-31 this morning...without the wind chill!

[Jetronic]

We don't grow kiwi's here, commercially, but a lot of apples and pears. Cold nights indeed makes the fruits ripe better, and the apples get red cheeks if it's cold at night and sunny during the day.

Kiwi's climb don't they? a bit like grapes?

Been thinking to grow something under the glass roof I have over the terrace on the south (sunny side here) and lead it along the glass roof to get a bit of shade in the hottest weather.

 

[turtlevette]

I don't know. We're using noise as a measure to how well the oilis flowing?

At -31 I'd be using 0w20 ep which has the best cold flow. I'm glad I have the $2 0w30afe in the suburban just in case of an emergency. Otherwise I'm going to wait till Tuesday to go anywhere when its a steamy 50.

Right now I'm looking at smoke rising up off the ocean. Really cool looking. I'm going to get some pics when it gets lighter.

 

[demarpaint]

We dipped below 0 last night, and are at 1F right now, which for Long Island is pretty cold. I plugged in my oil pan heater last night when my wife got home from work and the engine was still warm. Overkill some would say, but the heater is there so why not use it is my thinking. If I remember I'm going to take a digital reading of the exterior of the oil pan to see just how warm it is before I go to Church.

 

[Jake777]

No doubt 0w30 syn would have flowed even better during that first start up period is all people are saying but if it dosnt matter to you its no big deal. As others have said it did its job but don't be mistaken synthetic would have had better flow on its way up to temp. Really conventional oil is so good now that if you don't want to extend your oil change interval you are just fine using them.

 

[WobblyElvis]

I recently switched back from synthetic to conventional oil and I was a little concerned that the conventional would not flow so well in cold temperatures. Sure enough we've had a cold spell here and the temp has dropped to -10F the last couple of nights. I placed two jugs of oil outside and left them over night. First bottle was a 5w30 group 3 synthetic and the second was 5w30 Pennzoil Yellow bottle.

Just brought them in and had a look at how easily they flowed when I tilted the bottle. I'd have to say they both flowed remarkably well and if anything the conventional appeared to be a little thinner. I see no cold flow advantage to a synthetic oil at these temps when using 5w30 oil.

 

[kschachn]

Well you shouldn't, 5W-30 is going to flow like a 5W-30 whether it is conventional or synthetic. It has to meet the spec, right?

Originally Posted By: WobblyElvis
I recently switched back from synthetic to conventional oil and I was a little concerned that the conventional would not flow so well in cold temperatures. Sure enough we've had a cold spell here and the temp has dropped to -10F the last couple of nights. I placed two jugs of oil outside and left them over night. First bottle was a 5w30 group 3 synthetic and the second was 5w30 Pennzoil Yellow bottle.

Just brought them in and had a look at how easily they flowed when I tilted the bottle. I'd have to say they both flowed remarkably well and if anything the conventional appeared to be a little thinner. I see no cold flow advantage to a synthetic oil at these temps when using 5w30 oil.

 

[demarpaint]

Synthetic always flowed better through my pre-luber than dino oil when it gets colder such as 30F and below. It takes the pump a lot longer to start pumping cold dino oil vs. cold synthetic oil. Now before I get flamed the last time I did a comparison of dino vs. synthetic flow times through my pre-luber was probably 20 years ago, but there was a big time difference between 5W30 dino and 5W30 synthetic oil.

With synthetic oil in the sump the flow rate through the pump is a lot faster at temps above 35F. Flow rate meaning how long it takes before the oil pressure gauge starts rising after the pump is turned on. I can't notice any difference in times it takes oil pressure to rise by just firing up the engine though.

 

[DoubleApex]

It's -10F here this morning with about -33F with the wind chill. I started my car and went to the store and the noises were terrifying. My power steering pump was making a lot of noise, my blinkers were not working consistently until about halfway home, my transmission shifted very stiff initially, and the cd player had a high pitched squeal as the CD spun.

I couldn't imagine it much colder.

 

[Yup]

Originally Posted By: DoubleApex
It's -10F here this morning with about -33F with the wind chill. I started my car and went to the store and the noises were terrifying. My power steering pump was making a lot of noise, my blinkers were not working consistently until about halfway home, my transmission shifted very stiff initially, and the cd player had a high pitched squeal as the CD spun.

I couldn't imagine it much colder.


I spent many, many, many, years in a cold, cold, cold part of MN. Every winter we'd have lows below -30 at least a few times and highs that didn't get above -15. Fahrenheit. When it's that cold the wisdom of, "don't let your car idle for 10-15 minutes, just a minute and start driving" doesn't always work...because electronics and transmission fluid don't always work! I always found with the well below zero temps letting my car warm for at least 5-10 minutes was mandatory. Not because the engine wasn't ready, but because every other part of the car needed it. And yes, things groaned, squeaked, developed oil leaks you didn't have any other times, infotainment systems on new cars LCD screens didn't work, stereos would blare screeching sounds and you couldn't turn them off, etc. Never once used a block heater on anything newer than late 90s.

