Ok to run 3 different viscosities over 12 months?

[Mobil2]

Would it be a good or bad idea to run 3 different viscosities thru the year as seasons change?

For the avg Canadian climate of failry cool winter months and fairly warm summer months I'm considering:
Ow30 - Jan to March
10w30 - June to Aug
5w30 - 6 months of spring and fall

Is it worth is to run one (or two) cycles of differnt grade oil for these "extreme" hot/cold months or would it just be better/safer to run 5w-30 all year around?

Feel free to answer this question generically, but if more information is needed, my specific application is an RSX Type S (200hp, 4cyl, 8000rpm) that gets a few track session in the summer and a few snowboarding road trips in the winter. M1 SS will be used for ALL grades.

 

[rpn453]

I do the same, except I use 0W-30 from October to the end of March. 5W-30 for late spring and early fall, and 10W-30 for summer (obviously there's some crossover depending on when oil change time comes around).
Compatibility is not an issue, especially with consistently using the same brand of oil (I wouldn't consider it an issue even if you were switching brands). You will have no problems doing this and the benefits include increased fuel economy, faster lubrication, and easier starting in the winter, with a more stable and less VI-improved oil for the high temperatures of the summer.

 

[Patman]

Honestly, there is no need to go to all that trouble. Just pick a good 5w30 or 0w30 synthetic and you can safely use that the entire year round in our climate up here.

 

[vvk]

Like Patman said, dump some Mobil 1 5W-30 in it and stop fooling around

 

[rpn453]

They're right beside each other on the shelf, they come in the same containers, they're the same price, and they pour and drain pretty much the same when you're doing the oil change, so I wouldn't consider it to be any additional trouble!

Patman and vvk are right though in that you wouldn't have problems using a single type all year round, but I think 0W-30 is the grade to use for our Canadian winters (even for your "just kind of cold" Mississauga winters!

).

[ October 01, 2003, 02:42 PM: Message edited by: rpn453 ]

 

[Dr. T]

Right I agree....the only "positive" change you could make is if you went to a 40 weight in the summer...otherwise, wherether you pick a 0-30, a 5-30 or 10-30 will depend on your ambient "winter" temperatures.

That said, a 10 weight is certified to crank down to -25C, a 5 weight down to -30C and a 0 weight down to -35C...so depending on where you live....ie. you don't need a 0-30 in FL.

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Right I agree....the only "positive" change you could make is if you went to a 40 weight in the summer...otherwise, wherether you pick a 0-30, a 5-30 or 10-30 will depend on your ambient "winter" temperatures.

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This is a situation where GC 0w30 would work out very well for him since he could run it in winter when it's extremely cold, and it's 12.2cst at 100c viscosity puts it almost at a 40wt for good protection in the summer when he's running his car at the track. 5w30 Amsoil would also fit the bill very well here too, since it's cold weather performance is awesome and it too is almost a 40wt oil (it's around 11.9cst at 100c)

 

[TSoA]

I have found the need for 3x changes too. I, like you, go by the calender, not miles as long as 8000 miles is not exceeded. All I can do is tell you what I do and why... Months 1-4 GC 0w-30, months 5-8 Rotella 5w-40 HT/HS= 4.0(the only change is a real 40 weight for summer) and months 9-12 the GC again. The driving force is my hoarding of GC, 1x a year of Rotella is fine for the engine and my budget. For you, I would use 10w-30 M1 because it is light for Japanese car, or try the new heavier ACEA A5 jug Syntec. You could mix some M1 15w-50 into the mix for summer.

 

[Mobil2]

quote:

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Originally posted by vvk:
Like Patman said, dump some Mobil 1 5W-30 in it and stop fooling around

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I was afraid this was the answer. Great responses from everyone thou.

I don't really want to bother with Amsoil or any German oils and I really don't want to stray from 30wt either. I'll probably just end up running M1 5w30 and mixing in a bit of 0w and 10w as the seasons "require".

Either way, I think I'm going to consistently stick with M1 for the cars life. It's a real synthetic, available everywhere and at a good price. Hard to say no to this and it should be more than fine for anyone's daily driver... IMO

 

[Patman]

Mobil2, check your local Walmart flyer this week, it now shows them as having the 5L jugs of Mobil 1 again, and for only $27.46!

 

[Mobil2]

I think my ideal solution may be the soon to be available M1 Racing 0w30. I can't wait to see the numbers on this stuff. Hopefully, unlike most 0w or good oils, this will be readily available!

 

[Doug C]

I don't know that there is any harm in switching viscosities for the seasons, but you can use a 0W30 or a 5W30 year round.

I use 0W30 year round here in Colorado.

The choice of viscosity depends on three things:
Tempurature, engine load and engine RPM.

Cheers, Doug

 

[mikemc]

I think a symptom of being bitten by this 'oil bug' is that its just plain fun to know what the different viscosities mean and feel like you are doing the best by your motor. So if its no trouble like you say, why not? If I were a maple leaf, I would probably just go with a synthetic 0w30 or 5w30 year round, but where's the fun in that?!

 

[TallPaul]

In the olden days they changed viscosity a lot by season as they did not have multigrades. But the oil probably was changed a lot anyway as I suspect change intervals back then were around 1000 miles. But what happens if you run the 5w30 in spring and it has only 1500 miles on it when you switch to 10w30 for summer? Would you save the 5w30 in a bottle and pour it back in for the fall? Would the oil deteriorate over the summer having been contaminated from 1500 miles use?

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by Mobil2:
I think my ideal solution may be the soon to be available M1 Racing 0w30. I can't wait to see the numbers on this stuff. Hopefully, unlike most 0w or good oils, this will be readily available!

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GC 0w30 is readily available here in Mississauga, and at under $7 per liter you can bet it's going to be a lot cheaper than the new Mobil 1 racing 0w30 which I bet will be $10 or more up here.

 

[Mobil2]

I don't know why, but I'm having a lot of trouble coming around on GC. Is it even synthetic? I've seen mixed reviews on their 0w30, but I want some 0w for this winter so I'll probably end up giving this a try.

Amsoil kinda bugs me with their availability and stuff. I've seen mixed reviews of their 0w30, but I'll probably try the 5w30 next summer.

I've heard great stuff about M1 0w30, but M1s "thin" oil has me a bit iffy. I'm kinda hoping this M1 Racing oil is my holy grail. I'll be watching closely..

 

[buster]

quote:

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I'm kinda hoping this M1 Racing oil is my holy grail. I'll be watching closely..

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I am too. I hope Mobil comes through and delivers an awesome oil. I still think at $4.78qt, Mobil 1 is tough to beat. It's not for everyone or every engine I should say, but it's no wonder they own the market. Amsoil ASL/ATM as well. For the mony they are tough to beat. Amsoil's availability can be annoying but my shipments come in 1-2 days max.

Mobil has added the links to the Mobil 1 homepage. I just want the specs!!

This oil will have to be really good for me to buy it. They should have just made there regular 0w-30 better from the start like GC and Amsoil have.

Typical big oil company saving a few $$'s.

[ December 14, 2003, 05:41 PM: Message edited by: buster ]