Picking a 0W-30.

[MGregoir]

I'm in Edmonton, AB with no place to plug in my block heater, but I am thinking about switching to a 0W-30 motor oil year round.

Currently I have Mobil 1 5w30 in it, but at $38 an oil change, and not wanting to extend my drain interval past 5000 km if possible, it's too expensive of a proposition. Doing oil changes myself and spending $11 a filter (Purolator PureONEs are special order through parts houses here) and then another $38 on oil adds up at every 5000 km. I have just noticed a big mileage improvement running synthetic, especially in cool weather, and the car starts noticeably better so if I can use a decent 0W-30 year round it would pay for itself in mileage improvement.

I have been looking at oils in the 0W-30 grade and a more practical price range and it is looking like a choice of Esso Extra XD-3 Synthetic (a PAO synthetic that's API SL rated), Petro-Canada Arctic (a group III+ synthetic that's API SM rated), Chevron Delo 400 Synthetic (I don't know the base on it, I just know it is API SJ, it just jumped out at me because of an EXCEPTIONAL pour point) or Shell Rotella T Synthetic Blend.

All are marketed as HDEO except the Petro-Canada Arctic, off the top of my head I believe my car requires SJ as a minimum (it's a 1999 Chevrolet Malibu with the 3100.) I know that the heavy duty oils will have far more detergent in them, as well as an anti-foaming agent. The engine has gotten 5000 km/3 month oil changes its whole service live, primarily on Pennzoil, Esso or Valvoline dino oil.

Will using an HDEO rated SJ or better in 0W-30 do any harm? I know that the 0W-30 just means the pour point is lower than 5w30 and the oil thins less as it heats because it starts thin, the big number is what matters once things are hot anyways.

I noticed 10W-30 in the summer quieted it down on the starts, but otherwise showed no improvement in smoothness, and the Mobil 1 5w30 is noisier once the engine is hot but the engine turns over almost twice as fast when it is cold, and there is no top end noise from the engine in extremely cold conditions on the starts unlike with mineral 5w30.

That Esso XD-3 Synthetic looks attractive as it can be found four litres for $21 off the shelf, and it's a PAO oil.

 

[d00df00d]

Of those choices, I'd say it's a slam-dunk for the XD-3 synthetic.

 

[e36'n]

I've looked into the same thing and would go with the Shell Rotella T Syn Blend personally. If you're stuck on the 5k oil changes, you can run any oil out there so go with whatever is cheapest.

I'm running Rotella 10w30 CJ-4 this winter in two cars and although it's not a syn or blend, it seems to be working fine and it was around $2/L.

Using a HDEO 0w-30 shouldn't do any harm, but you might want to get a UOA done just to see what's going on in that engine.

 

[Audi Junkie]

Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 is my 0w-30, being thinner than Mobil 1 0w-30 at near sub-zero F temps.

 

[MGregoir]

Originally Posted By: e36'n
I've looked into the same thing and would go with the Shell Rotella T Syn Blend personally. If you're stuck on the 5k oil changes, you can run any oil out there so go with whatever is cheapest.

I'm running Rotella 10w30 CJ-4 this winter in two cars and although it's not a syn or blend, it seems to be working fine and it was around $2/L.

Using a HDEO 0w-30 shouldn't do any harm, but you might want to get a UOA done just to see what's going on in that engine.


I know inside that engine that there was a gradual head gasket leak for a long time so the bearings are going to show a lot of wear, it wasn't enough to foam in the oil but there was residue in the bottom of the coolant tank. The 10W-30 quiets down that bearing noise on starts, but otherwise the engine doesn't use oil. I want to maybe AutoRX it in the spring when I don't need the cold weather oil with some HDEO and AutoRX to clean it out, I don't know why but the past year it has seemed to have a gradual power loss and I want to see if I can clean some junk out of it.

 

[MGregoir]

Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 is my 0w-30, being thinner than Mobil 1 0w-30 at near sub-zero F temps.


At -30 or lower temperatures though, that is where the cold pumpability of the 0W-30 becomes the advantage. The difference between 5w30 and 0W-30 is not in thickness, but in the point at which they rate the cold pumpability.

 

[BullyT]

I guess I have a slightly different perspective. If the cost of oil changes is a concern and you're running a quality synthetic I think you're wasting your money with 5000 km oil changes. (3000 miles).

When I was running dino oils I used to change every 7500 km because I'm a high-mileage driver with a lot of highway miles. When I got my BMW 740iL only synthetic is recommended, and it should be a BMW "long-life" approved oil only. Only a couple of synthetics have the BMW LL-01 rating (Mobil1 0W-40 and Castrol Syntec 0W-30..the made in Germany Castrol).

My car has a fairly sophisticated oil life monitor, and based on it I should be changing my oil every 25,000 km. I'm using the Castrol Syntec 0W-30 (German Castrol) and just to err on the side of caution I change it every 12,000 km. The car has 140,000 km on it now and uses zero oil between changes.

The engine in my car is a 4.4 litre DOHC V-8 with variable valve timing...and these engines run hot. It's also a very expensive engine if you require any work on it. I feel very comfortable changing the oil at 12,000 km. I had the oil pan off to inspect the oil pump bolts (some BMWs have had problems with the bolts coming loose...German engineering) and everything looked virtually brand new. When I remove the oil filler cap and look inside at the cam chains etc, they are clean and gleaming. Absolutely no sign of sludge or deposits.

