Which oil for hot summers in Houston, TX?

Pennzoil motor oil
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djmc

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I'm a new member for a couple of weeks now and this site is addicting, at least for me. So here my question for you experts.

Here in Houston we have a hot summer of about 6 months, with temperatures of 80F-100F or more every day. Now I can easily find information which oil to use in cold climates, but for hot climates this information is hard to find.

I maintain the following cars:
Ford Escape, 2003, V6, 80,000 miles.
Volvo 850 (non turbo), 1997, 2.4 V5, 150,000 miles.

Both cars run recommended oil by MF:
Ford > 5W20 (dino Castrol GTX, with PureOne filter)
Volvo > 10W30 (dino Valvoline Maxlife, with PureOne filter)

Now my question: Which oil should I use for the upcoming summer? Do I have to stick with the MF recommendations, especially for the Ford, or can I switch to 5W30 for the Ford and 10W40 for the Volvo.
As our winters here are very mild I'm more interested in the figure behind the W, if you know what I mean.
 
On the hot end of things you use the same oil. If your situation includes something that falls into severe duty, then you shorten the OCI. I don't think either will suffer too much if you get nervous and go heavier in the BIG HEAT of Texas.

You didn't mention how long you keep the oil in your vehicles. Do you follow the recommended OCI?

welcome.gif


You really can't argue the point of The Texas Heat Wave You have to cope the best you can.
 
People here have said that the 5w-20 is actually a better viscosity over a conventional 5w30 oil - reason for that, is the 5w30 conventional oils shear down to a 5w-20 within a short 1k miles or so anyway.

If you are wanting to use a 5w30 oil in the Ford; I'd recommend a more shear stable oil. For instance, I've heard the Maxlife 5w30 is a decent oil and is actually a synthetic blend.

Otherwise, I'd personally be using 5w-20 Motorcraft oil in that Ford - it too is a synthetic blend.

For the Volvo - keep it on the Maxlife, if you do a lot of highway highspeed driving in the summer, you may have a need for a 10w-40, or if it burns more then a qt in 3-4k miles, otherwise, 10w30 should be ok.
 
Ford:
Motorcraft Synthetic Blend 5W-20 (A high percentage Group II+/Group III Synthetic Blend). Usually a pretty good deal at WalMart. ($10.00 for 5 Qt @ Wal Mart)

Volvo:
Rotella T Synthetic (Group III) 5W-40.
($14.00 Gal @ WalMart).
With the reformulation to CJ-4 it is a even better gasoline oil due to lower ash.

Both:
In most cases because of industry standards the modern 5w30 is a better built oil than the 10w30. I would go with Maxlife 5w30 which Group II+ and 20% Group IV PAO Synthetic instead of the 10w30 which likely is only Group II and maybe a lesser level of PAO.

If you go with a conventional 10W-40 you need to be careful about the basestocks as many are primarily Group I and have a reputation for shearing. The only one I know for sure is at least 75% Group II is Motorcraft 10W-40.

PS TropArtic is made by the same company as Motorcraft and is likely pretty close at least in 5W-20 and 5w30. I cant say about 10w30 or 10W-40.
 
I used to have a '96 Volvo 850 and my recollection is that the manual actually preferred 15w40 for hot summer conditions. Also those Volvos have a marginal crankcase ventilation system which IMO begs for synthetic oils with their lower volatility. I would use one of the 5W-40 synthetic oils like Rotella T Synthetic, Valvoline Synpower, Castrol Syntec, etc. for the summer in an 850. Winter time in Houston I would run any good 5w30 synthetic.
 
I live in Magnolia, TX and maintain a 2000 Tundra V-8, 2003 G35 V-6 and a 2004 S2000 I-4. I have used PP and Maxlife synthetic with 5K mile OCI's on these vehicles with no evidence of shearing on 5W30 or 10W30 (several used oil analysis). I don't have any experience with 5W20 oil since it's not recommended in my cars, but would use it if it were recommended until a used oil analysis told me to do otherwise.
 
