Adding heavy oil treatment changes oil viscosity?

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I wanted to know if i add a heavy oil treatment like stp as my engine is burning oil " 500ml every 1000km " to 20w50 oil would that increase the viscosity like 30w60 or something like that or does it thicken in the gap areas in combustion chamber, as the weather now in Egypt is kinda cold " 6 Celsius to 12 Celsius maximum " and i am worried about the cold flow in such low temps even if the engine is consuming oil
 
I've never had any success with any "oil treatment" successfully reducing oil consumption on an engine that is already consuming that much oil.

Can you provide some details on the vehicle and what oil you are using? I would NOT be using a 20W-50 weight in those temperatures. It's going to flow like gear lube...
 
Originally Posted by 1911CHAMPION
I've never had any success with any "oil treatment" successfully reducing oil consumption on an engine that is already consuming that much oil.

Can you provide some details on the vehicle and what oil you are using? I would NOT be using a 20W-50 weight in those temperatures. It's going to flow like gear lube...

I have a 98 Mitsubishi lancer with an engine that was badly rebuilt ...”
 
What's the factory recommended oil viscosity for your year/make/model/engine?

And does it spec something different dependent on ambient temperature?
 
Originally Posted by 1911CHAMPION
What's the factory recommended oil viscosity for your year/make/model/engine?

And does it spec something different dependent on ambient temperature?


Its okay to use 20w50 as temp never go lower than 6 Celsius as per the manual but does the oil treatment increase the viscosity to higher number?


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Last edited:
Originally Posted by Espada
I have a 98 Mitsubishi lancer with an engine that was badly rebuilt ...”

No engine treatment will fix a poorly rebuilt engine.
Only an additional rebuild will fix it.
 
Originally Posted by Imp4
Originally Posted by Espada
I have a 98 Mitsubishi lancer with an engine that was badly rebuilt ...”

No engine treatment will fix a poorly rebuilt engine.
Only an additional rebuild will fix it.

Nah won't do that trying to prolong the life of the engine i have now untill it dies then i will get a 1500cc short block and throw the old one till then i am trying to save the engine oil as much as i can
 
Originally Posted by Espada
I wanted to know if i add a heavy oil treatment like stp as my engine is burning oil " 500ml every 1000km " to 20w50 oil would that increase the viscosity like 30w60 or something like that or does it thicken in the gap areas in combustion chamber, as the weather now in Egypt is kinda cold " 6 Celsius to 12 Celsius maximum " and i am worried about the cold flow in such low temps even if the engine is consuming oil


I would work on the reason for oil burning vs trying to stop it with a heavy weight oil.
 
Originally Posted by Espada

Nah won't do that trying to prolong the life of the engine i have now untill it dies then i will get a 1500cc short block and throw the old one till then i am trying to save the engine oil as much as i can


I agree with your strategy. The advice some give to "rebuild it again" is not particularly practical.

Try the 20-50. It may or may not work. Try the STP too. My favorite for worn engines is "Restore". Its a proven product.
 
Originally Posted by gfh77665
Originally Posted by Espada

Nah won't do that trying to prolong the life of the engine i have now untill it dies then i will get a 1500cc short block and throw the old one till then i am trying to save the engine oil as much as i can


I agree with your strategy. The advice some give to "rebuild it again" is not particularly practical.

Try the 20-50. It may or may not work. Try the STP too. My favorite for worn engines is "Restore". Its a proven product.

Finally someone that understand my point of view but its okay to use 20w50 with heavyweight oil treatment? Talking about oil flow at start up, And I don't have that item called " restore " in Egypt unfortunately i have to stick with STP
 
I had an Isuzu 1.8 liter in a 1980 Chevy Luv....

It burned so much oil, a quart every 25 miles - All I ever put in was thick goop, VERY SELDOM ever added "engine oil"

I drove it that way for 2 years, even in Montana winters below 0*C

It still ran perfect when I sold it.

You can try your idea - if it works, no harm was done.
 
I used STP in a beat up bad rebuild Chevy box truck 20 years ago definitely slowed down consumption I would definitely try it. I'm guessing In Egypt it's pretty hot year round so start up concerns less concerning.
 
Originally Posted by Espada

Finally someone that understand my point of view but its okay to use 20w50 with heavyweight oil treatment? Talking about oil flow at start up, And I don't have that item called " restore " in Egypt unfortunately i have to stick with STP


I don't know the exact answer but I believe with the Egypt climate, yes, the STP is OK to use. The only time I would not use STP would be if I lived in a very cold climate. The STP will not be much thicker than the 20-50 anyway, so you do not risk much since the viscosity change will not be a very great difference.
 
Originally Posted by gfh77665

I don't know the exact answer but I believe with the Egypt climate, yes, the STP is OK to use.


