Mobil 1 synthetic 0W-40 for winter is too thin for my car?

[talontsiboy24]

I have a 97 auto gsx with 129k miles on stock internals with moderate mods and i just switched to Mobil 1 syn 0w-40 since its winter out here in chicago and temps can range now from low 20s to negative 20...

im not gonna be doin any racing until spring/summer time comes since i know that 0w-40 aint gonna be protecting to well when goin up to 7k rpms so for now with this oil the highest ill go 4000rpms should the be ok?

but come spring.summer ill switch back to 15w-50 since thats what always been used in the car...

i switched because i get alot of knock on a super cold starts and i know thats real bad for the motor now that i switched to 0w-40 i get no knock but the bad about it is my small oil leaks started to show i guess that thick oil was hiding them but at least now i know what i need to replace.

 

[untouchablecc]

Thats new info to me i never knew that. The book calls for 10 30 so thats what i run year round. I hope someone can elaborate on this because it would be nice to know.

 

[jrohner]

It's not the weight change that caused the leaks; synthetic oil is good for leaking. When I first switched to synthetic (I run 5w40 all the time), oil was practically running out all over; now it stays almost dry.

 

[talontsiboy24]

It's not the weight change that caused the leaks; synthetic oil is good for leaking. When I first switched to synthetic (I run 5w40 all the time), oil was practically running out all over; now it stays almost dry.

well it has to be the weight because i never had oil leaks when i used 15w-50 syn but today i switched to 0w-40 syn and the leaks are starting to show up.

Mobil 1 15W-50
SAE Grade 15W-50
Viscosity, ASTM D 445
cSt @ 40º C 131.2
cSt @ 100º C 18.1
Viscosity Index, ASTM D 2270 154
Sulfated Ash, wt%, ASTM D 874 1.21
HTHS Viscosity, mPa•s @ 150ºC ASTM D 4683 4.50
Pour Point, ºC, ASTM D 97 -39
Flash Point, ºC, ASTM D 92 235
Density @15º C kg/l, ASTM D 4052 0.87

Mobil 1 0W-40
Value
Viscosity, ASTM D 445
cSt @ 40º C 78.3
cSt @ 100º C 14
Sulfated Ash, wt%, ASTM D 874 1.2
Phosphorous 0.1
Flash Point, ºC, ASTM D 92 230
Density @15º C kg/l, ASTM D 4052 0.85
Total Base Number (TBN) 11.3
MRV at -40ºC 26242
Viscosity Index 186
HTHS Viscosity, mPa•s @ 150ºC, ASTM D 4683 3.7

 

[brassc2007]

a thinner oil is going to find holes better than a thicker oil take jello for example a half way set jello is going to not seep as much as water would water is much thinner why are you running such a light weight of oil

 

[talontsiboy24]

a thinner oil is going to find holes better than a thicker oil take jello for example a half way set jello is going to not seep as much as water would water is much thinner why are you running such a light weight of oil

just for winter so i can get a fast start up and get things flowing faster plus i wont be beating on it with 0w-40 since its not thick enough to perform well for alot of heat but like i mentioned before temps are low 20s to negative 20 now out here in chicago...once spring comes around ill switch back to the thicker stuff.

0W-40
Features
Advantages and Potential Benefits
Active cleaning agents Prevents deposits and sludge build-up to enable long and clean engine life
Outstanding thermal and oxidation stability Reduces oil ageing allowing extended drain interval protection
Low oil consumption Less hydrocarbon pollution
Enhanced frictional properties Greater fuel economy
Excellent low temperature capabilities Quick cold weather starting and ultra fast protection
Extended engine and electrical system life
High Viscosity Index and Supersyn Technology Excellent overall lubrication and wear protection performance for all driving styles and conditions

Applications

Mobil 1 0W-40 is recommended for all types of modern vehicles, especially high-performance turbo-charged, supercharged gasoline and diesel multi-valve fuel injected engines found in passenger cars, SUVs, light vans and trucks.

 

[dsmtun3r98gst]

Thats new info to me i never knew that. The book calls for 10 30 so thats what i run year round. I hope someone can elaborate on this because it would be nice to know.

yup 10w30 manufacturer recomended weight...... not too thin and not to thick

 

[420a-t]

It will be fine, and better than any 5w-40 or 10w-40 oil. Why are you running such high oil weight in the summertime on a stock internals engine? Did you have high oil pressure problems?

But 0w-xx is going to be the best in the cold winter on any car that's not racing

 

[talontsiboy24]

It will be fine, and better than any 5w-40 or 10w-40 oil. Why are you running such high oil weight in the summertime on a stock internals engine? Did you have high oil pressure problems?

But 0w-xx is going to be the best in the cold winter on any car that's not racing

Well Mobil 1 15W-50's high viscosity provides outstanding performance in high-revving, high-temperature conditions.Mobil 1 15W-50 is recommended for high performance vehicles including turbocharged and supercharged engines where a thicker oil film is desired and is race proven.

