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| What oil do you guys run? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 18 2014, 08:16 PM (4,295 Views) | |
| Hotrodray1 | Aug 19 2014, 12:49 PM Post #31 |
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Over Educated parts guy
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I run 0w-30 Mobil full synthetic and a wix gold filter. In every suzuki product I have from a 1.0 liter to my 1.3 Dohc |
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| yiffzer | Aug 19 2014, 12:50 PM Post #32 |
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Forgot His Manpurse
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Mobil 1 Synthetic 0W-40 European Formula. |
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| Cubey | Aug 19 2014, 01:53 PM Post #33 |
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A generic recommendation is still accurate if the oil info is right. Minus 30 is 62 degrees below freezing. Does anyone on this forum even experience that kind of low temperature? Maybe someone in Alaska or in the Northwest Territories does. If it's -30 degrees out, you better hope your antifreeze is true 50/50 blend (or has more antifreeze than water) or your engine/radiator will be on the verge of freezing.
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| Cubey | Aug 19 2014, 02:01 PM Post #34 |
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The "5w" in 5w30 is the WINTER rating. It means zilch in summer. You may as well run 0w30 all year long since it's the same oil at summer temps. Like you said, oil thins the hotter it gets.[/quote]Texas is somewhat like California, temperatures vary widely depending on where you are in the state. In the Piney woods region of NE TX, it gets below freezing in January at night and sometimes snows or at least ices up. Yes, summer is extreme even in that NE region. It gets horrible weather and temperatures no matter what what time of the year it is ... well, except for around March and Mid-October to Mid-November. The rest of the time, it's horrible extremes mostly. That's partly why I'm now in WA, west of the mountains. It's the middle of August and I'm in a poorly insulated tuna can (Class B motorhome) and I barely have to use AC. It's exactly 12 noon and it's about 85 degrees in here with some ventilation going on, parked in the sun with no shade. Meanwhile in TX, I'd guess it's 90-100 depending where you check.
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| Coche Blanco | Aug 19 2014, 02:37 PM Post #35 |
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Troll Certified
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Where exactly are we getting that the "w" = winter? I run whatever is cheapest, or one up from the cheapest, on any car of mine that burns oil. The cars that don't burn oil get 0w40 Mobil 1. |
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| Cubey | Aug 19 2014, 03:01 PM Post #36 |
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#3: http://www.valvoline.com/faqs/motor-oil/types-weights-and-viscosity/ |
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| Justahoby | Aug 19 2014, 04:53 PM Post #37 |
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Unqualified informant
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This I have run , and it is good , it is not cheap , but one wal mart two towns away carries it .. Edited by Justahoby, Aug 19 2014, 04:55 PM.
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| Coche Blanco | Aug 19 2014, 05:30 PM Post #38 |
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Troll Certified
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Weird. Could have sworn it meant 'weight' but what do I know? Learn something new everyday I guess. |
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| Cubey | Aug 19 2014, 06:33 PM Post #39 |
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That's a common mistake. A lot of FAQs about oil mention that very thing. The accurate way to format oil velocities is to have a dash in between, which is how all the major brands do it is, ie: 10W-30 ...... 10 winter (how well it moves when cold), 30 (full operating temp). The #W doesn't even stand for "weight" by any means what so ever. Instead it stands for how well that bottle of 30 weight oil moves when it's cold. Apparently, not all 30 weight (when hot) oil is the same when it's cold. Or 20 or 40 weight for that matter. It somehow depends on it's molecular structure in how it's formulated in the refining process. They test it HOT first by rate of flow, then test it COLD with a metal ball and a magnet to see how much energy it takes to move the metal ball in the very cold oil. That's how they get the #W rating. For the most part, 10W-30 is what 90% of people in USA can use safely in their cars (if their engine calls for a *W-30 oil that is) since that's the most realistic temperature range. People in states like Minnesota will probably want straight 0W-30 or 5W-30 in their winter months since those two perform the best below 0 degrees Fahrenheit (32 below freezing) since it's very much possible to get that cold there. For the rest of us who don't generally see temps that low, 10W-30 is adequate. It does no harm to use 5W-30 but it won't save you any gas over 10W-30 at full operating temperature no matter what time of the year it is since the trailing "30" is what the oil is when it's at full operating temperature. The guy in this video explains it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_iN_IJpSIU I may very well go with 5W-30 in winter months since it doesn't hurt to be prepared for extra cold temps. Especially if I ever decide to travel any in the winter in areas where it's mountainous where snow chains may be required. 0W-30 is probably overkill unless you're at the North Pole. ![]() Oh, and that first chart I posted may actually be wildly inaccurate for HIGH temperatures. According to this, 0W-30 is BAD for hot temperatures (I now seem to recall reading that before). If single velocity oils were really the best for a wide range of climates, that's what would be standard instead of 10W-30, 5W-30, 10W-40 and so on. At least that's my thought about 0W-* oils.
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| Cubey | Aug 19 2014, 06:41 PM Post #40 |
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Now I've watched the VERY END of the video I linked and the guy says that Mobile 1 0W30 is actually the "best" and that it has to do with the base stock of oil they have to refine from, so... I guess I was mistaken about it being inferior and so is that second chart I posted. I guess straight 30 weight oil fell out of favor in favor of 10W30 since the base stock oil is actually LESS good and more plentiful and therefore is cheaper and easier to produce. Or am I still way off base? Oil velocity ratings are not easy to understand.
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| Coche Blanco | Aug 19 2014, 06:46 PM Post #41 |
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Troll Certified
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No, they are not. lol I still don't see what the numbers are even for if they can't be used as some kind of reference point. |
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| Cubey | Aug 19 2014, 07:04 PM Post #42 |
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The numbers are for the scientists/techs with the oil company, mostly. They put it into a format that can be pinpointed so the consumer can understand (to an extent) relating to what their car manufacturer's recommended oil. If they just said "use 30 weight oil", people wouldn't know if they should use 0W-30, 5W-30 or 10W-30. If they are in Florida, 10W-30 is probably best year-round. If they live in Alaska, 0W-30 is probably best year-round. It's a way of standardizing based on what the engine's designer's recommend as a general rule. By the way, I just looked up in my original 93 Geo Metro owner's manual and they say you can use SAE30 if the temps are ABOVE 40 degrees but it's considered a last resort if 5W-30 or 10W-30 aren't available. |
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| ZXTjato | Aug 19 2014, 07:14 PM Post #43 |
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bass heads
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So basicly if I want to save a few bucks the engine will do better with 0W30? Even if it was .5 exta gas over a week that adds up super fast for me with so many miles being pushed on my car. It never gets cold here like 60-70 people around here think is cold. |
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| nickb803 | Aug 19 2014, 07:32 PM Post #44 |
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NickB803
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Mobil 1 5w30 full synthetic |
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| Cubey | Aug 19 2014, 07:44 PM Post #45 |
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No. It's better in terms of temperature range. They consider it their "premium", best of the best. But that doesn't mean a great deal. It's marketing! You don't need straight 30 but they sell it as a higher cost since there is less of it (?) or it's somehow better in terms of the velocity when both hot and cold. BUT like I sad, Geo didn't even recommend 0W-30 except as a last resort according to my 93 owner's manual, somewhere around page 195. |
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It's the middle of August and I'm in a poorly insulated tuna can (Class B motorhome) and I barely have to use AC. It's exactly 12 noon and it's about 85 degrees in here with some ventilation going on, parked in the sun with no shade. Meanwhile in TX, I'd guess it's 90-100 depending where you check.

9:28 AM Jul 11