Cold Weather Oil

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I would like some advice on selecting a cold weather oil for my Olds 307 V8 in my old Delta 88. The car has been using 10W30 Pennzoil dino for a long time now. This past winter the temps got into the -30F range, which I think is pretty well the limit for the 10W30. I think next winter I should use an oil that has better cold flow properties to help reduce start-up wear.

I was thinking of switching to Pennzoil 5W30 HM oil, but I checked the specs on Pennzoil's site, and the pour point is the warmer than the standard 10W30 Pennzoil?? I also checked the synthetic blend and the 5W30 has the same pour point as the 10W30 dino??

Pennzoil dino specs

http://www.pennzoil.com/penn/products/car_truck/pdfs/motor_oil/Multigrade.pdf

Pennzoil HM

http://www.pennzoil.com/penn/products/car_truck/pdfs/motor_oil/HighMileageVehicle.pdf

Pennzoil Blend

http://www.pennzoil.com/penn/products/car_truck/pdfs/motor_oil/SyntheticBlendMotorOil2.PDF

The standard Pennzoil 5W30 has a very low pour point, but I am not sure how well it will hold up in my driving conditions. The car is used for shorter trips during winter, and obviously sees more idle time. I want an oil that will stand up to shearing and also have good cold weather pumpability. My owners manual, doesn't recommend 5W30 for temps above 60F, so I don't want to run this grade year round. Oh and yes, I do use an engine heater; they are a necessity in this area.

Any suggestions on what I should run in the winter and the rest of the year. I usually have very short intervals over the winter months (better safe than sorry). I am open to other oils as well, as long as they are cheaper. I have used Pennzoil with success for several years which is why I used their info. I don't want to use fully synthtic, as the cost is too high for my old Oldsmobile.
 
Your owners manual probably didn't know how good 5w30 oils were going to be in 2003.


quote:

Originally posted by Oldswagon:
My owners manual, doesn't recommend 5W30 for temps above 60F, so I don't want to run this grade year round.

 
Pennzoil dino 5w-30 is the best dino cold weather oil for sure, with a -44 F pour point. I don't really like the cold weather specs of the high mileage oils. In my area, it routinly gets to above 90 F in the summer east of the mountains, but can still get down to the 20s/30s at night in the mountains in the summer, so I think I'm going to mix 2 quarts 10w-30 regular pennzoil with 2 quarts 10w-30 HM pennzoil because I go into the mountains at real high elevations often in the summer. I just don't trust the -22F pour point of the 10w-30 HM. If it doesn't get cold at all during the summer where you live, I'd go with 10w-30 HM as it is 12C @100C, which is about perfect.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys. It is really appreciated.

Satterfi,

you are probably correct in assuming that 20 years ago they didn't realize how good the 5W30 is today. However, I still don't like the idea of running that light of an oil in my old V8. I guess I am just too old fashioned for 5W30 all year round.

Drew99Gt and Ken2,

I was thinking that standard Pennzoil 5W30 would be my best bet for winter. My only worry is shearing of the oil due to the harsh conditions in winter. How well do you think this oil will hold up during the winter months? Keep in mind, this car is used for mostly shorter city trips during winter, but occasional highway trips.

I am thinking I might use the Pennzoil HM 10W30 during the other three seasons. I would like to use a better than standard oil to help keep the engine running well. The HM is still less than half the price of even the group III oils, so it's not too expensive for this old Olds.

Any other input appreciated. I am not limited to Pennzoil, so if others know of a comparably priced oil better for my application please let me know. There is no Chevron oil availabe in my area, but most others brands are obtainable.
 
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