Which oil to thin out Redline 10w40

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e36'n

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Hello all,

I drive a 92 BMW 325is turbo and usually use GC 0w-30. I am considering switching to Redline and my first choice would be 5w-40, but I can't get a good deal on it and is not worth ~$12/L. However, I can get Redline 10w-40 at $8.xx CDN/L and 5w30 and a similar price as well.

Seeing as I'd like to thin out the 10w-40 to a 5w-40 or 0w-40 as it gets quite cold here, what would be the best oil to thin it out slightly? Another redline oil, GC, etc...?

Thanks.
cheers.gif
 
If I were going to thin out Red Line I would do it with another one of their products. Do you know what the pour point is on the Red Line 10W40. I bet it's not much different than the 5W40 and would work just fine in your application and location. If in doubt, call Red Line. They are glad to help.
 
If you really think you need to then 5w30 in a half and half spit would be 7W-35 or so.... I know it would either be a 30 or 40 depending on exactly where it fell but you get the point.

If 0w30 was you previous oil then 5w30 would be closer to a 40 in many ways giving you what I think you were after in the first place. I would just try 5w30 and see what you think.

Unless you are racing that thing 10W-40 might actually be overkill.
 
I agree with johnny on the 5w-40, but if you can't get it
at a reasonable price, use the RL 5w30.

If you don't mind me asking, were you having some cold
weather start up problems with the GC. I know that your
living in a pretty extreme cold weather climate.
 
I've run Redline 10W-40 in my '86 325e forever...works great even in Vail, Colorado winters at 8000 ft MSL.

I even thought of running it in our 1996 325iC..but used GC 0w30 instead.

In Alberta I bet Redline 5w30 would be just fine... or the 10W-40. The 10W-40 is a lot thicker than GC but its pour point is -49F same as 5w30 and 5W-40.

Look at the Redline data:
http://www.redlineoil.com/pdf/4.pdf

5w30 Redline is a bit thinner than GC 0w30 but it is still thicker than ACEA A-3 requires for HTHS.

Redline 10W-40 is thicker than GC and Redline 5W-40 is even a bit thicker in most specs.

I've run Redline 10W-40 where 20W-50 was specified and it has worked fine for hundreds of thousands of miles.

I've used Redline 5W-40 in sub zero and 100F + temps where 5w30 was specified and the 10K oil Used Oil Analysis was great.

Bottom line is Redline is my favorite oil.
 
Wow, thanks for all the quick responses.

Johnny - as Thatwouldbegreat said, the pour point in -45C or -49F, which "should" be fine. I'm not going outside if it's -45C plus windchill.

ewetho - Well the owners manual calls for any oil from 5w30 to 15w40 depending on the temperature. The dealer suggests CS 5w-50 or 5w30 (quite the range hey). I've turbocharged this car, so it definitely needs an oil that will not shear. I track the car as well, but not in the winter obviously. I'd rather not use a 0w30 or 5w30 because of the turbo, although GC is an exception due to it's heavy nature, alluring BITOG following and my experiences with it.

Flux - I haven't ever had cold weather start up problems with this oil, but haven't driven the car yet this winter. My mom's 2001 325ci uses GC as well and has had no problems, even when it was -28C plus windchill a couple weeks ago. Didn't even plug it in.

Thatwouldbegreat - Yeah I've been referring to the redline data and was surprised to find out that their 5w-40 is actually thicker in most aspects than their 10w-40. The notable exception is the CCS viscosity, Poise where 5w-40 is 55@-30C and 10w-40 is 65@-25C. If I'm reading that correct, that's a big difference.


Hmmmm....
 
I and many others have used Redline 5W30 in turbo SAABs with absolutely NO issues. Best d.amn oil I've ever had in my engine.....As was siad earlier, HTHS is still very high for a 30 weight and with all that moly and zddp, I doubt you'll be disappointed.
 
Quote:

Wow, thanks for all the quick responses.

Johnny - as Thatwouldbegreat said, the pour point in -45C or -49F, which "should" be fine. I'm not going outside if it's -45C plus windchill.

ewetho - Well the owners manual calls for any oil from 5w30 to 15w40 depending on the temperature. The dealer suggests CS 5w-50 or 5w30 (quite the range hey). I've turbocharged this car, so it definitely needs an oil that will not shear. I track the car as well, but not in the winter obviously. I'd rather not use a 0w30 or 5w30 because of the turbo, although GC is an exception due to it's heavy nature, alluring BITOG following and my experiences with it.

