Heavier weight oils for consumption during winter?

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I still haven't done a compression test to Finish my last thread, but I will be doing that with in the next week or two and updating it accordingly. Anyway, I am still dealing with oil consumption in my Kia (the car in my signature). The general consensus is to buy cheaper oil since it is disappearing and to go to a "heavier" (thicker) oil to slow the consumption. SO, my question is, should I look at going to a 15w-50 or even a 20w-50? I've ran a 5w-40 in it before and saw no difference from 5w-30. It's about to be winter time and I know I live in MS, but I'm still worried about those heavy oils when it get's into the colder mornings, but i'm not sure how those oils flow in any temperature and I know you can't go by poor point. The other thing is, everyone keeps saying it's possibly the rings, but it doesn't smoke. It sat for 3 or 4 days a week back and when I started it, no smoke at all (no leaks either). I never see smoke while driving either. I do drive on the highway a good bit and won't lie, Sometimes I find myself cruising at 80mph when I'm running late. I know 155k+ miles is not low, but it's only a 4 cylinder import. Also, I've already replaced the pvc and there's been no change. I've ran plenty of fuel system cleaners and "upper cylinder lubricants" and that's changed nothing, slightly better fuel economy maybe. ANYWAY, what oil viscosity and brand would be best here? Sorry for the wall of text, thanks in advance! (Side note: I'll also be replacing the valve cover gasket soon because it was cheap and I wanted an excuse to take it off, I'll let y'all know if I see anything interesting...)
 
Maybe try a 10W30/40 High Mileage oil. Pennzoil HM,GTX HM,or Maxlife red bottle would be some good brands/choices..
 
Your cat could be eating the smoke when the car is warm.

I'd run any diesel 5w40 you can find cheap. A while back I picked up "Mag 1" on amazon, for example.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Maybe try a 10W30/40 High Mileage oil. Pennzoil HM,GTX HM,or Maxlife red bottle would be some good brands/choices..


I've ran the Maxlife 10w-30 and 5w-30 multiple times because they are affordable and one of my favorites but they do the same things.
smirk.gif
Maybe I'll try the 10w-40 at some point. I'm currently running Pennzoil HM in 5w-30, but haven't quite driven enough to see loss.

The other thing I was going to point out is that I am draining by 3500 miles instead of continually topping off because the oil turns black even when being topped off. It's like the oil is being burnt internally and slowly disappearing.
 
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Originally Posted By: eljefino
Your cat could be eating the smoke when the car is warm.

I'd run any diesel 5w40 you can find cheap. A while back I picked up "Mag 1" on amazon, for example.


I thought about that and it's possible the cats are cleaning up the exhaust before I see smoke. I'll look into it, why diesel oil?
 
Id say it might be your valve stem seals. Try the Bar's Engine oil stop leak with seal conditioner and report back.. it has worked for some. YMMV.

You didnt mention if u did an inspection under the car to see if it is leaking externally...so u need to rule that out.

I would pass on heavier oils.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Wait a minute..........how cold do you expect it to get in Mississippi ?


It varies year to year honestly, The last 10 years I've been here, I've seen it get below 0 a few times at night. Normally that's not an issue because it's night time when it gets that cold if it even does, but my job requires me to travel late sometimes (ex. Go work midnight to 6am). Most driving will be done during the day though. I know my car manual says not use 10w-30 below 0, so I should be ok and not have to worry about cold starts really, I guess I'm just hesitant?
 
Originally Posted By: krismoriah72
Id say it might be your valve stem seals. Try the Bar's Engine oil stop leak with seal conditioner and report back.. it has worked for some. YMMV.

You didnt mention if u did an inspection under the car to see if it is leaking externally...so u need to rule that out.

I would pass on heavier oils.



It's in parentheses in the original paragraph somewhere, but no leaks. I've even had a shop look the engine over top to bottom as well. They found nothing either. Also, I'll look into valve seals, thanks.
 
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Originally Posted By: Nissan101
How much oil do the car consumes?


