More 15w -40 thoughts and questions

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There has been much talk recently about the benefit's of this grade of oil. I think the best value is in the high tbn's and the ability to run some what extended drain intervals while paying around six bucks a gallon at your local walmart. Also the ability to keep a engine very clean. But here is the question- If a thicker oil can cause increased friction which leads to more heat how can this grade of oil still maintain very clean engines? I thought that more heat might mean more varnish and deposits. It seems that the only drawback to this grade is the hard pumping that could happen at very cold temperatures, if a person is using the non synthetic type. We continue to see great results from this grade and I also wonder why more major car makers do not want it in our vehicles? My favorite is the penz. LL 15-40. What do all you experts think? Thanks, Ryan
 
According to my Honda manual, 15W-40 dino is good down to 10F and up to 100F plus. In my V8, I use 15W-40 in winter and a 20W-60 in summer.
 
Originally posted by like a rock:
[QB] We continue to see great results from this grade and I also wonder why more major car makers do not want it in our vehicles?

I would say CAFE, the reason car makers are recomending lighter oils is for increased fuel economy, what offers the best engine protection is not their only concern. I think HDEO is an excellent choice for many vehicles, I use DELO 15w40 in the wifes Mercedes and our motorhome, but my '97 F150 gets 10w30 and the jetboat gets SAE 40. Another observation is that I am unaware of any HDEO's that have shown consistantly poor UOA's, its an oil that is formulated to survive a much harsher environment than a gas engine. I'm sold on the stuff.
 
I use Mobil's 15/40 in my classic 70 Mustang 351C4V (summer driven only) and it gives me great oil pressure at temp. Haven't noticed any increase in overall operating temps though, if indeed a heavier oil is prone to this.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Kompressor:
Another observation is that I am unaware of any HDEO's that have shown consistantly poor UOA's, its an oil that is formulated to survive a much harsher environment than a gas engine. I'm sold on the stuff.

Good observation! Outside of new cars and tight-clearance engines I don't see a reason why not to use this oil. Other than the fear of the marketing departments as they label it "diesel" oil.
 
A 15w-40 is not a partyicular thick oil IMO.

Remember the starting viscosity is 15 thinner than many "winter oils" of yore.

I would call a a 15w-40 a mid weight oil in terms of thickness.

This viscosity in a non syn means little VII's and in a syn no VII's.

I wish MOBIL 1 was still making one.

Fred..
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For anything short of a new-car warranty sensitive application, as long as the temperature range is appropriate, I see no negative aspect in using a 15W-40. I will probably gravitate to it for all my vehicles, eventually.

It is exactly what I use in my older Mercedes V8's. There is probably a trade-off between absolute maximization of gas mileage & improved cleaning/protection, but it really can't be that much, IMHO.

This may have been previously mentioned, somewhere, but the new Pennzoil Truck & SUV oil has both gas & diesel application (i.e. SJ/CD I think?) but not the newest of either. Of course it costs $2.49/quart vs. $1.79 for the LL when not on sale.

If you don't live where it gets very cold and can afford a small decrease in gas mileage I feel a 15W-40 provides the best in cleaning & protection.

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Keep in mind that the bottle says that it's safe to use in gas engines as well as diesels. I would have no problem using it in the Richmond, VA area where it doesn't get below 0 degrees very often. Up there in West (by God) VA, it gets a good bit colder. Lots of days below 0 degrees, so just to be safe I would use something thinner in the winter and switch to 15W-40 in the Spring.
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A well made synthetic 15W-40 can be a GREAT oil.

Lasts and lasts, synthetic keeps that cold temp pumpability....I'm using Amsoil 15W-40 right now and we have had mornings in the mid teens already. Zero issues.

Next I'm doing a 50/50% mix of Pennz LL 15W-40 and Amsoil.
 
quote:

Pablo, I'm curious of what benefits can be had by mixing the Amsoil and Pennzoil products?

To be honest a lot of people whine about $4 qt cost of Amsoil 15W-40. (To this I say: the oil is actually worth more!!). So, I want to run a little experiment by blending the $1.79 qt Pennz LL 15W-40 with the Amsoil AME 15-40 to see what I get. I don't generally think people should be blending their own, and I don't recommend other weights, but I just want to give this a go.

The Pennz LL looks like a good oil and I know the Amsoil 15W-40 is a GREAT oil. The Pennz has some level of moly, so we will see how this $3 qt/blend works! (At least for a blend you get 50% synthetic!)
 
Pablo,

The Amsoil 15w-40 synthetic, gas/diesel engine oil (PCO ) is an excellent long drain oil and probably one of their best values @ $16.00/gallon. You can run it 10k-15k miles/1 year in gas/diesel engine, passenger cars and light trucks. It's a PAO/Ester/Petroleum blend with a HT/HS of about 4.0 Cp and an honest TBN of about 12.5. The additive pack is every bit as good as their 15w-40 Marine oil ....

They even went and got it API licensed for SL/CI-4, Mack EO-N+ and all the other OEM specs....

I was just pondering the best way to market it the other day - that's why I'm mentioning it.

www.amsoil.com/products/pco.html

Happy Holidays!

Ted

[ November 27, 2003, 12:22 PM: Message edited by: TooSlick ]
 
quote:

Originally posted by Pablo:
To be honest a lot of people whine about $4 qt cost of Amsoil 15W-40. (To this I say: the oil is actually worth more!!).

I agree that the Amsoil is worth more than the price of admission.

Having a 50% synth blend cuts down on the benefit of a fully-synth Amsoil product--very long drain cycles. I'd imagine if 5w or 10w-30 amsoil can go 25000 miles (as in a recent UOA), than how far can a more robust oil such as the 15w-40 go? Mixing the Pennzoil will provide for an interesting UOA for the sake of testing, but more than 5K on this setup sounds a bit much for me.

But I guess if people are willing to pay $3/qt for 5K drains for a good blend than so be it! It's hard to go wrong in either case I guess.
cheers.gif
 
I'd say the blend will get you 70%-80% of the drain you'd get from the Marine oil, based on fleet test results from commercial diesel engines that I've seen. Wear protection is very close as well ....

The Marine oil is even better, but it's about 25% more expensive ....

Ted
 
One more question: gas mileage. I plan to switch my 96 Saturn DOHC to Amsoil once I exhaust the supply of Chevron and Castrol in my "dino shrine". Would the Amsoil Synth or synth-blend 15w-40 provide a noticeable drop in gas mileage over the Chevron 10w-30 that I'm using?
 
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