Same engine,different region,different oil grade,why?

[hungdynasty]

2KBMW, I'm using Mobil1 15W50 in my car now, no blending. Used to use Mobil1 5W50(probably European version) and found that it lost viscosty after like 6000km and the engine start to running a bit rougher, but nothing wrong anyway. Changed to 15W50 the oil was much more stable I think , feeling almost the same as new oil after 10000km. Also tried Castrol RS 10W60(

), probably the German Castrol you call,perfect for the engine, but I could feel a significant power lost in the engine because of the oil thickness.

 

[Hirev]

I let my oil pressure gauge tell me what I need. In winter time I use a 5w 30 or 10w 30. When the temperatures warms up the pressure drops off mostly at idle some at freeway speed. Than I go to a 15w 40.

 

[TallPaul]

quote:

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Originally posted by Hirev:
I let my oil pressure gauge tell me what I need. In winter time I use a 5w 30 or 10w 30. When the temperatures warms up the pressure drops off mostly at idle some at freeway speed. Than I go to a 15w 40.

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I am very interested in such practical uses of the oil pressure gauge. What pressures do you get for winter vs summer and the different weights? I get about the same on 40 wt summer or winter, although I think the 15w40 may hold better in hot weather than the 10w40, but haven't really tested it.

 

[Audi Junkie]

quote:

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I am going to use a
heavy duty 0w40 oil this fall before I
put the car in storage. This oil should
be perfect to use for storage

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...not if it contains hygroscopic esters like most 0w oils. I can't say I've seen this effect, but hypotheticaly, the oil could accumulate water from condensation and oxidize metal componets.
I would use something else.

 

[2KBMW]

Hungdynasty. The German Castrol is the
0w30 weight which is made in Germany.
It is also a high 30 weight like the
BMW 5w30 oil. I thought the 10w60 is
only for the M series engines. If so,
I think it would be too heavy for your
engine. I don't know what temperature
range you have in Hong Kong but if it's
mild in the winter, I would just use
the 15w50 from Mobil.

 

[hungdynasty]

2KBMW there are two kinds of Castrol RS oil in Hong Kong:

RS 10W60
RS 0W40

Never tried RS 0W40 because it cost 20% more than 10W60, but still cheaper than Mobil1 0W40. You are right, and I don't think we need 10W60 oil anywhere in the world other than race tracks, but should not be a big problem if I use it in Hong Kong. This year we get up to 35'C in summer actually. Coldest temperature here in Hong Kong is probably >5'C so a 15W grade oil is good enough.

 

[2KBMW]

Audi Junkie. I plan on using Esso's
XD-3 heavy duty 0w40 100% PAO synthetic.
I discovered this oil by checking out
the availability of Mobil 1 0w40 from
an Esso (ExxonMobil) distributer. This
oil is Esso's best heavy duty for half
the price of Mobil 1. I plan on changing
to this oil around October and then
leaving it in through winter storage.
I'll then change it out next May and
go back to Mobil 1 for next summer.

 

[mf150]

quote:

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Originally posted by Dr. T:
All we can do is take educated guesses...here's what I come up with:

1. The temp-range/viscosity chart you are referring to is correct for standard dino oils. ie. a dino 5-30 should not be used in temps over 5C over the European OCI range.

2. 5-30 is OK for short OCI's...ie. the U.S. mantra of 3k OCI's in low-revving/low-stress pushrod engines driven at low speeds (US highways) in disposable-quality US cars.

3. Euro-cars are usually built with a make-em-to-last mentality. Thin oils don't go along with this line of thinking. Nor does wasting oil (natural resources) with 3k OCI's.

4. Only recently, there are 5-30's with ACEA A3 (HT/HS of 3.5 or greater) in order to satisfy using thinner oil in high-revving/high-stress OHC engines driven at high speeds. eg. GC.

So, if you're going dino, stick with the well-documented, time-tested chart. Otherwise, if you're using a synthetic...use one that is A3 rated. I would recommend at least a 5-40 in your BMW. Should be good for 15k km OCI's.

Fire away

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My mustang must be a 12.9 second naturally asperated throw-away, then. lol. Come to think of it I crapped all over a 2004 BMW M5 on the freeway going about 145+ MPH. How much do those things cost?

 

[2KBMW]

A Ford taking on an M5

Good Luck!

 

[rpn453]

quote:

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Originally posted by 2KBMW:
A Ford taking on an M5

Good Luck!

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In Motor Trend testing, the '03 SVT Cobra had a better 1/4 mile (13.0 at 110.7) than the '02 M5 (13.1 at 109.4) at less than half the price. If mf150's can run a 12.9, then he probably is faster than most M5's. I haven't seen anything on 04's though (are they even available?).

 

[darryld13]

quote:

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Originally posted by Al:

quote:

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Originally posted by hungdynasty:
. Is it like using thicker oil makes the engine burn more fuel and creat pollution??

Just kidding.

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Actually that is the reason for the thinner oils here in the U.S.

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I think this may explain what Al is referring to. To meet stringent air quality standards, automakers need the engines and catalytic converters to heat up to their optimum efficiency's temperature range ASAP - most of the pollution emitted by cars occurs when engine and cat are cold. Thinner oils not only improve MPG for CAFE, but also allows the engine programmers to be more aggressive with cold start idle to warm up quicker to improve pollution control.

 

[Dr. T]

Does the EPA have cold and hot emissions standards?

One would be a fool to do an emissions test with a cold engine. Secondly, thicker oils allow for a quicker warm-up (due to inherently higher friction levels) which should therefore reduce emissions during warm-up phase.

 

[darryld13]

quote:

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Originally posted by Dr. T:
Does the EPA have cold and hot emissions standards?

One would be a fool to do an emissions test with a cold engine. Secondly, thicker oils allow for a quicker warm-up (due to inherently higher friction levels) which should therefore reduce emissions during warm-up phase.

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California and the Feds may be foolish, but both ULEV and SULEV certifications have both cold and warm start HC emissions standards. Auto engineers view the cold start as the biggest and toughest part of the standards. One approach the engineers use is to program engines to run lean at start and want a thin oil to protect ASAP.

[ July 22, 2004, 01:26 AM: Message edited by: darryld13 ]