Esso XD-3 mileage..

[rcy]

I'm using this oil - 0w30 - in my 2001 Outback H6 (which spec's 5w30). I've noticed the mileage seems to be worse than before (Castrol GTX 5w30).

Will this thicker oil give me worse mileage than another thinner oil, or is it just coincidence (like I put this oil in for winter, and now that winter is here, my mileage was bound to get worse anyway)?

Thanks. The car, by the way, seems to run well with this oil - no funny noises, and cold starts are fine.

 

[oilyriser]

yes, car will use more gas with this, since it is thicker when hot, has a higher HTHS viscosity, and likely has no or less friction modifiers

 

[bob_ninja]

While it is a thick 30 oil, the difference should not be much.
It is hard to compare as we use it during winter when colder temperatures, tougher weather and other problems tend to degrade efficiency far more than oil type.

I mixed in 1L of a 5W20 just to thin it out bit as for Ottawa's cold temps it is thicker than necessary. Still I like it for low temp startups.

If it were available/cheaper, ideally I would mix 1L of Mobil 0W20 with XD3 for great startup and a reasonable 30 weight.

 

[va3ux]

Did the drop in gas mileage coincide exactly with the change to XD-3 ? Did that also happen to coincide with switch to "winter gas" that experience around here in Ontario ?

As already mentioned, the higher viscosity of XD-3 0W30 certainly *can* have a slight negative impact on gas mileage. The stuff certainly does not have the Energy Conserving rating. But the winter gas blend has far more impact than anything else. I easily lose 10% - 15% gas mileage every winter because of the change in gasoline blend. And the longer driveway warm-ups (if you're so inclined)can really have a surprising negative impact too.

 

[Saab9-3]

With my saab, I noticed an increase in fuel mileage changing from xd3 0w40 , to Elf 5w40. Wasnt very much, .2-.3 L/100km. I used XD3 for 2 years with fantastic results.

Now that its winter here, I am running 8.3L/100km where as in the summer I run 7.3 L/100km regardless of what oil I am using. So my guess its the weather and not the oil.

 

[rcy]

Originally Posted By: va3ux
Did the drop in gas mileage coincide exactly with the change to XD-3 ? Did that also happen to coincide with switch to "winter gas" that experience around here in Ontario ?

As already mentioned, the higher viscosity of XD-3 0W30 certainly *can* have a slight negative impact on gas mileage. The stuff certainly does not have the Energy Conserving rating. But the winter gas blend has far more impact than anything else. I easily lose 10% - 15% gas mileage every winter because of the change in gasoline blend. And the longer driveway warm-ups (if you're so inclined)can really have a surprising negative impact too.


I changed the oil around the end of October maybe. Not sure when the winter gas comes out at the pumps.

I'm not an idler, even on the coldest mornings. 30sec to 1min and I'm on my way. Luckily I have seat heaters.

I have about 30 litres of Penzoil Plat 5w30 that I need to use up, and the only xd-3 I have left is 0w40 (from my VW days) so I don't think I'll be using xd-3 much in the near future after this OCI.

Speaking of xd-3, does anyone know if it's still full PAO, or has it changed like Mobil? I only ask because Mobil is the parent company of Esso, is it not?

 

[va3ux]

The middle to the end of October is right around the time that gasoline blend changes over, so that could be it.

The current (August 2007) product data sheet for the XD-3 products indicates that the 0Wxx blends are still PAO.