My oil-in-freezer test.

[stranger706]

Yesterday morning I was sitting around at the house thinking of [censored] to do. Curiosity got the best of me.

So I took a quart each of Pennzoil Platinum 5w20, Pennzoil Platinum 10w30, Castrol EDGE 5w30, Mobil 1 0w30 and GTX 5w20 and stuck them all in my kitchen freezer, along with a thermometer. After a few hours I took them all out and starting shaking/pouring. Heres what I found.

It makes a big mess!

For a quick scale I'll say 1 is thin and 5 is thick.

Thermometer was reading +2 F.

Pennzoil Platinum 5w20 was the thinnest. It gets a 1.

Pennzoil Platinum 10w30 was much thicker. I would not use this during the winter, despite what some people say about any weight synthetic being year-round. It gets a 4.

Castrol EDGE 5w30 was still pretty thin. I give it a 2.

Mobil 1 0w30 was the odd ball, being quite thick. Really surprised me, especially since it pours like water at room temp. Just about as thick as the Pennzoil Platinum 10w30. It gets a 4.

GTX 5w20 was medium. It gets a 3.

As dumb as it sounds this little test really made me realize how useless the first # is for the weight of oil. Why was the Mobil 1 0w30 the same thickness as the Pennzoil Platinum 10w30? Those numbers are very misleading.

Everyone should do this test when they are picking a "year-round" or winter oil!

 

[cornfused]

 

[ADFD1]

LOL

+1 I was thinking the same thing!

 

[stranger706]

Whats so funny

 

[ADFD1]

I like your idea, I'm just waiting to see where this heads.

 

[Jakegday]

Originally Posted By: stranger706
Everyone should do this test when they are picking a "year-round" or winter oil!

crazy me, i just switch from 10w30 to 5w30 without thinking twice about it. hope im not in trouble....

 

[stranger706]

Yeah me too, I thought it was a dumb test at first but when I saw the results, it was kind of frustrating in a way.

 

[tig1]

My freezer was at -4F and I did the slosh test with Mobil 1 5w30 and it sloshed well.

 

[hate2work]

I wish Mobil would have used a better oil in this comparison test, maybe the results wouldn't have been so one-sided.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKtxqf5OFTU

 

[ADFD1]

I'm surprised at the Mobil 1 0W30. I figured it would be right up there with the Pennzoil Platinum 5w20, possibly a tiny bit thicker when cold.

 

[Liquid_Turbo]

I'm curious to see how Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 does!

Thanks for doing this test! Real interesting.

 

[CATERHAM]

The results are not surprising.
Pennzoil Platinum 5W-20 is the lightest because it has the lowest 40C vis spec (46.84 cSt) and a reasonably high VI of 160. Those are the two spec's you really want to look at in determining how thin a oil is at cold start-up temps.Don't pay much attention to the first number of the SAE grade.
Pennzoil Platinum 10w30 and Mobil 1 0w30 have the same 40C vis at 63 cSt and while Mobil 1 is somewhat lighter at 2F not enough to notice in your freezer test.
So instead of buying oils to test, simply use the Widman Viscosity Chart to compare oils.

 

[tom slick]

The SAE system is strange altogether. Why the "cold" temp is tested at 104*f (40*c) makes no sense to me.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Because YOU call it the cold temp

Its not, its lower end operating viscosity. I do wish a 0C vis was reported to add definition to the curve. If you want to ref cold vis look at MRV or CCS.

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: Liquid_Turbo
I'm curious to see how Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 does!

Thanks for doing this test! Real interesting.


Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 has a 40C vis of 57.5 cSt. At 2F it would be somewhat lighter than Mobil 1 0W-30.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: stranger706
Why was the Mobil 1 0w30 the same thickness as the Pennzoil Platinum 10w30? Those numbers are very misleading.

No, they're not. You're just not examining them in the right way.

If you had turned the temperature down even further, the Pennzoil Platinum would have thickened much faster than the Mobil 1. That's what 0w means compared to 10w.

 

[jstutz]

i have been thinking for a long time that there should be a -20C viscosity. I have done this many times thru the last few years. I think some of the problem we run into is that oil dosent get thicker linearily. So it is impossible to look at 40 C and 100C and say this oil is better than that oil because depending on the basestock and VII's that were used the curve will change over temp. I hate the freezer test because it is very un scientific but it is a great observation. Like you said, i would not have expected Pennzoil Platinum 10w30 to be that much thicker at only 0F. Anyway the way i did my test was to take a paper cup and put a hole in the bottom about 1/8 in , then measure out exactly one cup of different motor oils and put them in the deep freeze for 24 hrs. I then measured the time that it took to pour the entire cup of oil thru the little hole. If i knew how to post a file somehow i would share my results. I did many Mobil 1 oils, rotella 15w40 and some others, i dont remember. Anyway it is kinda nice to actually feel the difference. Good luck

 

[jstutz]

I wish i had a controlled enviroment that i could adjust the temp so i could do all different oils over a wide temp spread.

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: jstutz
I wish i had a controlled enviroment that i could adjust the temp so i could do all different oils over a wide temp spread.


As I have already mentioned, yes you can!
Google the Widman Viscosity Chart and compare oils to your hearts content.

 

[jstutz]

well, i exported some of the excell sheet and made it a photo so i could share it with you guys, i cant figure out how to post a picture