I talked with someone this past weekend that uses Delo 400 30w in a Honda Fit that calls for 5w-20. He delivers things like documents, clinical lab specimens and anything that requires a human to keep control of during transport. A typical year is 75 to 100 thousand miles. He sold the Fit on Saturday but I had a chance to look at it and drive it. It shows some obvious wear but drives like new. The engine is very smooth running and it’s difficult to read the oil level because the oil is so clear. He changes the oil every 3 to 5 thousand miles and says missing an oil change does not happen. He does the oil changes and most minor maintenance himself. This Fit had 78 thousand miles on it and looked good. I guess the part that makes a single weight work in this application is no cold weather. He was influenced by the Cadillac owner that taught him as a high school kid how to change oil and how to do minor maintenance chores. They live on the same street. It appears that the oil at least did its job. The Fit does not smoke or burn oil. It may burn some but with such frequent intervals the owner says the level on the dip stick does not drop any amount that he can see. He liked the Fit so much that he is getting another one and I gave him 5 gallons of 30w that I had left after I switched to 40w.
More single weight oil
- Thread starter BarkerMan
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the more i read about this, the more i wanna try singe weight oil... i just know i can't use it year-round here in toronto. no way.
how does that guy do 75 to 100 thousand miles a year?
how does that guy do 75 to 100 thousand miles a year?
Quote:
This Fit had 78 thousand miles on it..
So?
I agree with you and G-man on single weights.....but....as others and you have mentioned, you need some cold weather flow in some areas. Again - you gotta love single weight synthetic oil.
This Fit had 78 thousand miles on it..
So?
I agree with you and G-man on single weights.....but....as others and you have mentioned, you need some cold weather flow in some areas. Again - you gotta love single weight synthetic oil.
If the car Mfrs. hear about this, they will certainly change the requirements for their new cars!
NOT!
NOT!
This guy has a bunch of steady customers and they require hand delivery of stuff. He says he listens to books on CD's and has satellite radio to keep him occupied. He told me that Delo 400 single weight oil has more oil and fewer additives and with good weather and lots of miles it appears to work. While looking at the car in his driveway the buyer showed up. He crawled all over the car and the struck a deal. He did do a compression test. I did not see the numbers but the new owner said they were right on new car specs and he was really impressed, so much so that he bought the car.
Most of what I see on this site is thin multi-grade oil. I wonder if these people that use the thin oil ever really keep a car long enough to ever discover if it’s any good or not. I see a lot of used oil analysis but that seems like such a small part of the whole picture. There is a lot more going on with a vehicle than the engine oil. Has anyone on this site had a dramatic engine failure or even a lubricated part fail, ever? Thin oil may pump around easier but even the thick oil is getting the job done or you engine would take a dump into the oil pan in pretty short order. In cold weather you had better have thin oil in the pan but in moderate weather I’m no so sure. It appears that multi-grade oil is the only way to have year-round oil performance but if you are willing to do the work I wonder if a 20w-20 would work ok in the winder and a 30w or 40w in the summer. And if it’s really cold just run a 10w oil. I think that cylinder walls are as good a wear indicator as anything else and my 510 with over a half-million miles has 3 thousands taper in the front three holes and 4 in the back. When I rebuilt the head at 250 thousand or so there were still light traces of honing marks in the cylinders. I’m just not sure that thin oil performs better in the engine over the long run.
Most of what I see on this site is thin multi-grade oil. I wonder if these people that use the thin oil ever really keep a car long enough to ever discover if it’s any good or not. I see a lot of used oil analysis but that seems like such a small part of the whole picture. There is a lot more going on with a vehicle than the engine oil. Has anyone on this site had a dramatic engine failure or even a lubricated part fail, ever? Thin oil may pump around easier but even the thick oil is getting the job done or you engine would take a dump into the oil pan in pretty short order. In cold weather you had better have thin oil in the pan but in moderate weather I’m no so sure. It appears that multi-grade oil is the only way to have year-round oil performance but if you are willing to do the work I wonder if a 20w-20 would work ok in the winder and a 30w or 40w in the summer. And if it’s really cold just run a 10w oil. I think that cylinder walls are as good a wear indicator as anything else and my 510 with over a half-million miles has 3 thousands taper in the front three holes and 4 in the back. When I rebuilt the head at 250 thousand or so there were still light traces of honing marks in the cylinders. I’m just not sure that thin oil performs better in the engine over the long run.
