Air cooled engine oil? Synthetic vs dino?

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

Jmoney7269

Joined
Aug 15, 2018
Messages
127
Location
Texas, United states
Hello all..... as an avid lurker here for years and finally a member a few months ago, I still have questions......

I have two commercial grade Kohler efi air cooled engines. One on a generator and on a zero turn. Years ago I made the switch to 0w-30 oils and have never looked back. Just on these two engines plus my efi mule, when I switched from dino 20w-50 factory branded oil to the m1 0w-30 I immediately noticed how much faster they spun over and how much less lifter rattle they had when cold...... the engine AIC MOTOR had to step down the idle since they were even idling higher......
MY CONCERN IS that these two air cooled engines run on average 230 degrees as observed with my infra red gun taking readings off the oil filter. I suspect they may run as high as 275 degrees in the hot Texas summers...... the engines do not use any oil whatsoever and at 100 hrs the oil looks pretty good still. I read many studies on how 30wt oil actually removes heat better than 50wt oil. My concern is that at high temp such as 275 will the 30wt synthetic oil cause harm in the long term?
I guess the only real way to tell is to do some UOA testing?

I have a Honda eu2000 generator that has has mobil 1 0w-30 after the 8 hour mark of a motoman break in that has right at 1000 hrs and doesn't use any oil between 100hr OCIs'.

Is there any significant studies done that synthetic actually make an engine last longer? I know folks that run nothing but shell rotella and their stuff lasts forever also but they do have to add oil sometimes whereas I dont......

I know that a majority of engine wear is at at startup and I do feel alot better knowing that thinner oil flows faster when ambient temp. But again is there ever been real world studies besides biased wear tests that only test one function like film strength?

Was thinking about switching everything over to 5w-40 Mobil delvac 1esp since it's a stout diesel oil with extended OCI capability....... I'm really fixing to start running these engines hard under commercial use and want to get the best protection and longevity I can.
I can get the Mobil 1 delvac 5w-40 esp cheap from orielly since i have a commercial account and the manager sells me a lot of stuff at cost.......
 
Synthetic shine in tempature extremes and thus synthetic is less likely to leave deposits in extreme heat, flows better in extreme cold, less likely to shear, and resists oxidation better. But there are no studies show it makes engines last longer.
 
I too run synthetic oil in my OPE.

Some OPE is prone to borderline overheating between grass, leaves and mouse nests in the cooling fins. So synthetic oil is beneficial.
 
Originally Posted by Donald
I too run synthetic oil in my OPE.

Some OPE is prone to borderline overheating between grass, leaves and mouse nests in the cooling fins. So synthetic oil is beneficial.

I do after every service check the cooling fins for buildup but there never is any. I keep the grass catcher over the engine fan clean and blow out my engines at least once a week and fix any visible leaks I see. I know dirt and oil cause buildup and that cakes up and causes excess heat. I have had lots of customers bring me machines with caked up burnt cylinder heads that all started out as a oil leak and they just kept adding oil when needed but never fixed the leak. I'm anal about my equipment though..... I paid way too much money for it and want it to last
 
definitely synthetic takes the heat better. I'd be inclined to at least consider a 5w-30 though. it might shear less.
 
There's no reason for a 0W oil in Texas.
And even a 5W-30 is marginal in the heat of August.
The 5W-40 sounds like a good deal for your purposes.
Conventional oil can break down at ~230°.
 
With oil temperatures exceeding 230F on a regular basis, it makes sense why the manufacturer recommended 20W-50. At these temps the 50 weight will flow like a 30 weight at 190F, and a synthetic will have longer life than dino. Synthetic 5W-40 would be a good choice.
 
Originally Posted by dwendt44
There's no reason for a 0W oil in Texas.
And even a 5W-30 is marginal in the heat of August.
The 5W-40 sounds like a good deal for your purposes.
Conventional oil can break down at ~230°.

