Hemi Test - 5w-20 to 0w-40

[buster]

I'm thinking of putting Mobil 1 5w-20 in the Ram for my next oil change. I want to experiment and see how it does compared to thicker 30wt/40wt oils since we are always talking about this. I'm not going to keep the Ram for more then 3 years so I don't care if I see a temp. spike in wear metals from switching. I'll also be using all Mobil 1 so the formula won't change. After the 20wt I'll move to a 30wt then 40wt. I figured a big V8 would be a good engine to test this on.

The 2005 Hemi's spec a 5w-20 oil. I really want to see how the 20wt holds up. Being I don't put that many miles on, I'm going to do either 3-4k mile intervals of fairly hard driving. Lots of WOT and high speed highway driving. What do you think?

*To keep the Test equal, I'll use all GF-4 Mobil 1 so it will be 5w-20, 5w30 then 0w-40.

The main flaw will be the break-in pattern though but if any thing drastic happens I think we would be able to tell being I'm only looking at 4k mile drains. Kind of a waste of Mobil 1 though. If anyone thinks this is a waste of time or I should modify it let me know.

[ January 24, 2005, 11:54 PM: Message edited by: buster ]

 

[Jelly]

Go for it!

 

[JHZR2]

my only, silly, minor issue is that what if one oil does real bad, has a high wear content, and then you change oils... There could be up to a quart left in there skewing results.

It would be a kind of a waste to do multiple Mobil 1 intervals or short drains to clear everything out, so maybe, if youre so inclined (I know its a lot more work, but its in the name of science and oil!) run like 100 highway miles on mobil drive clean or something else cheap, just so we minimize the mixing of the Mobil 1 oils, and hopefully get more standardized, independent results.

This should be a good test. Mobil 1 Truck and SUV might be a good one to test in there too afterwards, to compare to the more car-biased line.

Thanks!

JMH

 

[Alan]

Doesn't the new Hemi SRT 6.1's spec 0W40?

 

[sgtgeek]

"Oddly, the new Hemi appears to use 5W20 motor oil - a specification which is expected to be widely adopted, but which is still not widely available. (In the Magnum R/T and 300C, 10W30 is recommended.)" from Car and Drivers review....whew 5-20...that makes me nervous....but the engineers must know what they are doing huh (tounge in cheek)....warranty purposes I would stick with the highest quality 5-20 I could lay my hands on....do a 3000 mile UOA.....just to give myself a nice warm fuzzy....good gawd 5-20 down here would boil in July....

 

[Alan]

Most conventional 10W30's(almost an obsolete grade)end up very close to a 20W by the end of an 3-5K interval anyways.I guess they are cutting the chase.

 

[Motorbike]

quote:

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Originally posted by buster:

If anyone thinks this is a waste of time or I should modify it let me know.

---

If your going to sell it in a couple years my thoughts would be to run dino ... w/o analysis to drive up operational costs for a vehicle you plan to trade off .

It will still be under warranty by time you trade and the dealers won't give you more money because you ran synlubes .

You asked

 

[wizzells]

Alan,

I dont think that your statement holds true if you have a healthy engine. 10w30 is the most shear stable dino 30wt. multi-grade oil there is. Now if things like fuel dilution are an issue then its a whole different ballgame

 

[mettech]

03, 2500 SLT, QC, SB, 4X4, 5.7 "Hemi", 29K miles. I currently have 7Qts of MC 5W-20 in the oil pan with 2980 miles on this OCI. The truck runs and sounds great. Thought I would try MC oil during the winter months. (I also use MC 5W20 in my 89 Honda and 03 Sable)
During the last two summers, I ran Mobil 1 0W-40 and used < 1Qt Mobil 1 5W-40 as make-up oil during the 5K OCI. I pull a heavy 5th Wheel a lot during the summer months around the midwest and south. Temps 60MPH. From the used oil analysis that I have read, Mobil 1 0W-40 and 5W-40 seemed like a good mix for this type of use.

At this point, this truck is the best new car or truck that I have ever owned.. I might do a used oil analysis on this run just to see how MC 5W-20 does in a HEMI

..

 

[Alan]

Wizz,I see your point but there are plenty of 10W30 used oil analysis that show plenty of shearing and good wear numbers.

 

[jsharp]

Go for it Buster. If I had something I wasn't going to keep forever I'd do the same...

 

[kevm14]

EDIT: I said there was no Mobil 1 5W-20 but now I see that they just came out with one. My bad.

