Viscosity Temp Chart

[Beltzington]

Likely beating a dead-horse but I am not sure why manufacturers use these type of charts. What does the arrow mean, anything above the last temp, good to the next temp, or try and interpolate the temp the arrow point ends at. This is for an air cooled 17HP Kawasaki engine and 10w30 and 10w40 are both recommended by Kawasaki in different areas. Also, the engine only has 5hrs on it and this will be the "break in" oil change, should I just go with straight 30w is that old school.

 

[RjCorazza]

I would guess they are implying that the arrow means you could use the oil at temps past the arrow, but at higher ambient temps the oils that proceed further to the right are better choices.
I run 5w30 in my Kawasaki 14hp mower, but have also used 20w50 in the past. I personally would not use a straight 30 weight.

 

[boomer1025]

Use the 20W50 or 10W40.

 

[The Fred]

Couple questions.

What is the application? Something running full tilt big load like a mower or zero turn? What season do you use it? I cut my teeth on air-cooled engines, VW/Porsche and small engines too. Air cooled engines run hot, next time you use your machine for a good period doing whatever it does take your oil temp using an infra red gun on the crankcase or the oil itself.

Most temps I see are 230f and up on a warm day. Some of the newer air-cooled small engines have an oil cooler to help with the heat. None of these warmer applications work well with low viscosity oil, it's just too thin at temp.

Old VWs used straight 30 detergent or 20W-50. I have a new Exmark zero turn and they recommend 20W-50 full synthetic in fact they market their own oil and show you why it's so important to use a heavier oil in their applications.

Porsche recommends 15W-50 in all of their air-cooled engines even retrofitting back to the 50s.

I personally wouldn't use 5w-30 or 10w-40 in any air-cooled app unless it's low heat low load.

 

[RalphVa]

Likely beating a dead-horse but I am not sure why manufacturers use these type of charts. What does the arrow mean, anything above the last temp, good to the next temp, or try and interpolate the temp the arrow point ends at. This is for an air cooled 17HP Kawasaki engine and 10w30 and 10w40 are both recommended by Kawasaki in different areas. Also, the engine only has 5hrs on it and this will be the "break in" oil change, should I just go with straight 30w is that old school.

The only way those charts make sense are for air cooled engines. For water cooled, there is no upper limit because it's set by the thermostat in the water cooling system.

10w30 is probably the "old school" 30w.

Personally, I'd use a good 5w30 synthetic. I just buy Castrol 5w30 at my local VW dealership for their diesel cars for my 2 diesel engines. The 5w30 would give you some more protection for the upper valve train at startup, e.g. the oil pump would start pumping it faster than it would a 10w30 and get it to the valve train on startup quicker.

Ralph

 

[Beltzington]

Thanks for the input, it seems motor oil might be the most researched topic with no definitive solution, even the manufactures differ wildly on the recommended temperature range of oils. Briggs and Stratton says straight SAE 30 is good for over 104F.

Went to a lawn equipment dealer yesterday and he says Kawasaki now recommends 20w50 for all V-Twin air-cooled engines and after researching their website I found they do say "their" branded oil 20w50 is good for hot weather operations but don't actually recommend it or any weight oil for their engines. Also they have not updated any of their engine owner manuals to include 20w50, it seems likely they are more concerned with leaving wiggle room for warranty claims then actually telling owners what oil weight is best for there engine.

Again I would not be so overly concerned if this was not a brand new engine and I want to ensure I do not void the warranty and ensure a long life. My gut tells me the best oil would be a 15w40 SL rated diesel oil but I can't find any documentation on if doing that would void the warranty.

This is a 24HP FR730V on a big ZT mower which runs WOT for 1 - 3 hours every two weeks.

:laughing: If you want a laugh watch the video on this site, they tell you to prefill the oil filter before you have to tip it into a horizontal position to install.

Kawasaki 4-Cycle Engine Oil | Kawasaki - Lawn Mower Engines - Small Engines

 

[The Fred]

I would highly recommend 20W-50 for your application.

10W-30 and straight 30 at 230F are NOT the same oil.

Take the oil temp, you'll crap yourself when you see how hot it gets.

There's other things to think about your engine, because lead is being outlawed almost everywhere it's not being used in OEM engine bearings much these days.

 

[Beltzington]

I would highly recommend 20W-50 for your application.

10W-30 and straight 30 at 230F are NOT the same oil.

Take the oil temp, you'll crap yourself when you see how hot it gets.

There's other things to think about your engine, because lead is being outlawed almost everywhere it's not being used in OEM engine bearings much these days.

Thanks Fred, I am leaning towards your recommendation although the salesman who said Kawasaki was recommending 20w50 also sold me the wrong oil filter .

I have been running 10w30 in my JD Kawasaki 17HP lawn tractor for years which is why I bought it and than it dawned on me it has a radiator. It is sad that manufactures won't provide more specific data. e.g. If OAT exceeds 100f use 20w50, if OAT is below 100F use 10w40 yada, yada.

No brainer but that is assuming the 3rd party manual authors even know the product.

 

[PILOON]

The manufactures have all sorts of recommendations for oils I remember as a young lad running a 30 HP outboard with all sorts of recommended oil mixes I
recall that we'd simply add 1 qt of SAE 30 per 5 gals of (whatever gas we could find) and never mind 2 stroke oil, anything on hand.
Well after many years and many, many gals of gas I decided to sell that motor but tore it down simply to ascertain the internal condition.
To my amazement that ole Johnson OB looked just like new!
(and I had dunked it overboard many a time as it liked to leave the transom from time to time.)

