good/great cold weather oil for Suzuki GZ250...

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I recently bought a 2009 Suzuki GZ250 with @ 1500 miles...currently have 2300+ miles; 'recommended' oil viscosity is 10w-40, but there is a charty listing 10w-30, 10w-40, 15w-40, 20w-40, 20w-50;

in my local area one of the American Legion Rider groups does a benefit/charity ride called 'Frosty Balls & Frozen Susies Run' on New Year's Day and I am planning to ride this year; with ambient temps below 40F (possibly down in the 30's F) what would be a good/great oil to use? is there much difference between 10w-30 & 10w-40 in cold start thickness? should I go as 'thin' as a 5w-40?

this would be the oil I would use as my 'late autumn/winter/early spring' oil change, hence it would be in the motor for a few months, but not alot of miles; thanks...
 
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30F isn't really all that cold yet and not a problem for any 10w-40 oil out there. You could run Valvo 10w-40 mineral or their 4T 10w-40 synthetic.

With that said, I did run Rotella T6 5w-40 in my GZ250 once... no issues either.

I think your own body will have a harder time coping with such cold riding temps than your engine. Dress appropriately.
 
At those temps is use what I always use in my shared sump bikes ,Rotella 15w-40.
In my bikes I used to use high priced synthetics however I found that they sheared out of grade just as fast as their conventional counterparts which would increase valve train noise and irritate me to no end,so I'd change the oil,which then led to more costly maintenance since if I can't extend the oil change interval,because of the oil shearing,then there is absolutely no point is using a synthetic oil,which led me to this point,where I run conventional rotella 15w-40 in everything.


With amsoil 10w-40 4T oil I'd get about 2700 miles before the top end noise became loud enough for me to change it.
Mobil 1 10w-40 4T oil would get unbearably noisy consistently before 2500 miles,but conventional rotella will run 3000+ miles before it's sheared enough to increase the valvetrain acoustics.
So at these typical mileages for me it doesn't pay to run a synthetic.
I'm not implying or saying that increased acoustic automatically means more wear,and I'm sure that in all the lubricants I used as examples there's ample tbn to extend the intervals longer but running longer intervals means I've gotta put up with noise that sounds like rattling a can of marbles,which will make me not want to ride at all.
I ride because I enjoy it. I would enjoy it less if I was forced to endure listening to that noise,so I change the oil,noise is gone and I'm back in my happy place.
At 3000 miles I figure it's close to the manufacturer's recommended interval so once I consider the costs involved and include the enjoyment factor it just makes sense to me to run a conventional.
If I rode in consistently cold weather is run rotella conventional 10w-30 in the bikes.
It's got the exact same add pack as the 15w-40,it's just a different viscosity,and I know the 15w-40 is stamped that it meets JASO I'm 100% confident it would work stellar in colder conditions.
If your wanting a synthetic then use rotella t-6 5w-40 or 0w-40. Both will flow in -40 temps and are way overkill for 40f temps,and will shear quicker than the conventional 15w-40 but if your only running it for 1 event it likely not going to matter.
 
Towards the beginning and end of winter when I'm still riding my air cooled GS500 in ~35F temps, I find that the bike's only trouble is with starting. Once it's warmed up, it doesn't seem to matter too much.

I usually us 10W40 or 15W40 during the warm months, and switch to a blend of 10W40 and 5W30 for the colder times. I haven't tried synthetic, or else I'd probably go with a 5W40 year round.

If you're willing to spend a little more, you could run T6 like Pete suggests. It's known to shear a little more than the HD 15W40, but for your low winter miles, it could be ideal.

Keeping your battery on a tender and fully charged should help with the slow starts too.

GL!
 
My 280cc Suzuki kingquad will start 10-20F with Rotella 15W40 in it, and down to -10F with 10W40 in it. Now I just run T6 5W40 year round as it gets used quite a bit in the winter too.
I don't know how much our engines have in common, but this one seems pretty tough. I have 1000-1500hrs on it with nothing but semi regular maintenance.
 
sounds good so far...leaning towards a 10w-40, even if it's just a PCMO with generic add pack (little or no moly); I did it 2 years ago in a Yamaha V Star 650 I used to own...ran Autozone 10w-40 pcmo (Warren Performance Products subcontractor) @ 750 miles (late autumn & early spring) before switching to a 10w-40 synthetic blend mc oil (Suzuki brand if I remember correctly); when I did that I didn't run the bike in the deep of winter (even 'fogged' the engine for storage); the other idea I had was to snag some 15w-40 synthetic blend (Wolf's Head if I remember correctly);

basic pds data for Wolf's Head HDEO's are here (-35C pour point seems to be good for cold weather):
http://free.study2.org/h/heavy-duty-diesel-engine-oils-wolfs-head-oil-w15543/

just trying to narrow down my choice now so I can snag something on sale when I see it; thanks for suggestions
 
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I've run t6 5w-40 in my bike in the 30's with no problem like others here have said. $21.99 at Walmart is hard to beat.
 
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the golden elves would welcome you with open arms.

say hello to Castrol Syntec 0w30 (german castrol - GC)


who be golden elves? lol!

is the Castrol Syntec 0w-30 a PCMO? what does the labeling look like (so I can differentiate between German formula and U.S. {grp III}) formula?
 
Originally Posted By: kmrcstintn
what does the labeling look like (so I can differentiate between German formula and U.S. {grp III}) formula?

There is no 0w-30 US formula anymore.

Actually, the current batches of Castrol Edge 0w-30 are made in Belgium. You could also try Edge 0w-40, but it might shear quicker.
 
I'm gonna go with a decent 10w-40 synthetic blend MC oil when I can snag some on discount (local dealer usually does 20% off stuff twice a year)...thinking either Suzuki 'Boulevard V-Twin' synthetic-blend (SOPUS product) or Yamalube or Castrol Actevo (from Cycle Gear);
 
Originally Posted By: sunruh
so did something change in the last 1.5 years?

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/castrol-edge-qa/

because as of sept 21 2012 castrol edge 0w30 with syntec is exactly the good ol' German Castrol.

Actually, Edge 0w-30 that we get over here in the US is now made in Belgium. Whether anything has changed in its formulation, I don't know. PDS is still the same.

Quote:

and yes the 0w40 was always the belgium castrol.

Actually, Edge 0w-40 is now made in Germany:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...s_5#Post3314142
 
I have had some experience with the earlier version of the Rotella 5W40 in cold riding weather I.e. 20 to 40 degrees average...
It was just fine..fairly easy to start and not much warm up time at low travel speed before it felt ready to speed up...

However, the the early Rotella 5W40 did seem to shear down fairly quickly in summer weather. I do not know how well the current product fairs in summer weather. But for my money, I think that Rotella 15W40 is perhaps the best all around oil for the little GZ. It does not seem to matter what you run, you can tell by the ease of shifting gears that the oil should be changed around 1000 to 1500 miles. It is always amazing to me to notice the difference in shifting after an oil change...
 
I have run the 5w 40 rotella, it does fine, but i think does not hold up over time as well as the 15w 40. You will feel the shifter get notchy when it needs to be changed.
 
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