Ck-4 oil in a 4 cycle air cooled engine

[dlleno]

Hi

Enjoyed the discussion of using diesel rated oil in a gas lawnmower. My journey and ultimate reasons for choosing delvac 5w-40 in my john deere x370 might be different from yours. So let me ask: those of you using a diesel oil in your OPE-- why did you make this choice as opposed to an automotive SP rated oil?

 

[Lubener]

Small engines are so forgiving. I don't think it matters on which oil you use but the most important thing is that it's changed when it's supposed to be and the oil level is maintained. . I know many who never changed their mower's oil or used a non detergent oil and they still get over ten years of service out of them

 

[Propflux01]

For temps, oil consumption, and detergency.

 

[fantastic]

I already buy a bunch of 15w-40 CK-4 for the truck & usually have plenty of it. No cats except for the spark arrestor so no problem running it. I know it's going to have a higher HTHS than say a 5w-30 API SP non euro oil.

 

[Gyro Gearloose]

Where I live 15W40 is the sweet spot viscosity that allows starting in any reasonable weather where you would want to use a mower and at the same time is little thicker to quiet the clatter a bit. Oil consumption is essentially zero on newish engines which prevents that burning oil stench in the exhaust for many years.

 

[Nessism1]

I bought a jug of Delvac Extreme 10w30 for my lawn equipment. Diesel engine oils are known to be robust, and the oil was cheap enough, so why not?

 

[JavierH19]

It's all I use in my ope and they're all good as new.

 

[RoadDukie]

Don't forget that the majority of these "diesel" oils are also rated for spark ignition. Last jugs I bought were SN PLUS.

 

[dlleno]

For temps, oil consumption, and detergency.

High cylinder temps for sure. Detergency is higher ok tracking that. How does a diesel oil reduce consumption or is that just your experience

 

[Propflux01]

Mostly the 40 part (15w-40). Me personally, I don’t use a 5w in an air cooled engine sinply because it’s too thin cold for an air cooled engines cold clearances. But that’s just me.

 

[cptbarkey]

Super tech conventional 15w40 working great in my predator 212 go kart, but still left me stranded because my lead foot ran out of gas yesterday.

 

[dlleno]

I already buy a bunch of 15w-40 CK-4 for the truck & usually have plenty of it. No cats except for the spark arrestor so no problem running it. I know it's going to have a higher HTHS than say a 5w-30 API SP non euro oil.

For conventional oils the higher HTHS is understandable just due to the viscocity rating. Its also worth noting that most (newer) gas cars will not allow 40 or even 15w for that matter. and the newer diesels are requiring 5w-40!

So nothing inherent to CK-4 itself other than cts at 100c? On edit: the better question is "how well does HTHS correlate to cts and syn/semi syn/conv base stocks?

 

[fantastic]

For conventional oils the higher HTHS is understandable just due to the viscocity rating. Its also worth noting that most (newer) gas cars will not allow 40 or even 15w for that matter. and the newer diesels are requiring 5w-40!

So nothing inherent to CK-4 itself other than cts at 100c? On edit: the better question is "how well does HTHS correlate to cts and syn/semi syn/conv base stocks?

Different applications... Diesels moving to 5w is due to cold climates.

Automobile engines are at a higher quality build with tighter tolerances than your B & S in your Craftsman. No need to eek out every last drop in fuel economy for that. We still talk about carburetors on small engines.. that tech is how old now. Ha

High quality base stock is going to be more shear stable than say a standard group oil. But we run out OPE less hours before that's ever a problem. If you're wanting to run hundreds of hours before changing then perhaps step up to a Full Synthetic.

 

[dlleno]

Different applications... Diesels moving to 5w is due to cold climates.

Im sure yourr right in some cases but Not entirely. Cummins 6.7L moved to 5w-40 with an engine change unrelated to climate

Automobile engines are at a higher quality build with tighter tolerances than your B & S in your Craftsman. No need to eek out every last drop in fuel economy for that. We still talk about carburetors on small engines.. that tech is how old now. Ha

Yea for sure. And not many lawnmower engines are susceptible to pre ignition and the benefits of SP!

High quality base stock is going to be more shear stable than say a standard group oil. But we run out OPE less hours before that's ever a problem. If you're wanting to run hundreds of hours before changing then perhaps step up to a Full Synthetic.

agreed there. And the fill volume is so small in many cases that its not that prohibitive to run a full syn!

 

[dlleno]

...No need to eek out every last drop in fuel economy for that. We still talk about carburetors on small engines.. that tech is how old now. Ha

Oh that's for sure I dont care about fuel economy and the latest SP and GF-6 ratings make the oil better, but not better im areas that are important! John deere 10w30 turf gard for example meets those specs to which i ask "why? "

 

[fantastic]

Oh that's for sure I dont care about fuel economy and the latest SP and GF-6 ratings make the oil better, but not better im areas that are important! John deere 10w30 turf gard for example meets those specs to which i ask "why? "

Diesel oil is going to be better for diesel fuel "soot" handling and oil standing up to heat which can oxidize other types of oils sooner. High compression diesels can really beat on an oil (shear) so Commercial type oils hold up better in shear stability.

 

[dlleno]

Diesel oil is going to be better for diesel fuel "soot" handling and oil standing up to heat which can oxidize other types of oils sooner. High compression diesels can really beat on an oil (shear) so Commercial type oils hold up better in shear stability.

High compression ratios for sure. Sheer stability at high temps that's for sure gonna be better. Soot is a don't care. My comment above was directed at SP and GF-6 oils though! Like soot, GF-6 is better but not better in ways that are important!

 

[dlleno]

Ok so in summary, the 3 most important benefits of a ck-4 oil over an SP/GF-6 are:

1. Better sheer stability at high temps.
2. Better sheer stability at high temps.
3. Better sheer stability at high temps!

 

[Japanese]

Im sure yourr right in some cases but Not entirely. Cummins 6.7L moved to 5w-40 with an engine change unrelated to climate

What makes compare small OPE air cooled engines with large displacement diesel engines?
Those engines run at max. 1.5-2K RPM and have 15-20 times more oil and coolant than your engine.
They may run hotter because of the turbos, but at the same time they dissipate heat better than any smaller engine.
Also Rotella oils are rated ACEA E9 and E11 diesel oils and those have HTHS lower than 3.5 cP.

https://www.valvolineglobal.com/en-ksa/understanding-oil-standards-acea-specifications/

• E9 engine oils are designed for Euro 4, Euro 5, and Euro 6 emission diesel engines. It is suitable both for engines with and without the diesel particulate filter.
• E11 oils replace E9 oils. Those are super-high-performance mid-SAPS diesel oils (SHPD). With the HT/HS lower than 3.5 mPas, they are suitable for diesel engines with diesel particulate filters.

I'm just asking because I see several times people mention the better lubricating properties of the Rotella oils along with their low price. So it makes me think - people like to run cheap oil in their OPE, but justify that with better lubrication.
Why don't you run Rotella diesel oil in your car engine if it lubricates and shears better than the PCMO?
I run once diesel oil in my Civic, and I can tell you - it didn't feel good.

 

[#18FAN]

Ok so in summary, the 3 most important benefits of a ck-4 oil over an SP/GF-6 are:

1. Better sheer stability at high temps.
2. Better sheer stability at high temps.
3. Better sheer stability at high temps!

1. Maybe
2. Maybe
3. Maybe
Depends on what oils we're talking about.
You can build a junk CK-4 oil.