This is why you run a 0w-30 over a 10w-30.....
All oils are too thick at ambient temp to protect well, but the thinner it is at startup, the better to prevent engine wear associated with startup.....
[Linked Image]
 
Originally Posted by Jmoney7269
This is why you run a 0w-30 over a 10w-30.....
All oils are too thick at ambient temp to protect well, but the thinner it is at startup, the better to prevent engine wear associated with startup...

Sure, here in Wisconsin in the winter. But the difference beteeen those two in Texas isn't going to be significant.

The chart you posted - where did you get that data?
 
Originally Posted by Jmoney7269
Originally Posted by dwendt44
There's no reason for a 0W oil in Texas.
And even a 5W-30 is marginal in the heat of August.
The 5W-40 sounds like a good deal for your purposes.
Conventional oil can break down at ~230°.

This is why you run a 0w-30 over a 10w-30.....
All oils are too thick at ambient temp to protect well, but the thinner it is at startup, the better to prevent engine wear associated with startup.....
[Linked Image]

Unless you're in below freezing temps, the difference in how quickly a 0W oil starts flowing versus a 10W oil is completely insignificant, or a SAE 30 oil for that matter.
 
Last edited:
Well I beg to differ........ a 0w-30 oil is 60% thinner at ambient than a 10w-30. If a majority of the engine wear happens at startup, then one would want the oil that has the best pump ability until it gets to operating temperature.
Plus my generator fires up and runs 3600 rpm straight from cold and is hit with a load 20 seconds later...... I see nothing but benefits running a 0w-30 over a 10w-30 if its 60% thinner at startup therefore nullifying how a 10w-anything is better in Texas
 
Originally Posted by Oildudeny
You don't need a winter oil in tx you wasting coin bro.

It all costs the same for me..... but I do believe that in some sense that a premium synthetic oil that flows better when cold (0-75 deg) protects better. Read the article in my previous post. I appreciate the opinion though but all modern testing shows that thinner oils to an extent protect better in most normal operation.
https://www.minimania.com/Motor_Oils_-_It_Is_So_Very_Misunderstood
 
You are confusing cold weather pumpability with engine protection. 0,5,10 are viscosity modifiers to thin a specified oil wt. for cold starts.
 
This is a proper representation of the relative viscosity of a 0W-30 and a 10W-30 oil. Note that at a typical "room temperature" of 28 C there is almost no difference between the two. In any case it is nowhere near 60% thinner as you claim, whatever that means exactly.

And that website you linked is full of errors and misrepresentations. It's amazing how often a site that claims to provide the truth is in fact promoting error.


viscosity.jpg
 
I'd be running 10w-30/40 Mobil 1 HM in TX instead of their 0w-30. 5w-40 syn HDEO if you prefer an HDEO. A 30w HDEO or 15w-40 HDEO would also be just fine if the starting temp. is appropriate.
 
In that heat and Air Cooled ...M1 15-50 and its load of anti wear additives wont hurt either. Been using that in ALL my stuff since forever. Never lost an engine.
 
Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by Jmoney7269
This is why you run a 0w-30 over a 10w-30.....
All oils are too thick at ambient temp to protect well, but the thinner it is at startup, the better to prevent engine wear associated with startup...

Sure, here in Wisconsin in the winter. But the difference beteeen those two in Texas isn't going to be significant.

The chart you posted - where did you get that data?

From this website, BITOG
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Xyzzy
Air cooling and modern oil?
Replies
10
Views
1K
alarmguy
C
Motorcraft synthetic blend vs full synthetic
Replies
7
Views
2K
Rinspeed
C
Classic vs Modern Engine Break-In
Replies
9
Views
527
vpr5703
R
Mobil Delvac 1 5W30 Advanced Synthetic
Replies
3
Views
2K
fantastic
S
API versus Euro oil, for the same engine
Replies
17
Views
1K
KCJeep
Back
Top