20w-50 for Explorers & Hondas?

[userfriendly]

Buster;
I thought you had 0W30 or 5W30 Amsoil before switching to 0W20.

As far as the C5 Vette guy, the 250 I-6 in my 1977 pick-up truck works harder.

The lightest oil that the little engine has ever seen is 10W30, and more often than not 15W40 or SAE 30.
Sure the light weights have their place. Just not in anything I own.

 

[widman]

Yes, launching the thinner grades has not been easy. Mostly it is just the Ford dealerships and my own facilities that use 5w30, and one or two shops that buy the synthetic 5w40's.
--We have tropics as well. Areas of the tropics where the temperatures are over 60C.
--I've seen SAE 40 put in an Explorer at 1000 km that caused it to start consuming oil to the point where it can't go back (although we put 15w40 in it now)
--My 97 Ranger 4.0 U.S. built, sold in Brazil and moved to Bolivia has a Portuguese owner's manual that says use nothing but 5w30, while Texaco says 20w-50.
Do you think the sheap base stocks and VI improvers used in the past (and probably still in Brazil) required the higher viscosity grade recomendations in order to not shear down? and now that API certification requires higher shear resistence they are able to spec lighter grades without loosing it?

 

[Whimsey]

widman,
Please forgive my ignorance of Bolivian geography. I should have looked at an atlas beforehand and not rely on my school day geography recall of 35+ years ago

. Interesting what you said about the new Explorer that had SAE 40 put into it at 1000 km and turned into an oil consumer. I guess that "thicker is not always better". I assume that was straight weight oil and the climate was a bit too "cool" for straight weight oil. Or was the oil of low quality. Speaking of oil quality what kind of oil grading system do you have there. I think you "hit the nail on the head" that if they are making and selling lower quality oils than in the US then you need to use a thicker grade to allow for shearing and additive breakdown. Also maybe the oil companies assume that the oil is not changed as frequently as it should be and is subject to more abuse than the average US vehicle is.

Whimsey

 

[userfriendly]

Which is the garden state?
I think that during engine brakeing the mono-grades might consume faster than the multi-grades.
There are some interwesting (Elmer Fudd) theories on ring wetting/oil dam, mono-grade VS multi-grade film temporary shear, yes I still have a bridge for sale, issues that have been discussed on this board.

Next....

[ October 03, 2003, 04:22 PM: Message edited by: userfriendly ]

 

[MolaKule]

widman,

Could it be that the Brazilian service is projected to be so much more severe that say soccer mom trips?

Would not thinner oils in NA bmost likely be changed sooner than the heavyweights in SA?

Usrfriendly,

"There are some interwesting (Almer Fudd) theories on ring wetting/oil dam, mono-grade VS multi-grade film temporary shear, yes I still have a bridge for sale, issues that have been discussed on this board."

That's "Elmer Fudd."

If you had read the explanation more closely you would have seen that it was more than theory. A quartz window was built into the cylinder walls and a laser actually measured the oil films above and below the rings with an engine in actual operation.

BTW, User is referring to:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=21;t=000041

Now User, if you have a particular aspect of the QOTD you would like to debate, then we can start a separate thread or continue the discussion on the above thread.

IHMO, bringing these "snipes" into other threads is a bit ridiculous.

 

[userfriendly]

I knew you would be lurking and maybe get a laugh out of the snipe.
Tats my only intention.
Hey, I gave you credit for the oil dam/ring thingie in the post.
Mono-grade oils may be consumed at a higher rate, if what was found about ring pack oil film is true.
Everyone....Credit goes to Molakule for teachin' me 'bout oil inanuther thread.

 

[widman]

Whimsey: Yes, the straight wt 40 was of lower quality, though probably not low enough to cause that much damage. That Explorer is based in Tarija, 6300 ft above sea level, temps 0 to 15C year round in morning, 4 to 40C in the afternoon. And local straight 40 wt oil has 30% of the market.
Molakule: Brazilian trafic is varied. I lived there 3 years. Heavy traffic in the big cities, 55C in summer in some areas and 0C in others. The countryside is open 2 lane roads, lots of dirt roads.
They use a lot of SC/CC oils