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

[edyvw]

I would say synthetic would do better in cold for several reasons.
Base stocks in synthetic are more polar, and some traces of oil will stay on higher points in engine such as camshaft.
However, I would not say on -31 Valvoline Premium will do bad, since pour point is -42c.
But, if you use your truck for hauling, then nothing beats synthetic.

 

[Shannow]

GrIII, and IV are anything BUT polar.

5W is 5W whether it's synthetic or mineral, the MRV and CCS requirements are the same.

 

[KrisZ]

It's a no surprise for anybody who experienced true winters that 5w conventional or synthetic oils will have no problems with -30c temps.

 

[gfh77665]

Originally Posted By: RedOakRanch
All the way down to 39 in my neck of the woods. It was 75 on my way home from work yesterday.


80's pretty much everyday. I mowed grass last week. It was almost a foot tall, since I took Holiday break from mowing. It really grows since we had over 6 feet total rainfall last year.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
It's a no surprise for anybody who experienced true winters that 5w conventional or synthetic oils will have no problems with -30c temps.


I've started the Expedition with both 0w-30 (M1 AFE 0w-30) and 5w-30 (PU 5w-30) at -30C and there's definitely a difference in cranking speed between the two.

 

[tig1]

Notice the difference in -40C cold flow abilities comparing M1 5-30 to a semi synthetic 5-30. View video at the bottom of the page. The sound is hit and miss.
https://mobiloil.com/en/article/why-the-...in-cold-weather

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: tig1
Notice the difference in -40C cold flow abilities comparing M1 5-30 to a semi synthetic 5-30. View video at the bottom of the page.
https://mobiloil.com/en/article/why-the-...in-cold-weather


-40C is why they have a grade called "0W" and it's tested at...guess what ???...-40C

if OP was planning -40 starts, he SHOULD go for a 0W, not rely on a 5W (synthetic or not) to be operating below it's test temperature.

 

[turtlevette]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
GrIII, and IV are anything BUT polar.

5W is 5W whether it's synthetic or mineral, the MRV and CCS requirements are the same.


Conventionals just meet the spec. Synthetic beats the spec with plenty of margin. That's why they assign a number to it rather than pass fail.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
I've started the Expedition with both 0w-30 (M1 AFE 0w-30) and 5w-30 (PU 5w-30) at -30C and there's definitely a difference in cranking speed between the two.


Definitely, and as per your doubling per 5C, a 0W manufactured to the CCS limits at -35C would have half the CCS of a similarly manufactured 5W.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: tig1
Notice the difference in -40C cold flow abilities comparing M1 5-30 to a semi synthetic 5-30. View video at the bottom of the page.
https://mobiloil.com/en/article/why-the-...in-cold-weather


-40C is why they have a grade called "0W" and it's tested at...guess what ???...-40C

if OP was planning -40 starts, he SHOULD go for a 0W, not rely on a 5W (synthetic or not) to be operating below it's test temperature.


Of course the comparison was with both oils 5-30. Yep! 0 wt oils are the way to go in both hot and cold temp extremes.

 

[53' Stude]

+1000 TIG1

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
I've started the Expedition with both 0w-30 (M1 AFE 0w-30) and 5w-30 (PU 5w-30) at -30C and there's definitely a difference in cranking speed between the two.


Definitely, and as per your doubling per 5C, a 0W manufactured to the CCS limits at -35C would have half the CCS of a similarly manufactured 5W.


Exactly

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: turtlevette
Originally Posted By: Shannow
GrIII, and IV are anything BUT polar.

5W is 5W whether it's synthetic or mineral, the MRV and CCS requirements are the same.


Conventionals just meet the spec. Synthetic beats the spec with plenty of margin. That's why they assign a number to it rather than pass fail.


http://content.valvoline.com/pdf/premium_conventional.pdf
http://www.susacr.com/29.pdf
https://mobiloil.com/en/motor-oils/mobil-super/mobil-super-synthetic

Versus limits of 6,600 and 60,000Cp respectively ???

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
GrIII, and IV are anything BUT polar.

5W is 5W whether it's synthetic or mineral, the MRV and CCS requirements are the same.

They are not, but rarely oils are 100% GR III or IV.

 

[fdcg27]

At the starting temps the OP was facing, it makes no difference.
One of the things that we should learn here is that synthetic may or may not be a better choice, and the same is true for a 0-XX vs a 5W-XX.
Most of us live in areas where temps never come close to those where a 0W-XX would offer any advantage.
We should learn here what actually matters as opposed to that which sounds good.

 

[turtlevette]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: turtlevette
Originally Posted By: Shannow
GrIII, and IV are anything BUT polar.

5W is 5W whether it's synthetic or mineral, the MRV and CCS requirements are the same.


Conventionals just meet the spec. Synthetic beats the spec with plenty of margin. That's why they assign a number to it rather than pass fail.



http://content.valvoline.com/pdf/premium_conventional.pdf
http://www.susacr.com/29.pdf
https://mobiloil.com/en/motor-oils/mobil-super/mobil-super-synthetic

Versus limits of 6,600 and 60,000Cp respectively ???


So this is what I'm talking about. The 0w20 super syn has a MRV of 28,600. The 0w20 afe has a MRV of 9200. That's a big difference but Joe six pack thinks they're equally performing cold weather oils, because he thinks a 0w20 is a 0w20.

Heck the 0w30 afe MRV beats the 0w20 super syn garbage.

 

[Shannow]

Look at the 5W30s, the topic of this conversation...

 

[dave1251]

Originally Posted By: turtlevette
Originally Posted By: Shannow
GrIII, and IV are anything BUT polar.

5W is 5W whether it's synthetic or mineral, the MRV and CCS requirements are the same.


Conventionals just meet the spec. Synthetic beats the spec with plenty of margin. That's why they assign a number to it rather than pass fail.




Not even close to an accurate statement. The pumping viscosity of Valvoline conventional is equal actually lower then Royal Purple API in 5W30.

 

[wemay]

Originally Posted By: 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.


Excellent post. Most folks just read synthetic or conventional on the labels and make assumptions. The avg joe has no concept of MRV.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
I've started the Expedition with both 0w-30 (M1 AFE 0w-30) and 5w-30 (PU 5w-30) at -30C and there's definitely a difference in cranking speed between the two.


Definitely, and as per your doubling per 5C, a 0W manufactured to the CCS limits at -35C would have half the CCS of a similarly manufactured 5W.


Yep, it just confirms that those MRV and CCS tests are not just for lab, but have real world application. However, what many seem to be assuming is that it automatically means better protection.
OPs thread simply confirms that the oil did what it was tested and rated for and that the MRV and CCS tests can be trusted.