"And the oil god saideth to me"

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Just a Hypothetical offer between me and the oil god here:

"Outrun chooseth you may but one oil and viscosity for you car, and lawn tractor supplieth I will free for 10 years. Commandeth though you must use this oil faithfully and just"

Difficult choice is it not? Delvac 1 15W40, 5W40 SUV/Truck or Royal Purple Longrider 15W40? Or an all purpose tried and true 10W30 Redline or Amsoil? Or Belgian Castrol 5W40?

You guys be the judge!
 
for free?

Hmm, Me thinks Mobil 1 0w-40 or Redline 5w-40.

Fred...
smile.gif
 
And for ther is so gret diversite
In Englissh, and writyng of oure tonge,
So prey I god that non myswrite the,
Ne the mys-metre for defaute of tonge.

HC
 
Palmer,


You would trust a 0W40 to an air cooled craftsman tractor?

I know synthetics shine in temperature extremes but a zero weight in that hot running application must push the trust boundary do you not think?
 
What's wrong with a good dino 10w30, like chevron?

What does your lawn tractor reccomend? How about the other vehicles?

For the price of of syn, you could drain your lawn tractor every time you mow with a Wallyworld HD 30W (prolly is what is reccomended) and have the cleanest lawnmower engine in town.
 
quote:

Originally posted by 02supercrew:
For the price of of syn, you could drain your lawn tractor every time you mow with a Wallyworld HD 30W (prolly is what is reccomended) and have the cleanest lawnmower engine in town.

A common misconception, unfortunately. Let's take Wally's favorite Accel HD 30wt ("Meets API SA"!) at 79¢/qt, compared to the M1 5W-40 (on the shelf next to it) at $4.79/qt. OK, so the M1 is six times more expensive than the Accel.

For our example, we'll presume:
1) the tractor needs only one qt of oil
2) that you cut the grass one time a week
3) you cut it for 6 months of the year (26 times per year).

Using Accel & changing the oil after every use, you'll need 26 qts of oil at a mere $20.54 (plus tax). You'll also need to spend the time changing your oil 26 times. And making 26 trips to the recycling center. But, as an "API SA" oil, it has no detergents, anti-wear agents, or any other nasty additives to get in the way of doing its primary job: lubricating.

Using M1 5W-40 & changing it once a year, you'll spend $4.79 (plus tax). You'll also need to find the time to change it once (maybe sometime during the six months you're not using the mower?), & make one trip to the recycling center. Unfortunately, as an API SL/CI-4 oil, it has a ton of ugly additives to reduce wear, eliminate deposits, & generally hinder the oil's ability to lubricate. But, since it's a syn, it could really go a full year & still protect better than fresh Accel 30 wt changed every week.

Now, which method offers the cheapest insurance for engine protection?


outrun,
Delivered to my door for free, I'd choose the Delvac 1 5W-40. For locating it & buying it on my own, I currently use M1 5W-40.
 
Yes syn may run longer in liquid cooled motor with good filtration air fitler, plus a good fuel filter, and a top of the line oil fitler (as in automotive engines). But it's a whole different game in a poor air and gas filter (if it even has either, air cooled lawn motor, that may or maynot have a oil-filter. This is the reason for the short intervals that lawn equipment mfg's reccomend, to flush out the contaminates, not on how long it can run with said oil.

You really think that not changing the syn for the whole year is some how going to be cleaner than draining out dino every time, or every other 2nd or 3rd time?

What if this lawn mower doesnt have a filter??

Still wanna make that year change recomendation?

Come on!

I got 35 year old B+S motors that have been drained every 3 times out (about 5hrs per run), and still are kickin'. I've had to replace the metal wheels 3 times.

Personally I'd rather have cheap dino in my mowers than a syn loaded up with contaminates because I have to run it out to 3-4x the mfg's suggested time to recover some of the cost.

I guess this ole boy is just mis-guided.
dunno.gif
 
quote:

Originally posted by outrun:
Palmer,


You would trust a 0W40 to an air cooled craftsman tractor?

I know synthetics shine in temperature extremes but a zero weight in that hot running application must push the trust boundary do you not think?


Its a full syn, meets all teh tough specs for oxidation resisitance.
Also VII's cant be excessive a it meets BMW LL.

It a tru 40 weight oil.
Redline likely a bit stronger in that regard but if its only one oil to include winter use..M1 0w-40 is one of the best off-the-shelf 'ers.

Fred..
smile.gif
 
Steel,

You missed the whole point...I already know the what 0W means!

The context of the question would be then commercial tractors would all feature 0W weight oils as well.

Although I can not point my finger at it directly subjectively speaking 10W and 15W have there advantages application specific as do 5W and 0W.

I should stop wasting my time explaining myself, although the other replies were exemplary!

thanks-
 
02supercrew,

I understand your concerns. I've never owned a ride-on mower, so I'm not intimately familiar with their design. I have, however, owned a number of air-cooled, oil filter-less VWs (my '66 was also air filter-less). I'd change the entire 2-1/2 qts of oil every 3k mi. If I still owned one today, I'd run better oil & change it no sooner than every 5k mi.

Here's why:
My feeling is, if the oil's better, you're creating less contaminants to remove.

Here's what I considered when deciding to switch from dino to a premium full syn oil:
1) It maintains a more durable oil film. Since this is the primary method of preventing wear, you'll see less wear metal contamination.
2) It reduces friction-generated heat & keeps engine & oil temps lower.
3) It's more resistant to breaking down, so oil degradation byproducts aren't being generated.
4) It has a better additive package. Secondary & tertiary protections are better than average, & improved detergents keep whatever contaminants are present from depositing on engine surfaces.

I'm sure there are other considerations I'm overlooking, but you see what I mean, right? Since a better oil will hold up longer while reducing heat, contamination & by-products, you can go longer & still have better protection. (And save a ton of time & travel changing the oil so often.) Would I run it for a full year? Well, you're probably right, I probably wouldn't go a full year under our mixed guidelines. But I'd definitely go 3X or 4X what I'd do on a dino & feel more comfortable doing it, simply because I'm convinced the protection of a premium full syn is that much better.
 
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