Cold weather oil

[Brent_G]

Whats the best cold weather oil, either 20 or 30 weight. after jan first(my next oil change) the weather really starts getting cold and I would like the thinnest oil at startup possible. temps drop to 5 degrees to 5 below nightly, and will dip a few days into the 30s and 40s below.

The oil will be going into my beater blazer(96 with 4.3) that sees yearly ocis, and my f150 which gets 3-6 month oics depending on driving habits. truck specs 5w30 or 5w20 with the backspec(5.4). plan is to go with afe 0w20 but im up for any oil that i can get, including redline or amsoil. They dont have to be the same oil, nor does running a 20 in the blazer bother me, as it has went around 15k on a 20 with the oil pressure holding about the same as a 30 weight and still runs great. In your guys opinion what is the thinnest oil in the extreme cold.

 

[bullwinkle]

AFE has been pretty good for me so far (0W30)-and I had ZERO consumption in 8K in my xB, although it did shear & and deplete TBN pretty hard. Being my wife's car, which is usually last in the driveway, it has to start to get the BIG trucks out!

 

[Merkava_4]

You don't need anything thinner than 5W-30.

 

[Brent_G]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
You don't need anything thinner than 5W-30.


While you are true(heck my dads 6.8 v10 in one of his tow trucks has lived off 15W40 in the same weather for over 170k miles now) i prefer my vehicles to have the lightest startup oil possible in the winter, summer it goes to whatever dino on sale, but winter, with its 40 below weather i want my oil atleast a liquid. I have been pleased with afe 0w30 last oci, currently on 5w20, but i was not sure what was truly the lightest oil in the extreme cold. 5w doesnt bother me until the weather starts dipping in the negitives more than once a week, thats why im running 5w20 now

 

[Brent_G]

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
AFE has been pretty good for me so far (0W30)-and I had ZERO consumption in 8K in my xB, although it did shear & and deplete TBN pretty hard. Being my wife's car, which is usually last in the driveway, it has to start to get the BIG trucks out!

I must agree. afe has been one of the best oils that ive ran in the truck. never got an analysis due to dumping early last fill but it ran smooth. the 5w20 currently seems to be a bit louder in the morning, but nobody ever said the 5.4 is a quite engine.

I ran 0w30 amsoil in my probe for 7k last change and i was impressed with it. smooth and quite.

But ive been a lurker on these forums for years, and i love trying new oils.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: Brent_G

While you are true(heck my dads 6.8 v10 in one of his tow trucks has lived off 15W40 in the same weather for over 170k miles now) i prefer my vehicles to have the lightest startup oil possible in the winter, summer it goes to whatever dino on sale, but winter, with its 40 below weather i want my oil atleast a liquid. I have been pleased with afe 0w30 last oci, currently on 5w20, but i was not sure what was truly the lightest oil in the extreme cold. 5w doesnt bother me until the weather starts dipping in the negitives more than once a week, thats why im running 5w20 now


Just remember that the thinner the oil is when you shut off the engine, the more it's gonna drain off all the internal parts; leaving next to nothing to coat the engine with for the next start up. I'd rather have a nice film of oil on my internal parts to prevent metal to metal contact until the oil pump gets the oil circulating.

 

[Brent_G]

That is a true point for sure. but also the thinner the oil the sooner oil gets to parts. and at -30, even 5wxx is jelly. and even a straight 50 is decently thin at 200 degrees

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: Brent_G
but also the thinner the oil the sooner oil gets to parts.


A good durable oil film will already be there before you turn the key.

 

[ARB1977]

I like AFE 0W30, may go with 0w20 in the CRV next year.

 

[demarpaint]

Why not use Mobil 1 AFE 0W20 in the Ford, and 0W30 in the Chevy? Good oils, easy to get, no shipping or any other charges, and you can usually find them on sale as part of an Oil Change Special, or grab them in Walmart.

 

[A_Harman]

M1 0w-'s have pretty much the lowest MRV's available. 0w20 is 10400, 0w30 is 17100. If you want the lowest, go with the 0w20, even in your GM 4.3. But I would recommend switching to a 30-weight during the summer.

 

[Radman]

Why not make things easy and run 5W30 in your cars,and Rotella in your bikes?

 

[ARCOgraphite]

OP:
Any engines I had fail were due to inadequate HTHS not cold flow. You are misperceiving a "problem" that rarely exists except in the coldest climates. The lowered DP/AW and low HTHS is the big kill issue on modern engines.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
OP:
Any engines I had fail were due to inadequate HTHS not cold flow. You are misperceiving a "problem" that rarely exists except in the coldest climates. The lowered DP/AW and low HTHS is the big kill issue on modern engines.



I dont know Arco, but -40 sounds pretty harsh to me.

 

[A_Harman]

Yes, since the OP is in South Dakota, I think he needs the 0w oils.

 

[Oldwolf]

Here in NC I use 0W30 year long in my Prius. My Explorer gets 0W40. But when I am freezing my shorts off you would probably say it is "balmy".

 

[mongo161]

IMO....you could try a 0w-20 in QSUD, Valvoline SynPower, Mobil Super Synthetic for the extreme cold and morning start ups.

All mentioned by the above posts are quality oils that can be found at retailers, and in most cases at a reasonable price, or on sale.

 

[KrisZ]

If -40 is a pretty usual temp. for winter, then using a block heater will be far better than trying out any 0w oils. What difference will 0w oil make if it gets to parts few seconds faster in the grand scheme of things?

I'd rather implement a true solution than something that just looks better on paper, but makes little difference in real world.

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
M1 0w-'s have pretty much the lowest MRV's available. 0w20 is 10400, 0w30 is 17100. If you want the lowest, go with the 0w20, even in your GM 4.3.

+1

If you're going to be starting your vehicles unaided at temp's as low as -30F and -40, M1 AFE 0W-20 and 0W-30 are the oils of choice in the States, there's nothing better.

Ironically M1 0W-20 is a quite robust oil at hot operating temp's with a HTHSV of 2.7cP and it actually meets the old Corvette 4718M spec' so you could use this oil into the summer
in the GM 4.3 for anything other than heavy trailer pulling.

 

[Brent_G]

Sounds like 0w20 afe will be the way to go. I do use a block heater when available, but sometimes i cant always have the truck near a plugin, like at work when i work overnights, or when im doing snow removal, or on a tow in a blizzard. Thats why i want the thinnest posible. neither of the vehicles pull trailers anymore, and the blazer is just a winter beater since in south dakota, a snowflake falls, and the salt trucks are out in full force. last year we had proly 4 days of close to -45 with wind chill, and a few good weeks in the 15 to 25 below.