Anybody use 20w 50 for the summer?
- Thread starter miked
- Start date
- Status
My 1973 International pickup only gets 20w-50 year round. With lighter oils it sounds terrible and the oil pressure gets scary low.
10w30 or 5w40
Millions and millions of cars survive millions and millions of miles on 5W30 and 10W30 in climates a lot hotter than New Jersey. What makes your cars and or driving conditions so different that you're "uncomfortable" with 10w30? And why are synthetics not an option? Do you believe a conventional 20W50 is better for your cars than a good synthetic like Mobil 1 or Pennzoil Platinum?
I've used syn 20w50 in a bmw m44 engine; it is definately some thick stuff. I'd go with a 10w40 if you're really that concerned. The Walmarts in Piscataway and North Plainfield stock Havoline for $1.88 per quart.
I have a 1967 Buick Sportwagon with a 340 cu. in. V8, 4BBL, 10 & 1/4 compression ratio. We have only driven it about 150 miles a year for the past ten years. So I suppose I should get the 20W50 out of it and just put in some 10W30, huh? I has about 127,000 miles on it and doesn't use any oil. Runs and sounds strong too. You guys are making me nervous now. Curley
YOUR 3800V6 IS SPEC'D FOR 10w30.
20W-50 is way too thick to lubricate the roller lifters properly. You want piece of mind? Change out your Dex-Cool mixed 50/50 with distilled water. Clean engine coolant has way more effect on keeping the engine cool than the oil does.
If you just have to use thicker oil for the summer, a high mileage 10w30 is 2cSt's thicker than regular 10w30.
BTW, The 3800V6 is my favorite engine. When someone mentions BONNEVILLE/LESABRE, I spring into action.
20W-50 is way too thick to lubricate the roller lifters properly. You want piece of mind? Change out your Dex-Cool mixed 50/50 with distilled water. Clean engine coolant has way more effect on keeping the engine cool than the oil does.
If you just have to use thicker oil for the summer, a high mileage 10w30 is 2cSt's thicker than regular 10w30.
BTW, The 3800V6 is my favorite engine. When someone mentions BONNEVILLE/LESABRE, I spring into action.
I am driving aa Acura SLX with a 3.5L Isuzu V6. There are 118,xxx miles troublefree on it. I use mostly 10-30 Red Line. Isuzu USA and Acura recommend 10-30. The Australian site for Isuzu/Holden recommends a 20w50 conventional. Same engine but the Australian outback is hot and flat. The trips are looong.I m getting excellent numbers from Blackstone with 10-30 here in the US.
Where did you come up with that? That's not true.
Hey Miked, after 2 pages of what you should run and only a handful of answers to your question, rest assured that your engine will run just fine on 20W50 if you so choose to use it. You may not get the best gas mileage, but your engine is NOT going to blow up or break roller lifters.
Mitch Alsup is the only one that measured temperature on his car with different weights. Anyone remember what he found? Higher viscosity oil resulted in HIGHER temps in the engine. However, these higher temps are probably not due to friction, they are due to SLOWER FLOW RATES! I don't think viscosity affects the ability of an oil to act as a heat sink, however, it does affect flow rate of the oil past the heat exchange surfaces of the engine. Higher flow rates result in more cooling.
Don't run TOO thick of a viscosity in your car. In fact, you should run the thinnest oil that gets the job done adequately. Thicker isn't better, and too thick can result in increased oil temp, as well as increased wear upon cranking when cold (even 100 degrees ambient temperature is "cold" to an engine), and for the first 10-15 minutes of sub-normal operating temperature operation.
Don't run TOO thick of a viscosity in your car. In fact, you should run the thinnest oil that gets the job done adequately. Thicker isn't better, and too thick can result in increased oil temp, as well as increased wear upon cranking when cold (even 100 degrees ambient temperature is "cold" to an engine), and for the first 10-15 minutes of sub-normal operating temperature operation.
If you mix equal parts 20w50 and 10w30 you should get a nice summer 20w40. Who needs 10wXX in the summer?
My 99 Subaru Forester has been running Mobil 1 Extended Performance 15w50 for a bit over a year now. Not much difference in fuel mileage, but the reason I tried it is the piston slap and it uses a bit of oil at 125,000 miles. I wanted extended OCIs and still some piston slap control.I live in San Mateo CA where the weather is mild so starting is not a problem. The heavy oil cuts piston slap to a minimum.
My '88 F-150 has been fed a steady diet of mainly Castrol GTX 20W-50 since I bought it brand new in May of '88. It now has 458,000 miles on the original engine, which hasn't been rebuilt. It holds about 6 1/2 quarts, so nowadays I usually throw in a quart of synthetic in with the GTX. Of course, I live on the Gulf Coast, where 30 degrees F happens only a few days a year.
Volvohead, you don't have to rub it in.
10-30 will handle NJ summer. 3.8 don't have oil related problems or much wear even. If you have the post plastic intake era 3.8 you have eliminated the 3.8 only weakness. IMO GM went back to 10-30 on this motor as it didn't do as well with thin oil like 5-30 that shears to 5-20 for more than 1/2 their OCI.
Mr. GoodWrench himself told me that.
- Status
Similar threads
