Royal Purple 5W30 & Cold starting?

[WillB]

You'd loose that bet if you ever took a cold vacation.

I am not in the minority that does not plug vehicles in at home, or at work. Those magnetic oil pan heaters are a joke, a block heater keeps the diesels cranking.

GM has a Cold Weather Developement Center in Northern Ontario for cold weather testing.

Cycle the key and wait for the fuel to pump, then crank. Ive never let me doen. A new top quality battery every 5 years is a necessity.
Originally Posted By: donnyj08
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Not sure what testing an oil below it's rated temperatures is supposed to achieve anyway.


I agree. For the majority of us, it is irrelevant how well an oil flows at -40F. There are a few here that experience those temps, but I'm betting they do not crank their cars at that temperature without some sort of block or oil heater.

A test at -10 or -15F would be more realistic for the coldest of US northern states. Our very north Canadian brothers are the only ones who really need to worry about temps much colder than temps in the negative Teens F

 

[OVERKILL]

Yup, when we got caught in that snow snap in Quebec and it was -30C, that was an unaided start. I also started the M5 unaided at around the same temp. That's why I prefer a 0w-xx.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: WillB
You'd loose that bet if you ever took a cold vacation.

I am not in the minority that does not plug vehicles in at home, or at work. Those magnetic oil pan heaters are a joke, a block heater keeps the diesels cranking.

GM has a Cold Weather Developement Center in Northern Ontario for cold weather testing.

Cycle the key and wait for the fuel to pump, then crank. Ive never let me doen. A new top quality battery every 5 years is a necessity.


You've got to admit that the 0W, which is specifically rated to -40 would be a far better choice than deciding which 5W is "least worst" as per the linked video.

 

[donnyj08]

Originally Posted By: WillB
You'd loose that bet if you ever took a cold vacation.

I am not in the minority that does not plug vehicles in at home, or at work. Those magnetic oil pan heaters are a joke, a block heater keeps the diesels cranking.

GM has a Cold Weather Developement Center in Northern Ontario for cold weather testing.

Cycle the key and wait for the fuel to pump, then crank. Ive never let me doen. A new top quality battery every 5 years is a necessity.
Originally Posted By: donnyj08
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Not sure what testing an oil below it's rated temperatures is supposed to achieve anyway.


I agree. For the majority of us, it is irrelevant how well an oil flows at -40F. There are a few here that experience those temps, but I'm betting they do not crank their cars at that temperature without some sort of block or oil heater.

A test at -10 or -15F would be more realistic for the coldest of US northern states. Our very north Canadian brothers are the only ones who really need to worry about temps much colder than temps in the negative Teens F


I stand Corrected!

I visited Quebec once during February for a week. I only recall it getting right at 0F during that week.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: LubeLuke
Yes. Because often people use things outside of their tested or intended use.

But, there is a risk in that. If a 5w-30 actually passes the 0w-XX testing, then it's not a 5w-30 anymore, and has to be labeled as a 0w-30.

 

[Virtus_Probi]

I am sticking with a 5W30 while my car is under warranty since that is what Subaru recommends for my car, might switch to something like a 0W40 after that. I don't have anyplace to plug my car in when I park it outside up in the Whites during ski season, and the -25F (-32C) mornings are actually great ones to take a few turns because most people will stay away and there are no lift lines. As a result, I prefer to choose 5W30s with a relatively low -30C viscosity.
I wholeheartedly agree that a fairly small percentage of the US driving population is going to have similar concerns...synth oils like RP, Redline, and Castrol are going to work great for them. I wouldn't even look at that test result if I moved back to TX.

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: InfmousCornholio
Seeing is better than reading.

This one test Royal Purple does not do well on.

Something to do with its Group IV nature..


PAO (Group IV) has exceptional cold temp properties, that's why it is used in high quantities in Mobil's products that do the best in the cold temp tests (like the AFE and EP lineup).



True. It makes me think that the API rated RP oils don't have much Group IV content. Even Mobil Super Syn, which is probably all Group III, has better cold flow than RP.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: Garak

But, there is a risk in that. If a 5w-30 actually passes the 0w-XX testing, then it's not a 5w-30 anymore, and has to be labeled as a 0w-30.

