Non scientific oil test.

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tblt44

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Jun 10, 2019
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Ok I have 5 oils I'm doing a non scientific flow test on at freezer temp. A few degrees below zero. I live in florida so well below what I see. Mobil 1 hm 5w 30 Castrol 0w 40 euro Valvoline hm 5w 30 red bottle Penzoil ultra 5w 30 Supertech syn 10w 30 I will try finish test tomorrow. Oil is in water bottles now in freezer all day and it looks like they all flow about the same to me when turning bottles over. I'm thinking of switching my hm GM chevy 5.3 engines with 180k and 190k to valvoline hm 10w 30. No I dont have any yet but using my mower oil supertech 10w 30 as a base line for 10w 30 weight in the cold. Why , I'm thinking it will shear less then 5w 30. I tow 4500 about once a month. Towing in 3rd gear running 3k for hours at a time. In D it's in and out of gears too much
 
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Originally Posted by tblt44
I'm thinking of switching my hm GM chevy 5.3 engines with 180k and 190k to valvoline hm 10w-30. No I dont have any yet but using my mower oil supertech 10w 30 as a base line for 10w 30 weight in the cold. I tow 4500 about once a month... Towing in 3rd gear running 3k for hours at a time.
Yes. All of the above is a good plan. You don't need to do the freezer test - it won't tell you anything.
 
I was thinking Castrol or mobil 0w 40. Or 10W 30. Just worried about the higher zinc in these euro oils I also want quick flow at start up down to 32 F
 
Why are you freezing oil when you're in FL? You can not extrapolate anything from your freezer test as it pertains to high temperature, high shear (your towing). The VM's used in the two states are different animals. Cold properties should be a non starter for you. With your towing and ambient temps I would look for a 10w30 or Xw40 with a relatively high HTHS and robust AW pkg (unless you're concerned with FE in which case you're best served by sticking with a 0 or 5w30). And since not all VM's are created equal and you have no way of knowing what the quality of VM's are in a particular lube, just go with what you know.
 
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Your test will indeed demonstrate flow. However, it will only demonstrate the flow out of the oil containers themselves. You will not replicate the conditions inside of an internal combustion engine under cold weather conditions. Inside of an engine, the only flow that is necessary is for the oil to flow to the oil pump pick up tube. For that, the tests under SAE J300 that result in the winter rating of the oil are a far more accurate representation of real-world starting conditions under cold temperatures. Pick and winter rating that is appropriate for your expected starting conditions. And Euro oils are not necessarily "high" in zinc. But even if they are, it is only a problem if you are burning excessive amounts of oil. Are you?
 
I didn't even notice you are in Florida. Considering that, you can use any winter rated oil that suits your fancy. "Flow" is utterly irrelevant even in northern Florida.
 
Originally Posted by Mad_Hatter
Why are you freezing oil when you're in FL? You can not extrapolate anything from your freezer test as it pertains to high temperature, high shear (your towing). The VM's used in the two states are different animals. Cold properties should be a non starter for you. With your towing and ambient temps I would look for a 10w30 or Xw40 with a relatively high HTHS and robust AW pkg (unless you're concerned with FE in which case you're best served by sticking with a 0 or 5w30). And since not all VM's are created equal and you have no way of knowing what the quality of VM's are in a particular lube, just go with what you know.
Well it's getting close to winter and if were lucky may see a few nights under 32, just want to see how it flows on those days.
 
Originally Posted by kschachn
Your test will indeed demonstrate flow. However, it will only demonstrate the flow out of the oil containers themselves. You will not replicate the conditions inside of an internal combustion engine under cold weather conditions. Inside of an engine, the only flow that is necessary is for the oil to flow to the oil pump pick up tube. For that, the tests under SAE J300 that result in the winter rating of the oil are a far more accurate representation of real-world starting conditions under cold temperatures. Pick and winter rating that is appropriate for your expected starting conditions. And Euro oils are not necessarily "high" in zinc. But even if they are, it is only a problem if you are burning excessive amounts of oil. Are you?
Not burning any oil
 
Originally Posted by dave1251
Changing from ST 10W30 to Valvoline non synthetic Maxlife 10W30 will not gain you much if any performance.
Supertech is my mower oil. Never used it in the truck, just using it as a baseline for cold flow.
 
