Viscosity Index

[unDummy]

Mobil1 0w40 and Syntec 0w30 are excellent choices for spring to fall towing. You can go back to the thinner oil in the winter.

If they still use the ph3614 sized filter, to increase oil capacity, you can usually fit the ph3600 or ph8a filter. This helps with temperature, which in turn helps PSI... and if there is more wear, you have more media.

For the transmission, consider an ATF filter, like the Magnefine.

Towing 4500lbs, along with passengers/luggage, just about doubles the strain on the drive train. It'll double the amount of fuel you use, doubles the amount of heat buildup in engine & transmission.... It puts you automatically in severe service maintenance, along with additional common sense maintenance intervals often forgotten by the automaker.

 

[cmills]

I won't be doing a lot of towing, most of when I do will be around 2000lbs-2500lbs.. The 4Runners now use a cartridge style filter.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: cmills

I'm not sure how much extra Zinc and Phosphorus is in the Mobil 0W-40 and GC 0W-30, but do you think it is enough to cause catalytic converter problems or any other emission system problems?


If you're burning enough engine oil for those oils to damage your emissions components, you've got FAR bigger problems to worry about.

The low ZN/P limits are extreme to the point of silliness, IMO. Yes, if you look at the whole fleet, lots of people are going to abuse cars to the point that they're hopeless oil-burners and the lower levels will (to a degree) prolong the life of the emissions systems. But for a well-maintained car its just NOT an issue.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: cmills
I won't be doing a lot of towing, most of when I do will be around 2000lbs-2500lbs.. The 4Runners now use a cartridge style filter.


With no more weight than that, why bother increasing oil thickness at all? Assuming all your coolers are in good shape, it really shouldn't be an issue with Xw20 or Xw30 oil. There are Ford modular V8s and Dodge 4.7 and Hemi v8s in pickups out there that work 5x that hard for hundreds of thousands of miles on 5w20. I'm not a rabid thin-oil proponent, but then neither do I believe that you have to go thick every summer, and thin oils do carry heat away from vital engine components better than thick, especially in engines designed with thin oils in mind.

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: unDummy

Towing 4500lbs, along with passengers/luggage, just about doubles the strain on the drive train. It'll double the amount of fuel you use, doubles the amount of heat buildup in engine & transmission....

So the engine oil temp' is going to jump from 90C-100C to 200C?
I don't think so. If cmills saw more than a 10C rise in oil temp's I'd be surprised.

cmills, I think you made a fine oil choice for summertime towing.

 

[cmills]

Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
Originally Posted By: unDummy

Towing 4500lbs, along with passengers/luggage, just about doubles the strain on the drive train. It'll double the amount of fuel you use, doubles the amount of heat buildup in engine & transmission....

So the engine oil temp' is going to jump from 90C-100C to 200C?
I don't think so. If cmills saw more than a 10C rise in oil temp's I'd be surprised.

cmills, I think you made a fine oil choice for summertime towing.


Thanks, I might just use them both, plus I still have some Cenpeco synthetic blend 5w30 that I used to run in our Altima.

 

[unDummy]

Engine BTU output will double. Its about to the cooling system to maintain the temp. Don't confuse the BTU with temp.
Most cooling systems are just adequate.
Too much strain and... runaway.

 

[ltslimjim]

Yes, if towing in that car, I would have at least have a 30 operating temp viscosity oil during the summer. Year round 30 or perhaps 40 for OCD is still viable, perhaps 20 in the winter if no towing is performed.

 

[cmills]

I think part of my problem is that maybe I am getting caught up in using synthetic too much. If I could get our scanner to work I would post my UOA from our Altima when I was using Cenpeco, which I thought was pretty good.

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: unDummy
Engine BTU output will double. Its about to the cooling system to maintain the temp. Don't confuse the BTU with temp.
Most cooling systems are just adequate.
Too much strain and... runaway.

Towing may double the power demands on the engine but that is not saying much considering how little power is required to maintain say a 70 mph cruise. Even occasional full throttle acceleration, if required to get up to speed, passing or hill climbing won't permanently raise oil temp's because as soon as you return to one's normal cruise speed the oil temp's immediately drop back down if there was any noticeable increase in the first place.

The OP has chosen to go with a 30% heavier oil than spec'. That's a huge safety margin increase over what's already built it to the spec' oil grade. There is virtually no way the minimum oil pressure spec'is going to be tested by towing a 2,500 lb trailer.

 

[cmills]

Originally Posted By: cmills
I think part of my problem is that maybe I am getting caught up in using synthetic too much. If I could get our scanner to work I would post my UOA from our Altima when I was using Cenpeco, which I thought was pretty good.


Well I got it scanned, but we can't seem to get it to work with the code block, is it different because we have a MAC?

 

[ltslimjim]

Why don't you just visit http://imageshack.us and upload the file from your computer of the scan, then post direct link of it here?

 

[cmills]

Originally Posted By: ltslimjim
Why don't you just visit http://imageshack.us and upload the file from your computer of the scan, then post direct link of it here?


Thanks, I think we got it up in the UOA forum, under Cenpeco 5w30 synthetic blend 08 Nissan Altima

See what you think, should I stick with it or go to PU or M1?

 

[JDD]

Please stop answering this guy's questions----! Every answer just brings another question. 4 pages is enough for this post. Note to cmills: see CATERHAM's reply and don't overthink it---there is no magic silver bullet oil. There are MANY good choices.

 

[cmills]

Originally Posted By: JDD
Please stop answering this guy's questions----! Every answer just brings another question. 4 pages is enough for this post. Note to cmills: see CATERHAM's reply and don't overthink it---there is no magic silver bullet oil. There are MANY good choices.


I'm done, I just wanted to finally get the UOA up which turned out to be a small job in itself.

Thanks to all for the good info.