Topic says it all.

 

I was using 0w30 mobil 1 but the last two trips to the store,they were out so i am using 5w30.

 

I was using 5-20Val. Now it's got 3500 miles & I just changed to 5-30 Mobil 1 sunday afternoon.

It's a little quieter at start up and I've noticed it seems to rev quicker/high at cold startup.

I was going to use the 0-30 because of my driving style/distances but it just seem to much of a pain to get it at the times I need to. (Like on my way home after midnight from my 2nd job)

WOT

 

Where do you guys live that you need a 0 weight oil??? Thats only used in extremely cold temps .... just curious.

 

Amsoil 0w-30 severe service..

 

The way I understand it, the major synthetics offer this as a "gas saving" weight.

Based on one of their websites explainations (and my engineering backgound) their 0w-30 oil meets the centistroke testing requirements for a 30W when at high temps.

But keep in mind this "requirement" or "standard" is actually a specified range. I guess they've engineered this 0w-30 to fall within the same specs as a 5w-30 or 10w-30?

Personally I drive like a grandpa (by mich standards ) and over 100 miles per day at that. So Milage is of some concern to me. it might help me to fill up every 4 days instead of every 3.

BTW: I filled up sat afternoon and the avg was 17.2. Can't wait to see what the mobil 1 is gonna do for me.

WOT

 

I was at the dealer yesterday and spoke to a tech that has a 01' L. When he went to svt tech school or whatever he was told by the Ford people that the 99'-00' and 01'-02' motors are not exactly the same. The tolerances are different and 5w20 is the only type to be used. He questioned the trainer and was told again. It's not just for emissions. He will put nothing but Motorcraft 5w20 in his modded truck. He always tells me this every time when i'm in service. Don't know for sure but everyone has their own opinion. JDM told me the same thing.

 

I know and have spoke to some of my *friends* about this. And it's true that 5w-20 is the oil that has been specified and tested to.

But keep in mind there is a "green" agenda being pushed.

?W-30 will be fine for a 5.4SC motor. However I personally think going with a ?W-40 or thicker could lead to starvation problems. I would'nt go there unless I had 150K+ miles on it.

WOT

 

I'm no expert so someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the only difference between a 5w and a 0w is that the 0w will be pourable at a lower temp than the 5w, the 0W is just a special case denoting this. It would be impossible to have oil that passes through the viscometer in 0 seconds. A 5W pour point I read somewhere is at -40°F for most oils, where as a 0W is something like -50°F.

the first number, 0W,5W,10W is only applicable in cold conditions and is tested at 0°F, so during warm weather these numbers dont mean anything.

the second number 20,30,50,etc applies to hot temperatures tested at 212°F. The higher the number, basically the thinner the oil gets at higher temps.

So for just about everyone here unless they are living in some extreme conditions, a 5w30 and a 0w30 will be the same.

Sorry for the novel, I am bored and have nothing better to do right now, maybe I should just shut-up

 

In your post you say that a higher number means it is thinner. This is incorect.


A higher number on either scale is a thicker oil.


The temp rating is correct, however dont think of it as the oil being thinner at 0F then at 212. Its actually orders of magnitude different. Mulitgrade oils just mean that at 0F (the W number) they behave like this weight oil and at higher temp as this weight.


Lower numbers are always thinner!


The diff in viscosity however is still very large and always thinner at the hotter temp.


However the slope of the viscosity/temp gradient has been altered from a standard SAE oil through the use of additives and hence why they are considered multigrade because if you plotted viscosity versus temp and then sae 0 and sae 30....sae 0W-30 would cross the SAE 0 Line at 0F and the SAE 30 line at 212F (roughly, there usaully not that close..)


Generally a good thing for a auto. However the key point to consider with any oil is that film thickness is proportional to viscosity and inversly proportional to load. If the film thickness decreases below the asperity height of your metal to metal surfaces actual wear will take place and you will chew your bearings. This happens all the time at startup however if it occurs say due to High RPM (high load) and high temp (lower viscosity) and your film is not thick enough then you will have very rapid bearing failure. However, while increasing viscosity increases bearing load support for a given film thickness, the ability for XX PSI to push XX flow of oil through the system is decreased. If the flow rate does not equal the bearing leakage rate (rate which oil flows out the ends) then the bearing will also fail. Also, you cannot design the bearing to flow to little oil as the oil is being heated while int he bearing. If it gets to hot, the oil will breakdown. So the best oil for a engine is one which compromises on these three things.


For a high precision engine with very tight tolerances asperity height is decreased therefore allowing a low viscosity oil for the same loading for a decrease in drag without suffering more leakage. To high of a viscosity will cause to little to flow through the bearing and the oil will breakdown and the metal will sieze together. This is what would happen if you took a 2002 honda and poured SAE 50 into it. (Just a guess, no exact data)

Tribology 101

 

What Incon said....He beat me to the "thinner" mistake.

Dan

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

I was just gona say " use what the manufactor recommends". But I use Amsoil

 

hey, i also heard that synthetic was a thinner oil than regular??

For example, if you want to use 5w30 regular oil in the truck, if you use synthetic, you might want to consider using 10w30?

Tell me if this is complete bs, or if it holds any truth at all....

 

Yes, it's BS. Go by the weight. Synthetic is slicker in terms of friction, not because it might be a thinner oil (which it isn't).

So people will know, there isn't anything wrong w/ using 5w-30 in your '01 or '02. It's mainly a green agenda thing like wydopnthrtl stated. Honda went to it as well.

Some people experience a "dieseling" sound w/ a thinner weight oil in their '01 or '02 Lightning, or w/ a synthetic of similar weight to factory (i.e. 5w-20). If you have this problem w/ synthetics then go to a 5w-30. Most of the time, anyways, it'll go away as the motor warms up. It hasn't really been proven to be harmful, either.

I could add more, but I'm bored.