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have no need to use a lawnmower when it is 0 F degrees outside and it rarely if ever gets over 105 F where I live therefore I use 10W40 Shell Rotella full synthetic in ALL my internal combustion engines even though my Honda car recommends 0W-20. I don't need the 0W since it doesn't get that cold here and I refuse to use a 20 weight in anything. I just want a little thicker oil at operating temps than 20W. If it costs me 1 MPG in fuel costs, so be it but my engine will last much longer with 10W40 than it will with 0W-20> That is just my opinion but my opinion is the one that counts when it comes to my personal equipment.

 

[Beltzington]

Wow, 1qt per five gallons now that is a thick ratio reminds me of better days when I spent more time doing and less time talking about things. I have no idea how I survived without the internet for so many years, more information is not always a positive thing.

 

[CalG]

I have no need to use a lawnmower when it is 0 F degrees outside and it rarely if ever gets over 105 F where I live therefore I use 10W40 Shell Rotella full synthetic in ALL my internal combustion engines even though my Honda car recommends 0W-20. I don't need the 0W since it doesn't get that cold here and I refuse to use a 20 weight in anything. I just want a little thicker oil at operating temps than 20W. If it costs me 1 MPG in fuel costs, so be it but my engine will last much longer with 10W40 than it will with 0W-20> That is just my opinion but my opinion is the one that counts when it comes to my personal equipment.

Right! It's just your opinion. Nothing more. Nothing based on reality, investigation, evidence or science. Lubrication is a tuff issue. Very SUBJECTIVE. I say, If it makes you feel good, It's the right choice, For you!

The Bolens tractor with a Kohler K series engine (23hp) is recommended to run on straight 30wt in all seasons.
"Use of other oil types may lead to excessive oil consumption." Go figure..

Thin oils generate less heat due to friction. Thus running cooler, Go figure.

I run 10-30 "store brand" in everything that burns fuel. Change oil when it looks dark. I've never experienced a lubrication related engine failure, and I'm pushing 250K on our "good car". With no fewer than 13 "Infernal corn-bustion engine drive machines to contend with. not counting chain saws and weed wackers. Go figure.

 

[big bubba]

therefore I use 10W40 Shell Rotella full synthetic in ALL my internal combustion engines g fowler
actually rotella T6 is 5/40
agree w/you i use it in everything i have that is 4 stroke. think OP would do well to use same

 

[Beltzington]

therefore I use 10W40 Shell Rotella full synthetic in ALL my internal combustion engines g fowler
actually rotella T6 is 5/40
agree w/you i use it in everything i have that is 4 stroke. think OP would do well to use same

Didn't Rotella stop making 10w40? RotellaT 10w40 used to carry C4 and SM API ratings, there replacement T4 no longer has the SM rating, there new multi-vehicle oil is 10-30. Interestingly enough Kawasaki branded blended oil is rated both C4 and SL.

Due to warranty concerns I am going to use the Kawasaki blended oil, it cost about the same as Rotella which I run in my truck and eliminates any loophole concerning the brand of oil. I still haven't decided if I am going to go with 10w40 or 20w50 either of which meets Kawasaki requirements for my local operating temperature.

 

[Beltzington]

I need to make a couple corrections about OEM's oil recommendation. I stumbled onto the attached service bulletin where Kawasaki does recommend 10w40 for V-Twin air-cooled engines and 20w50 if running high temperatures or to reduce oil usage, they also updated the viscosity chart to reflect this. The service bulletin does not effect the warranty however they have in-fact updated the owners manuals to reflect this change. The OM I had was not current. I will be using Kawasaki blended 10w40 K-Tech motor oil as it still has Zinc for wear protection which has or is being removed from other oils due to the negative effects on the catalytic converter.

That being said I spoke with someone who runs Kawasaki's motors for his lawn business and has put 1000's of hours on these engines, he uses over-the-counter 10w30 full synthetic and says they still look like new when disassembled. He lives in the mountains so his OAT would likely be 10-15 degrees cooler during the summer but clearly a good quality 10w30 synthetic is working well for many folks.

 

[big bubba]

just to say rotella t6 is a notch above the above oil choice in terms of temp variation as to warm operation or cold starts. plus a diesel rating. either works fine

 

[Beltzington]

just to say rotella t6 is a notch above the above oil choice in terms of temp variation as to warm operation or cold starts. plus a diesel rating. either works fine

No augment here, I run T6 in my Duramax, T6 is not a spark rated (SN) oil and would/could void the warranty.

 

[big bubba]

good point, it pays to do the homework

 

[CalG]

The last gas rating for 5W-40 T6 was API SM. The latest 5W-40 T6 is only diesel rated. However, there is now a 5W-30 T6 Multi-Vehicle oil that carries API CK-4 and SN ratings. I run T6 in everything I own, but I will start stocking the 5W-30 T6 and use it for everything.

I use "store branded" Amalie in everything with a sump . Diesel labels where required. It's the cheapest .....
Never a lubrication related failure. I think there are more than 17 rigs to keep track of, I can't be bothered with ratings!

 

[DieselBound]

"Cheapest" isn't necessarily a good thing to go by w/o proper research. The following site has plenty of examples of why (they've tested many "cheap" oils and found them to be deficient in meeting their stated ratings):

:The Petroleum Quality Institute of America

And, according to the following article, one probably should not overlook viscosity index (VI):
Don't Ignore Viscosity Index When Selecting a Lubricant

Based on the above resources I was able to decide on a replacement oil for Rotella T6 (pre-CK-4). I've got cars, tractors (one is newer, with a DPF, but, fortunately, factory specs a CJ4 oil), a truck, a UTV and a generator, all diesels, so it's a bit difficult to ID a suitable common oil across all these platforms.