Chrysler 3.5L V6

[buster]

Friend at work bought a new 300, with the 3.5L V6. This engine calls for a 10w-30 unless below ZERO. Whats with that?

 

[TomH]

Just checked my Chek-Chart oil specs guide. It states: 2001-2005 Pacifica, 300M, Concorde, Intrepid - 10W30 is preferred, 5W30 is listed for use in colder climates.

What do you find to be wrong with this, I wonder?

 

[buster]

I just found it strange when most engines are going the 5w-20 route. Even the Hemi. If anything, I thought it would be a 5w. Is their something to the design that maybe calls for a 10w oil?

 

[Whimsey]

quote:

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Originally posted by buster:
Friend at work bought a new 300, with the 3.5L V6. This engine calls for a 10w-30 unless below ZERO. Whats with that?

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Call me old fashioned, but I'll stick to what the owner's manual recommends. If Chrysler recommends 10W-30 for this motor that's what I would use. Though if I'm in a cold climate I'd use a full synthetic such as Mobil 1 10W-30. This should satisfy the cold pumpability requirements.

Whimsey

 

[TomH]

quote:

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Originally posted by buster:
I just found it strange when most engines are going the 5w-20 route.

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I am noticing that this is, for the most part, mainly a North American thing. Case in point, our 2005 Mazda3 2.3L specs 5W20 for the NA markets, but overseas (except Europe), these same engines, spec 5W30 (and even 10W40 in the warmer climates). Same engines, same tolerences. More and more, this is looking like a push for better CAFE numbers, not about what's necessarily better for the engine.

 

[JohnBrowning]

buster, While the 3.5 is an excellent engine it is an older design and is not set up for thin low HTHS oil! Not every engine can be run on thin low HTHS oils if it want to live a long healthy life. The 3.5 has a much higher power density then the low output by displacement Hemi. Remember the Hemi is a realy modern design.

 

[JohnBrowning]

Chrysler usualy does not reinvent the wheel if it has something that is working. It is generaly proposed that they started with the exsisting V6 and improved on all of it's weak area's. So you keep things like jornal size, clearance, bore adn stroke etc.... about the same. Then you make the lower end a lot more rigid. Then you give it redisned heads that have better combustion and a more modern OHC set up. You usualy do not start with a completely clean slate their is usualy an evolution and all design houses usualy have some rules of them that they use and carry over.

If am guessing on this part but I would imagine that Chrysler used or carried over a lot of what they learned from hot rodding the Porsche designed 4 cylinders that they used for a long time and have incorperated that knoldge into most of their OHC designs!