Oil for extremely cold conditions,-55F

[simple_gifts]

My brother lives in Fairbanks AK. He does a lot of short trip driving , has extended warm up times, extended idling etc. It seems Mobil 5w30 is his fill. I'm trying to get him to change his oil after his car sat for 1 year while he was in Iraq, explaining to him, syn oils can't compensate for fuel/water in the oil, and intervals are ONE year, especially with the type of driving he does.

I checked out the TSO specs and there is a ASTM D5293 visc check @ -35C, cold crank simulation, and it appears it is higher for TSO than ASL. Maybe the numbers are close enough not to matter, but is there something that may make TSO not "the" oil to run under his circumstances?

I'm trying to wean him off "Mobil 1 is the best" mentality, not because of the basestock debacle, but because 5w30 isn't marketed as an extended drain oil, and TSO/ASL is. I can't imagine a more hostile environment. (A used oil analysis would be interesting) Just picked up my PC Amsoil # and there is a warehouse in Anchorage so Amsoil is not cost prohibitive.

Any other comments/suggestions are appreciated

-Thomas.

FWIW, car is 199x Camry, 130K, Pan, Block, Battery, Transmission heaters.

 

[addyguy]

If he uses Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w30, it is an extended drain oil. Even though not marketed as an 'extended drain oil', I think it has been shown (by Mobil, albeit) that regular Mobil 1 will survive extended drains......

 

[JohnnyO]

I think Mobil 1 or Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w30 would be fine for his car, although I'd change it if it's been sitting for a year regardless. The story I heard was that Mobil 1 was originally developed for the military to use in their vehicles in Alaska.

 

[Patman]

With conditions that cold, I'd be looking into a good 0w20 instead.

 

[Iain]

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With conditions that cold, I'd be looking into a good 0w20 instead.

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Depends on what OEM have specd car for.

He's using Mobil 1 5w30, so I would simply replace it with 0W-30.

 

[Patman]

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With conditions that cold, I'd be looking into a good 0w20 instead.

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Depends on what OEM have specd car for.

He's using Mobil 1 5w30, so I would simply replace it with 0W-30.

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But if he's driving in extreme cold and the oil temperature never gets very hot anyhow, he could safely step down to a 0w20 even if his engine calls for 5w30. With extreme cold like that, his oil temperature would probably be 20-30F colder than it would be that same engine in a warmer climate.

 

[Iain]

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With conditions that cold, I'd be looking into a good 0w20 instead.

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Depends on what OEM have specd car for.

He's using Mobil 1 5w30, so I would simply replace it with 0W-30.

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But if he's driving in extreme cold and the oil temperature never gets very hot anyhow, he could safely step down to a 0w20 even if his engine calls for 5w30. With extreme cold like that, his oil temperature would probably be 20-30F colder than it would be that same engine in a warmer climate.

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Point well taken.

 

[JackFish]

Well he's got pan heaters, so the oil will be pre-warmed unless he's stuck somewhere without a plug-in.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

I see you are talking about dino applications here. The best cold-spec oil brand in Canada is Petro-Canada Oil. Do a Google search for distributors.

 

[Drew99GT]

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I checked out the TSO specs and there is a ASTM D5293 visc check @ -35C, cold crank simulation, and it appears it is higher for TSO than ASL. Maybe the numbers are close enough not to matter, but is there something that may make TSO not "the" oil to run under his circumstances?

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That's because 0w is tested 5 degrees C colder than 5w. ASL , tested at -35C (where 0w is measured), would likely be higher than TSO.

I agree with Patman though. Mobil 1 0w-20, if available, would be abotu the best you could do as far as oil.

 

[TallPaul]

I would think ester based oil, like Redline, would be best for such extreme cold.

 

[cmhj]

Besides a cold climate oil be it a OW-20 0r 5W-20 or whatever, a full flowing filter should be used to help with the initial startup.

 

[KBFXDLI]

Mobil1 5w30 is fine if he has a block/pan heater. But I would definitely change it after sitting a year.

 

[nascarnation]

The US Army (who used to really work on this cold weather stuff back in the late 70s/early 80s when the Russians were the bad guys) uses Cognis Emgard 0W20 and runs tests at -60F.
I'm not sure how commercially available it is or how it compares to name brand 0W20s.

 

[simple_gifts]

Thanks for the advice and the explanation of the spec; honestly I never even thought of Mobil 1 Extended Performance or using a 20 weight. There is a Walmart in F-banks. I'll have him take a look there for options. Looks like it "warmed up" to 10F today.

-Thomas.

 

[pepper32]

I've been using Mobil 1 5w30 in my '92 Mazda Protege every winter since new. No oil pan heater, never failed to start.