Silkolene Pro 4 XP 10W60 ?

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daz

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Jul 15, 2009
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so cal
Anyone have an opinion on this? Preferably one based in solid experience rather then just using it and thinking it's great w/o reason. Because lets face it, a lot of people do that. I was using M1 V-twin before but it's a model that inherently has some piston slap and i thought this might help tame that a bit, but i have no idea whether this is a known good oil or some budget junk. Never heard of it till someone told me they use it and suggested its a good quality oil.
 
Made by Fuchs....I used to use it years ago when it was more available here. I think I was using the 15W-50 off road stuff. I use their 2 stroke when I can find it too.
 
I used the 10/50 version of the product. Initially, it was good but after about 2000miles, I noticed the oil would not circulate as quickly on the first start of the day with a cold engine. The oil pressure light stayed on a split of a sec longer than what I was used to. I though maybe the 10w part had become 20w! or the oil drained to the sump more overnight

On paper it has all the right spec but at the 4 k mark I changed to motul.
M1 has an amazing staying lubrication power on starts up in comparison
 
daz,
i would avoid it.

bet ya didnt expect that kind of answer.
and here is why:
10w60 is a HUGE spread of vis range. actually its the biggest there is.
it must have a LOT of VII to get it that thick.
it will lose 2 to 3 grades in short order
and even though you live in socal (i used to live there too) 60wt is darn thick and only for HOT days.
now, the 10w means its "supposed" to flow like a 10wt at startup but yet be a 60wt.
this is the kind of viscosity you run for say the baja 500 or 1000
or an air cooled car motor (ie hardley)

and you dont mention what bike you have

hard pass
 
I used the 15W50 version in my 2013 Ducati. It was dyed red, which was cool looking through the sight glass before it turned dark from mileage. Shift quality (shared sump, wet clutch) deteriorated faster than when I used Spectro Platinum 4 15W50. Spectro Platinum 4 ended up being my go to oil for that bike and the 2016 that replaced it.
 
I've run the Silkolene Pro 4 oil in shared sump sportbikes. I wasn't overly impressed. My favorite oil simply for how the bikes run and shift, is Motul 300V 4T in 15w50 or 10w40 depending on which bike of ours it's in.
 
Well, then 60w aside, what about the 15w50 version?? And how about compared with what i normally use, M1 V-twin 20w50?
 
Oh, i forgot....triumph 1700 parallel twin water cooled cruiser. These are known for piston slap. it's a common issue with them and really just annoying rather then detrimental, but VERY annoying one never the less. . My reasoning in looking for a new oil is to try and quiet it. It's very intermittent and does it mostly when hot. I was told the motor has oil jets that squirt oil up into the cylinder walls so i wanted something with a high viscosity index which this oil has to insure the oil jets are able to reach. That is what i think may be responsible for this issue being so intermittent. Thats a theory someone mentioned to me who's knowledge i respect. So after reading your posts it seems 10w60 is not going to last and i'm wondering if i should try thier 10w50 which has almost as high a viscosity index as the 10w60. (171 vs 178) Mobil 1's VI is quite a bit lower.
 
ugggggggggggggggg
cant make the horse drink at the water hole
no on 10w50
no on 10wanything

say yes to 20w50
possibly even a mix of straight 50wt and 20w50
 
Originally Posted by daz
Well, then 60w aside, what about the 15w50 version?? And how about compared with what i normally use, M1 V-twin 20w50?


An oil rated 15w50 does not mean "wide spread" and one rated 20w50 short spread...

API ranks the first number and the letter W from the newest to the
oldest on its ability to lube your engine during critical start up...

0w

5W

10W

15W

20W

If you wish to employ the latest in oil technology then you want an one with an API
low number rank...
 
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in a stupid way of explaining it, yes. but not what the definatition is:

10w means 10winter....as in flows like a 10weight in cold weather startup

the number after the w means how it flows hot. 10winter60 means flows like 10weight at startup in cold and 60weight when hot. but the only way to do that is with a crud ton of viscosity index improvers (VII) and those long chains get cut to shreads in a shared sump trannys gearbox.
and why all of the big spreads lose 1 if not 2 full grades in short order with a shared sump. btw, some very poor (cough cough castrol gtx 20w50) lower spread do as well.
 
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Originally Posted by sunruh
in a stupid way of explaining it, yes. but not what the definatition is:

10w means 10winter....as in flows like a 10weight in cold weather startup

the number after the w means how it flows hot. 10winter60 means flows like 10weight at startup in cold and 60weight when hot. but the only way to do that is with a crud ton of viscosity index improvers (VII) and those long chains get cut to shreads in a shared sump trannys gearbox.
and why all of the big spreads lose 1 if not 2 full grades in short order with a shared sump. btw, some very poor (cough cough castrol gtx 20w50) lower spread do as well.

So the oil thickens as it warms up?
 
Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by sunruh
10w means 10winter....as in flows like a 10weight in cold weather startup

the number after the w means how it flows hot. 10winter60 means flows like 10weight at startup in cold and 60weight when hot. but the only way to do that is with a crud ton of viscosity index improvers (VII) and those long chains get cut to shreads in a shared sump trannys gearbox.

So the oil thickens as it warms up?

That's not what was said. It flows like a 10 weight when cold and like a 60 weight when hot. As you well know, it doesn't "thicken up", it just doesn't get as thin as it would do if it was a monograde.
 
Yes that's precisely what was said. A "10 weight" is thinner than a "60 weight" right? So then he's saying it gets thicker as it warms up.

Tell him he's incorrect if he is, why tell me?
 
Originally Posted by kschachn
Yes that's precisely what was said. A "10 weight" is thinner than a "60 weight" right? So then he's saying it gets thicker as it warms up.

Tell him he's incorrect if he is, why tell me?


Would love to see the viscosity chart for this plotted with temperature
 
Originally Posted by Rmay635703
Would love to see the viscosity chart for this plotted with temperature

Would it be materially different than this? Isn't it about physics, not brand?

It doesn't look like a "10 weight" when cold to me.

[Linked Image]
 
As I understand 10w means at cold temps it's viscosity is like a 10 sae and at hot temp like a 60 sae.
What im not sure is what is the actual w(winter) temp is

I have seen 10~60 oil lab led for off road bikes when you do a lot of crawling , idling and clutch slipping.
As other have commented,I think it's ott for you bike
 
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Originally Posted by bonjo
As I understand 10w means at cold temps it's viscosity is like a 10 sae and at hot temp like a 60 sae.
What im not sure is what is the actual w(winter) temp is

If that was the case the oil would thicken as it heats up, no oil does that as it would defy physics. Look at my graph above, what is the slope of the curve? When is the oil ever an SAE 10?

The winter ratings are determined at different temperatures based on which one is achieved.
 
The base oil is a 10 weight. The amount of viscosity index improver simply keeps that base oil from thinning out more or less depending on how much they add and they come about the second number that way.

A 10w60 is a 10 weight oil that doesn't thin out as much as it gets hotter. A 10w30 is a 10 weight oil that thins more relatively speaking. Oil doesn't thicken due to viscosity index improver when it heats up, only lessons the amount of thinning from whatever the base weight oil is.
 
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