hey drivers in the northern states
11-20-2006, 03:19 AM
#1
hey drivers in the northern states
especially those states where you get snow and subzero temperature during the winter months, do you switch to 5w30 oil when it starts getting cold? or do you stick with 10w30?
11-20-2006, 06:21 AM
#3
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After reading a lot about this on BITOG (to educate myself, because I probably reached the wrong conclusion in the past) I reached this conclusion:
The SAE label tells something about the viscositie at certain temperatures.
That goes for dino and syn oils, no expetion.
A 10W-30 motor oil (for example) has to meet the specs, at those temps.
SAE doesn't specify anything in between.
Usually there is more data supplied by the manufacturer, the visc. @ 40C and @ 100C and the Viscosity Index.
With those 3 numbers (visc @ 40C and @ 100C and VI) you can roughly calculate what the viscosity will be at other temps.
On this website is that calculator, you'll need JAVA.
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3655/VI.html
At room temp (20C) a 10W-30 may be thinner then a 5W-30, it may very well be the other way too.
There is no way to know by looking at the SAE label.
In general, a 0W-30 oil will most likely be thinner along the whole temp range, compared to a 10W-30.
In really cold temps you will, for sure, benefit from a 0W-30.
One other thing to remember is that a (true) 5W-30 oil also qualifies as a 10W-30 oil and may even be labelled as a 10W-30 because of marketing purposes.
The SAE label tells something about the viscositie at certain temperatures.
That goes for dino and syn oils, no expetion.
A 10W-30 motor oil (for example) has to meet the specs, at those temps.
SAE doesn't specify anything in between.
Usually there is more data supplied by the manufacturer, the visc. @ 40C and @ 100C and the Viscosity Index.
With those 3 numbers (visc @ 40C and @ 100C and VI) you can roughly calculate what the viscosity will be at other temps.
On this website is that calculator, you'll need JAVA.
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3655/VI.html
At room temp (20C) a 10W-30 may be thinner then a 5W-30, it may very well be the other way too.
There is no way to know by looking at the SAE label.
In general, a 0W-30 oil will most likely be thinner along the whole temp range, compared to a 10W-30.
In really cold temps you will, for sure, benefit from a 0W-30.
One other thing to remember is that a (true) 5W-30 oil also qualifies as a 10W-30 oil and may even be labelled as a 10W-30 because of marketing purposes.
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