Freezer tested Supertech 5W30(SM GF-4 stuff)EM prod

[Alan]

This was the EM east coast stuff of very recent production btw.

Anyways I left it sitting zero F for 24 hours and when pulled it was still pretty fluid.Actually better than the Motorcraft 5W30 and tied with the M1 EP 5W30 I tried earlier.I was pretty surprised to see it perform so well.

These SM 5W30's are nice products indeed!
With this kind of performance who needs synthetics above 0f?
(BTW,I guess neurotics like since I only used this ST 5W30 as a quick flush and refilled with a syn oil!).

 

[texasproud]

Thanks for the test Alan. I think if I cannot put more than 8k on my truck this year, I will go to ST 5w-30 and change twice per year. ST needs to make a blend !

 

[Alan]

It seems like with the advent of SM oils that most 5W30's are in reality blends.
They use much higher quality basestock and better quality syntheic polymers to make a much better product overall with excellent hot and cold performance.

It's really closing the gap with synthetics quite a bit.

 

[Zaedock]

texasproud, ST does make a blend! It's made by WPP and can be found in most WalMarts. I like it and the MSDS(it's called "Mag1" by Warren Performance Products) shows some decent cold weather cranking numbers.

 

[Ray H]

Zaedock, you certain about ST syn-blend? I thought it was discontinued when the SM motor oils were introduced late last year. (If I remember right, there was some speculation on BITOG that WPP felt there was insufficient need to market a specific syn-blend since their new SM "conventionals" used a combination of Group II and Group II+ anyway.) I haven't seen any of the ST syn-blend in the orange-ish bottle since January in my area. Next time you're in WalMart, check what API rating the syn-blend you found is - I'm wondering if it's leftover SL syn-blend stock.

 

[Zaedock]

The local WM's here in Ma have continued to stock it in 5qt jugs. I also know of at least one WM that has individual quarts. That particular WM also stocks qt bottles of ST full syn in 5W30 and 10W30. I didn't notice the API rating, but next time I'm in there, I'll check. Maybe on the way home from work today.

 

[texasproud]

You guys in Ma are way out front of us....no ST blend in my Wally World. No oil in Orangish bottles. We get the ST full synthetic in qts ...guess I could roll my own !

 

[Zaedock]

OK, I stopped at WalMart on the way home. They were out of single quarts, but they did carry 5qt syn blend and it is SM/GF4 rated.

Hey texasproud, the way people drive up here sometimes makes me wish I lived in Texas. My accent would be a wicked & pissah giveaway of where I'm from though...

 

[Dave H]

Funny, I've also been performing this freezer test with Castrol GTX 5w30 (SM/GF-4) and a quart of straight non-detergent 30 wt (cheap API SA). The 30 wt SA oil has no additives at all. I just wanted to see the hoopla about multi-vis for myself. Anyways, They've both been chilling at 6.8*F since 28 Nov. The GTX still pours surprisingly well, like a thin maple syrup. The straight 30 wt on the other hand, doesn't like the cold. It took 40 seconds to get the first bit to start exiting the bottle. It's worse than the original Heinz ketchup (when you'd have to stick a knife in the bottle). Honestly, the 30 wt is like a gel. Not solid, not liquid.
I am definitely sold on a 5w30 (which is good, cause my car calls for it). Now I've got to get some 10w30 and compare, as the wife's '88 Nissan P/U calls for it. Would there be much difference? And would a 5w30 be better in an 18 year old engine (176,000 miles) than a 10w30 when our outside temps only get in the 20's a couple days per year?

Sad part of this whole experiment is my wife and kids haven't asked why there are 2 quarts of oil in the deep freezer next to the frozen french fries. Maybe I should keep them around awhile....

Semper Fi,
Dave

 

[Drew99GT]

You'll definetally notice a difference between the 5w-30 and 10w-30. But since your in Louisiana, 10w-30 would be just fine. What's the coldest it's gotten in you area, 15? I use 10w-30 in Colorado for the most part, but it's the super special Trop Artic synthetic blend. Already cold started at about 3 degrees F at my parents cabin and it started great with no noises at all.

 

[99]

Is freezing a quart of oil for days on end at sub-freezing temps realistic or even relevent to the real world conditions a engine and oil will actually encounter? Not at all. I guess there's a little bit of novelty in freezing oil samples, so people still do it.

 

[White 03]

Some parts of the country a person could just leave a quart of oil on the driveway and accomplish the same thing. Others need to use the freezer to hurry the experiment up.