Originally Posted By: Oil Changer
Your engine doesn't care about wind chill. You are being dramatic with your example in an attempt to convince yourself you need the 0W. You don't. M1 5W-30 will pump and protect in any temperature you will ever experience in Illinois.
Average winter temperature in Illinois is 28.3F, ranking the state as 19th.
Coldest ever recorded in the state is -36F. That's only one day. You should stay home in weather like that. What about your axle, PS and transmission fluids in that extreme? We won't even discuss the grease in your chassis.
M1 5W-30 has a PP of -42, 0W is -50. What's your manual say?
You are ridiculous, sir. I wasn't being dramatic in the least bit, nor was I trying to convince myself of needing anything. I asked a question about oil, on BITOG - an oil forums website.
Secondly, we actually DO get cold winters a lot in IL, so please spare the condescending attitude. And, your ignorance in your post humors me greatly, as, 28.3*F is below freezing point. And you're trying to tell me it's not cold... Lol.
If I wanted to only go by what my manual says, I wouldn't be a member here.
Per chance, did you forget to drink your morning coffee?
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Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: Triton_330
So, I've read many threads about M1 and it's plethora of grades... but what I can't seem to understand is why M1 0w-30 doesn't get as much love as M1 0w-20 and M1 0w-40...
Is there something about M1 0w-30 that makes it subpar in some way?
I've been told that 0W30 isn't specified in any new cars in the US, and have to take that as fact.
0W20 is specified in new cars, and 0W40 also, but to a lesser extent, and more specialised applications.
So if those two ARE a common grade, and the 0W30 isn't then I can see the 0W30 being the oddball.
Oh yes, I do understand that at this current time, 0w-30 is quite an oddball grade. That may explain why I haven't seen much talk about it here.
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: Triton_330
I've even heard that some folks use a 50/50 mix of M1 0w-20 and 0w-40 to make their own 0w-30.
Practice originated in Canada, because the 0W30 M1 "wasn't available".
Then gained momentum, and when it WAS available in Canada got no respect as the blend has mystical properties.
Thanks
Now, about that... What advantages, as you hinted, would the 50/50 mix have over just using M1 0w-30?
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: Triton_330
I've also heard that some say M1 5w-30 has better cold flow specs than the 0w-30, which, I just don't understand.
All of the "advantages" that the 0W30 has are shared by the 5W30 at any sort of reasonable starting temperature...obviously the 0W is better at -35C and below, but between freezing temperatures and a hot summers day, the viscosities of the two are all but identical.
At -40C...you need all the "0W" you can get.
Understood. But when the price of both the 5w-30 and 0w-30 are the same, why not get the 0w-30?
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: Triton_330
I figured that I might a 0w-30 this coming winter to see if it starts easier.
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So, anyway, I guess my question is, would not M1 0w-30 help make starting easier in cold winters?
~ Triton
At the limits of pumpability, yep, the 0W30 will do a lot better.
At 10-20 below freezing, there's nearly nothing different.
Right, but as I asked: Why not buy the 0w-30 if it is the same price as the 5w-30? If I were to guess, the answer may pertain to shearing/stability[?]... But, if that's the case, I'm really not all to worried about that because I don't run 10k+ OCI's.
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Originally Posted By: fdcg27
AFE appears to have more Grp IV in its basestock blend than does M1 5W-30, for what that's worth.
This oil might lead to easier starts on the below zero mornings we've seen so many of over the past couple of winters.
For the same bucks as M1 5W-30, there's no reason not to use it.
And this is essentially my secondary reasoning as to why I am thinking about using it.
Also, can anyone verify that M1 0w-30 uses more Grp-IV basestock than the 5w-30?
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Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
I've used M1 AFE 0w-30 extensively in the Expedition and it has the lowest consumption of any 30-weight I've ever used, which is no movement on the dipstick between 10-12,000Km changes.
Now, we actually DO get -30C up here on occasion, and at those temperatures, when I had PU 5w-30 in the truck, I wished I had the AFE 0w-30 in there as unaided, it providers a quicker cranking speed at that temperature. Keep in mind though, that's the CCS limit for a 5w, LOL!
Thank you Overkill! This is definitely some helpful knowledge, considering your Expedition shares the same engine as my F-150. So, you say that the when you started the truck (in the cold) with the PU 5w-30, it was a harder start?
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Originally Posted By: Garak
Go to Widman's viscosity calculator and compare some oils. I don't think we can come up with a broad rule. Some 0w-30s might be a thicker than 5w-30s at various temperatures, perhaps even some lower temperatures. GC doesn't have a stellar VI but has a high HTHS. Yet, it still obviously qualifies for a 0w-XX rating. Our Co-op's 0w-40 also has a mediocre VI and a high HTHS.
That's actually a great idea, thank you Garak...
I don't wish to impose, but may I ask you to compare the M1 0w-30 to the 50/50 mix of M1 0w-20 and 0w-40 using that calculator (if that's possible)?
It would be an interesting comparison, IMO.
~ Triton