Someone on here told me a while back that Syn and dino of the same viscosity pour the same in cold. They had data on it. I ALWAYS had my cars changed over to Syn by Dec 1st. They cranked significantly faster with Syn. It may be scientifically true they're the same, but I still believe Syn is better at cold temps. You'll never change my mind on that and I'm typically a very emotionally disconnected rational believer in data.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Yup
Originally Posted By: DoubleApex
It's -10F here this morning with about -33F with the wind chill. I started my car and went to the store and the noises were terrifying. My power steering pump was making a lot of noise, my blinkers were not working consistently until about halfway home, my transmission shifted very stiff initially, and the cd player had a high pitched squeal as the CD spun.

I couldn't imagine it much colder.


I spent many, many, many, years in a cold, cold, cold part of MN. Every winter we'd have lows below -30 at least a few times and highs that didn't get above -15. Fahrenheit. When it's that cold the wisdom of, "don't let your car idle for 10-15 minutes, just a minute and start driving" doesn't always work...because electronics and transmission fluid don't always work! I always found with the well below zero temps letting my car warm for at least 5-10 minutes was mandatory. Not because the engine wasn't ready, but because every other part of the car needed it. And yes, things groaned, squeaked, developed oil leaks you didn't have any other times, infotainment systems on new cars LCD screens didn't work, stereos would blare screeching sounds and you couldn't turn them off, etc. Never once used a block heater on anything newer than late 90s.

Someone told me a while back that Syn and dino of the same viscosity pour the same in cold. They had data on it. I ALWAYS had my cars changed over to Syn by Dec 1st. They cranked significantly faster with Syn. It may be scientifically true they're the same, but I still believe Syn is better at cold temps. You'll never change my mind on that and I'm typically a very emotionally disconnected rational believer in data.


My pre-luber seems to back up that statement about dino vs. synthetic cold flow.

I also agree on the warm up in extreme cold. For several years I would visit my cousin up in the Adirondack mountains and spend a bit of time with him during the winter. On -35F mornings I had to run my van at least 5 minutes before taking off. The 5 speed stick was not happy at all, until about 5 minutes of driving. I fact everything seemed very tight and stiff. I had to take my time shifting it slowly. If it was a trip into town to get something I'd leave it running.

 

[Yup]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: Yup
Originally Posted By: DoubleApex
It's -10F here this morning with about -33F with the wind chill. I started my car and went to the store and the noises were terrifying. My power steering pump was making a lot of noise, my blinkers were not working consistently until about halfway home, my transmission shifted very stiff initially, and the cd player had a high pitched squeal as the CD spun.

I couldn't imagine it much colder.


I spent many, many, many, years in a cold, cold, cold part of MN. Every winter we'd have lows below -30 at least a few times and highs that didn't get above -15. Fahrenheit. When it's that cold the wisdom of, "don't let your car idle for 10-15 minutes, just a minute and start driving" doesn't always work...because electronics and transmission fluid don't always work! I always found with the well below zero temps letting my car warm for at least 5-10 minutes was mandatory. Not because the engine wasn't ready, but because every other part of the car needed it. And yes, things groaned, squeaked, developed oil leaks you didn't have any other times, infotainment systems on new cars LCD screens didn't work, stereos would blare screeching sounds and you couldn't turn them off, etc. Never once used a block heater on anything newer than late 90s.

Someone told me a while back that Syn and dino of the same viscosity pour the same in cold. They had data on it. I ALWAYS had my cars changed over to Syn by Dec 1st. They cranked significantly faster with Syn. It may be scientifically true they're the same, but I still believe Syn is better at cold temps. You'll never change my mind on that and I'm typically a very emotionally disconnected rational believer in data.


My pre-luber seems to back up that statement about dino vs. synthetic cold flow.

I also agree on the warm up in extreme cold. For several years I would visit my cousin up in the Adirondack mountains and spend a bit of time with him during the winter. On -35F mornings I had to run my van at least 5 minutes before taking off. The 5 speed stick was not happy at all, until about 5 minutes of driving. I fact everything seemed very tight and stiff. I had to take my time shifting it slowly. If it was a trip into town to get something I'd leave it running.


heck, the gas/fluid/whatever in stuts and shocks turns your car into a springboard at those temps. Have to put a mouth guard in before you drive. And a butt donut to protect your tailbone.

 

[RISUPERCREWMAN]

Go on You Tube & watch the cold flow characteristics of covventional oil vs. Syn Oil . In no way would I ever be running a conventional oil in 30 below temps in my new truck engine. I switched out the factory fill out at 500 miles in my 2014 Ram 2500 HD 5.7 Hemi to Pennzoil Ultra 5W-20 & never looked back!

 

[tig1]

Where do you live?