Yep, this is exactly what we did back in the 50's and it worked fine. Of course, back then if you got 100,000 miles on an engine, you had really accomplished something. Good luck.
If G-Man's other thread is any indication, it might be better to run the 10W30 in the winter rather than 10W.
I think that those of us using single weight oil are in the minority for sure. You can hardly find the stuff and what you do find may not have an API cert. I call that stuff grocery store oil. I'm not going to switch to multigrade oil until I see a good reason to. There are not too many comments about how bad single grade oil is because I don't think too many people have experience with it, but they still know it's bad stuff.
Originally Posted By: BarkerMan
I think that those of us using single weight oil are in the minority for sure. You can hardly find the stuff and what you do find may not have an API cert. I call that stuff grocery store oil.
What do you call grocery store oil that is API certified?
I haven't paid much attention to grocery store oil, but it seems like most of it I have looked at is API certified.
I think that those of us using single weight oil are in the minority for sure. You can hardly find the stuff and what you do find may not have an API cert. I call that stuff grocery store oil.
What do you call grocery store oil that is API certified?
I haven't paid much attention to grocery store oil, but it seems like most of it I have looked at is API certified.
My dad owned flathead Fords in the fifties all he used was 20w-20. He once told me he tried multi grade oil when it came out but the Fords burnt it.He went back to 20w-20 no oil burning.I had a 1985 chevette used 20w-20 no trouble year round.I have not even seen any for sale for years in Canada {b.c.}.A few yaers back ran across a shop manuel for 1948 Dodge for real cold climate it sugguested a mix of 10w and keronse.
An oil might get "thin" in use, but as long as the operating perimeters are within the general intended usage by design, then I would think such is allowed/manageable. Some around here might not give the designers/manufactures such credit/fore thought, what have you - It just seems that way anyway. It has also been argued that VII fortified oils of API spec's gone by, were inferior to the point that what was labeled a Xw-30 soon permanently sheared down to a Xw-20 a 1000 miles into the OCI. Regardless, engines puttered on and on further as even they improved in design/control. Then there's the AW and EP additives that back-up the lubricant, enabling it to further protection for as long as it does. Continued improvements and refining make that increasingly so.
I'm not saying that I'm not curious as to how a mono-grade would perform, perhaps kidding myself that it's the cats meow for what might be nothing more than short trip, low duty operation, which might have more of an effect on denting my mileage ratings. I'm beginning to realize more and more that there just isn't one thing that's the perfect answer. Just look at the broad opinions and stories each of shares, the vehicles/equipment we use, the different duties, durations and environments we operate in...and even these shall change over the course of an OCI. There too is quality control.
Regardless, I find comfort and pleasure to relate,share possible insights, and above all LEARN with/from fellow engine/oil/machine enthusiasts.
Thanks all, I guess I need that.
Take care and Happy Thanksgiving!
I'm not saying that I'm not curious as to how a mono-grade would perform, perhaps kidding myself that it's the cats meow for what might be nothing more than short trip, low duty operation, which might have more of an effect on denting my mileage ratings. I'm beginning to realize more and more that there just isn't one thing that's the perfect answer. Just look at the broad opinions and stories each of shares, the vehicles/equipment we use, the different duties, durations and environments we operate in...and even these shall change over the course of an OCI. There too is quality control.
Regardless, I find comfort and pleasure to relate,share possible insights, and above all LEARN with/from fellow engine/oil/machine enthusiasts.
Thanks all, I guess I need that.
Take care and Happy Thanksgiving!
I asked the manager of a local grocery store about the non-cert oil he sells and he said that the illegals buy it with they come in with their food stamps to buy food, beer and wine. He said that they sell of lot of the non-cert cheap stuff and not much of he Pennzoil 10w30 they have on the shelf.
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