The BMW long-life specs are tough (oil must have a HTHS over 3.5 for one thing). I also use the Castrol Syntec 0W-30 in my Ford Explorer (previously used 5w30 dino) and the Explorer now has 267,000 km on it. It might use 1/2 litre of oil between oil changes.

 

[oilyriser]

Originally Posted By: MGregoir
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 is my 0w-30, being thinner than Mobil 1 0w-30 at near sub-zero F temps.


At -30 or lower temperatures though, that is where the cold pumpability of the 0W-30 becomes the advantage. The difference between 5w30 and 0W-30 is not in thickness, but in the point at which they rate the cold pumpability.



If by some miracle you see any of the Pennzoil 0w-20 in your area, that might do the best job, if your engine has no problems with 8.5 cSt.

 

[Audi Junkie]

Once I'm inconfitions that the lower limit pumpability of a 0w-30 comes into play, I'll be considering a 0w-20.

 

[Audi Junkie]

lol, "conditions". Still a 3-minute edit limit, I see.

 

[MGregoir]

Originally Posted By: BullyT
I guess I have a slightly different perspective. If the cost of oil changes is a concern and you're running a quality synthetic I think you're wasting your money with 5000 km oil changes. (3000 miles).


I am running Mobil 1 strictly because I could not get a hold of the 0W-30 I was looking for at the time and this is the next best option. I know that Mobil 1 is wasted running short intervals, as is German Castrol, so I do not want to run it as I prefer to run short interval oil changes and always have especially when it's almost continuous stop-go driving. Normally I run 5w30 Pennzoil, Esso or Valvoline, depending on whatever is free or cheap that day. I would like to switch to 0W-30 year round because I find that the engine runs noticibly better from startup with a synthetic and where I am living right now, out of a 25 minute trip the engine is only at full temperature for 10 minutes.

The 0W-30 XD-3 barely costs 30% more than plain Pennzoil or Valvoline purchased in quantity and is a much better oil. To be honest, I'd rather drain new oil than burn some and run 12,000 km oil changes. Lots of detergent in HDEO, clean up the engine, drain all the nasties in suspension, not worry about oxidation, not worry about additive depletion, etc. I can justify spending $40 on an oil filter and oil for a change because I know I can get better than I need for the interval for both, but I can't justify spending any more than that in most cases. I could do an oil change for $20 with Canadian Tire oil and filter (FormulaShell rebranded, and Fram rebranded) and probably be okay for 3000 miles but I wouldn't feel comfortable with it.

Your preference may vary, I'm looking at the $25/5 litre class of synthetics rather than the $38/5 litre class of synthetics for those type of intervals, although from what I have read XD-3 is as good of performer or better than M1 at long intervals.

 

[zrxkawboy]

I'm sure any of the oils you mentioned you serve you well.

 

[oilyriser]

a % or so more gas use with XD3 compared to PC or walmarts 0w-30

 

[bob_ninja]

I am using XD3 0W30 during winter in my Honda and Mazda. It works great, no issues. Keep in mind that it is a thick 30, so you won't see much fuel efficiency improvements. In fact I bought a bunch of PP 5W30 on sale for about $19 (so about the same cost as XD3 regular price). As others pointed out, XD3 is thinner only at the very low temps. Otherwise it is mostly thicker, even than PP. So I am thinking about trying PP the next time.

In any case XD3 is a good choice and can handle longish OCIs just fine.

 

[bob_ninja]

Originally Posted By: BullyT
I guess I have a slightly different perspective. If the cost of oil changes is a concern and you're running a quality synthetic I think you're wasting your money with 5000 km oil changes. (3000 miles).

When I was running dino oils I used to change every 7500 km because I'm a high-mileage driver with a lot of highway miles. When I got my BMW 740iL only synthetic is recommended, and it should be a BMW "long-life" approved oil only. Only a couple of synthetics have the BMW LL-01 rating (Mobil1 0W-40 and Castrol Syntec 0W-30..the made in Germany Castrol).

My car has a fairly sophisticated oil life monitor, and based on it I should be changing my oil every 25,000 km. I'm using the Castrol Syntec 0W-30 (German Castrol) and just to err on the side of caution I change it every 12,000 km. The car has 140,000 km on it now and uses zero oil between changes.

The engine in my car is a 4.4 litre DOHC V-8 with variable valve timing...and these engines run hot. It's also a very expensive engine if you require any work on it. I feel very comfortable changing the oil at 12,000 km. I had the oil pan off to inspect the oil pump bolts (some BMWs have had problems with the bolts coming loose...German engineering) and everything looked virtually brand new. When I remove the oil filler cap and look inside at the cam chains etc, they are clean and gleaming. Absolutely no sign of sludge or deposits.

The BMW long-life specs are tough (oil must have a HTHS over 3.5 for one thing). I also use the Castrol Syntec 0W-30 in my Ford Explorer (previously used 5w30 dino) and the Explorer now has 267,000 km on it. It might use 1/2 litre of oil between oil changes.


Keep in mind that many drivers during winter fall under the Severe Schedule category!!! When weather is very bad my commute to work can take as much as 2x longer. Therefore the engine might work as much as 2x longer for the same distance covered. I would guess that on average it would run about 50% longer.

Therefore, 1 km in summer is about 1.5 km in winter. In other words, 5K km OCI in winter is equivalent to 7.5K km in summer. In general winter driving is tougher. During summer a lot of people are on vacations, so less traffic on highway means smoother faster drive which is far easier on an engine. Right now I have to break and accelerate more often due to snow, ice, etc.

For myself as a general rule I use a synthetic during winter not to use a longer OCI but simply maintain an OCI long enough for the entire winter.