Oil wieght for short trips?

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Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Originally Posted By: djateohate
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
You live in GA - gets pretty hot there.


Most of my trips are 3 miles back and forth to the bus stop. My oil only gets up to operating temp on longer weekend trips.

I need something that is thin enough to start flowing well as early as possible.


OK, so put some 0w-20 in it. Then, if you take a longer trip, what are you going to do, drain it out and go thicker just for that 1 trip?

Haas isn't an engineer for BMW (neither is he an engineer for Ferrari...).

5w-30 oil at 50 degrees is gonna be thicker than 5w-40 at 90 degrees.

Older BMWs are one vehicle where I think it's agreed upon that thicker is better.


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M1 0w-40 has been my choice for just about everything, it is probably one of the 3 best oils made today.

however, i am surprised by all the thick recommendations here. unless you are running an old detroit V8, modern oils in 10w and 15w are pretty much way too thick. the thinner oils have less wear, and don't shear down like the SH oils did.

unless your car has cooling problems, the operating environment is not much of an issue, the oil is going to run 212-230 pretty much whatever the temp is outside.
 
Originally Posted By: cheetahdriver

unless your car has cooling problems, the operating environment is not much of an issue, the oil is going to run 212-230 pretty much whatever the temp is outside.


Oil temps in all the cars I operate are 10-20 degrees higher in summer compared to winter. And when it's bitterly cold, it will practically never get to operating temp.

After driving for a half hour on a hot summer day, if I shoot my infrared gun at my oil filter, it's 220-230.

After an hour's drive in 10 degree weather I've seen as low as 190.

Some engine designs require a thicker oil, PERIOD, end of story.

I wouldn't put 5w-30 in a 98 Beemer, but that's just me.
 
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Just fill it with Rotella (or another major HDEO brand) 15w-40 and rest easy. You will have NO problems with it whatsoever in an API-SH application. If you short trip it extensively, just keep the intervals shorter. At the price Rotella sells for, you can afford shorter OCIs.

If you want to get adventuresome, try Rotella 5w-40 synthetic, which is an excellent all weather oil. It might be too thin in an older German engine, though. Many do require the thicker vis to run their best.
 
So, I feel like I’m back where I started before I decided to think about all this too much.

Use quality oil, quality filter, and change it regularly.

0W30
0W40
5W30
10W40
15W40

They’ll all work.
 
Well I'm not going to opine or state facts either way and I won't praise or discredit A. E. Haas, but here's a little reasoning that may help:

If the goal is to achieve the manufacturer-designed viscosity at full operating temperature as soon as possible, then it seems to make sense that "there is no such thing as too thin at startup" oil unless you're starting the car while the oil is at 415 degrees F and it's thinner than spec'd at operating temperature, but you live in Georgia, not on Mercury, so I don't think that's a problem. And you drive 3 miles to work that might not get the oil up to full temp.

OK, so 3 miles each way 5 days a week is 30 miles per week of commuting. If you drive more than 30 miles on the weekends and the oil gets up to full temp, then it seems like an xW-30 would result in driving the car with oil that's thinner than the spec for longer than an xW-40 would result in driving with oil that's thicker than spec. Make sense? Assuming you drive 30 miles or more on the weekends and the oil gets up to full temp for that time, then I would split the difference and use a 0W-40 oil. That will get you the closest to spec'd oil viscosity for the short trip weekday driving and at you'll be at the spec'd viscosity on the weekends which is where more miles accumulate anyway.

Either way, whether you go with an xW-30 or an xW-40, I'd use a 0W oil to get the maximum possible oil flow while the engine is not at full operating temperature. If it was me, and my goal was to achieve the best possibility of low wear numbers, I think I'd use a synthetic 0W-40 like Mobil 1, as has already been suggested, because it is possible the oil gets up to full operating temperature by the time you get to the bus stop and why risk having something in there that's thinner than the designers intended? Whichever brand 0W-40 you feel generates the lowest wear numbers would be the right choice for your own peace of mind.

The big question in my mind is why do the manufacturers suggest a 15W-40 over a 0W-40? Is there something about oil pumps or engine design that makes a 15W-40 a better choice than a 0W-40, other than "the manufacturer said so?" I'm hoping for a sound technical explanation. The theories presented by A. E. Haas make sense to me, but I'm open to all facts at all times to make the best possible decisions.

Cheers!
John
 
No, I'd submit that the 15W40 is a relict of the bad old days when a 10W40 dino was a recipe for disaster. Nowadays, a 0W40 or 5W40 would be great. Although, there is that ongoing worry about M1 0W40 thinning out too much that no one ever confirms or denies, just turns the threads into "M1 is the finest oil ever conceived by humans" shouting matches....
 
I run M1 EP 15W50 for my 2000 1.8T Passat. My mileage is a little less than 5k miles a year. Temp-wise, now it's hitting the century mark in Los Angeles...

Trips are real local...my work (nurse @ hospital) is but 2 blocks away/4 min tops. I'd rather just walk or ride my bike but since I work at nightshift..it's not safe doing that at 11pm.

Before this, I had green Castrol 0W30 but I keep toping it off...

p.s. My oil stash of nearly 90+ of various synthetics/wts of last count would take an...eternity to finish.
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I would never put a 20Wt. in an older BMW engine so do not do that bad move. M1 0W40 though if and that is a big if you want to run a synthetic it sure would do a nice job for you. But M1 HM 10W30 or 10W40 cost less and would work just as well.
 
Originally Posted By: JohnBrowning
I would never put a 20Wt. in an older BMW engine so do not do that bad move.


Why?
 
dj-
If you want to stay with the 15w40 spec, but still make the move toward synthetic, Schaeffer's makes a blend that's supposedly pretty good and rather affordable.
The pure synthetic recommendations from the other guys are spot on for the 21st century though.
 
Schaeffers 15w40 is arguably the best 15w40 you can buy. And it's only about $16/gal. If you have a local distributor then you can skip shipping (the Schaeffer's web site has a dealer locator).
 
For 6 years I ran 15W50 in a car that my wife drove 1 mile to work, home for lunch, back to work and home again 5 days a week. On Saturday I'd haul a motorcycle for an 80 mile round trip to a drag strip and never had an issue. Now 4 years after we moved the car has 10W40 in it and travels 40 mile round trip 5 days a week. The oil gets changed every October whether it needs it or not.

A good 0, 5, 10 or 15W40 will work well for you. Even if you run a thin oil the car will get started twice a day and never completely warm up. Just pick one and run with it. My choice for you would be Rotella T 5W40 or Amsoil 10W40.
 
Anything that is 0W,5W or 10W is going to be fine. With so many wounderful 0W and 5W products on the market right now I think that is where I would concentrate my attention. I would not worry about wheater the second digit wasa 30 or a 40 because it is not going to really matter only the first digit matters for fuel saveing the first 20 minutes of driveing after that they all even out. So far no one has really seen any significant repeatable fuel saveing based soley on the SAE viscosity rateing of the oil it is all over the place.

My previous recomendations would serve you well but like anything they are recomendations!
 
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