YAFT - Yet Another Freezer Test....

[rcy]

My freezer is -16 celsius. Bored yesterday and today (waiting for OLM's in both cars to LET me change the oil

) so yesterday I put a litre of Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 (the newer formula) and a litre of Quaker State Synthetic 5w20 and left in 24hrs. Today, the both looked exactly the same to me (consistency of maple syrup when refrigerated would be my best description), possibly with the 5w20 'appearing' a bit more fluid. Certainly, they were thicker than room temp.

Today, I placed equal amounts of Quaker State dino 5w20 and Esso XD-3 0w30 in mason jars and placed them in the freezer (mason jars because I only have 4 litre jugs of these oils). It's only been about 8hrs, but oddly enough, the QS dino 'appears' more fluid than the XD-3. Is there something wrong with my eyes, or is there more to fluidity than the first W in a rating?

Just as an aside, I rather like the smell of the XD-3 - kinda sweetish smelling to me (is this a PAO thing), whereas the QS smelled like rotten eggs - kinda sulphurish.

 

[yugrus]

I'm not surprised at all. I don't remember numbers or where I saw them, but XD-3 is thicker then probably any other oil (except GC?) through the entire temperature range, down to -35C. Only there its viscosity becomes less then average, that's how it gets its 0W designation. QS 5w20 will be thicker at that temperature.
That’s why I’ll use 25% or 50% Mobil1 0w30 and 75% or 50% XD-3 this weekend when I change my oil for the winter.

 

[rcy]

Guess I'll be using the XD-3 in my lawnmower then, and not my Honda Odyssey spec'ing 5w20. I have to find a good 0w20 up here in my neck of the woods. Only place I've seen it so far is the Honda stealer at $9.99 a litre!!!! Plus, the parts guy said 'it's only for the Hybrid', like that was gonna stop me.

 

[427Z06]

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My freezer is -16 celsius. Bored yesterday and today...

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Then you might enjoy the video I'm in the process of putting together of some 20w50 at a similar temperature.

 

[double vanos]

Interesting results. In my freezer tests Castrol Syntec 5w30 was the only oil to really thicken up to the point of barely flowing, leading me to think it is a straight GrpIII with no IV or V mixed in. The Syntec oils that we know are more than GrPIII alone (5w20, 0w30, 5w50 and BMW's synthetic 5w30) all exhibited excellent cold temp fluidity. As a matter of fact, the Syntec blends appeared to as fluid as the M1 5w30 and 5w20 I tested prior to the Syntec tests. With all this talk of everyone going to Grp III oils instead of PAO's maybe the oil formulators have figured out that III,IV, V blend performs as well, if not better than straght PAO's. What say ye all?

 

[Rand]

More like it performs similarly but cheaper cost to them

 

[rcy]

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Interesting results. In my freezer tests Castrol Syntec 5w30 was the only oil to really thicken up to the point of barely flowing, leading me to think it is a straight GrpIII with no IV or V mixed in. The Syntec oils that we know are more than GrPIII alone (5w20, 0w30, 5w50 and BMW's synthetic 5w30) all exhibited excellent cold temp fluidity. As a matter of fact, the Syntec blends appeared to as fluid as the M1 5w30 and 5w20 I tested prior to the Syntec tests. With all this talk of everyone going to Grp III oils instead of PAO's maybe the oil formulators have figured out that III,IV, V blend performs as well, if not better than straght PAO's. What say ye all?

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All the oils I tested still flowed fairly well (like I said, imagine refrigerated maple syrup (the artificial kind, not the 100% pure). They all definitely thickened up though. Mostly I was surprised that the 5w20 QS dino seemed to flow better than the 0w30 XD-3 synth.

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

So, once past the mumbo jumbo and engineering, I have one question. Are groupIII synthetics largely Wax-Free?

 

[BlazerLT]

My XD3 freezer test had it acting the same as the Castrol Syntec 5w30 I was comparing it to.

For a winter mix, I substitute a quart for a M1 5w20 to thin it out. Works great!

 

[bruce381]

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So, once past the mumbo jumbo and engineering, I have one question. Are groupIII synthetics largely Wax-Free?

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Yes

bruce

 

[427Z06]

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My XD3 freezer test had it acting the same as the Castrol Syntec 5w30 I was comparing it to.

For a winter mix, I substitute a quart for a M1 5w20 to thin it out. Works great!

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No M1 0w20 up there?

 

[BlazerLT]

They used to, but you can't find it anymore. I think the difference is minimal anyways.

 

[yugrus]

PartsSource carries M1 0w20 here, but as BlazerLT said, what's a point?..

 

[Cujet]

The new M1 15-50 flows like very thick honey at 10 below F. M1 truck and SUV 5-40 flows much better.

Chris

 

[shrek01GT]

I wouldn't be concerned so much about pour point, but rather the CCS rating. (Cold Cranking Simulator)

Example:

XD3 5w30
Pour Point = -48
CCS Viscosity @ -30 = 5900

Chevron Supreme Syn 5w30
Pour Point = -36
CCS Viscosity @ -30 = 3700

So even though the XD3 has the lower temperature pour point, the chevron is going to flow better at -30.

 

[G-MAN]

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My freezer is -16 celsius. Bored yesterday and today...

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Then you might enjoy the video I'm in the process of putting together of some 20w50 at a similar temperature.

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Sounds like it will be as exciting as watching paint dry.

 

[BlazerLT]

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I wouldn't be concerned so much about pour point, but rather the CCS rating. (Cold Cranking Simulator)

Example:

XD3 5w30
Pour Point = -48
CCS Viscosity @ -30 = 5900

Chevron Supreme Syn 5w30
Pour Point = -36
CCS Viscosity @ -30 = 3700

So even though the XD3 has the lower temperature pour point, the chevron is going to flow better at -30.

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Yea, but I bet you the Chevron thickens up quite fast when the temps get even colder.

 

[427Z06]

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My freezer is -16 celsius. Bored yesterday and today...

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Then you might enjoy the video I'm in the process of putting together of some 20w50 at a similar temperature.

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Sounds like it will be as exciting as watching paint dry.

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Watching paint dry IS more exciting.

 

[fpny]

I did the same type of freezer test on three 5W30 oil last night. Castrol GTX dino and HM and Q Advanced engine synthetic. The temperature inside the freezer went down as low as 18 degree F. Interesting eough, the Q Adanced engine oil seems to flow the least when I took all of the out of the freezer. I thought synthetic oil suppose to flow better than dino oil at low temperature. The result surprises me. Any idea why?

 

[427Z06]

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The temperature inside the freezer went down as low as 18 degree F.

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Not really low enough to see the difference. Need to take it down to 0°F. Further, new oil should be conditioned at 180°F for about 5 hours.