Hermann
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5W-XX the five is what's important for cold starts. it will be fine.
WRX - Fear of Red Line 5W40 in Chicago Winter
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That's because it's good for most all temps encountered in North America, and because it boosts fuel economy.
Viscosity is not as complicated as people make it, pick a viscosity based on starting temps and use. 15w-50 is not an appropriate viscosity for someone who does mostly short trips to the 7-eleven in the winter, while 0w-20 is not appropriate for someone who drives their car hard on a track for hours on end in the summer heat.
Run a jug of 0W40 FS M1 through Winter. Save the RL to Summer. Though it is too thick.
The viscosity of the Redline you chose is above 100 cSt at very warm ambient temps.!
Which means loss of power and response, especially off-boost and in moderate driving, then Hard starting and slow warmup at near freezing temps
You can tell me I am wrong at the end of the Summer
It was just 0 deg F here last night and I am in New Hampshire near the coast, near Maine.
Have fun, Regardless! I miss the EJ engines even if they were grenades in N.A. open-deck SOHC VTEC form.
5w is 5w, it is good for cold starting down to about -30C, kv40 makes no difference. It doesn't matter if it 100cst at 104°F, that's not too thick to pump or crank.
My point was the RL viscosity is very high at cool (~1000cSt) to ambient temps and will provide very suboptimal warmup driving which could extend for 15 mins or more in cold weather. Note again that the Redline is a marginal 50 grade, where the M1 is marginal 30 grade. Then add having substantial moisture in the sump to contend with in the Winter - assuming some PAO, Di-ester base %.
That is my concern. - Ken
A thicker oil is going to warm up faster than a thinner one.
Because there are reasons that are beyond technical and not necessarily in the best interest of the manufacturer nor the consumer.
True. But you want thinner oil at extremely cold temperatures.
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Also vehicle dependent - my Pentastar warms up way faster than my L83 - on the same oil …
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I lean towards the BrocL doctorate - you can always step up on viscosity later:
Run OEM lubes during warranty - then, bump up one notch … Maybe I saved a few bucks in gas …
This logic allowed me to build a much larger stash of premium oil when cleaning out the shelves at several AZ’s - now my thin stuff is only +/-40% of my stash - and my son got a new Lexus that takes 0W20 …
I think you might agree that the goal in cold weather warmup is to convert engine torque into tractive power, not to take an already abysmal efficiency and divert a goodly % of that energy into heating a sub-optimally specified lubricant through mechanical shearing.
Yes because CAFE is an iron fist that dictates all. Engineers have no say in it, right?
The engineers are working very hard to design engines and vehicle systems that allow the automaker to meet CAFE requirements. And we all are paying for it.
Again there are no technical or mechanical advantages to thinner oils except fuel economy.
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