How do I make a brew from 0W30 and 20W50 (Amsoil S2000)

[porcupine73]

I'm considering making a brew from Amsoil series 2000 0W30 and 20W50 for my 2000 Subaru Outback (4cyl 2.5L gasoline).

Any suggestions on ratios or other things to brew in as well? (Also on my shelf: Ams.5W30 HDD S3K, SX-UP, Schaeffer's #132 Moly E.P., and LC.)

I want it to be good for year round use in my area, maybe as low as 0 deg. F in the winter and as high as 100 deg. F in the summer. I'm aiming for top notch protection and fuel efficiency.

My initial thought is a 50/50 mix 0W30 and 20W50, but maybe I could go more like 75% 20W50.

I used this calculator to come up with 84.2 cSt @ 40C and 14.3 cSt @100C at a 50/50 mix 0W30 and 20W50.

code:

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1. AMSOIL Series 2000 Synthetic 0W-30 Motor Oil (TSO)

2. AMSOIL Series 2000 Synthetic 20W-50 Racing Oil (TRO)

3. AMSOIL Series 3000 Synthetic 5W-30 Heavy-Duty Diesel Oil (HDD)





Kinematic Viscosity cSt (ASTM D-445)

20W50 0W30 5W30

@ 100°C 18.3 11.2 11.7

@ 40°C 128.1 56.9 67.6

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I've read that thin oils aren't always the best for fuel efficiency and heavier oils are sometimes more fuel efficient? Any pointers?

Thanks!

-Louis

 

[hominid7]

Use 5w40 and call it a day

Although in the outback, which seems to be hard on oil, you may want a 15w40 or 10w40.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

Yep, Rotella 5w40 would fit your needs just fine or any 5w40 for that matter.

 

[savvy]

That's a very interesting link you provided. Obviously the guy knows a great deal about automobiles., but some of the things to do with oil seem to be counter intuitive to the collective wisdom on BITOG.

For instance, he says:

quote:

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One of the myths I found over the years is the misconception that a 20W-50 or 15W-40 oil causes a lot of fluid drag on an engine and you lose horsepower at high RPM. Actually the opposite is true in my experience. A good 20W-50 or straight 40W oil gives me far BETTER mileage and greater efficiency in every vehicle where this particular weight has been tested.

I believe 20W-50 is superior for another reason besides engine longevity and superb gas economy. Mileage is often poor with 5W-30, a light duty oil. The 30 viscosity is relatively weak for hydrodynamic lubrication at high temperature. Boundary lubrication is handled by the additive package that was formulated for that particular oil, be it synthetic or petro based. Heavier oils generally possess a stronger additive package. But please never add tricky, risky additives based on advertising claims alone.

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Anyone else care to read the link, and comment ?!

 

[Bryanccfshr]

My comment is the dude is kind of a conspiracy theorists. Some of his ideas are good.. Some are a little kooky.

 

[savvy]

Here's another paper he wrote on ' Near Zero Friction Lubriant Testing ' I notice that these articles were written 4 years ago......not exactly cutting edge by todays standards

http://www.lubedev.com/articles/friction.htm

 

[Triple_Se7en]

For Buffalo, I would use a 50-50 mix of 5W-30 and 5W-40 for that Subaru. I wouldn't go any thicker. That'll put you right around 12.5 cSt @ 100.

 

[Steve S]

0w/40 mobil1 !

 

[tamu_man]

I had to stop reading about half way. Some of this guy's theory is out in left field.

 

[michaelc80]

quote:

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I'm considering making a brew from Amsoil series 2000 0W30 and 20W50 for my 2000 Subaru Outback (4cyl 2.5L gasoline).

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I personally wouldn't worry about it. I use Amsoil 5W30 in my 2005 OBS (2.5L gas engine) with no problems whatsoever (and it starts fine in sub-zero temps).

