Accidental mix SM/SN

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andrewg

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Question....a couple of days ago I changed the oil in my Honda Ridgeline with the required (per warranty) 0w-20 oil. I'm a big fan of the synthetic Toyota oil so I went with that. After filling with 4.5 quarts, I looked at the bottles of oil and noticed that one of the bottles had the older 'SM' rating while the rest had the newer 'SN'. Does anybody think this is any cause for concern in any way at all? I did notice that one of the bottles was a tad bit darker when I was pouring it (that was the 'SM' oil). The 'SN' were all lighter colored. Will the chemical makeup or properties of these two oils with different ratings conflict in any way? In my opinion I would say no....but I am no oil blend expert.
Thanks in advance.
 
Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
Nothing to worry about. I doubt your Honda requires SN only in its recommendations.

Bill

No, it doesn't require the SN. What it requires is the 0w-20 and a starburst. My concern was from a chemical/additive point of view and if it was ok to mix SM with SN.
 
No problem. Not a SINGLE one!

Good to go.
thumbsup2.gif
 
IIRC API stipulates that the oils must be mixable with others, so there's nothing to worry about. Is it optimal? No. I'd only sweat it if you're mixing some really weird stuff together (i.e. race oils or stuff for antique engines)
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
IIRC API stipulates that the oils must be mixable with others, so there's nothing to worry about. Is it optimal? No. I'd only sweat it if you're mixing some really weird stuff together (i.e. race oils or stuff for antique engines)

About the same as I was thinking. Thank you.
 
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: jfking106
It's going to blow up.

Thank you for your highly valuable input.


It's a joke, lighten up. It's just motor oil. You can mix five different brands of conventional and synthetic, and it won't hurt anything as long as it's the the correct weight the manufacturer calls for.
 
Originally Posted By: jfking106
Originally Posted By: andrewg
jfking106 said:
It's going to blow up.

Thank you for your highly valuable input.


Your comment had no value for me. My question was a legitimate one. Of course I realize that no serious harm would come of it mixing SN with SM. But knowing that the oil makers spend millions creating add packs and blending various chemicals to create a desired type of oil, my question had some amount of validity. If SM counteracted or compromised some property of the SN oil....I wanted to know.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: jfking106
Originally Posted By: andrewg
jfking106 said:
It's going to blow up.

Thank you for your highly valuable input.


Your comment had no value for me. My question was a legitimate one. Of course I realize that no serious harm would come of it mixing SN with SM. But knowing that the oil makers spend millions creating add packs and blending various chemicals to create a desired type of oil, my question had some amount of validity. If SM counteracted or compromised some property of the SN oil....I wanted to know.

Andrew.
You have been a member for some time now,and almost 1900 posts. I'm in awe that you even had to ask the question,so I would expect some smart alek remarks. Thus far everyone's been nice,I'm betting there are more to come that wont be.
To answer the question its a non issue. Eat,drink and be merry
Click to expand...
 
Clevy....my question was sound. I was not asking a simple one of if oils can be mixed....I knew the answer to that. However, I have not seen much addressed on the topic of mixing SM oil with SM and what effects, if any, may occur. If that finds you in "awe" of my question (I suppose you are saying I must be absent of some brain tissue?)....then what can I say?! It was asked in honesty. This IS an OIL board that it's OK to ask questions regardless of how long one is a member, right?
 
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Clevy....my question was sound. I was not asking a simple one of if oils can be mixed....I knew the answer to that. However, I have not seen much addressed on the topic of mixing SM oil with SM and what effects, if any, may occur. If that finds you in "awe" of my question (I suppose you are saying I must be absent of some brain tissue?)....then what can I say?! It was asked in honesty. This IS an OIL board that it's OK to ask questions regardless of how long one is a member, right?


This question is probably best answered by Molakule or Tom NJ IMHO.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Clevy....my question was sound. I was not asking a simple one of if oils can be mixed....I knew the answer to that. However, I have not seen much addressed on the topic of mixing SM oil with SM and what effects, if any, may occur. If that finds you in "awe" of my question (I suppose you are saying I must be absent of some brain tissue?)....then what can I say?! It was asked in honesty. This IS an OIL board that it's OK to ask questions regardless of how long one is a member, right?


This question is probably best answered by Molakule or Tom NJ IMHO.

+1.
Yes it will be a concern if the SN & SM grades mixed have different nature of competing additives for each purpose (anti wear, anti oxidant, friction modifier, etc).
The base stocks could be different too, as you know base oil oxidative resistance should be be higher in SN.
So it does make a difference, mixing SN and SM oils, instead of using 100% of the SN.
Hope this helps.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Clevy....my question was sound. I was not asking a simple one of if oils can be mixed....I knew the answer to that. However, I have not seen much addressed on the topic of mixing SM oil with SM and what effects, if any, may occur. If that finds you in "awe" of my question (I suppose you are saying I must be absent of some brain tissue?)....then what can I say?! It was asked in honesty. This IS an OIL board that it's OK to ask questions regardless of how long one is a member, right?


This question is probably best answered by Molakule or Tom NJ IMHO.



MolaKule told us at the BITOG 10th Anniversary Event that you can do it, but that some additives can work against others. I don't recall the specific examples, but the gist of his speech was that people who claim to be "home-brewers" with custom mixes might be doing more harm than good. Will it blow up an engine? No, but you might be running with a severely-reduced anti-wear add pack, for example.

That doesn't apply to stuff like Red Line or Motul 300V, where they actually encourage you to mix their oils (with other oils of theirs) to make your desired product.
 
fpracha and dparm....thanks for the responses. I feel vindicated after reading your opinions. I was slighted by another BITOG member that my question was somehow foolish.
I think the possibility of competing additives could possibly reduce the ability of my oil to be 100%. I'll be thinking about a solution or maybe just leave it in a full OCI.
 
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