I've noticed that a lot more people use 5w30 rather then 0w20. It would make more sense to me to stick with 0w20, since it's closest to the factory weight(5w20). What are the benefits of using Mobil 1 5w30?
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Pro's of using Mobil 1 5w30 over 0w20?
- Thread starter DitchTehFish
- Start date
5W30 covers a wider range of temperatures, to tell you the truth it doesnt matter since you are in CA where it wont freeze over or boil...
Jeff
Jeff
Agreed.
I would only use a 0 weight oil where it got really cold, and the oil may not travel to moving parts as fast as it should. If you are in a warmer climate, the engine will warm up faster and engine parts may begin to expand and move oil out of clearances at that light of a weight until there is sufficient engine heat to raise the multi-weight oil's viscosity.
I would only use a 0 weight oil where it got really cold, and the oil may not travel to moving parts as fast as it should. If you are in a warmer climate, the engine will warm up faster and engine parts may begin to expand and move oil out of clearances at that light of a weight until there is sufficient engine heat to raise the multi-weight oil's viscosity.
evil04cobra said:
What's considered really cold?
Below 0 degrees farenheit.
I like the 5w30---its my nice weather car, so I feel better with it in the heat.
In the end I doubt it matters as, like you said, the 0w is the same specs as factory and keeping clean oil/filter is most important. -j
In the end I doubt it matters as, like you said, the 0w is the same specs as factory and keeping clean oil/filter is most important. -j
I'm considering using 0W-20 because it meets Ford's oil specifications. I wouldn't want to give Ford any reason to void my warranty. Besides, isn't there a performance advantage to using a lighter weight oil?
In the instance of a street car, protection should be considered before performance where lubrication is concerned. But in answer to your question, yes. There is a nominal improvement in performance due to decreased pump effort.
evil04cobra said:
agreed
Part of the advantage of a 0W oil is that at cold start (doesn't matter where you live) the oil will flow better to tigher tolerances. Cold start is where the most engine wear occurs (mostly because of no or low oil pressure, but also due to reduced cold temp flow). As the engine oil begins to warm up, it becomes thicker, and at normal operating temps, it is at it's thickest point. Using a 0W oil will get you the best lubrication at cold start because it will get into the tighter spaces in your engine and will pump better than a thicker oil when cold. Even engines in the south will benefit from a 0W oil at startup, but northern engines will benefit even more from a 0W in the winter months.evil04cobra said:
In regards to one of the above comments from evil04cobra (sorry, but I am NOT intending this as a flame, I'm just trying to correct your logic. It's part of the sickness that comes with an engineering degree. If any of my logic presented here is flawed, please feel free to correct me as well. I won't take it as a flame. And I'm NOT an oil engineer, I just have read a lot on the subject but I'm NOT an expert), if the parts warm up and force out the thinner oil, how do you expect thicker oil to get in there? Wouldn't thicker oil be forced out even sooner? Besides, the current thinking on oil is to use the thinnest oil applicable for better lubrication. By using the evil04cobra's logic, 50W oil would lubricate a warm engine better than 30W because as the engine warms up, the 30W is forced out from between expanding metal parts, but the thicker 50W will not be. Since the engines are designed for 5W30 (going by the original specs for the 4.6 4V engine), it would stand to reason that when all engine parts have expanded to normal operating temps, the passages are all large enough to permit 30W oil to get inbetween and lubricate. As I learned in my Fluid Mechanics course, the oil which is in contact with the hot engine parts will be hot as well, hotter than the oil which is farthest away from any hot engine parts. Since the oil is being circulated and agitated, the oil temperature will equalize pretty quickly, especially since the heat will flow from the side which is hotter towards the side which is colder. In that way, the oil will be cooling (or more correctly, removing heat from) the hotter metal parts.
Also of note, multi-viscosity oil will flow at different weights depending on it's temp, so if in Arizona, the ambient temp in the oil is at a temp which makes the oil flow as if it was a 20W, then a 0W30 oil will appear to be 20W and flow accordingly. It will only flow as a 0W when the temp dictates that it flow like a 0W. The difference in flow between a 0W30 and a 5W30 would only be different when the oil's temp is lower than the flow temp for it to behave like a 5W oil. Any higher temp would have the 2 oils flowing almost exactly the same (there will be some differences, but then there are differences between different brands of the same weight oils). That being said, the closer the 2 numbers are together, the more consistent (and stable flowing) the oil. so a 5W30 would be more consistent than a 0W50 oil.