Plus my motor has almost 129k miles and im running the fp green turbo and fp tells me not to go below 40..

i mean weight shouldnt matter as long as i have that 40 or 50 in there for protection plus its cold as hell out here and 15w-50 was taking forever to flow and i was getting knock on cold starts in winter...

but i always used 15w-50 syn but i could go 10w-40 but the way i drive 15w-50

 

[DSM1G90]

"W" stands for "Winter", not weight. Read the manual recommendations since the one who wrote the manuals know what the flip they're talking about. You run "ought"/40 in the winter, your main bearing clearance is suffering big time.

Wanna do a crank replacement sooner than you want to?

10w/30 the way for me year around. "40" is too thick for winter usage-even 50 .. like molasses when it's cold (good luck cranking that motor over with molasses in the crankcase).

-DSM

 

[kimcheefists]

"W" stands for "Winter", not weight. Read the manual recommendations since the one who wrote the manuals know what the flip they're talking about. You run "ought"/40 in the winter, your main bearing clearance is suffering big time.

Wanna do a crank replacement sooner than you want to?

10w/30 the way for me year around. "40" is too thick for winter usage-even 50 .. like molasses when it's cold (good luck cranking that motor over with molasses in the crankcase).

-DSM

I don't understand people that change the factory recommended oil. If the manual says 10W-30, use 10W-30. Why change it? When I used to work for Oil Express, there was a customer that wanted GEAR oil in his VW. I told him what the consequences were but still insisted on gear oil. As long as I gave him the warning, my ass was covered.

 

[asexton6969]

As seen on Alldatapro.com

CAUTION
Never use non-detergent or straight mineral oil.

Non-Turbo:


Temperatures below 38°C (100°F) SAE 5W-30 Preferred

Temperatures above -18°C (0°F) SAE 10W-30

Turbo:


Temperatures below 16°C (60°F) SAE 5W-30

Temperatures above 0°C (32°F) SAE 20W-40

Temperatures above -23°C (-10°F) SAE 10W-30

NOTE
Use only engine oils displaying the Engine Oil Licensing and Certification System (EOLCS) certification mark on the container. If these oils are not available, those with an American Petroleum Institute (API) classification SH EC II or SH/CD EC II can be used. The SAE grade number indicates the viscosity of the oil. A proper SAE grade number should be selected according to ambient temperature.

 

[solidviper89]

Thats a cool little picture, does it apply in all cases? Including a modified car?

 

[asexton6969]

No ive seen more charts that get in depth. That was just a generic one from google images. If you spend just a bit of time researching oil viscosity temperature charts. Or different searches similar to that, you should find some more. I used to work for a dealership where I was the master tech and alot of the training we had STRESSED using the correct weight and viscosity of oil.

 

[Grant]

Ok... so if im understanding this correctly... Having a lower weight oil will aid startup in winter, due to reduced friction, but can lead to a lack of oil pressure when the oil is up to temp. But having too heavy of oil will boost your oil pressure, fix tiny oil leaks, and give more protection when at normal operating temps, but give you a much harder startup.... So that means that people in say cananda, or north dakota, etc.. where temps regularly get rather cold should run a much lighter oil than those of us in more moderate climates.....

I think it would be interesting to see some dyno pulls with different temps, same engine, and different weight oils, to see just how much of a difference it makes.....

 

[viperlp01]

Well i recently have had to drive my 2g because my 1gs slave blew on me and i ran 15w-40 in my last oil change. My oil pressure is higher than it was with 10w-30.. Like kinda scary high where I won't go high in revs.. It is sticking around 60 psi on start ups and stays there for a while.. Cruizing at 70 on the freeway when my coolant is warm but my oil is still kinda cold it is like 70!! I know the holset doesn't recommend anything over 72psi... No boost for me in the winter ..

 

[Ninharu]

I live in canada and ive run both 10w30 and 5w30 in the winter. Basically it boils down to this for me. 5w30 will let you start your car to about -35 maybe colder (celcius), or at least for me. Last winter I didnt think it would be a big deal not to change my oil from 10 to 5 and it actually made a huge difference, anything below -20 it was a HARD start. Most of the times it barely turned over and i never knew if it would actually start or not. By the way im running AMS synthetic. If you plan on starting your car at these temps do the switch, at least you know your car will start. As far as performance its obviously not a concern i dont boost over 15 psi and the mileage doesnt change at all.

 

[talontsiboy24]

"W" stands for "Winter", not weight. Read the manual recommendations since the one who wrote the manuals know what the flip they're talking about. You run "ought"/40 in the winter, your main bearing clearance is suffering big time.

Wanna do a crank replacement sooner than you want to?

