Torco SR1 5w20 Sleeper oil?

[dustyjoe1]

Ok guys, here we have a blended group 4/5 oil with gobs of moly and zinc with a vi of 174 and ht/hs of 2.63. I am going to put this in my honda civic ex as soon as I wear out the m1 0w20, which has done well. Anyone try this oil? I haven't seen much on it on this board, I think motorbike was trying it out but have heard nothing else on it. Comments are appreciated.

thanks

r.

 

[Schmoe]

HTHS or 2.63??? Isn't that a little low?

 

[dustyjoe1]

I was a little concerned about that too, However, M1 0w20 hths is 2.61 and it doesn't seem to have hurt it any. In my opinion the oils with good base stocks appear to be very shear stable so that shear number is not a problem. Certainly Torco is made from good base stocks if its a g4/g5 blend. I'm guessing it should keep your engine pretty clean too. We'll see...

 

[Not the Autorx Frank]

for everyones enjoyment

 

[tenderloin]

Appearence amber.

The previous generation Torco was a manly blue in color. It put GC green to shame

 

[mrhonda]

Viscosity @ 100 deg. C = 7.31 Also sounds low to me. dustyjoe1, you're in Texas, right? Why would you want to run something like this anyway? I'd try their 10W-30 or 40, but that's just me.

 

[dustyjoe1]

Mrhonda, Point well taken on the south texas heat, it can be murder, However, I went through last summer's 110 plus heat with pennzoil 5w20. I tend to think a g4/g5 oil can also make the cut. 7.3cst notwithstanding. Why? well, lower viscosity oils make my little engine focus its few ponies where they count...the wheels, rather than on viscous losses. Additionally with gas prices hitting 1.60. I'll take every half mile per gallon I can get.

 

[mrhonda]

True... but I'll be running Delvac 1 (or the Truck/SUV 5w-40), come spring in my Integra. I'm sure my recently calibrated butt-dyno won't notice the 2 whp loss. And I think I can live with a few less km's per tank, at the expense of knowing my engine is well protected. Just my $.02

 

[Scotto]

Do any of you guys know the HTHS for the SR1-5W-30?


I tried getting the aforementioned info from Torco tech support, but the guy there mumbled something about the high cost of the testing to obtain this info.

Thankyou,

Scott

 

[dustyjoe1]

Hmmm...If I had an Integra rather than a civic I might be inclined to agree with you. That twin cam can be a little more spirited and demanding that my humble ohc. Truth be told I have resisted temptation to dump in some havoline synthetic 10/30 several times. Its taken me almost two years to get confy with the 20 wts. So no turning back now. I am really anxious to see how it compares to m1 0w20 seat of the pants. the m1, IMO feels a little sluggish, I expect the torco will tend to rev more freely. I appreciate the input.

 

[dustyjoe1]

Scotto, try emailing this guy, he has put to rest all of my million and one questions so far. Tim Doyle [[email protected]].
r.

 

[Not the Autorx Frank]

REDLINE NUMBERS FOR COMPARISON

 

[edhackett]

The thing that catches my eye with the Torco oils is the lousy pour points. One of the reasons I choose to use a g4/g5 oil is for cold weather performance. Their 5W numbers are worse than most petroleum 10W-30s.

Ed

 

[dustyjoe1]

Ed.. It won't be a problem in south texas, but you do have a good point. Torco states something to the effect that its a mission specific oil. Could that possibly mean that deep freeze flow was not their main objective in designing this oil. I have noticed similar bad cold flow numbers in a couple of the dino 5w20s. My only guess is that they traded off some flowability to enhance other operational ranges. This might be a crappy thought since I don't know it that is how oil design works...maybe someone else can address the question of range trade offs in oil design.
r.

 

[ZiTS]

Does the 5w-20 meet/exceed the Honda (and/or Ford) specification for Xw-20 weight? That would be a big deciding factor for me before choosing to use it.

 

[dustyjoe1]

You know, I saw the sl/gf3 ratings and assumed that it was, But nothing is mentioned on the site that specifically adresses those specs. I guess I'll have to call the tech line, again.

 

[ZiTS]

dustyjoe1,

Let us know what they say (sorry for creating more work for you

). This is very important, though. From everything I've seen, the Honda spec. is more severe and stringent than the API/SAE specs, while the Ford spec. is even stricter than Honda's. If Torco can't provide proof for you, you may want to pass.

 

[dustyjoe1]

here is their reply: "Both Ford and Honda require API-SL and ILSAC GF-3 specifications..SR-1 meets
all of the license requirements."

Not sure this is exactly inspirational wording, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for 5k miles. They have stated in previous correspondence that their SR1 can go to 12k mile oci with a filter change in between. So circumstantial evidence tends to confirm it will work in fords and hondas. In any case I have been monitoring the m1 0w20 I am currently using with 1000 mile interval blotter patterns. I am interested in seeing how the SR1 compares at each interval.
Thanks for the input and I'll keep you guys posted.

r.
r.

 

[ZiTS]

Somebody back me up on this, but based on the reply from Torco that dustyjoe1 posted, I don't think their oil meets the Honda/Ford spec's. It sounds like they're using a play on words - meeting the SL/GF-3 license isn't the same as meeting the Honda/Ford spec's. Whether or not they've actually tried to test against these spec's is one thing, but simply saying their oil meets SL/GF-3 isn't going to cut it.
I'd be very careful if I were you, dustyjoe1. Should an oil related issue arise, and you are found to be using an oil that doesn't meet the Honda spec, you might have quite a battle on your hands.

 

[G-MAN]

Look at the high pour points. I seriously doubt that this oil comprised of PAO and esters with pour points like that.