Originally Posted By: 21Rouge
When I bought my jug of XD 0W30 from my local Home Hardware it was just over $7 per litre (w/0 taxes)
Just curious as to the cost of the XD 5W30.
Have you done or ever seen a UOA of this oil?
Home Hardware advertises a lot of good oil choices on their website. I haven't been inside one in ages, however, to see what's available locally.
I'm not sure yet on the cost of the XD-3 5w-30, and I don't believe I've seen any UOAs on it. I haven't actually tried it myself. It just happens to be a useful winter weight oil (year round, really, for the truck) with sufficient ZDDP for the old 4.9L, which really may or may not be an issue. This way, I'm getting a decent oil at a sensible viscosity and sensible price with sufficient ZDDP, as opposed to blowing money on additives, or hunting down oddball PCMO grades with higher zinc for the summer and blowing money on and finding higher ZDDP synthetics for the winter, and trying to recoup my investment by going on extended OCIs with a carburetor.
Considering I want to run conventional, it will be much simpler and cheaper to stick with a 5w-30 that falls within specifications both for viscosity and API rating yet still has sufficient zinc in the event it is an issue. It'll also do the trick for the lawnmower and snowblower and will work for the Audi in winter, too, if need be.
Before the rebuild, it got Delvac 1300 in the summer and Valvoline MaxLife 5w-30 in the winter. I definitely liked that MaxLife, but after the rebuild, I don't feel the need for a high mileage oil, and getting one at a sensible price up here, particularly the Valvoline, can be a bit of a challenge. QS GB on rollback with Comp Cams additive is a cheaper combination than the MaxLife at "normal" prices, when I can even find it these days. My Walmarts no longer carry it, nor does CT.
Originally Posted By: BobFout
For your climate (talking year-round oil, or a non-summer oil) 0w40 outta be a better choice.
I would agree. When I bought the 5w-40, however, they had no 0w-40 in stock. So, that pretty much shot that idea to heck; it had been my original plan. The 5w-40 I picked up (with the higher TBN than the 0w-40, according to the Imperial Oil site), was the ESP with the CJ rating. I originally thought the same thing, that it was, perhaps, a CI or something or non-ESP, but that wasn't the case.
While I am in Saskatchewan, I'm not too terribly concerned about cold pumping, considering that the Audi, at least, spends most of its time indoors. That's not to say I'm going to run 15w-40 in the winter, either, but I won't fret too much between a 5w-40 and a 0w-40. That RP 0w-40 was rather nice in the cold, though.