Flux - I haven't ever had cold weather start up problems with this oil, but haven't driven the car yet this winter. My mom's 2001 325ci uses GC as well and has had no problems, even when it was -28C plus windchill a couple weeks ago. Didn't even plug it in.

Thatwouldbegreat - Yeah I've been referring to the redline data and was surprised to find out that their 5w-40 is actually thicker in most aspects than their 10w-40. The notable exception is the CCS viscosity, Poise where 5w-40 is 55@-30C and 10w-40 is 65@-25C. If I'm reading that correct, that's a big difference.


Hmmmm....

Click to expand...


E36'n... I didn't bring up the -30C CCS data since I thought my post had enough info already.

I can say this:

In Vail, where I've seen -10 to -25 F temps on the coldest mornings: Every car with Redline 5w30, 5W-40, 10W-40, Mobil 1 0W-20, 5W-20, 5w30, 10w30, and Castol GC 0w30 have all started and run well in 10 different cars.

All the synthetics have been 'good enough'.

The Redline and GC oil should show their true colors when you put the power down and run sustained high oil temps.

Redline uses PolyOl Ester and moly...its able to deal with sustained heat, and it seems to behave like one grade thicker oil in some parts of the engine. { like the bearings and turbo }

GC uses PAO and a special synthetic basestock used in gear oils. This may expalin why it is a 0w30 that is fairly thick, even close to a 40 weight, yet is still a 0W at very low temps.

I think what matters is not the 100C vis of 10.6 for Redline 5w30 or the ~12.2 for GC....what matters is the HTHS of 3.8 for Redline and 3.6 for GC.

Both are high enough for the ACEA A3 specs, and should work well in your turboed E36.

In the summer the Redline 10W-40 should give even more protection.

It really depends whether you are in the thin oil or thick oil camp. I'm not so sure that it matters much with oil with this level of quality.
 
BrianWC - I doubt I'd be disappointed either. I'll have to look over some of the UOA of the Redline 5w30.

Thatwouldbegreat - Would you say that you like Redline oils better than GC in your BMW's or are you indifferent? Also, where did you find the HTHS score of 3.6 for GC as I've searched and could never find it.

I'll see what I can get Redline 5w30 for and if it's cheaper than GC, I'll use it in the winter. If not, I'll probably stay with GC or try and get some older stock Esso XD-3 0w-30.

Thanks again.
 
I've run GC in 3 personal cars for around 18 months or so...around 60K miles.

GC seems to be fine, but my overall impression is that I like Redline better.

One thing I notice even on brand new engines is that I see some oil consumption with GC and near zero consumption with Redline.

GC is said to be a mix of at least two different base stocks. One theory is the more volatile components that make GC a 0w30 evaporate ; and so I wonder if GC ends up closer to a 5w30 with use.

I also wonder if Redline doesn't have a different 'purist' approach and uses essentially one basestock with a high viscosity index and their focus is on performance at high temps. The POE basestock has very good cold temp viscosity curve, but it is the heat resistance, oxidative stabiltiy, low volatility, low evaporation, low or zero use of VI improvers, and HTHS numbers that define Redline oil.

I think only Redline 5W-40 has any viscosity index improvers.

Redline may just be a whole lot of expensive POE with a heavy dose of Moly and ZDDP....and may not contain any pour point depressants, or VII's. Like others have said RL may believe in using better base stocks and lots of proven additives....while others may rely on more complex formulas and may rely on the additives or on blending various basestock to try to achieve their goals.


I also feel like the Redline is slightly better when I really push the engines hard....but there is no scientific measurement here, only driving the cars.
 
Quote:

Lube Control maybe? I bet an additive isn't what you had in mind though. It might actually work really well though.

Click to expand...


Why do you think?
 
7k miles right?

I used GC for 15k kms before I went turbo, but sadly didn't get a UOA.
 
Quote:

7k miles right?

I used GC for 15k kms before I went turbo, but sadly didn't get a UOA.

Click to expand...


I use GC at 7K mile intervals also...15,000 Kms or 9300 miles is probably a good max for GC and for Redline 19,000 KM or 12,000 miles is probably a good max service interval.

With an aftermarket turbo, you might want to do a UOA at 6000 miles or so.
 
Quote:

Why would you extend the OCI to 12k miles with redline?

Click to expand...


I like using Redline for 7K miles to 10K miles...but 12K miles is arguably still in bounds per Redline.

Redline says 12K miles to 15K miles. Most people at BITOG, including me, think otherwise and like 7K to 10K.

GC is probably rated the same on BITOG...7K OCI seems fine, yet BMW approved GC might go 15K in a BMW.
 
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