Originally Posted by tblt44
Originally Posted by Mad_Hatter
Why are you freezing oil when you're in FL? You can not extrapolate anything from your freezer test as it pertains to high temperature, high shear (your towing). The VM's used in the two states are different animals. Cold properties should be a non starter for you. With your towing and ambient temps I would look for a 10w30 or Xw40 with a relatively high HTHS and robust AW pkg (unless you're concerned with FE in which case you're best served by sticking with a 0 or 5w30). And since not all VM's are created equal and you have no way of knowing what the quality of VM's are in a particular lube, just go with what you know.
Well it's getting close to winter and if were lucky may see a few nights under 32, just want to see how it flows on those days.
It flows good enough for your engine, trust me. (that's what the assigned W grade tells you). Even the "thicker" 10w pumpability number is waaay below the lowest temperature you'll ever see in FL. You should be more concerned HTHS given your ambients and towing. Those two things combined can really tax (shear) a lubes oil film. [Linked Image]
 
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Experts say as long as oil is pumpable, all is good and flow rates e.g. Freezer tests and/or utube cold flow tests basically don't prove anything ... However I always wonder if you have 2 oils that are "pumpable" (i.e. both meet the W rating), wouldn't the oil that is more fluid flow easier through the tiny holes/paths in the engine. Yes you can pump it but once it's up there it has to flow down or up through holes, etc. Wouldn't a more fluid oil get there faster? Anyways this has been on my list of things to research and iirc in the old days they used the flow rate but then it was changed to ccs and mrv ...
 
Why does everyone do a freezer test ? The oil is only at low temps for a few minutes, the rest of the time it's running hot. I'd like to see someone do a 100c test, the actual operating temp of the oil. I doubt if you could tell the difference of any oil visually at that temp, but it's more relevant to what's happening in an engine.
 
Originally Posted by OilUzer
Experts say as long as oil is pumpable, all is good and flow rates e.g. Freezer tests and/or utube cold flow tests basically don't prove anything ... However I always wonder if you have 2 oils that are "pumpable" (i.e. both meet the W rating), wouldn't the oil that is more fluid flow easier through the tiny holes/paths in the engine. Yes you can pump it but once it's up there it has to flow down or up through holes, etc. Wouldn't a more fluid oil get there faster? Anyways this has been on my list of things to research and iirc in the old days they used the flow rate but then it was changed to ccs and mrv ...
It doesn't stay cold as molasses as it contacts moving parts and travels through all the oil passageways. The oil begins to thin out and will flow a lot better than when the pump picked it up. And once that heated oil returns to the sump it makes pumping increasingly easier. As long as you use the appropriate W grade for your climate, you can rest assured that your engine is getting sufficiently lubricated during those first few seconds at startup. (the engine builder has made sure of this by spec'ing the oil you should be using in your owners manual.. and the oil mfgs confirm this by rigorous testing)
 
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Originally Posted by Silk
Why does everyone do a freezer test ? The oil is only at low temps for a few minutes, the rest of the time it's running hot. I'd like to see someone do a 100c test, the actual operating temp of the oil. I doubt if you could tell the difference of any oil visually at that temp, but it's more relevant to what's happening in an engine.
I have done a few freezer tests and there is hardly any smell or a mess! Wife would not be happy if I use the oven grin2 I did a burn test however. shocked2 iirc, I burned same amount of a dino and 2 different synthetics and the winner was Pennzoil Platinum. I torched the oils till they caught on fire and let them burn ... PP burned very clean with hardly any residue however other oils left some or bunch of burned/black crumbles. Dino left the most crumbles. Maybe PP is more pure! idk, maybe thats why they call it PurePlus. PP also won my freezer test as far as clarity. It stayed very nice and clear like it was at the room temperature whereas the other oils (including another fancy syn) got foggy (waxy?) looking texture. Not saying anything was a scientific test but it was interesting that PP performed well both at high and low temps. I am planning to repeat my burn test next summer. Kind of curious about the black crumbles and see if I can reproduce. I have 5 or 6 different brands in the garage from dino to "full sysnthetic" and some in-between which I like to test with.
 
Originally Posted by Silk
Why does everyone do a freezer test ? The oil is only at low temps for a few minutes, the rest of the time it's running hot. I'd like to see someone do a 100c test, the actual operating temp of the oil. I doubt if you could tell the difference of any oil visually at that temp, but it's more relevant to what's happening in an engine.
I thought the goofball with sunglasses did this already? Poured oil into a frying pan and cooked it to somehow simulate how it would react in a hot engine.
 
Mobil 1 5w 30 and penzoil ultra platinum still look like the oil when it went into freezer. Valvoline maxlife red bottle, supertech 10w 30 looked waxy. 0w 40 castrol somewhere inbetween
 
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Originally Posted by tblt44
Mobil 1 5w 30 and penzoil ultra platinum still look like the oil when it went into freezer. Valvoline maxlife red bottle, supertech 10w 30 looked waxy. 0w 40 castrol somewhere in between
What did it look like when it came out of the freezer? Sounds like a definitive test for sure.
 
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