3200 vs. 2000 cSt - big difference?

[sky jumper]

so I'm still looking for my winter oil. I'm concerned about -20C viscosity for cold starts and shear stability for the long winter OCI. the options I'm looking at are:
1) M1 5W30 EP: VI=169, 2227cSt@-20C
2) M1 0W30: VI=175, 1994cSt@-20C
3) M1 5W30: VI=169, 2616cSt@-20C
4) Gold GC: VI=166, 3172cSt@-20C
the M1s are all about 3 HTHS. don't know about GC.

2 questions:
a) will 1000cSt difference affect cold start protection? will I have to wait another minute before driving?
b) has anyone heard of M1 0W30 shearing and giving bad UOAs like the 0W40 has been know for?

The car is a '99 Maxima.

[ November 07, 2005, 02:10 PM: Message edited by: sky jumper ]

 

[AndyH]

quote:

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Originally posted by sky jumper:
4) Gold GC: VI=166, 3172cSt@-20C
the M1s are all about 3 HTHS. don't know about GC.

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IIRC, the HTHS of GC is 3.6

 

[JonS]

Good topic. Why not check out Amoil 5w30 and 0w-30. How did you figure these numbers? I would like to know what these same oils are at
-35c. Also, check out Quaker State Winter. It flows better than M1 5w30 at -30c.

 

[Tim]

I'd bet any one of those oils will work fine in Chicago.

As for the shearing, are you going to run your winter oil from mid-December through Feb? How many miles will that be? The 0w30 should be less shear prone than the 0W-40, but it isn't like either one is going to gunk up your engine.

FWIW - I'd use the Mobil 1 0w30 in the above timeframe and not worry one bit.

Tim

 

[sky jumper]

quote:

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IIRC, the HTHS of GC is 3.6

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if my understanding of HTHS is correct, 3.6 means better shear stability than 3.0. right? +1 for GC.

but at 3200 cSt - yikes. -2. unless anyone cares to convince me that 3200 is not that thick.

quote:

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How did you figure these numbers?

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go to http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3655/VI.html

quote:

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As for the shearing, are you going to run your winter oil from mid-December through Feb? How many miles will that be?

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my winter OCI is 8k miles between thanksgiving and easter.

interesting observation -- the 0W30 GC is thicker when cold than the two 5W oils. now why is GC a 0W again?

 

[AndyH]

quote:

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Originally posted by sky jumper:
interesting observation -- the 0W30 GC is thicker when cold than the two 5W oils. now why is GC a 0W again?

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Because it meets the "0W" viscosity spec (low temp cranking viscosity = 6200 cP @ -35°C), which is different than the "5W" viscosity spec (low temp cranking viscosity = 6600 cP @ -30°C). See this message thread for more info:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=012674

 

[Ugly3]

I have run Mobil 1 5w30 in Chicago winters for many years. Easy starts every time, no issues!

 

[jsharp]

I've run M1 0w30 and 5w30 plus GC 0w30 through Illinois winters. I didn't notice any real difference in old cranking performance among the three down to 0 degrees F.

 

[sky jumper]

quote:

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Because it meets the "0W" viscosity spec (low temp cranking viscosity = 6200 cP @ -35°C), which is different than the "5W" viscosity spec (low temp cranking viscosity = 6600 cP @ -30°C).

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ok - maybe a better question would be, what is the cP of both oils at -35C? In terms of cSt, the GC is 15,600 and the M1 5w30 is 12,600 (at -35C). So I'd say the 5W is still thinner than the GC.

Maybe I'm missing something here, but measuring them at different temps, and calling the thicker one a 0W and the thinner one a 5W is very misleading.

back to the -20C specs -- I have no experiential basis on which to judge the relative thickness of 3200 vs 2000 cSt. To me it seems like a big gap, and is why I'm leaning toward M1 0W30. but this is probably splitting hairs to begin with.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

a) No. The evidence is contained in all the GC UOA's here. That 0W rating is key to it's low-wear at startup when cold.

b) No. M1 0w30 is NOT the 0w-40 formula. But I wouldn't spend anything more on M1's 0w30 than their 5w30 offering. Splitting Hairs? Yep!