Originally Posted By: Ga129
Also as far as I know the weather has no affect on the rate of consumption which is usually around 2 to 2.5 qts by 3500 miles using 5w-30 or 10w-30.


^3500 miles from the initial OC^
 
Oh lol :P

Try a high mileage oil....also if you want to use a 50 body try a 5w50 oil.
If it was the valve stems on morning you would have seen blue smoke from the exhaust, but then again the cat can be stopping all the smoke.
 
I wonder if a thicker base oil would help? For example,a 10W40 or 15W40 helping with the oil loss vs a 0W40 or 5W40? You could also try an HM 20W50.
 
I'd vote for going to Higher grades starting at like 10w40 or 15w40 and beyond (later 15w50 or even 20w50), since the viscosity compared to a 30, would help at highway speeds, specially at 80mph, sealing inside leaks/blowby.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I wonder if a thicker base oil would help? For example,a 10W40 or 15W40 helping with the oil loss vs a 0W40 or 5W40? You could also try an HM 20W50.


Ok, any brands in particular? Napa Brand is fairly cheap here around $3.50 to $5 a quart from Conventional to Full Synthetic and everything in between at Napa. I can also get Mobil 1 15w50 5 qt jug for close to $25 at Walmart. I guess if I'm running the risk of the oil being consumed I might as well try to keep it cheap? Because I can get a gallon of Supertech 15w-40 for close to $11.
 
Originally Posted By: Pontual
I'd vote for going to Higher grades starting at like 10w40 or 15w40 and beyond (later 15w50 or even 20w50), since the viscosity compared to a 30, would help at highway speeds, specially at 80mph, sealing inside leaks/blowby.


Any particular recommendations as far as brand? It's starting to sound like maybe 10w40 will be a good starting point and just trying out each one past that and see if anything is different. I'm sure it would help if I slowed down too, need to get rid of this lead foot.
grin.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Ga129
Also, I've already replaced the pvc and there's been no change.


Are all the vacuum lines routed like they're supposed to be ?

Is the car factory stock ? No jury rigging ?
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: Ga129
Also, I've already replaced the pvc and there's been no change.


Are all the vacuum lines routed like they're supposed to be ?

Is the car factory stock ? No jury rigging ?


I've followed most vacuum lines around, and as far as I can tell they are fine, I haven't heard any sounds that would point me that way. And everything is stock as far as that goes. The only aftermarket stuff on that car is HID head lights, a few LED lights around the car, and an aftermarket stereo system. Everything else is stock or oem replacement.
 
A 15w-40 will pump fine at -25c. Does ms get that cold,


Is it possible your rings are coked up? That would cause consumption. A piston soak with mmo would clean them up.
And liqui-moly motor oil saver added to the oil will also help clean the rings.

To soak the pistons I suck the mmo in via a vacuum line while the engine is hot. Half a quart then shut of the engine. Do it slowly. Should take a couple of minutes to suck up the half quart. Let sit an hour then go for a highway drive I second gear getting the rpm up to 5000 and the pedal floored,then let off to 3000 rpm. Do this 15-20 times. A highway with sparse traffic is best.
This will break the rings loose if they were coked up.
Monitor consumption. If consumption decreases a bit do it again. Monitor.
I've got an inverse oiler on everything now. In 10000 mile intervals on my charger and c3 I have no measurable consumption.

Rings are meant to move around on the piston. If they are coked up they can't move and consumption starts. Some guys use kreen or b-12 is another winner. I use mmo of tc-w2 2 stroke oil because is an oil with detergents or solvents. I like it better than straight solvent like b-12 or kreen however kreen and b-12 are pretty much a sure thing.
Follow the directions. Very important.
Liqui-moly motor oil saver is an ester which are known to clean up deposits and will clean the rings over time.
Redline brand oil is also ester and pao and will clean your engine but I can't justify the cost of redline vs just using an additive.
The compression leak down test is crucial to know if it's your rings. You are just spending money and throwing parts at it which isn't smart if there's nothing wrong with the parts you're replacing.
Get the leak down test done,then make an informed decision. Otherwise you don't know what the real problem is. And are throwing money away.
 
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