction coefficient (0W-16 is now possible). Downsized turbo engines have higher internal forces and sump capacities are decreasing, and all the while drivers demand longer service intervals. Then there is the ever-present drive for a greener future, with bio-degradability becoming a key objective.

API performance level

On the back of oil bottles, you’ll find an API number, for example, SM. The “S” denotes a spark-ignition engine and the “M” the performance level. The performance level increases along with the alphabet, and the current highest level is N.

Diesel oil will have an API such as CF, where the “C” denotes compression-ignition engines and the “F” the performance rating. “J” is the current highest diesel-oil performance rating. Many oils are developed for both petrol and diesel engines, and the API rating may be combined (for example, SM/CI) to cater for both applications.