Castrol High Mileage oil question

[Rob Taggs]

I put Castrol High Mileage 5w30 in my 1996 Neon 2.0 Liter SOHC engine yesterday and I noticed that the throttle response was not as good as with the Havoline 5w30. Is the Castrol High Mileage a thicker viscosity oil than Havoline?

Have used regular Castrol Conventional 5w30 and never had this happen.

 

[Audi Junkie]

It's thicker. 12 vs 10 cSt, iirc. Stick with it.

 

[MarkC]

Yep, it's thicker, but that shouldn't affect your throttle response. Should it? I went form running the 10.8 cSt Chevron 10w30 to the 12 cSt Chevron 10W30 High Mileage, and even tossed in a bottle of the thick VSOT this time, and I don't notice any change in the get up and go. Of course, mines's a 4.0 Jeep, but still....

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

I noticed a difference in throttle response on my Saturn 4-cyl going from Pennzoil Synthetic 5w20 to Havoline HM 10w30. Almost feels a notch more sluggish, although it's running fine.

 

[Jim Allen]

No insult intended here

, OK, but I do a fair bit of dyno testing and can't feel a 5 hp loss or gain on my fairly well tuned "butt dyno." I know guys who dyno test and test drive motor vehicles for a living and most of them can't either. How can you guys feel the microscopic changes from going to a 30 from a 20 weight? I also hear it from other posters here and my jaw drops in wondermen every time.

May I respectfully submit that either,

a) you guys are truly miraculous and I

,
b) something else has occurred with the engine to create a problem or a change in conditions,
c) it's all in your head.

If someone can show, via dyno tests or some other objective means, that there would be a significant enough difference going from 20 to 30 wt that the driver would "feel" it, I have bread, mustard and am willing to eat a crow sandwich. It would be worth gagging down to learn the lesson.

If not, I ask you to consider that people can "feel" lots of things that aren't really there. Like the time a magazine had ordinary people do before and after tests of a new "performance product" on a car. The only difference was loud mufflers but more than 90 percent of the drivers claimed the car was faster when in fact it was actually the same or slower.Your senses can often fool you.

Plus, if you did feel a subtle difference in your car, it could be nothing more than a big change in barometric pressure, temperature, fuel quality or a bazillion other factors or a combination thereof. Perhaps even including a tiny change in oil viscosity.

I merely ask you to think about it.

Jim

 

[AndyH]

Jim, no insult taken...but I for one did notice a difference in the "feel" of my STi when switching from the "thin" Mobil 7500 10w30 to the "thicker" Castrol Syntec 0w30 (aka, "German Castrol"). The engine did feel a bit more sluggish to me, really only noticeable right off-idle. In fact I stalled the car right after the oil change, something that I rarely ever did prior to the oil change. Of course, I've adjusted to the oil now so there really is no issue, IMHO. But I still feel that thicker versus thinner oils can be felt by the driver...especially if he/she is really "in tune" with how their car drives/operates/behaves. YMMV.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Alot of times, the next range of cold weather that creates slower oil flow at startup may cause the sluggishness. Maybe that's what you felt. I've felt a tad more sluggishness in the summer going from 5w30 to 10W-40... but that's alot more extreme in viscosity differences than yours.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

Jim, no insult taken at all. Seems to me that there isn't much if any HP difference, it's in the "feel". Going from an 8.5cSt oil to one that's 12.0 cSt has noticeable difference in feel. Then going to a 50wt oil...man...the engine isn't free revving at all on the highway like it would be with a 20wt or thin 30wt oil.

No, we're not miraculous, just oil freaks.

 

[Winston]

I am another person that has zero faith in the "butt dyno". Same with the "my engine is quieter with xxx". I want to see some double-blind testing to verify the sensitivity of the "butt dyno".

 

[radiometer]

In double blind medical studes in which half of the patients are given the medication under study and the other half are given a placebo, amazingly, many of the patients given the placebo experience what is known as the placebo effect. They really do feel they are better. That's what they expect.

I have factory fill 5W-20 in both cars I bought last week. I don't know how long I will run it, but I will use at least a 5w30 (probably Schaeffers Blend) when I change. I don't expect to feel a difference, but I'll see.

There was no effect when I changed my Sentra 1.6 engine from the 5/10W-30 to a 15w40. None at all. I actually got better MPG, but my driving habits probably could account for that, although I'm not aware of driving any differently.

 

[Yuk]

I've used everything from 0w30 GC to 5w-50 Syntec and Mobil 1 15w50, and every conventional viscosity in between, in my 70 hp Sentra. I've never noticed a performance difference between any of them.

But, the strange thing is I notice every 10 degree Celsius change in ambient temperature. From -5c to +5 it feels like a different car every 2 degrees.

This car lives for +3 to +5 degrees celsius and high humidity.