best dino for lots of short trips?

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Brons2

Brons2

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I drive 2.7 miles to work every day. During this time my engine does not get all the way warm. Vehicle is a Nissan Titan with a 5.6 liter V8

I'm seeking opinions on what the best dino is for these short trips that is SM/GF-4. Wal-Mart obtainable would be good. I have been thinking of Mobil Clean 5000 or Havoline.

If I do decide to go beyond dino, I was thinking of Schaeffer's 7000 5w30 as it is 47-52 cSt at 40c but yet 11.0 cSt at 100C and is ACEA A1 rated.
 
I am not considering the M1 5w30. It does not perform that well in these engines. Iron wear is high. Not to mention it seems to have more top-end noise. The M1 0w40 actually works pretty good, but it seems counterintuitave to use it for short trips. If I had a long commute, it would be my choice.

The M1EP also works well and could be a consideration. But it's expensive and I feel cheaper oil would perform just as well.

I have some UOA's posted. I got decent results last time around with .59 Shell SL oil with VSOT added. The thing that skewed it was high Si, which increased lead wear from 3 to 5. I have replaced the factory air filter with a Wix and will retest at this drain.

Owners manual for my 2004 calls for SL/GF-3. The reason I said SM/GF-4 in my post was becase it's commercially available. I know the M1EP is not GF-4/SM.
 
I was thinking about a 0/5w-20 myself...though even I have yet to go to a full dose of it due to my 1yr OCI (change in spring).
 
Caterham: Can't do that, most of my driving is the aforementioned short commute but I do take it out on the freeway.

Reason I mentioned Schaeffer's is that the 40c cSt is more like a 20wt's 40c cSt. I'm leaning that way.
 
My mother does 5 block comutes 4x a day... a few trips to the supermarket, and my parents go on a weekend trip maybe 2x/month in that casr, which as about 200 miles.

We have had EXCELLENT results using M1.

I know some think it to be blaphsemy to not use M1 for less thanb 5000 or 7500 miles...

Syn oils are good for extending drain intervals, but IMO another benefit is optimal protection, flow and better protective films at lesser film thickness. All major benefits for cold startups. Add a small polar content and you have better 'clinginess' too.

Even with these very short trips, we have demonstrated the ability to draw out OCIs to over 5000 miles.

JMH
 
How many miles per year do you drive?
The key is oil temperature in determining whether you even need a 30wt oil. Having said that, Schaeffer's 5W30 is amazingly light @40C for a dino oil. We are ofcourse splitting hair here.
 
if i were driving that short of trips. i would do one of two things. (this is what i currently am and previously was doing on a 98 beetle with very short trips, similar to yours) one is to use walmarts supertech oil and change it every 3 to 4 months. or use mobil 1 and change it every 6 months. since you said that mobil 1 5w30 isnt the greatest for the 5.6 and M1 0w40 isnt available in walmart (that i know of) then i would say use the supertech 5w or 10w30 and change it every 3 to 4 months. if you are really uncomfortable running the supertech then the next cheapest 5w or 10w30 oil and change it every 3 to 4 months. supertech with that engine would cost you about $8 for the oil (7 qts)and $2.5 to $5 for a filter.
 
Caterham: I drove the truck 13,000 miles the first year I had it. Yes most days are short commute only but I do drive it on trips too.

Believe me when I say a 20wt oil would be unsuitable for this vehicle. This engine gets good analysis results from thick 30 or 0/5w40. I live in Austin, Texas and the temps are 35-40c in the summertime every day. 20wt...not happening
smile.gif


Anyways, I found some more Titan oil analysis over on clubtitan.org and it seems like the 5w30 M1 EP does work pretty well for a 7500 mile interval so I may consider that in addition. cSt at 40c is 56, not quite as low as the Schaeffer's but hey I can get it at WalMart. It is a bit spendy though.
 
You said most of your driving is short trip but that you do take it out on the freeway now and then (once a week maybe?). If that is the case there is nothing to worry about. It is grandma's car that goes a couple miles to church or visit frieds now and then that is at risk. Since the oil will never warm up the many problems with things like oxidation and such will cause the engine a lot of grief down the road (probably for the next owner). You and I both live in Texas and we don't have the extra cold starts that many people have. That combined with short trips is really a killer. If you lived in upstate NY it might be different.

I am retired and live in a golf community so I visit friends with my golf cart and seldom drive my truck more than a few miles at a time. But I do make it a point to drive it once a week on the back roads out here. I have a Honda Ridgeline and never changed oil although I bought it back in May. It has just a tad over 5,000 miles and 30% oil life expecatancy so I will wait until I get to 6,000 miles. Then, I will go with Havoline 5w20.

What I do extra for my short trip driving is simply use LC20 and FP60. These products will help protect me perhaps as well as using synthetic oil (and at a cheaper price too). Having said all this, I will do periodic UOAs just to be sure the OLM is telling me the truth and that the additives are doing their job along with the oil.
 
Ambient temps have little, if anything, to do with engine operating temps. A 5w20 would do you fine unless you are towing heavy trailers or racing.
 
I just called my Schaeffer's distributor and ordered a case of the 7000 5w30 Synblend, he's gonna bring it to my office tomorrow.

I really think it's the right tool for the job, considering it's relative thinness during the warmup regieme yet solid 30wt at operating temperature. It has the lowest cSt at 40c of any xW-30 I have seen on the market. It is rated SM/GF-4 so it meets my warranty requirements as well.

I would like to run it 6 months at a time, and I think considering the high TBN of this oil, I should be able to do it. (6mos/7500 is the max I will go while under warranty, but I won't reach the 7500 anyways).

I used to have a 22 mile commute one way and would put 20-25K a year on my old truck. If that were still the case I'd just probably stick with Havoline 5w30. But considering my current operating environment I am more comfortable with this regieme. Besides, it SHOULD save me money if I can run it out to 6 months. I won't leave a dino in this engine more than 3mos/3000miles because it really beats it down badly, every one I have used so far has sheared to a 20wt, except the one I added VSOT to.
 
I'd go with 5w30 Havoline in the winter and 10w30 Havoline in the summer and change it every 3 months or 4000 miles, whichever comes first.

Motorcraft semi-synthetic is also a good, and inexpensive choice, as is Exxon Superflo.

I drive about the same as you, short trips to work and back during the week and weekend highway trips to Dallas, OKC, Austin, Houston, Etc...
 
Man that Schaeffer's stinks!

What is in there, anyways? It smells almost like gear oil, but not quite THAT strong.

It also has a green tint to it. I changed it at night since it was close to 70 here and in the light of my florescent shop light and flood lights on the front of the house, it had a definite greenish nature to it.
 
The elves? You mean the GC elves? Is there a certain kind of PAO that is green by nature? The MSDS shows the 7000 as being 15-20% PAO.
 
i was just joking around. people like the elves, they are the reason gc is so good.

seriously, i doubt there is any relation between the two oils
 
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