synthetic 15w40

[Copperhead]

Yeah, many folks don't realize that 30w oils are pretty stout even in working heavy diesels. All of the heavy truck OEM's are factory filling with 10w30 now and have been for a few years. Detroit, Cummins, Volvo, Mack, Paccar, Navistar. I know several folks that are using HDEO 10w30 oils with great results. HDEO 10w30 was all I ever used in my CUT.

 

[Texasmark]

Yeah, many folks don't realize that 30w oils are pretty stout even in working heavy diesels. All of the heavy truck OEM's are factory filling with 10w30 now and have been for a few years. Detroit, Cummins, Volvo, Mack, Paccar, Navistar. I know several folks that are using HDEO 10w30 oils with great results. HDEO 10w30 was all I ever used in my CUT.

Figure this: I bought a new RAM p/u in 2009 with the Hemi. On top of the oil fill cap was molded 5w-20 ONLY. Owner's manual specified the same. It also took the time to inform you that the oil pump was designed for that oil and that the 8-4-8 cylinder deactivation (running on 4 cyl when 8 isn't needed) may not work with a thicker oil.

Yes, manufacturing tolerances and designs are supportive of lighter oils to help in improving MPG numbers to meet EPA requirements. It was tough for a heavy oil guy to adjust, but I'm there and no turning back....except in the front axle of my 6530. It now has heavy weight gear oil (currently recommended) in it like a lot of new units (like my 2400) are specifying on 4wd tractors especially with FELs.

 

[LD1]

Figure this: I bought a new RAM p/u in 2009 with the Hemi. On top of the oil fill cap was molded 5w-20 ONLY. Owner's manual specified the same. It also took the time to inform you that the oil pump was designed for that oil and that the 8-4-8 cylinder deactivation (running on 4 cyl when 8 isn't needed) may not work with a thicker oil.

Yes, manufacturing tolerances and designs are supportive of lighter oils to help in improving MPG numbers to meet EPA requirements. It was tough for a heavy oil guy to adjust, but I'm there and no turning back....except in the front axle of my 6530. It now has heavy weight gear oil (currently recommended) in it like a lot of new units (like my 2400) are specifying on 4wd tractors especially with FELs.

Every since the hemi came out in 2003, it has spec'd 20w oil. Not just the engines with the cylinder deactivation.

0w20 synthetic oil......is a good substitute. Same basics that started this thread, that 5w40 is better than 15w40......well, 0w20 synthetic is better than 5w20. Both 20w oils, and will not cause any issues. The 0w20 just doesnt thicken up as much as the 5w20 when it cools off. But still both 20w oils

 

[Copperhead]

I am not sold on the 0w20 is better than a 5w20 or a 5w40 is better than a 15w40 thing. While I will agree that they are darn good oils, there is more to it below the surface. A 0w20 will almost always have a higher NOACK (burn off vaporization rate) than a 5w20. Can't be helped. The 0w20 will require more viscosity modifying polymers in the mix. Those modifiers can break down and burn off quicker than base oil itself.

For instance, just a look at Amsoil's spec sheets, just because they are convenient to find and are similar to most other name brand oils. Their Signature 0w20 will have a NOACK of 10, while their 5w20 has a NOACK of 6.3. Again, the lower the number, the better indicating less volatility of the oil.

Their 5w40 has a NOACK of 9.1 while their 15w40 has a NOACK of 6.8. Again, lower number is better.

If one is not having to deal with some real blistering cold, then why use a 0w20 when a 5w20 is actually a better product? Even when I lived near Fairbanks Alaska for 10 years, I never used a 0wXX oil, nor did many of my neighbors. When it gets that cold, we used the gray matter God gave us and had oil pan warmers, block warmers, and battery warmers on our vehicles. Only a fool would let a vehicle sit overnight out in -35F weather and not have it plugged in.

Even today, in my 2006 Caddy and my 2015 Silverado, I use a 10w30 though they both specify a 5w30. Same reasoning as above. I am not dealing with sub zero temps than often, and even then, my vehicles reside in a heated garage when not in use. I do use a 5w40 in my semi truck, during the winter months as it is out and about all winter and not garaged, and then a 15w40 during the warmer months. My CUT has always gotten a 10w30 HDEO, but it also has both block and oil pan warmer plugged in when needed.

 

[Soundguy]

0w oils are more an 'energy saving' feature/compromise than a real 'better than Xw' feature.

That way the manufacturer can lie a little on them yellow stickers that the gubmint regulates...