I would lean toward a synthetic in the reccomended weight for both cars for peace of mind in the heat.

What is the typical use of each car? How long is your commute? If your commute is on I10 it could be just like stop and go city driving depending on the time of day!

I don't use a heavier oil because of the temps. Some here will say a heavier oil will run hotter, I haven't run anything other than a xw-30 so can't give any personal results.

welcome.gif
 
Can't speak for the Ford.

But in the 850 NA, a blend or Full Synthetic 10w30 is more than robust enough for your climate. If you can afford it, try GC, which is a borderline 40 and can go very long intervals. In a NA white block, run a bona fide 40 only if you have a consumption issue. The NA engines are easy on oil. Keep the flame trap and related lines clear; your RMS will thank you for it.

No self-respecting Volvo owner would use other than a Mann; ditch the Purolator.
 
Thank you all for your replies. Really helpful.

I do my OCI every 3k-5k. The Volvo drives a lot of stop and go, even on the highway (I290 for locals) and about 30 miles a day. The same for the Ford actually.
(And yes Volvohead, I know I have to use Mann as a self-respecting Volvo owner, but I had no time to get one onces I had time to change the oil. Mann filters are not available around the corner if the dealership is closed, where they are expensive anyway. PureOne is a good alternative.)

So, for the Volvo I stick to 10W30, but will change to Maxlife Syn.
Regarding the Ford it looks like Motorcraft 5W20 syn blend is a good one. I noticed that nobody is saying that Castrol GTX is good, what I'm currently using? Something I should know?
 
Quote:

I noticed that nobody is saying that Castrol GTX is good, what I'm currently using? Something I should know?

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Likely just as good as any other 5w-20, especially if it's SM/GF-4 and Ford WSS-M2C930-A rated.
 
Quote:

The GTX is ok, but the Motorcraft is probably better and cheaper.

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They're about the same price in my neighborhood. What statistically valid evidence do you have that one is better than the other?
 
Quote:

Quote:

The GTX is ok, but the Motorcraft is probably better and cheaper.

Click to expand...


They're about the same price in my neighborhood. What statistically valid evidence do you have that one is better than the other?

Click to expand...

Just from looking at some used oil analysis of the 2 (in my very limited knowledge) Motorcraft seems to be better, but there do seem to be more motorcraft used oil analysis there, so it could be biased. GTX is about $.20-.30 more /qt than Motorcraft around here. Nothing wrong with the GTX (or really any SM oil).
 
I don't think Texas heat is a problem for any currently speced oils. Coolant and cooling systerms would be the primary concern to maintain and of course..the AC.
 
" The GTX is ok, but the Motorcraft is probably better and cheaper. "

That is highly subjective and I doubt it is true. Some people are all excited by the Semi-synthetic marketing of the Connoco oils. It seems that they had to mix some Group III into their base oil to meet GF4 specs, and turned it into are marketing angle. Maybe BP-Castrol is getting there by using a higher grade base oil to start with. Maybe Castrol uses a similar blend of base oils as Connoco does but doesn't say so on the label in order to protect the marketing position of Syntec Blend. I don't know what the situation is, but the idea that Connoco's oils are superior to other conventional oils *because* Connoco labels them a synthetic blend is a false conclusion based on marketing. I see many people on the 'net reach that conclusion and Connoco must be laughing themselves silly over it as this is probably exactly what they were hoping for. By Connoco I mean all of the various brands they sell their stuff under, including 76, Phillips, Motorcraft, etc.
 
Agreed! All the oils mentioned are fine for duty. For Texas, Myself...I would use a 5w30 syn-blend like the Motorcraft - then a 5W-40 for the Volvo. If consumption increases, just try another brand in the same weight
 
Quote:



Here in Houston we have a hot summer of about 6 months, with temperatures of 80F-100F or more every day. Now I can easily find information which oil to use in cold climates, but for hot climates this information is hard to find.



Click to expand...


100F isn't particularly hot and cars don't care about humidity, so you don't need to do anything special for your climate. It's not hot as far as a car engine is concerned.
 
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