What if the company decides to only test for the 5W rating? Or do they hat to test for all grades and see what's the lowest temp. to meet the specification?

 

[WillB]

GM recommends 0W30 during the winter months. But at what temp is it too warm for a 0W30 syn?

I'll put 5W30 syn in this change, then next change, should be around late November, I will throw 0W30 in.

 

[A_Harman]

The general answer is that a 0w30 is still in the same viscosity range at operating temperature as a 5w30, and can be used interchangeably. But check your owner's manual to see if there is a separate recommendation for 0w30.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
What if the company decides to only test for the 5W rating? Or do they hat to test for all grades and see what's the lowest temp. to meet the specification?

That's a very good question. Hopefully someone here in the industry will let us know what the rules are on this, and what the practice is, and if there's any difference between the two.

 

[donnyj08]

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: InfmousCornholio
Seeing is better than reading.

This one test Royal Purple does not do well on.

Something to do with its Group IV nature..


PAO (Group IV) has exceptional cold temp properties, that's why it is used in high quantities in Mobil's products that do the best in the cold temp tests (like the AFE and EP lineup).



True. It makes me think that the API rated RP oils don't have much Group IV content. Even Mobil Super Syn, which is probably all Group III, has better cold flow than RP.


RP API oil is likely majority group III as are most. MSS has outstanding specs. Sometimes the pour points and flash points are just as high as their M1 products. If MSS was priced a little lower I would buy it. If they would price it at $21 a jug like QSUD everyone of us would rave about it. Unfortunately it is priced really high unless it is bought on sale.

 

[GenaFishbeck]

Originally Posted By: WillB
Thank you so much. See the video I posted.

I've never plugged a vehicle in, regardless of cold, last winter was our coldest in 118 years, February never got above -30, and -40 or colder was common all winter long. I've gone places where I have no access to hydro. This is how I found out that Valvoline is a better cold starter than QS and Castrol.
Will Give Pennzoil a try. May stick with it too.
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
http://www.pqiamerica.com/March2013PCMO/Marchsyntheticsallfinal.html

Compare the RP cold flow numbers from the PQIA comparison to all the other synthetics. It is the second-highest of all the oils tested. Get M1 or Pennzoil Ultra if you want good cold-starting viscosity.


Hey WillB - Since you are considering Pennzoil, we wanted to reach out to you about participating in our Used Oil Analysis program. We would like to give you the opportunity to try out our latest full synthetic offerings and get some results/feedback on the oil’s performance from an independent testing facility. Please send us a private message if you are interested in participating. - The Pennzoil Team

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Originally Posted By: Garak

But, there is a risk in that. If a 5w-30 actually passes the 0w-XX testing, then it's not a 5w-30 anymore, and has to be labeled as a 0w-30.

What if the company decides to only test for the 5W rating? Or do they hat to test for all grades and see what's the lowest temp. to meet the specification?


Correct, the product has to be labelled for the lowest w-rating it meets.

 

[WillB]

PM Sent. Thank you.

Originally Posted By: GenaFishbeck
Originally Posted By: WillB
Thank you so much. See the video I posted.

I've never plugged a vehicle in, regardless of cold, last winter was our coldest in 118 years, February never got above -30, and -40 or colder was common all winter long. I've gone places where I have no access to hydro. This is how I found out that Valvoline is a better cold starter than QS and Castrol.
Will Give Pennzoil a try. May stick with it too.
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
http://www.pqiamerica.com/March2013PCMO/Marchsyntheticsallfinal.html

Compare the RP cold flow numbers from the PQIA comparison to all the other synthetics. It is the second-highest of all the oils tested. Get M1 or Pennzoil Ultra if you want good cold-starting viscosity.


Hey WillB - Since you are considering Pennzoil, we wanted to reach out to you about participating in our Used Oil Analysis program. We would like to give you the opportunity to try out our latest full synthetic offerings and get some results/feedback on the oil’s performance from an independent testing facility. Please send us a private message if you are interested in participating. - The Pennzoil Team

 

[MobilinHyundia]

Before last winter, I installed block heaters in both my Hyundai Sonatas. The morning start ups was so much easer. Using my Scangauge11, I noticed the oil temp was much higher at start up and the gas mileage improved A LOT!!!