There is no evidence to suggest that a southern will not benefit from a 0W20 or 0W30 oil. Besides, I'm 40 miles south of Atlanta and there is about 3/4" of frozen rain on the ground right now.
BTW, I have used 5W30 Mobile 1 sucessfully in the past, but on this car I'm using 0W30 Amsoil series 2000 because I am convinced that it is a better oil. Whether or not it will protect my engine any better is up for debate. However, I think that a pre-oiler like the Canton Accusump may provide better protection than the difference between 5W30 or 0W30 oil.
Here is a link to numerous oil related links:
http://www.autoenginelube.com/pages/877417/
SnakeBit said:
I been using Mobil 1 5W30 for a while now and is what most owners use on svtperformance but the Amsoil is a very good oil but It cost lots more $$$ the Mobil one. But is it really worth it in the end if you live in an up and down climate like Ohio for that grade 0w20?
Even though I live in California where it doesn't get to cold, I've decided to go with Mobil 1 0w20. Thanks for the responses everyone. :beer:
i run the 0w-20 in the winter. my car sits outside. soon as the real cold weather breaks i'll switch back to 5w-30.
i have a sample to send to the lab, too.
i have a sample to send to the lab, too.
I can't answer that. You are right, Amsoil is more expensive and to tell the truth, it may not be worth more. If this was a daily driver and I was putting a lot of miles on it, then I would probably go with Mobile 1 because that would add up to some real money. I change on extended intervals (Filter and top off every 3,000 miles, Full change every 12,000 miles), but then that's the same schedule I used on my 98 with Mobile 1. Amsoil recommends that I install their extra filter unit with stop**** for taking samples, send them the sample for analysis and they will tell me when it's time to change the oil. Perhaps if I was doing it like that it might be worth the $$, especially if I could get 100,000 out of their oil. For me that would be more than 10 years on 1 case of oil plus filters and analysis costs. I would never leave the same oil in for that kind of milage though, out of concern about contamination (gas seems more likely during cold idle).LCCOBRA said:
SnakeBit said:
No offense taken, and your points are principled.
If I have a higher viscosity, the oil has a resistance to flow, therefore it takes more mechanical energy to move high viscosity oils from in between two surfaces. If the contray were true as you propose, then 0w oil would be perfect for use in a rear diferential instead of GL-5.
The ability to build a satisfactory hydrodynamic wedge also increases with viscosity, albeit at a cost. Too much viscosity can wash out the bearings, wearing the babbit right off their surfaces, for that reason I do not condone the use of 50 weight oil in an engine such as this that was not designed for it.
On the note of a pre-oiler, anytime you can start a car that already has oil pressure, you are time and money ahead.
Good Show!!!
Please feel free to re-state your opinions or redirect if appropriate.
SilverCobra04 said:
Good luck with your choice. I am anxious to see how it does.
Mobil 1 is now available in a 5W-20. http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil_1_5W-20.aspx
I am going to go with the 5W-20 for the following reasons:
1. It meets Ford specification WSS-M2C153-H. If my engine fails due to a lubrication issue, Ford will not be able to deny a warranty claim based on my failure to follow their recommendation.
2. If Ford was willing to put most of their passenger vehicles at risk since 2001, when they began specifying 5W-20, then I have to believe they put some serious rearch into the subject. If 5W-20 was not adequate for our vehicles, then I'm sure Ford or SVT would have specified a different weight.
I am going to go with the 5W-20 for the following reasons:
1. It meets Ford specification WSS-M2C153-H. If my engine fails due to a lubrication issue, Ford will not be able to deny a warranty claim based on my failure to follow their recommendation.
2. If Ford was willing to put most of their passenger vehicles at risk since 2001, when they began specifying 5W-20, then I have to believe they put some serious rearch into the subject. If 5W-20 was not adequate for our vehicles, then I'm sure Ford or SVT would have specified a different weight.
GT Lawyer said:
Not a bad idea I always get my oil at sams club it's cheap around $25.00 after taxes. Wonder if they'll sell it their. Also SnakeBit thanks for the info it's something to think about. But there are a few big oil posts that were done a while back http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64117&highlight=oil and 5w30 was on top of everything
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