Royal Purple and engine heat?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
May 2, 2010
Messages
51
Location
Houston, Texas
I have a friend that tells me to use royal purple due to the outstanding reduction of engine heat that he experienced. 20 degrees cooler. Now, I am not sure about all that, but I have never tried the stuff, I am familiar with specific heat though, and I have not heard any talk of it in the short time I have been reading the forums. Is it possible to have oils that do have specific heats different enough that the transfer of energy would be greater, therefore lowering the engine temp?
 
It's entirely possible that different oils can cause running temps to change. It could be due to a difference in heat transfer ability, or a difference in friction levels.

Mind you, whether this corresponds to wear is another story.
wink.gif
 
so..... the type of oil you use CAN override the thermostat and MAKE the engine run cooler???

edit: i suppose i worded that wrong, since the thermostat wouldnt even come into play in this situation..

so you're saying its possible for an oil type to prevent your engine from ever reaching its rated operating temperature??
 
Last edited:
Good call. I was assuming the OP meant oil temp. If it is coolant temp, then that definitely sounds suspicious.
 
Well, coolant temperature is set by the thermostat, and oil temperature in-pan will be in general around thermostat temperature as well because of the cooling jacket heatsinking the entire engine block.

If we're talking about within-moving-parts temperatures, usually the higher the engine temperature and lower the intake temperature, the more efficiently an engine runs (up to the point of destroying the oil film under shear, which is a very delicate balance).

A claim like "20 degrees lower" is not only suspicious, but I wouldn't know what it even means.
 
Is it possible to reduce temp if it is within a temp range? I would think so. If its hot your thermostat would be as open as open can get. so a change in engine operating temperature is entirely possible. It seems to me that 20 degrees is very unlikely, but is a reduction in temperature possible due to heat transfer through the oil? If its measurable, is it talked about with respect to the oil alone? also, I have not really seen it discussed, so is it worth discussing? I was looking at it from a energy transfer point of view, rather than a friction point of view. I am interested in both ans. though, and would like to hear some opinions on this royal purple, as I have not used it.
 
Your last response is unclear to me.

But, you mention the thermostat. Assuming you are talking about coolant temp being 20 degrees lower (when you say "engine temp") then it is very unlikely that oil is going to change it. Coolant temp is determined by the thermostat. You could run subzero fluids as oil and it would only keep the thermostat closed longer before it opens at the specified temperature.
 
A Friend of mine at work told me RP reduced his VE LS2 V8's engine oil temp by 7c'.
He has factory installed oil temp gauge in his car.(Digital)
 
The only place I can tell where RP shines over others I`ve tried is when you`re really hitting high RPM`s. When I`ve run RP,it seems really smooth and quiet when your really pounding on it.
 
i noticed the same thing in my car with a oil temp gauge. RP seems to run cooler than other oils. NOT to be confused with coolant temps. just oil temps.

great oil....
 
My old 300ZX turbo (Z31) had a factory oil temp guage. I wish my current one did. That`d be really interesting to see how it would react to different oils.
 
Sorry if was not succinct earlier, after hearing this 20 degree cooler temp claim I was wondering if it was possible to significantly reduce engine temperature through the transfer of heat using engine oil as a medium. This is where the specific heat of a substance would matter. Different blends/brands could have different properties in this regard. After a thermostat is fully opened in the operating range of the vehicle I would think this would come into play along with style/type/size of oil coolers. I have not seen anyone discussing this so it may not be of importance, just another materials property.

Thanks for the RP opinions! I look forward to hearing from your experiences as I am considering trying the stuff, I run 5w-20 M1 synth in my Mazda and I’m considering giving it a shot despite the price.
 
RP is a good synthetic.

I can't say that I've ever really seen any bad synth either.

I do know that purple dye is not required for high performance.

And I really doubt that any oil will be responsible for more than a degree or two of change.
 
I have seen a notable reduction in temperatures were friction is the primary source of heat, such as the rear axle or the trans. In the engine, combustion is the primary source, so a reduction in friction due to lubricants upgrades might be pretty hard to quantify. Any reduction in friction would be a help in lowering oil temps but I doubt it amounts to much in the "normal" realm of things. To get 20 degrees difference, you'd almost have to go from a poor 60 grade oil (for the fluid friction component) to a super-slippery 20 grade. I would defer to detailed test results in any case but, intuitively, 20F is a pretty sizable claim to back up when comparing the same grades.
 
Last edited:
It is not a specific heat issue, it is a thermal conductivity thing.
Specific heat is about how much heat it takes for any substance to raise it's temperature.
This would be accomplished in a short time no mater what oil you use.
That leaves thermal conductivity as the factor.

Don't hold your breath waiting for a 20 deg temp drop with RP.
Thinner oils can run cooler.
 
Last edited:
Red Line Water Wetter turned the coolant in both my '99 Dakota R/T and '03 Honda Accord EX, a gross brown color. It was so bad, it stained both coolant recovery tanks brown....I will never use any product like it again. I'm not the only one who experienced this, so I would search this site before I buy if I were you.
 
What is he comparing against?
A 20 degC reduction may be possible but not with an oil of
the same thickness/ lighter oils are easier to cool than
thicker ones. If the oils are comparable id say its a fake
since a 20 degC raise means a lot of energy wasted and that
would mean that the engine is about to seize.....
I use a "thick and gluie" hdeo witch should be using more gas and result in higher oil temps than the previous passcar oil ive used but the temp remains the same...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom