Oil - Cold weather selection

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oilman

Oil - Cold weather selection

Post by oilman »

In this cold weather, it is beneficial to use an oil that has good cold start flow properties as it will get to the parts of the engine that need it far more quickly.

The "w" number which means winter is the key here and the lower the better.

It may seem odd but a 15w or 20w will struggle to get around the engine in very cold temps and I would strongly recommend a 10w or better still a 5w for better cold start performance.

90% of all engine wear occurs on cold start because the oil get thicker the colder it is which causes engine wear.

These numbers explain what I mean and bear in mind that the oil will be the following thickness at 100degC (sae 40 = 14cst, sae 50 = 18cst and sae 60 = 24cst)

At 0degC these are the numbers (thick!)

Grade.................At 0C.........At 10C...........At 100C

0W/20.............328.6cSt......180.8cSt..........9cSt

5W/40.............811.4cSt......421.4cSt..........14cSt

10W/50............1039cSt.......538.9cSt..........18cSt

15W/50.............1376cSt.......674.7cSt.........18cSt

20W/50.............2305cSt.......1015cSt..........18cSt

If you are using anything more than a 10w oil, always warm the car properly before driving it as the oil needs time to circulate.

Just a word of warning really.

Cheers
Simon


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jonb

Re: Oil - Cold weather selection

Post by jonb »

Gives me a good excuse to throw in the 0-40 that's been sitting in my garage all summer :)
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oilman

Re: Oil - Cold weather selection

Post by oilman »

0w-40 or 5w-40.

Cheers
Simon
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Re: Oil - Cold weather selection

Post by _Al_ »

Sorry, to make absolutely certain I've understood you - 0w40 is best but 5w40 is ok?
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jonb

Re: Oil - Cold weather selection

Post by jonb »

I don't think 10w-40 would kill the engine either but you're safe with a 0w or 5w.
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Re: Oil - Cold weather selection

Post by _Al_ »

I've just given her a long drink of 0w40. Castrol Edge - I'd been wondering if it was any good...
Red 92 turbo tintop JDM
White 95 turbo tintop JDM (Nov '11 Show&Shine Winner)
Red 97 NA tintop JDM
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Mica 96 NA T-bar UK
Red 96 UK NA
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jonb

Re: Oil - Cold weather selection

Post by jonb »

Simon will have to say no as it's not ester based ;)

Personally i'd not run it for any super lengths in a tubby but i'd feel ok having it in for a 3000 mile winter stint.
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oilman

Re: Oil - Cold weather selection

Post by oilman »

Either 0w-40 or 5w-40 is fine.

Cheers
Simon
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turbostu

Re: Oil - Cold weather selection

Post by turbostu »

how do people i work for halfords and the best oil on the market anywhere today is castrol edge, go for the ow-40 for performance petrol engines and u will have the best oil for your cars on the market, oh yea and it can old be brought mainly at halfords stores off the shelf cost u about £37 for 4 liters or £13 for a liter top up,

how sad am i knowing that lol
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oilman

Re: Oil - Cold weather selection

Post by oilman »

How do you know it's the best, any data on it?

How much ester has it got in it.
What is the track hour drain period.
What is its HTHS number and NOACK %

Cheers
Simon
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turbostu

Re: Oil - Cold weather selection

Post by turbostu »

i went too the castol's own head office for training and they tested it against mobile 1 in a ford mustang, they were going too run both cars exactly the same spec antill the engines blew up, once the mobile 1 car blew up they gave up waiting for the castrol car too go too and they turned it off buy the key and cheaked the engine over and there was no/little harm dun

sounds good too me, plus they showed me tones of graphs and that but i was only interested in the prize u can win :D:D ha ha well it was a track day out
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oilman

Re: Oil - Cold weather selection

Post by oilman »

:)

Cheers
Simon
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IanG

Re: Oil - Cold weather selection

Post by IanG »

Hmm, so Castrol provided the evidence that their castrol oil was the best by offering a shedload of hospitality to retailers, and Halfords is being recommended by a Halfords employee.

Call me cynical, but....

Ok, oilman isn't adverse to mentioning the opie oils site from time to time, but he does have facts at his fingertips to back up anything he posts.

And he does dish out quality advice for free on regular ocassions.

Having said all that, I bought my last load of oil from, Halfords! :oops:

Ian
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oilman

Re: Oil - Cold weather selection

Post by oilman »

I hope they dished out loads of good advice ;)

Cheers
Simon
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