I was in Vegas in July a few years ago and it was 107F and my Fairbanks trip in Jan was iirc, -22F and had "cold starts" in both places ...
Wonder which one did more damage to the engine?
What is the best oil ingredient to protect against cold start wear?
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I was in Vegas in July a few years ago and it was 107F and my Fairbanks trip in Jan was iirc, -22F and had "cold starts" in both places ...
Wonder which one did more damage to the engine?
Indeed. I don't see why people fixate on 0W being the end all, be all for cold start protection. Most 0w-40 will have a higher viscosity at 0 degrees than most 5w-20 and 5w-30 oils. Just because an oil flows at extremely cold temps (where the 0W rating comes into play) does not mean it flows better or has a thinner viscosity at more moderate temps, like those experienced in most winter climates in North America.
Thank you, a concept that is very poorly understood by many.
And besides thinner oil is only "protection" if it allows the oil to pump in the vicinity of the oil pump pickup tube. It does not provide protection in any other way. An adequate MOFT is what is needed for startup protection and you're going to get that with any oil. There's no oil in existence that is too thin at startup.
Tricky question. Cold as in freezing and the oil is thick and will not or very slowly makes its way to the oil pump like sucking a really thick milk shake through a straw? Or just a cold start when the fuel mixture is rich, the heat activated additives aren't hot, or the pistons aren't heated up so they are still oval and are loser in the cylinder bores, or after sitting a while the crank and rods have settled them selves and are potentially too close to their bearings or the oil drained from the can and valve train assemble and are rattling for a few seconds? Honestly it is not worth worrying about other than the oil pumping .Whether it's an additive, or a certain type of base stock, or both.
Titanium? Moly? "Intelligent molecules?"Etc...
+1
I was always under the impression that boron was the antiwear component that functioned at lower temps , before the oil was hot enough for zinc and phosphorus to work.
Lots of people (at least on bitog) use 0W in geographical locations that is not required. I am pretty sure they know that but I think the fascination is more with the base oil quality than the cold flow.
The fascination is with being able to tell people they have a 0W oil in their car.
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The logic with most of the 0w-40's is that they meet some of the most demanding specs and approvals so they've had to jump through a lot more hoops than your typical GF-5 5w-30.
That’s not true though.
Redline HPMO is the way to go for the best start up protection.
(fixed)
Could not the same be said of a 5W-20?
(The logic being the base stock has no choice but to be something very good in order to be so thin, perhaps the same with 0W-20 if I now think about it. High % of synthetic even if "conventional" oil no matter the brand or type?)
I am presently running a 0W, I chose Castrol. I wonder if I should run a 5W, maybe Mobil 1 when winter hits, not sure the flow on my 0W oil (Castrol Edge) is great. It may be good, but, can I do better?
I should add.. cold flow. Perhaps I am overthinking and the 0W (0W-40 Castrol Edge is my present fill) is fine, flows well enough, etc. Or I could choose a better flowing 5W (someone just mentioned Redline, then there is Mobil, Pennzoil/SOPUS which includes QS, a whole slew of oils are 5W.) Many options.. Is it significant for a superior flowing 5W to a 0W which may not flow cold as well, remember oil in a pan is like Jell-O sucked through a straw going up, or is this not exactly worth obsessing over?
I am happy we are touching on that just because an oil is 0W, a 5W may be better, almost superior, in cold flow. I feel some do not know this.
GC 0W-30 seems to get knocked for being another poor cold flowing 0W oil.. Castrol again. Thicker oils as well, I wonder if that impacts on their poorer cold performance. They say 0W.
Mobil 1 on the other hand, let's say 0W-40 for example, I wonder it's cold flow performance, including vs a 5W.. Interesting.
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Initial start, after having sat, regardless of temperature.
The only flow that is relevant is the flow of the oil to the oil pump pickup tube or screen. Once the oil is to the pump then flow is not meaningful. The winter rating encompasses a test for this flow, any oil that meets the specification for a particular winter rating will perform similarly to any other oil with the same winter rating. It is a pretty meaningless exercise to chase what oil is a "better 0W" or a "better 5W" since all will perform adequately at the temperatures which are appropriate for the respective rating. Any 5W rated oil that is far superior to any other would have to be labeled with a 0W rating since the oil must be labeled with the lowest (highest performance) rating the oil can achieve.
Also the difference between a 0W and a 5W rated oil will not appear until extremely low temperatures, somewhere around -35 F or so. If your expected starting conditions are above that temperature then both will have adequate performance.
Also the difference between a 0W and a 5W rated oil will not appear until extremely low temperatures, somewhere around -35 F or so. If your expected starting conditions are above that temperature then both will have adequate performance.
Castrol again? The oil meets the performance specification for a 0W rated oil, how is that inferior? They say 0W because it is a 0W rated oil.
The Mobil 1 0W-40 meets the cold-weather cranking and pumpability requirements to be labeled as a 0W-XX oil, any 5W-rated oil does not.
But since it only matters at very low temperatures then the "XX" part of the grade designation is far more relevant.
Since 0W is being mentioned here is a cold flow test with a bunch of 0w20's and one 5W30. The 0w20's are very much alike and pour faster than the single 5w30. The -32 C temp happens to correspond to the lowest temp I have seen at my location in the past few years. For your entertainment.
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Yes that video shows how those oils pour out of little plastic cups. But neither one will gel under shear in the vicinity of the oil pump pickup tube and therefore all will be pumped. The video is not very relevant to performance in an ICE, that's why there is no ASTM D666 Plastic Cup Test.
A 5W-20 or a 0W-20 will always be thinner than a 5W-30.
A 5W-20 or a 0W-20 will always be thinner than a 5W-30.
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Since 0W is being mentioned here is a cold flow test with a bunch of 0w20's and one 5W30. The 0w20's are very much alike and pour faster than the single 5w30. The -32 C temp happens to correspond to the lowest temp I have seen at my location in the past few years. For your entertainment.
Next up is the four-ball wear test that people think is relevant to an ICE.
Or the one with the four oils in a Pinewood Derby race down a ramp or pour into longer tubes. That one has cups.
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