 

[Texasmark]

I ran the green Mobil 1. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that 0 viscosity (viscosity not impacted by low temperatures....to a limit) is better than 5 and 5 is better than 10 for cold start protection and improved MPG. Just making the point that my past experience (insistence) in running 15w-40 (heavy oils) in my Dodge ½ ton 360 V8 and Ford 1 ton 460, and most everything since I first started owning machinery, are things of the past. 30w is max in anything for me now except my '60's vintage Fords which are diesels and get 15w-40 dino oil.

 

[Texasmark]

I am not sold on the 0w20 is better than a 5w20 or a 5w40 is better than a 15w40 thing. While I will agree that they are darn good oils, there is more to it below the surface. A 0w20 will almost always have a higher NOACK (burn off vaporization rate) than a 5w20. Can't be helped. The 0w20 will require more viscosity modifying polymers in the mix. Those modifiers can break down and burn off quicker than base oil itself.

For instance, just a look at Amsoil's spec sheets, just because they are convenient to find and are similar to most other name brand oils. Their Signature 0w20 will have a NOACK of 10, while their 5w20 has a NOACK of 6.3. Again, the lower the number, the better indicating less volatility of the oil.

Their 5w40 has a NOACK of 9.1 while their 15w40 has a NOACK of 6.8. Again, lower number is better.

If one is not having to deal with some real blistering cold, then why use a 0w20 when a 5w20 is actually a better product? Even when I lived near Fairbanks Alaska for 10 years, I never used a 0wXX oil, nor did many of my neighbors. When it gets that cold, we used the gray matter God gave us and had oil pan warmers, block warmers, and battery warmers on our vehicles. Only a fool would let a vehicle sit overnight out in -35F weather and not have it plugged in.

Even today, in my 2006 Caddy and my 2015 Silverado, I use a 10w30 though they both specify a 5w30. Same reasoning as above. I am not dealing with sub zero temps than often, and even then, my vehicles reside in a heated garage when not in use. I do use a 5w40 in my semi truck, during the winter months as it is out and about all winter and not garaged, and then a 15w40 during the warmer months. My CUT has always gotten a 10w30 HDEO, but it also has both block and oil pan warmer plugged in when needed.

Well I don't know about all that. I run 0w 30 green Mobil 1 in my Silverado 4.9 v8 and change the oil once per year whether it needs it or not. Never have to add oil between changes, and it meets the GM Dexos spec....which it really exceeds as best I can tell Dexos is syn blend.

 

[Copperhead]

I have never said that the 0wXX oils were terrible, just that I see no need to run them, especially when the 5wXX and 10wXX are superior in some ways and fulfill what I need. I have a 2006 Caddy, used to have a 2013 1500 5.3L (bad buy on that one. Hated it) and now have a 2015 2500 6.0L Chevy. None of them has ever seen a dexos approved oil out side of the pickups having it as a factory fill. Both the Caddy and the pickup get a 10w30 synthetic. I don't live near Fairbanks Alaska anymore, and not near Duluth, MN, so I see no need for a 0wXX oil. Often wonder, with the fascination with these 0wXX oils, how it is we ever got engines to last longer than one winter on the straight 30w and 10w30 conventional oils we used for decades. Took many of my previous gas engines to well over 250,000 miles. A 1966 Chevy C10 with a 283, using only a straight 30w year round, finally got an engine rebuild at around 275,000 miles when my uncle took ownership of it. Most times, car bodies succumbed to body cancer before there was ever a problem with an engine. And in about 45 years of both personal and commercial vehicle ownership, I have never seen or heard first hand of a dealer or OEM even asking about what oil was being used, let alone test it. And I have never had an engine grenade on me. The biggest issue ever was cams in a 2005 Cummins ISX. But that was primarily metallurgy, not the oil. And the engine still went to almost 1 million miles when I sold it with no other engine issues and still had low oil consumption. Took a 1996 Cummins N-14, using only a conventional Kendall 15w40 oil and getting 30,000 mile oil changes to 1.4 million miles, sold it, and it went right to work for the next owner. Only had 1 injector replaced and an accessory drive seal work on the engine the entire time I had it.

 

[RjCorazza]

Oils have come a long way over the past few decades. Since the topic of cold weather and starting aids has been breached, I will add my 2 cents. The number one thing (imho) that a vehicle owner can do for cold weather starts is to install and use a block heater or other heating device. 3 hours of block heat on a timer and my previous L3410 would spin up like on a summer day. My new machine will get a block heater at the first coolant change.