aged alcohol is the breakfast of champions........
-37C this morning
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aged alcohol is the breakfast of champions........
Just to clarify for those who asked. All four vehicles mentioned in the origional post were outside with no heaters in use. The -37C we the real temp and the weather forecasters were reporting close to -48C with the wind chill.
BTW, the coldest I have been able to cold start a vehicle here was a couple of years ago we went down to -47C and my 2001 VW GTI 1.8T running GC 0W-30 cranked over about 4 turns and started.
BTW, the coldest I have been able to cold start a vehicle here was a couple of years ago we went down to -47C and my 2001 VW GTI 1.8T running GC 0W-30 cranked over about 4 turns and started.
I did -38 with a 1.8T in similar circumstances a few winters ago. Used GC as well. Should have put a base heater on that sucker...
John.
John.
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It was -37C this morning at the Edmonton Alberta Airport and I had my first opportunity to test the starting ability of my 86 VW Golf running Castrol HM 5W-30. It turned over slowly but still at a reasonable enough pace to fire off after about three revolutions. A slight whirring sound could be heard for a couple of seconds until the oil made its way to the top end of the motor. Conclusion: the HM at 5W-30 is going to be okay for extreme winter use.
My 2000 Chev Venture van loaded with ESSO XD3 0W-30 started on the first turn as though it was still summer. That has got to be one heck of a good all-season oil for the north. The 89 Dodge van and 90 Accura that my boys drive also are running Castrol HM 5W-30 this winter and they both fired off first crank with no hesitation.
All of our vehicles are equiped with oversized high capacity batteries that are monitored and kept at full charge when cold weather is forecast. This more so than than anything else is the the reason they start unassisted in these extremely cold temperatures. I think we are in for a long cold winter this year.
At -37, you are below the pour point for that oil. There is no way that oil was a liquid at those temperatures.
It wouldn't be pumping for at least two minutes.
You have a good point there. The 5w rating allows a max of
CCS 6600 cP @-30C
MRV 60,000 cP @-35C
Since those are maximum values, it doesn't mean it won't pump below -35C. It simply means that the 5W spec won't guarantee it.
My father, like many older guys, is slow to convert to modern oils. He likes 10W-30 and when I first got him to use M1 (in the SJ days), he commented on how the oil pressure comes up right away at -40C. He said there was quite a delay with the conventional 10W-30 at those temperatures.
I've got him using 5W-30 synthetics now. 0W-30 should be next once he sees my cars haven't been destroyed by years of using it!
I know exactly what the J300 viscosity specification states and implies. Further, the viscosity-temperature curve of engine oils is much more steep at those temperatures, especially for dinos. You can have a doubling of those values with just a 5°C lowering of temperature.
So why does he have a good point then? How does he know "there is no way that oil was a liquid at those temperatures." Or that "it wouldn't be pumping for at least two minutes." I think a good point would be that it's ridiculous to use that oil at temperatures below its known specifications when 0Ws are inexpensive and readily available!
Hey, it's late and I'm tired. I guess I should of said, "by the way, that reminds me."
Feel better now?
Quote:
Hey, it's late and I'm tired. I guess I should of said, "by the way, that reminds me."
Feel better now?
Yes! It has always been a dream of mine to be the BITOG late-night semantics champion!
If we were sitting around having a beer, the three of us would probably have just agreed that the oil is inappropriate for the climate.
I'm sorry about being off topic, but, why do people live where it gets to -37C in the morning.
it was -7 f here in colorado and my 98 vic with 142k started as always like it couldn't wait to start!!!...of course i attribute this to my preventive maint. and redline lubricatns/motul!!!and the knowledge i gained from bitog..
Low population density, 2500 hours of sunshine per year, good air quality, clean lakes and rivers, great fishing and hunting, open spaces, minimal road congestion, low unemployment, Esso 0W-30, no homeless on the street . . .
Yup. Lived there once in Regina. Everything you type is true. Never saw a place with more clear weather!
...and it's a dry cold!
John.
...and it's a dry cold!
John.
14 hours ago, I was rolling around the lawn playing with the kids in 70°F weather in shorts & a T-shirt. This morning I went out to retrieve our garbage cans that were thrown about by the morning's ice-cold wind gusts as the front moved through. Brrrrr.
-37°C. BIG BRRRRRR..
-37°C. BIG BRRRRRR..
I saw the weather for that day and it wasn't -37c.
It was -37 WITH the windchill factor.
Nothing other than humans feels windchill so the real temp was in the -20c to -25c range which isn't which would have the oil circulating sooner.
I would be using a block heater at anything below -15c with synthetic or dino.
It was -37 WITH the windchill factor.
Nothing other than humans feels windchill so the real temp was in the -20c to -25c range which isn't which would have the oil circulating sooner.
I would be using a block heater at anything below -15c with synthetic or dino.
We have cold snap records in Winnipeg in January that are for the most number of consecutive days of temperatures below -35C, get this... it was for like about 3 weeks.
Patman
Staff member
The coldest large city perhaps, but I doubt it's as cold as some of the real northern cities like Iqaluit or Yellowknife.
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