10w/30 the way for me year around. "40" is too thick for winter usage-even 50 .. like molasses when it's cold (good luck cranking that motor over with molasses in the crankcase).

-DSM

Like i said 15w-50 gave me knock in winter start ups and the car didnt wanna start up when temps were in the low teens and single digits because it couldnt flow fast enough and it was synthetic to.

knock is very bad for your motor imagine how much its suffering knocking for 2-3min? now with the 0w-40 i start up faster and i do feel a smoother drive then with that heavy crap i know i have high mileage but my motor has been on synthetic for yrs...and i wont be beating on it with this oil just to be safe i just need it to get threw this winter and i will switch back to thicker stuff.

 

[420a-t]

FWIW, your oil won't "break down" or become as thin as fast compared to if you use an oil that has the weight and the first number closer together (like a 0w-30 vs. 0w-50). I say "break down" because I know that synthetic oils don't really break down, but I guess "wear out" is a good way to put it.

There's no reason to not run a 0w over a 5w or 10w oil if it freezes in the wintertime where you live and you're not doing road racing in the snow.

Also, the last number is how thick the oil is at operating temp. So if you run Ennos 0w-50 oil you will have the best of both worlds, but it won't protect you as long.

I was asking Evil_eagle what oil I should run, and he said this:

Oil thickness should be determined from clearances of the motor. I set my stroker fairly loose so I run 20w50 AMSOIL.
Loose motor=thicker oil
tight motor=thinner oil
Any motor with bearing clearances looser then .0022" should be using thicker oil.

So, if you're running anything bigger than OEM clearances, use a thicker oil.

Here's a good read on oil that I like. I've read it a couple times now:

Motor Oil

-Josh

 

[talontsiboy24]

FWIW, your oil won't "break down" or become as thin as fast compared to if you use an oil that has the weight and the first number closer together (like a 0w-30 vs. 0w-50). I say "break down" because I know that synthetic oils don't really break down, but I guess "wear out" is a good way to put it.

There's no reason to not run a 0w over a 5w or 10w oil if it freezes in the wintertime where you live.

Also, the last number is how thick the oil is at operating temp. So if you run Ennos 0w-50 oil you will have the best of both worlds, but it won't protect you as long.

I was asking Evil_eagle what oil I should run, and he said this:

Oil thickness should be determined from clearances of the motor. I set my stroker fairly loose so I run 20w50 AMSOIL.
Loose motor=thicker oil
tight motor=thinner oil
Any motor with bearing clearances looser then .0022" should be using thicker oil.

So, if you're running anything bigger than OEM clearances, use a thicker oil.

Here's a good read on oil that I like. I've read it a couple times now:

Motor Oil

-Josh

Yea im on a stock internals only thing to my motor is some aftermarket head studs otherwise its all stock so i think i should be fine with 0w-40 only for winter but my car is tuned for 20psi but i dont wanna push the boost that far i cant really trust this oil right now.

plus oil gets thicker in winter time so if i used 10w-30 it will really be thicker then that and that will lead to ###### a lil knock on cold starts.with the 0w-40 i get fast cold start ups and no knock at all.

 

[420a-t]

You can trust the oil. If youre really that worried, you could buy some amsoil. They've been the top performer in tests a lot lately. Their 0w oil gets to places faster than any other 0w oil, and all synthetics, including them are pretty sticky and stick to stuff anyways. AND, you dont have to change your oil for 5000+ miles.

I called them the other day and talked to a rep and talked to me about what I have done to my car and what I plan to do with it (he was actually into DSM's). He said that he wouldn't reccomend me going any longer than 3000 miles for the first few changes since I'm running e-85 and that they can test it for me, and let me know what exactly is in my used oil to see if I could go longer than that or not.


Just another option to you. In short, your oil is fine to run in th winter time and you wont hurt anyhting by sitching to it and driving like you always do.

 

[DSM1G90]

Put a heat lamp, or a trouble light with a 100w clear bulb in it under the car's oil pan, if you sit outside, while it's parked to keep the oil warm then....

 

[talontsiboy24]

today was 17f and my car started up right away and i didnt get any knock...with 15w-50 man it just wouldnt wanna crank with this cold.

 

[Nati0nalxCrisis]

You used 15w-50 (Heavy as hell) to Ow (light as balls), Can I ask why? I live in Wisconsin, it gets even colder here and I use 5w-30 and I never have problems, just pick up a synthetic 5w-30 or 10w-30, you'll be covered for pretty much all seasons then.

I don't see why you'd wanna go from super super heavy to super light, that doesn't make sense to me.

 

[untouchablecc]

Im a stupid mechanic i just play by the rules. It took a team of scientist/engineers to make the 4g63. They had there reason for running 10-30, because of the oil clearance, oil pump pressure, how it flows through the galleys. So my thought process on this is pretty simple.