Cairo is on the same latitude as New Orleans; record low in Cairo is 34*F, record high is 118*F. It's been significantly colder in New Orleans, however. Just a reference since we don't know where in Egypt OP is at.
 
Sometimes going with a heavier oil or a thick oil treatment can be the wrong thing to do on an oil burner. It all depends on why the engine is burning oil. Sometimes the ring groves get caked up and don't allow the rings to seal properly. In this case you would need an oil with greater cleaning ability such has a diesel oil. Also may help to go with a lower viscosity to help dissolve the sludge.
 
Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
Originally Posted by gfh77665

I don't know the exact answer but I believe with the Egypt climate, yes, the STP is OK to use.


Cairo is on the same latitude as New Orleans; record low in Cairo is 34*F, record high is 118*F. It's been significantly colder in New Orleans, however. Just a reference since we don't know where in Egypt OP is at.

I live in Cairo

Originally Posted by Dave1027
Sometimes going with a heavier oil or a thick oil treatment can be the wrong thing to do on an oil burner. It all depends on why the engine is burning oil. Sometimes the ring groves get caked up and don't allow the rings to seal properly. In this case you would need an oil with greater cleaning ability such has a diesel oil. Also may help to go with a lower viscosity to help dissolve the sludge.


The piston rings is the main culprit here
 
IMO, the affect that an oil treatment would have on the cold cranking ability of an oil is not known because it is not something that is tested. We sometimes see comments on uoa's along the lines of "the oil sheared to a 5W-20", although what the lab means is that the oil sheared to a 20 grade because they likely did not actually perform a cold cranking viscosity test.

In those temps, I'd probably be a little more comfortable running a 10W-50, if you have access to it, and adding STP to that would probably have less of an impact on cold cranking than adding it to a 20W-50. Otherwise, the only thing that I would recommend is to just try it and see what happens. And regardless of viscosity used just take it easy until the car is at operating temp. Do you have a temp gauge?

edit: Which STP oil treatment are you asking about? I just looked up STP Engine Stop Leak.

Viscosity: 3,150 cSt at 40°C
296.5 cSt at 100°C
shocked2.gif

Adding 20% of that to an 18 cSt oil puts you above a 60 grade oil at 100C according to a viscosity calculator.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by bluesubie
Adding 20% of that to an 18 cSt oil.

Ran out of editing time but didn't mean 20% of the bottle, but if a bottle of this is 20% of your sump.
 
Originally Posted by bluesubie
IMO, the affect that an oil treatment would have on the cold cranking ability of an oil is not known because it is not something that is tested. We sometimes see comments on uoa's along the lines of "the oil sheared to a 5W-20", although what the lab means is that the oil sheared to a 20 grade because they likely did not actually perform a cold cranking viscosity test.

In those temps, I'd probably be a little more comfortable running a 10W-50, if you have access to it, and adding STP to that would probably have less of an impact on cold cranking than adding it to a 20W-50. Otherwise, the only thing that I would recommend is to just try it and see what happens. And regardless of viscosity used just take it easy until the car is at operating temp. Do you have a temp gauge?

edit: Which STP oil treatment are you asking about? I just looked up STP Engine Stop Leak.

Viscosity: 3,150 cSt at 40°C
296.5 cSt at 100°C
shocked2.gif

Adding 20% of that to an 18 cSt oil puts you above a 60 grade oil at 100C according to a viscosity calculator.

I have a temp gauge and i am talking about this stp

images.jpeg
 
Originally Posted by Espada
Originally Posted by bluesubie
IMO, the affect that an oil treatment would have on the cold cranking ability of an oil is not known because it is not something that is tested. We sometimes see comments on uoa's along the lines of "the oil sheared to a 5W-20", although what the lab means is that the oil sheared to a 20 grade because they likely did not actually perform a cold cranking viscosity test.

In those temps, I'd probably be a little more comfortable running a 10W-50, if you have access to it, and adding STP to that would probably have less of an impact on cold cranking than adding it to a 20W-50. Otherwise, the only thing that I would recommend is to just try it and see what happens. And regardless of viscosity used just take it easy until the car is at operating temp. Do you have a temp gauge?

edit: Which STP oil treatment are you asking about? I just looked up STP Engine Stop Leak.

Viscosity: 3,150 cSt at 40°C
296.5 cSt at 100°C
shocked2.gif

Adding 20% of that to an 18 cSt oil puts you above a 60 grade oil at 100C according to a viscosity calculator.

I have a temp gauge and i am talking about this stp

I remember as a kid seeing ads for STP back in the late 60's that stated STP helped engine internals by coating parts with treated oil that wouldn't run off when the vehicle was not in use. They claimed the results were reduced wear on cold starts, and an extra margin of protection. All I know is adding to a 50 grade oil would produce a pretty thick finished lube, and cause the starter and battery to work harder in cold weather turning the engine over.
 
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