Subaru 2.5 UOA on Amsoil 5W30

I'm not sure what advantage blending could achieve when the 2.5 can return numbers like that with a straight-from-the-bottle 5W30.

quote:

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Although in the outback, which seems to be hard on oil, you may want a 15w40 or 10w40.

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Turbos maybe. But Subaru NA's are extremely easy on the oil.

 

[oilyriser]

The last oil I useed in my Legacy ended up a 5w20, and the wear was the lowest ever.
5w20 blend, 9.2 cSt final visc.

Subarus do well on thin oil.

For best fel economy, epecially if you do short trips, a 0w30 will be best. The lower the first number, the better.

 

[porcupine73]

Thanks a lot guys for all the information!

Rather than blending, maybe I'll wait a couple months and try running 100% 20W50 for the summer. I'm just curious to see what the UOA would show and what kind of mileage I get. The manual shows 20W50 is acceptable but says something about desert areas.

Then maybe next winter I'll put in the 0W30 and check the UOA and mileage with that.

I put a bottle of the 0W30 and the 20W50 in the freezer last night to see how thick they 'felt' at a little below freezing when shaking the bottle.

Obviously the 0W30 was a lot less viscous, I was kind of surprised at how fluid it was actually. The 20W50 was thicker but it was still pretty fluid, nothing like the molasses I was imagining beforehand.

I'm running a 5W30 (Amsoil S3000 HDD) right now. I'm wondering if maybe the HDD does not contain friction modifiers? The Amsoil site makes no mention of friction in the HDD information but does talk about reducing friction in the series 2000 oils.

That LubeDev.com site's statements about better mileage with heavier oils doesn't seem to make sense but yet it sounds interesting so that's why I'm curious to try it.
-Louis

 

[AndyH]

quote:

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Originally posted by porcupine73:
The manual shows 20W50 is acceptable but says something about desert areas.

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Here's what the service manual for my STi says about oil:

 

[porcupine73]

For better or for worse last night I blended and installed the brew.

code:

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CHOCOLATE MUD SLAMMER

In a large mixing container (an engine oil sump works nicely), combine:

+5 quarts Ams 20W50 S2000

+1 quart Ams 0W30 S2000

+8 ounces SX-UP

+1 pint Schaeffer's #132

.

Run mixer until contents are at least 180 deg. F.

Season to taste. Enjoy!

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(I have a 1 quart Accusump and Amsoil bypass hence the 6+ quarts). I wasn't going to put in any 0W30 but at the last minute I chickened out and used it for the last quart to take the edge off.

Mikey likes it! I just took it out for a drive, engine turned over a little slower than normal but no problem starting (it was mid 20's this morning.) I'll have to see how the mileage does as that is one of my main reasons for trying this brew.

The engine is much quieter than normal and actually felt very smooth when accelerating. Of course I'll need to do a UOA because a 'quieter engine' doesn't mean anything; the engine will be even quieter if it won't run after my trying this brew!
-Louis

 

[Bryanccfshr]

That's quite a hearty brew for Buffalo( thicker than I would dare go).. The apostles of thin are going to cringe! I congratulate you on your courage. How long are you planning on running this Mix ?

 

[porcupine73]

Bryanccfshr, I'll probably do a UOA around 3000 miles or so or maybe sooner if I get too nervous. I plan to run as long as UOA's show it it's good. I do mostly highway driving and with the bypass filter and based on previous experience I'm hoping this brew will last at least 20k.

Yes it is pretty thick but my shake the 20W50 bottle test at 25 deg.F was still pretty fluid so that makes me feel better. My only real fear is I'll be parked at work some really cold day and won't be able to start it. The preoiler helps alleviate my worries over startup wear.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

I would just keep the battery well maintained. Then go up one size if it fits when it's time for a new one. Keep us posted on the results of your experiment.

 

[andyf]

AndyH, that's interesting... my '04 STi manual has a slightly different viscosity temp chart.

In my chart, the upper limit of the 5w-30 line is at 104 degrees F (with 0w-20 added to that line). I didn't know they changed the manual for the '05 models.

Nice car and name, BTW.