Florida is Hot -- Engine Oil is Hotter!!

[Supersoul]

I own a new Honda Helix motor scooter and I live in South Florida. Honda recommends 10W40 oil for the engine and I am currently using 10W40 Mobil 1 Racing Motorcycle oil. Florida can and does get very hot this time of year. Yesterday it was 95F degrees and 95% humidity. I have noticed that my engine temperature has increased along with the ambient temperature as the season has progressed.

My question is: Would there be any benefit in switching to Mobil 1 20W50 V-Twin Motorcycle oil for my engine and if I do this will my warranty be voided?

Thanks in advance for any advice the group can provide.

Frank

 

[Pablo]

95°F is warm, but is nothing for a good oil. I fully realize your scooter may be running a tad hotter, but that should be no reason to change viscosity.

 

[02zx9r]

either one of the oils you mentioned is pretty robust, have high flashpoints. either one would work but the 10/40 should be sufficient

 

[msparks]

Originally Posted By: Supersoul
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My question is: Would there be any benefit in switching to Mobil 1 20W50 V-Twin Motorcycle oil for my engine and if I do this will my warranty be voided?

Thanks in advance for any advice the group can provide.

Frank


Are your oil temps over 250 degrees? If so, then going to a 20w50 will keep your viscosity in check at those temps. Anything less than 250 the 10w40 will be plenty thick for good protection.

My guess is that you feel a lot of heat from the engine, but probably the oil is just slightly hotter than normal. Honda has a very efficient system and will control engine temps just fine.

BTW are you riding near redline for extended periods of time, that could also be another reason to switch to 20w50.

 

[harley145000]

I would stay with the recommended viscosity

 

[Supersoul]

Thanks for all the responses to my question.

I would have switched to 20W50 only if there were some consensus that it would help maintain a lower engine temperature while providing proper lubrication characteristics.

I can only assume that you all do not believe that this would be the case.

 

[02zx9r]

Mobil 1 V-Twin 20W-50
Formulated specifically for four-cycle V-twin engines. Key benefits of Mobil 1® V-Twin 20W-50:

Outstanding resistance to thermal breakdown.

Optimized for hot-running, air-cooled engines.

Enhanced lubrication for peak horsepower.

Protects engines against harmful dirt deposits.

Excellent transmission performance

 

[PT1]

Try amsoil. My buddy switched his Vrod from M-1 to amsoil and had better results. He lives in Naples.

 

[02zx9r]

i personally have not run the Mobil 1 20w50 but have read other reports and heard it is a pretty robust oil. If I were to run it it would be a minimum of 4K in my bike and would have no second thoughts about it.

Amsoil makes a great cycle oil as well!

Any hdeo would probably serve you just as well as the more expensive oils, but it comes down to personal preferance.

 

[vwalburn]

I agree with PT1, try Amsoil 10W-40 Motorcycle oil. It will allow your engine to run as cool as possible and protect against any heat.

 

[TucsonDon]

Originally Posted By: vwalburn
I agree with PT1, try Amsoil 10W-40 Motorcycle oil. It will allow your engine to run as cool as possible and protect against any heat.

I've used Amsoil ... it's good oil. But what physical property of Amsoil makes it better for high-heat conditions than any other quality synthetic?

 

[sunruh]

Originally Posted By: TucsonDon

But what physical property of Amsoil makes it better for high-heat conditions than any other quality synthetic?


the marketing hype!

 

[Steve S]

Originally Posted By: TucsonDon

But what physical property of Amsoil makes it better for high-heat conditions than any other quality synthetic?
magic properties.

 

[qwertydude]

Why is it that people assume just because you're uncomfortable it means your engine oil is uncomfortable? If it was 95 degrees and 0% humidity, pleasant weather actually, would your engine notice the difference? Nope. I've had my air-cooled bikes in 115 degree heat idling in traffic for prolonged periods on conventional oil. Aside from the bike getting slightly harder to shift, like it had older oil in it I had no subsequent problems and the shift feel came back soon as the bike got some air running over it.

 

[whitesands]

There's nothing structurally different from Amsoil than any other quality synthetic


Outside temps and humidity DO have an effect on engine temps and performance...


Just follow the temperature chart in your owners manual to see what you can use..

 

[TucsonDon]

Originally Posted By: whitesands
Outside temps and humidity DO have an effect on engine temps and performance

Ambient temperature I can see ... humidity I'm struggling with. How would humidity affect the engine, particularly a water-cooled engine? Would the additional moisture in the intake air affect the combustion in some way?

Originally Posted By: whitesands
Just follow the temperature chart in your owners manual to see what you can use.

Here in Tucson the summer temps during the day are typically over 100 degrees, but rarely topping 110. According to my Goldwing's manual, that implies a 10W-40.

I've wondered about the "dino vs. synthetic" issue and my bike in the summer here. One attribute of synthetic is resistance to breakdown due to high heat. But again -- water cooled bike, I never redline it, I almost never sit stuck in traffic, and I'm not towing a trailer or carrying excessive weight.

My guess is under those conditions any good oil -- conventional or synthetic would do just fine.

Maybe even SuperTech 15w40, huh Sunruh?

 

[sunruh]

some good ol' CI-4 rated just might do well at $7 per gallon.

oh, wait, because you didn't pay $7 per quart it can't be good.

never mind.

please insert hype --> here
does any temp matter until you hit the flashpoint?
worst used oil analysis flashpoint i have is havoline 10w40 at 355 followed by amsoil 20w50 at 365 susvis 68.4 in a sample from april 01(also have one at 390)

 

[TucsonDon]

Originally Posted By: sunruh
does any temp matter until you hit the flashpoint?

I wondered about that. I wonder if there's a "rate of degradation" curve that says that as the oil temperature rises the oil breaks down as some increasing rate? Flash point being when the curve basically goes off the chart?

I seem to recall something I read somewhere along those lines. That for every X degrees the rate of degradation of Y. So extended operations at high temps though below flash implies a shorter change interval ... and that one of the selling points of synthetic (beyond its magical qualities) was that it extended that curve and was not as influenced by heat until higher temperatures.

I think. I honestly don't know.

 

[1WildPig]

Yep, I've seen that chart too...seems like it said that a conventional oils life was cut to 50% of it's useable life if the oil was run at 250*F and worse as the temp went up....seems like synthetic was not affected til around 300*F...I thought that I'd saved a link to that chart but can't find it now...sigh...