I've been thinking about switching from a 15W50 to an oil that will flow better in the cold in my Buell 1125R (and probably in my Daytona 675 and CBR600F2 as well). The big concern with 40-weight oils in bikes is their shear stability and I want to make sure whatever I use will hold up. The Amsoil 10W40 motorcycle oil is reputedly very shear stable and seems like a solid choice. But then there's the 0W40 which is also marketed towards power sports with wet clutches and shared transmission lubrication. The 0 rating would be even better for cold starts so.. is there any reason why I shouldn't use the 0W40?
Amsoil motorcycle 10W40 vs. four-stroke 0W40?
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A 0W oil will have a little more tendency to shear and wear down in SOME applications, trucks that tow for example like those big duramax engines spec at the least a 5W40. For your app. and AMSOIL being truly syn. a 10w40 would be fine. I don't know a lot of riders that use 0W oils period. So I would hesitate.
I would use the 10W-40, it's a great oil.
Thanks for the quick replies. I figured that theoretically the 10w40 would be more Shea stable than the 0w40 but I was hoping for some proof. I havent been able to find any uoas on the 0w40 and not a great deal on the 10w40.
Originally Posted By: tmorris1
Unless you are riding in below 0 weather I wouldn't worry about a 10W vs 0W.
Exactly. The 0 rating is only better for cold starts if you ride in super cold temps.
BTW, interesting name you picked OP ~
Unless you are riding in below 0 weather I wouldn't worry about a 10W vs 0W.
Exactly. The 0 rating is only better for cold starts if you ride in super cold temps.
BTW, interesting name you picked OP ~
Thanks, hate2work. I came up with it a decade ago or so.
I realize that a 0-rated oil is only really necessary for very cold starts, but it will still flow better during cold starts than a 10-rated oil. I've been eyeballing this chart: http://www.widman.biz/English/Tables/Graph-motors.html
At 0C, the 10W40 is at nearly 1100cSt whereas the 5W30's viscosity is at nearly half that, around 600cSt. I can only imagine that a 0W40 would be at an even lower viscosity at 0C. Surely the the lower the viscosity, the more easily the oil will pump when that cold, and the more easily it pumps, the less cranking load on the battery and more importantly, the less chance of engine wear during the first few seconds after startup. Right?
Also, at 100C, all of the 40-weight oils are within 1cSt of each other, so protection when hot should be nearly identical between the 0W40 and 10W40. So assuming better protection when cold and comparable protection when hot, and if the 0W40 is as shear stable as the 10W40 (or very close to it), it would seem to be the superior choice. Yes?
I realize that a 0-rated oil is only really necessary for very cold starts, but it will still flow better during cold starts than a 10-rated oil. I've been eyeballing this chart: http://www.widman.biz/English/Tables/Graph-motors.html
At 0C, the 10W40 is at nearly 1100cSt whereas the 5W30's viscosity is at nearly half that, around 600cSt. I can only imagine that a 0W40 would be at an even lower viscosity at 0C. Surely the the lower the viscosity, the more easily the oil will pump when that cold, and the more easily it pumps, the less cranking load on the battery and more importantly, the less chance of engine wear during the first few seconds after startup. Right?
Also, at 100C, all of the 40-weight oils are within 1cSt of each other, so protection when hot should be nearly identical between the 0W40 and 10W40. So assuming better protection when cold and comparable protection when hot, and if the 0W40 is as shear stable as the 10W40 (or very close to it), it would seem to be the superior choice. Yes?
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I would use the 10W-40 because it's a time proven performer and because it's an actual MC oil rather than an atv oil. And I believe they have recently improved it and it's now even better.
The cold start thing is kind of subjective. I once used an 0W oil that made my rig turn over harder when cold than the 5W oil I had been using.
The bottom line is that you're going to have try an oil to see if it works for you or not. And you'll have to have it tested to see if it stays in grade. I think the key is changing it frequently.
BTW, there are several other very good syn MC oils other than Amsoil. Many people use Red Line, Motul, M1, T6, Elf, etc.
Do a Bitog search in the box at the top, type in "Best MC oil" and click search on the right of the box, that will open a google search of this site with that as the subject.