 

[fdcg27]

Back in the day, those of us who are old enough to have been there used conventional oils in everything for all temperatures.
Synthetics were rare and costly while conventionals could be had on sale for a little bit of nothing.
We thought nothing of cold weather use and our engines lasted well.
Today, outside of boards like this one, conventional motor oil continues to be the choice of most owners, although this is a choice that most owners never make since they have no idea what any given service outlet puts in and it rarely occurs to them to ask. I'd even suspect that most engines for which 0W-20 is recommended probably get conventional 5W-20 as the service fill.
All of this seems to do no harm.
Nothing wrong with conventional motor oil and if I didn't have a large stash of cheaply bought syn, I'd likely be using it myself.
We have collectively brainwashed ourselves into believing that synthetic is ever so much better than conventional, but I'm convinced that there is little to choose between the two for most applications.
The OP's experience illustrates this well.

 

[ledslinger]

Originally Posted By: DoubleApex
It's -10F here this morning with about -33F with the wind chill. I started my car and went to the store and the noises were terrifying. My power steering pump was making a lot of noise, my blinkers were not working consistently until about halfway home, my transmission shifted very stiff initially, and the cd player had a high pitched squeal as the CD spun.

I couldn't imagine it much colder.


You need to swap to synthetic blinker fluid for those temps.

 

[turtlevette]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
and if I didn't have a large stash of cheaply bought syn, I'd likely be using it myself.


It's OK to spend 60,000 on a redneck Cadillac, but we're going to fuss around about a 1-2 dollar difference per quart?

The 5w conventional meets the spec but the 0w meets the spec better. And what is the purpose of spending all the time here learning about lubrication if you're going to throw anything in after all this yak yak yak?

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted By: Ethan1
Oil is expensive, engines are cheap.

Oh, just kidding, a long block is $5,600.


"Cold flow" is an obsession here.

 

[turtlevette]

Not only would I not run a 5w30, I wouldn't run a 0w30 either. Again the m1 ep 0w20 has the lowest cold pump numbers of anything I've seen. Dump it and put whatever in during the summer like a 15w40 hdeo.

I don't understand why running a lite oil in winter and heavy oil in summer is now out of vogue. It's the way it was done for many years

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Yup
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: Yup
Originally Posted By: DoubleApex
It's -10F here this morning with about -33F with the wind chill. I started my car and went to the store and the noises were terrifying. My power steering pump was making a lot of noise, my blinkers were not working consistently until about halfway home, my transmission shifted very stiff initially, and the cd player had a high pitched squeal as the CD spun.

I couldn't imagine it much colder.


I spent many, many, many, years in a cold, cold, cold part of MN. Every winter we'd have lows below -30 at least a few times and highs that didn't get above -15. Fahrenheit. When it's that cold the wisdom of, "don't let your car idle for 10-15 minutes, just a minute and start driving" doesn't always work...because electronics and transmission fluid don't always work! I always found with the well below zero temps letting my car warm for at least 5-10 minutes was mandatory. Not because the engine wasn't ready, but because every other part of the car needed it. And yes, things groaned, squeaked, developed oil leaks you didn't have any other times, infotainment systems on new cars LCD screens didn't work, stereos would blare screeching sounds and you couldn't turn them off, etc. Never once used a block heater on anything newer than late 90s.

Someone told me a while back that Syn and dino of the same viscosity pour the same in cold. They had data on it. I ALWAYS had my cars changed over to Syn by Dec 1st. They cranked significantly faster with Syn. It may be scientifically true they're the same, but I still believe Syn is better at cold temps. You'll never change my mind on that and I'm typically a very emotionally disconnected rational believer in data.


My pre-luber seems to back up that statement about dino vs. synthetic cold flow.

I also agree on the warm up in extreme cold. For several years I would visit my cousin up in the Adirondack mountains and spend a bit of time with him during the winter. On -35F mornings I had to run my van at least 5 minutes before taking off. The 5 speed stick was not happy at all, until about 5 minutes of driving. I fact everything seemed very tight and stiff. I had to take my time shifting it slowly. If it was a trip into town to get something I'd leave it running.


heck, the gas/fluid/whatever in stuts and shocks turns your car into a springboard at those temps. Have to put a mouth guard in before you drive. And a butt donut to protect your tailbone.


You got that right, I heard sounds I never heard before. She did fire up and run though, which for this Long Islander was pretty impressive.

 

[DoubleApex]

Originally Posted By: ledslinger
Originally Posted By: DoubleApex
It's -10F here this morning with about -33F with the wind chill. I started my car and went to the store and the noises were terrifying. My power steering pump was making a lot of noise, my blinkers were not working consistently until about halfway home, my transmission shifted very stiff initially, and the cd player had a high pitched squeal as the CD spun.

I couldn't imagine it much colder.


You need to swap to synthetic blinker fluid for those temps.

Will do!