Petition to stop using the term "weight"

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People use the term Weight when they mean Grade. I believe that the separator "W" adds to the confusion. It does not mean "winter" according to the SAE (yes, I did actually ask them).

I proposed another labeling method some years ago. I am sure they have given it some thought as there is continuous confusion.

aehaas
 
Originally Posted By: AEHaas
People use the term Weight when they mean Grade. I believe that the separator "W" adds to the confusion. It does not mean "winter" according to the SAE (yes, I did actually ask them).


aehaas


I'm not doubting what you say Dr. but that being the case we aren't the only ones that are getting it wrong. Valvoline posted on their web site that the "W" stands for winter.
http://www.valvoline.com/car-care/motor-oil-myths/
 
Originally Posted By: AEHaas
I believe that the separator "W" adds to the confusion. It does not mean "winter" according to the SAE (yes, I did actually ask them).

aehaas


You fail to mention the secret knowledge. For what does the "W" stand according to the SAE?
 
It does stand for winter as far as I've ever known. But that's not why I say weight. I say weight because it irritates people.
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Sounds like a good idea. It reminds me of shop class in the 70's. People would refer to engines which ran on fuel, as motors. The shop teacher would inform them that motors run on electric, not fuel. If someone in my shop class refered to what was under the hood in their gasoline powered car as a motor, it got them an "F" in shop class. LOL, some things you never forget!


Ha ha. My dad asked me that one time. "Why do they always call the engine a 'motor' during a NASCAR race? A 'motor' runs on electricity; an 'engine' runs on gasoline."

I suggested that Ford Motor Company didn't start out on electric motors, nor did the Cadillac Motor Car Division of General Motors. Most of what the Toyota Motor Corporation builds includes gasoline-powered vehicles. Same with the Honda Motor Company.
 
Whenever I step on the bathroom scale in the morning, it tells me that I need to lose some viscosity. Even in the winter. I must receive a failing grade, because ISO fat.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Sounds like a good idea. It reminds me of shop class in the 70's. People would refer to engines which ran on fuel, as motors. The shop teacher would inform them that motors run on electric, not fuel. If someone in my shop class refered to what was under the hood in their gasoline powered car as a motor, it got them an "F" in shop class. LOL, some things you never forget!


Ha ha. My dad asked me that one time. "Why do they always call the engine a 'motor' during a NASCAR race? A 'motor' runs on electricity; an 'engine' runs on gasoline."

I suggested that Ford Motor Company didn't start out on electric motors, nor did the Cadillac Motor Car Division of General Motors. Most of what the Toyota Motor Corporation builds includes gasoline-powered vehicles. Same with the Honda Motor Company.


I don't remember if it was this forum or another one - but we had a long discussion on this very topic.

Something I find interesting - Valvoline calls it "motor oil"
http://www.valvoline.com/products/consumer-products/motor-oil/


Mobil calls it "engine oil".
http://www.mobil.us/USA-English-LCW/carengineoils.aspx

Pennzoil calls it both "motor oil" and "engine oil"
http://www.pennzoil.com/#/about-motor-oil

Quaker State calls it "motor oil".
http://www.quakerstate.com/#/motor-oil

But I agree - like was already posted General Motors - Ford Motor Co. etc. !
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
My dad asked me that one time. "Why do they always call the engine a 'motor' during a NASCAR race? A 'motor' runs on electricity; an 'engine' runs on gasoline."

I suggested that Ford Motor Company didn't start out on electric motors, nor did the Cadillac Motor Car Division of General Motors. Most of what the Toyota Motor Corporation builds includes gasoline-powered vehicles. Same with the Honda Motor Company.


Do you really want to know what's up with "motor" and "engine"? Both words are derived from Latin. "Motor" denotes something that that moves. The word "engine" describes an ingenious device.

For some reason, in English, the words engine and motor are not always used interchangeably due to arbitrarily assigned meaning.
 
Our NRMA (National Road and Motorists Association) must be truly ahead of it's time...Electric cars haven't hit yet.
 
Motor is an accepted term for a gasoline engine. Weight is an accepted term for viscosity grade - it's primary advantage being it is easier to pronounce. If the letter W, as utilised by the API for the Winter rating of a multigrade oil, is not Winter, I have yet to read a proper publication stating it to be otherwise. Only the API "C" denoting "Commercial" rather than "COMPRESSION" has been called into scrutiny of late. NO re-education required here, I'd say, only wasteful nitpicking.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Volvo_ST1
Originally Posted By: AEHaas
I believe that the separator "W" adds to the confusion. It does not mean "winter" according to the SAE (yes, I did actually ask them).

aehaas


You fail to mention the secret knowledge. For what does the "W" stand according to the SAE?



I am patiently waiting for an answer regarding the actual meaning of "W" according to the SAE.
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Only the API "C" denoting "Commercial" rather than "COMPRESSION" has been called into scrutiny of late. NO re-education required here, I'd say, only wasteful nitpicking.


I always knew the Cx and Sx in the API description to mean "Compression" and "Spark", but only recently did I learn that they really mean "Commercial" and "Service".
 
Originally Posted By: d00df00d

Bingo.

It's a source of confusion. A "W" immediately after a number indicates a winter rating; "weight" refers to viscosity grade. "20W" indicates a winter rating of 20W, not a 20-weight oil.

20W-40 = SAE 40 ("40-weight") oil with a 20W winter rating.
20-weight = SAE 20 oil.

The fact that so many people here don't get the difference between a winter rating and a weight tells me that something has to give. We already have better words for "weight," so why not use them and save everyone the confusion?


I'm on the same page. I've always considered it acceptable to call a 0W-30, 5W-30, or 10W-30 a "thirty weight" oil. I don't use the term much though because of the potential confusion.
 
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