The cold start thing is kind of subjective. I once used an 0W oil that made my rig turn over harder when cold than the 5W oil I had been using.
The bottom line is that you're going to have try an oil to see if it works for you or not. And you'll have to have it tested to see if it stays in grade. I think the key is changing it frequently.
BTW, there are several other very good syn MC oils other than Amsoil. Many people use Red Line, Motul, M1, T6, Elf, etc.
Do a Bitog search in the box at the top, type in "Best MC oil" and click search on the right of the box, that will open a google search of this site with that as the subject.
Originally Posted By: hate2work
I would use the 10W-40 because it's a time proven performer and because it's an actual MC oil rather than an atv oil. And I believe they have recently improved it and it's now even better.
How does the oil know if it is in an ATV or a motorcycle?
I would use the 10W-40 because it's a time proven performer and because it's an actual MC oil rather than an atv oil. And I believe they have recently improved it and it's now even better.
How does the oil know if it is in an ATV or a motorcycle?
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How does the oil know if it is in an ATV or a motorcycle?
Oil is pretty smart. It's like a small child. It hears every word you say and it will repeat it at the most inopportune moment and may embarass you half to death.
So watch what you say in front of your motor oil.
How does the oil know if it is in an ATV or a motorcycle?
Oil is pretty smart. It's like a small child. It hears every word you say and it will repeat it at the most inopportune moment and may embarass you half to death.
So watch what you say in front of your motor oil.
Originally Posted By: tmorris1
How does the oil know if it is in an ATV or a motorcycle?
because of the picture on the bottle it is in. DUH!
How does the oil know if it is in an ATV or a motorcycle?
because of the picture on the bottle it is in. DUH!
That always got me with the Valvoline oils. They have a 10W40 motorcycle oil with a motorcycle on the bottle right next to their 10W40 ATV oil with the ATV on the bottle. Usually they are priced a few cents different as well. You know they are the same stuff in different bottles. I guess it is like picking the blue or the black car.
Originally Posted By: tmorris1
That always got me with the Valvoline oils. They have a 10W40 motorcycle oil with a motorcycle on the bottle right next to their 10W40 ATV oil with the ATV on the bottle. Usually they are priced a few cents different as well. You know they are the same stuff in different bottles. I guess it is like picking the blue or the black car.
Let's not bring too much rationality into the discussion.
Customer owns an ATV and needs oil. Sees ATV picture on the bottle and buys that oil.
Don't underestimate the power of pictures! Hey, it's a lot easier than reading right?
Reading is hard.......
That always got me with the Valvoline oils. They have a 10W40 motorcycle oil with a motorcycle on the bottle right next to their 10W40 ATV oil with the ATV on the bottle. Usually they are priced a few cents different as well. You know they are the same stuff in different bottles. I guess it is like picking the blue or the black car.
Let's not bring too much rationality into the discussion.
Customer owns an ATV and needs oil. Sees ATV picture on the bottle and buys that oil.
Don't underestimate the power of pictures! Hey, it's a lot easier than reading right?
Reading is hard.......
I read the "best motorcycle oil" thread and all it seemed to do was create more questions. There was one guy who said "these two oils are the best because they didn't shear out of grade in my tests" and some people seemed to accept that as gospel, but there's more to oil than shear stability. Certainly it's important--very much so in vehicles with shared engine/trans sumps--but what if a very shear stable oil performs poorly in other tests? Then some other people said some other stuff but I don't remember there being much concrete evidence used.
Then I fold a thread from 2003 about motorcycle oils, and it was more similar stuff--a lot of opinions but not much in the way of facts that I could discern.
I probably will end up doing the 10W40 just to be safe, although while the 0W40 is marketed towards powersports overall, I could have sworn I read somewhere that it was approved for motorcycle use as wel.
Then I fold a thread from 2003 about motorcycle oils, and it was more similar stuff--a lot of opinions but not much in the way of facts that I could discern.
I probably will end up doing the 10W40 just to be safe, although while the 0W40 is marketed towards powersports overall, I could have sworn I read somewhere that it was approved for motorcycle use as wel.
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