What to do with all this Tri-Syn?

[geekysteve]

First of all, I'd like to say that this board is truly a blessing! I've been religiously reading it for the past few weeks, and the information contained within is nothing short of incredible. Talk about a great community, and tons of information...I can only hope that eventually, I'll be able to contribute in one form or another. I have a few questions: 1) When SuperSyn came out, I (like many others) quickly raced around town, trying to buy up all of the old TriSyn...as a result, I have about 20, 5-qt bottles of M1 Tri-Syn 10w30... My current change intervals are 3000 miles, so this should last me quite a bit (2 vehicles). 2) My last oil analysis on our Tahoe showed some slightly higher wear numbers; the lab (Blackstone) said it might be due to using 10w30 in a motor intended for 5w30?? Is it time for a new lab?? 3) Opinions on 10w30 in a 1.8T - VW recommends 5w40; I'm somewhat hesitant to use 0w40 because of all of teh FII's. I live in a consistently warm (well, warmer than Wisconsin) climate, so I'm not sure that the 0w would be of much benefit. Perhaps I could trade the 10w30 for 5w30 at Wal-Mart? Thanks in advance for any insight and info.

 

[williar]

From what I've read on this board, I'd go with 0W40, or 0W30 in the winter. You need the low winter viscosity to properly lube the engine & turbo on startup, when most of the wear occurs - even if it's not cold outside. Don't use the 10Wx stuff in a 1.8t at any time of the year. Use 5Wx if you have to, but I think 0W40 is better. I think you'd find with an oil analysis that you can go at least 5K before you need to change the tri-syn or supersyn oil.

 

[Patman]

First of all, I could be wrong but I thought that Mobil 1's 0w40 actually has less VII in it than their 5w30s and 0w30s do, because it's a better built oil to start with. Perhaps someone else could confirm this. As well, if Blackstone is saying that 10w30 is a problem in an engine that specifies 5w30, then it's definitely time for a new lab. That's just crazy talk. There is no reason you can't go with 10w30 in an engine that uses 5w30, it won't harm a thing. It'll just flow a tiny bit slower in extreme cold, but in normal temps, even if it's 20 or 30F, it'll flow just about the same on a cold start. I'm not sure what I would do with all that old TriSynthetic stuff. It's still a very good oil, however the new formula appears to be a lot better. Perhaps donate the oil to Goodwill?

 

[MolaKule]

Another alternative would be to add Schaeffer's #132 (about 5 oz.) and do an analysis at 5k.

 

[MolaKule]

Of course, I meant add this to the Tri-Syn.

 

[Jay]

According to the viscosity charts I have from Mobil, the 5w-30 is about 420cSt @ 32 deg F. The 10w-30 is 510cSt. So the 10w-30 is about 20% thicker at freezing temps. It's not too far-fetched to say this could cause increased wear at start-up. Did your extra wear occur during the winter months? You are wasting oil by changing Mobil 1 at 3,000 mile intervals.

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by Jay: You are wasting oil by changing Mobil 1 at 3,000 mile intervals.

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Everytime I mention this to my car club buddies, or to other people I know on the internet, it creates such a huge argument, but it is so true.

 

[widman]

The higher wear metals could be comming from cleaning of what was left behind by the other oils. And Changing that product before 5,000 is a waste of time and money. In your climate I see no reason for 5w30 instead of 10w30. Legally they could even be identical.

 

[geekysteve]

Jay- you're correct; the last oil analysis I had done on the Tahoe was in February of 2002. We had just hit 10K miles, and I sent my first M1 sample to the lab for analysis (had sent the dino in previously). For note, our winter temps hit the mid teens, sometimes lower. Our vehicles are garaged nightly, though my wife parks outside during the day while she's at work. So, from what I gather from the replies, I should probably keep using the M1 10w30, perhaps adding some moly to the oil with each oil change. I will do that, and will post the results of my next analysis. Thanks guys!

 

[sprintman]

geekysteve Go with the 0W40. The 0W40 TS on a Timken blew everything away here until Redline tested (and it was similar). Hoping to get SS version and the new Delvac 1 formulation for Timken testing tomorrow.