Viscosity Grade recommendation for Death Valley

[I<3oil]

And yet, here we are..... With TONS of Toyota Tundra V6 bearing failures.
Quote LSJ: "The number one cause of high wear is low viscosity"

Fake news and propaganda by anti-Toyota loyalists

 

[SR5]

You should come to Colorado and see what 12,000ft does to engine temperature.

Yes this density change with altitude should be reflected in the Heat transfer coefficient, the other part of Newton's equation.

 

[OilUzer]

Driving thru Death Valley in the summer, I like to see the thin CAFE crowd going uphill and keeping up with the speed limit and NOT having their windows down (i.e. with A/C on) since you gotta keep the dog cool ...

You've ever watched Scarface?
Death Valley will "Say Hello To Your Little MOFT".

 

[TomYoung]

I see what you are saying, however most if not all owner's manuals have a ambient temperature / Oil viscosity chart recommending thicker oil in summer time.

I have a same route I take many times and yesterday was 91F and my oil temp was about 12F higher than the same route when ambient temp is 64F. This is based on my records taking the same route and with pretty much same (no) traffic, same speed/rpm, etc.

Each engine is different and it's not a one-to-one correspondence but in my case 27F increase in ambient temperature resulted in 12F increase in oil temperature.

There is a reason there are all these recommended engine oil viscosity / temperature charts!
It is "based on science, not emotions!"

Most manuals specify a range of multigrade oils. Winter and summer oils are a thing of the past.

 

[SR5]

While I agree with running a leaner coolant to water ratio (ie more water) for better cooling. The other thing I did when driving through hot and dusty conditions, is to use the compressed air for the tyres at fuel stations to blow out the dust from my radiator. I could certainly see the dust coming off, but it was a very dusty area.

 

[Highlander 1459]

Fake news and propaganda by anti-Toyota loyalists

I believe Toyota already adressed the problem, saying the cause was a cleanliness problem at the factory and has recalled a given number of vehicles... https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota...022-2023-toyota-tundra-and-lexus-lx-vehicles/

 

[billt460]

These products do help and work well. They sell a lot of it out here in the Summer months.

https://www.autozone.com/antifreeze...HOpat4gX-ypRUXWswRhoCv6sQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://rislone.com/products/hy-per-cool-super-coolant/

 

[eljefino]

While I agree with running a leaner coolant to water ratio (ie more water) for better cooling. The other thing I did when driving through hot and dusty conditions, is to use the compressed air for the tyres at fuel stations to blow out the dust from my radiator. I could certainly see the dust coming off, but it was a very dusty area.

Be careful doing this that you don't bend any fins over. The odds are low but if you're doing it weekly, little errors can add up.

 

[edyvw]

Driving thru Death Valley in the summer, I like to see the thin CAFE crowd going uphill and keeping up with the speed limit and NOT having their windows down (i.e. with A/C on) since you gotta keep the dog cool ...

You've ever watched Scarface?
Death Valley will "Say Hello To Your Little MOFT".

What thin oil has to do with all that? Cooling system is what keeps temperature in check.
At 110f going over 5,000ft pass between Las Vegas and LA is far more strenuous than Death Valley. And I did it numerous times, with cars running 0W20 to 5W40, with AC on.

 

[edyvw]

These products do help and work well. They sell a lot of it out here in the Summer months.

https://www.autozone.com/antifreeze...HOpat4gX-ypRUXWswRhoCv6sQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://rislone.com/products/hy-per-cool-super-coolant/

Marketing. Keep 10% coolant concentrate in and it is far more effective. We do it at track all the time. I dilute system in BMW in May and increase concentration in October.

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

OP isn’t in Kiwi land. He lives in ‘Murica so he’s using the standard bald eagle measurements. Get with the program and throw another shrimp on da barbie

Neither is the Australian guy...

It's almost like the people in this thread don't think the engines/cars are extensively tested at 130° by the manufacturers.

 

[SR5]

Be careful doing this that you don't bend any fins over. The odds are low but if you're doing it weekly, little errors can add up.

Yes I agree, that was the worry.
I only used the analog trigger type, that allowed a controlled flow, not too aggressive.

When I worked for an outback mining company, one of my jobs was to remove the big air filter from the loaders and trucks every day, and blow out all the dust with compressed air. We had a special rig to do it, supported the filter and allowed you to blow it out from the inside ie. back the way it came.

 

[Haakon]

OP isn’t in Kiwi land. He lives in ‘Murica so he’s using the standard bald eagle measurements. Get with the program and throw another shrimp on da barbie

Im not in Kiwi land either. Although to be fair, it an easy mistake to make - its essentially you guys, Myanmar, and Liberia versus everyone else. I'm in the "everyone else" category

 

[edyvw]

Yes this density change with altitude should be reflected in the Heat transfer coefficient, the other part of Newton's equation.

Another problem is compromised cooling system. If you have deteriorated hoses or coolant reservoir, think of exploding bag of chips at an airplane.

 

[kschachn]

Marketing. Keep 10% coolant concentrate in and it is far more effective. We do it at track all the time. I dilute system in BMW in May and increase concentration in October.

Yes a properly formulated coolant has the same surfactants and other inhibitors as the water wetter. Only if you are using plain water do these products actually make a difference.

But I would not go below the manufacturer’s minimum coolant concentration away from a track. Most of the time that’s 30%. At this concentration a properly operating cooling system will handle Death Valley.

 

[edyvw]

Yes a properly formulated coolant has the same surfactants and other inhibitors as the water wetter. Only if you are using plain water do these products actually make a difference.

But I would not go below the manufacturer’s minimum coolant concentration away from a track. Most of the time that’s 30%. At this concentration a properly operating cooling system will handle Death Valley.

Audi recommends 10% for track in S4 manual.

 

[PWMDMD]

Fake news and propaganda by anti-Toyota loyalists

It's hard to understand how blocks made in Japan for the LX and blocks made in the US for the Tundra have the same "cleanliness" problem. It's hard to square the explanation given with what is known.

 

[OilUzer]

Hyundai "cleanliness" or "debris" in the block end up to be bearing design or quality control issues iirc. And they were very good about it and covered everyone and gave extended or life engine warranty!

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

I am still in awe that people think that oil knows what ambient temperature is.

Probably the same group that thinks oil cares what the wind chill is in winter for startup viscosity

 

[PWMDMD]

Hyundai "cleanliness" or "debris" in the block end up to be bearing design or quality control issues iirc.

Exactly...and to recall that many non-hybrids at least hints that the issue is widespread enough to be design-related, IMO.