Rotella T SAE 30

[FiremarshalRob]

I'm currently running this oil in my 1996 Geo Metro. At which outdoor temperature should I consider draining this oil and putting in some 5w-30?

I live in Baton Rouge, LA, and our winters aren't that cold down here. Its rare we see temps below 30 degrees F.

Thoughts?

 

[heavyhitter]

Look at the pour point for this oil and go from there.

 

[m37charlie]

To be safe, add about 25 or even 30 deg F. to the pour point and change it before it reaches that temp. Why not use that oil in 10W30 or 15W40 year round?

Charlie

 

[JohnBrowning]

You should be fine if the temp in LA is like Alabama or Gerogia! At the most I would just switch to 15W40 for the winter just to play it safe but you should be ok. I would use valve train noise as my indicator as I doubt you have an oil pressure guage. If the valve train get noisy on cold start up and stay that way longer then you like switch to 15W40 and call it good. Any name brand will do Rotella,Delvac,Pennsoil etc......

 

[FiremarshalRob]

No, I've never considered using any oil weights in my Geo Metro other than 5w-30 or 10w-30. My manual calls for either of those.

I use the Rotella HD 30 b/c I had some spare gallons and I am partial to HDEO's.

I'm just wondering at what point I need to change to a multi blend oil. I want to say I've been told its ok for temps down to 40 deg F, but I never wrote it down.

 

[FiremarshalRob]

Originally Posted By: m37charlie
To be safe, add about 25 or even 30 deg F. to the pour point and change it before it reaches that temp. Why not use that oil in 10W30 or 15W40 year round?

Charlie

Can't find Rotella T 10w-30 down here. I would use it if I could get my hands on it. 15w-40 I'll continue to put in my diesel truck, not my little gas sipper.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

The SAE 30 is prob close to the 10w30. Havent looked at the datasheet yet - but if nothing else its should flow like a 15w in cold due to high quality basestocks used these days. - update I only have a rotella T datasheet that is just 10w30 and 15w40. Pour point is useless - gotta look at cold crank or Mrv. [pp on the 15w40 is -40 btw, but vis would be un-pumbable, even at -20

 

[addyguy]

Officially, guides say to use straight-30 down to 40F (4C). But I imagine it will work well a few degrees below that, so it looks like you're fine for year-round use in your car!

 

[ARCOgraphite]

The pour point ( again pretty usless) is 0 F on the 30 - just checked the DATASHEET. Thats an old school 30wt with long paraffins. I would use a formula shell 10w-30 in the winter, its pretty reasonable price. No need for 5w - dont want to scare tha old engine with weasle pee.

 

[bullwinkle]

Believe it or not, I have ran Delo 400 SAE 30 CH-4 HDEO below 10 F before in my 6.2 diesel GMC-make sure you idle for a couple minutes to get everything nice & lubricated before you go.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Bullwinkle: I do beleive it! THat 30HD is 2 stroke diesel oil - in a Geo ( suzuki). I believe that too! Here is Moose, Where is squirrel?

 

[FiremarshalRob]

What would be the dangers of running the Rotella 30 year round?

Hard cold morning starts? Could possible damage occur, or just let it idle a bit to get things warmed up a touch?

 

[dwendt44]

I your part of the country, no real danger.
Might be a touch hard starting.
Rotella has some new blends coming out; you might consider the 10W-30.
Considering modern oil technology, I see little reason to use a straight weight oil these days.

 

[dnewton3]

Much of this is dependent upon driving style/routine.

If you've got a lot of cold starts and short trips, I'd favor a conventional dino PCMO 10w-30. Today's oils can easily handle what you'd likely put the car through. My concern for a straight 30 grade with lots of starts and cold operation is poor lubrication when cold. Pour points are meaningless (almost) for true operational considerations. The 30-grade HDEO is made for long continuous runs in heavy equipment, like diesel generators, etc. It's not intended for short trips with intermittent operation. Will it work in a pinch? Sure! But it's not optimal by any stretch of the imagination, for a small gasser engine that sees "typical" driving patterns.

If you have few starts (comparitively) and lot's of running/idling, then I guess the 30 grade would be ok.

I find it hard to believe you can't get 10w-30 HDEO. You probably won't find it on the shelf, but most places like AAP, AZ and such could order it for you (at retail cost; no sale price).

I can understand your desire to use up what you have already sitting around. I see no huge risk in using your stock up. But after that point, I'd move to a quality PCMO 5w-30 or 10w-30, or HDEO in 10w-30.

 

[FiremarshalRob]

Thanks dnewton3 and others!

 

[Steve S]

The 30 wt will be fine.