[ January 25, 2005, 11:25 AM: Message edited by: kevm14 ]

 

[427Z06]

quote:

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Originally posted by buster:
If anyone thinks this is a waste of time or I should modify it let me know.

---

One possible fly in the ointment might be seasonal affects. If you run 0w20 in the winter and 0w40 in the summer, will the 0w20 results be skewed due to cold weather starts? Over three years you might be able to rotate the oils around the seasons. I like the concept of a flush oil between OCIs to start each oil off at a particular baseline. Find an inexpensive quality dino Xw-30, buy large quantities of it, appropriate quantity of Supertech filters, run it for 100-200 miles before each test.

However, I suspect if you have a "good" engine, i.e. it shows low wear metals in it's used oil analysis, you're not going to see much of a difference between in the used oil analysis for the viscosity grades you have planned. Good luck and have fun.

 

[Tree Hugger]

quote:

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Originally posted by sgtgeek:
"Oddly, the new Hemi appears to use 5W20 motor oil - a specification which is expected to be widely adopted, but which is still not widely available. (In the Magnum R/T and 300C, 10W30 is recommended.)" from Car and Drivers review....whew 5-20...that makes me nervous....but the engineers must know what they are doing huh (tounge in cheek)....warranty purposes I would stick with the highest quality 5-20 I could lay my hands on....do a 3000 mile UOA.....just to give myself a nice warm fuzzy.... good gawd 5-20 down here would boil in July....

---

I'd bet money your engine doesn't run any hotter in the summer than mine does here in Tennessee, or someone else's in Canada, or any cooler than someone else in the middle of the Sahara Desert.

Unless you're overheating and boiling over ?
I'd guess it runs somewhere around 210 degrees F, and I'd suggest that you might want to change the first number in your oil spec between summer and winter, but there is no reason to change the second from season to seaon...

 

[sgtgeek]

quote:

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Originally posted by Tree Hugger:

quote:

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Originally posted by sgtgeek:
"Oddly, the new Hemi appears to use 5W20 motor oil - a specification which is expected to be widely adopted, but which is still not widely available. (In the Magnum R/T and 300C, 10W30 is recommended.)" from Car and Drivers review....whew 5-20...that makes me nervous....but the engineers must know what they are doing huh (tounge in cheek)....warranty purposes I would stick with the highest quality 5-20 I could lay my hands on....do a 3000 mile UOA.....just to give myself a nice warm fuzzy.... good gawd 5-20 down here would boil in July....

---

I'd bet money your engine doesn't run any hotter in the summer than mine does here in Tennessee, or someone else's in Canada, or any cooler than someone else in the middle of the Sahara Desert.

Unless you're overheating and boiling over ?
I'd guess it runs somewhere around 210 degrees F, and I'd suggest that you might want to change the first number in your oil spec between summer and winter, but there is no reason to change the second from season to seaon...

---

You sit in traffic with the A/C on in 110 degree heat and it does get hotter than sitting in a 75 degree Canadian summer day....

 

[Scott P]

Dodge claims that any other oil other than the 0W-20 will not allow the Multi-Displacement System, to function correctly. They mention smoething about the valves used to shut off the cylinders need that specific oil.

 

[buster]

quote:

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Dodge claims that any other oil other than the 0W-20 will not allow the Multi-Displacement System, to function correctly.

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Don't believe that....sounds like a bunch of garbage to me.

 

[sully]

Your results will be interesting Buster. I'm currently about 2000 miles into a GC run in my 04 Hemi. I'll probably do a second GC run and then I'm going to try 5W30 Schaeffer 7000. Also running FP and LC. UOA will be done at each change. I'm ready to see some used oil analysis on these Hemi's.

 

[427Z06]

quote:

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Originally posted by Tree Hugger:
I'd bet money your engine doesn't run any hotter in the summer than mine does here in Tennessee, or someone else's in Canada, or any cooler than someone else in the middle of the Sahara Desert.

---

Run that truck hard in Death Valley at the average July high temp of 115F with the AC going full blast on recirc, versus Winnipeg's 79F with no AC, and I'd be willing to bet the oil will get significantly warmer.

 

[MattPersman]

quote:

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Originally posted by sgtgeek:
"Oddly, the new Hemi appears to use 5W20 motor oil - a specification which is expected to be widely adopted, but which is still not widely available. (In the Magnum R/T and 300C, 10W30 is recommended.)" from Car and Drivers review....

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all the magnums and 300cs I have seen are 5w20, I am a mopar tech so I see a few, the trucks I have seen are 5w30 and the cars are 5w20, can't remember off hand if the grand (WK) with the Hemi is 20 or 30