Who's running it and what made you decide to change?


I'm just tossing the idea around for my iron block 5.7L after break in.

 

Not going to use a non synthetic?

Dustin

 

Synthetic everything so far. Motor oil is and always has been synthetic while I've been alive, all my transmissions get synthetic trans fluid, ring and pinion gear sets are broken in with cheap gear oil but then after get synthetic...so ya, synthetic oil is what I'll run in my 5.7L.

 

I said it once to another guy about oils and I'll say it again here. There's no doubt that synthetics protect better than conventional oils. However, by the time you see the ill effects from running normal oil you'll have gotten sick of your motor, crashed the truck, or destroyed the motor by some other component failing from over revving.

 

There is no question whether I'll run synthetic or not. It's a given. I'm hoping for more discussion on the viscosity.

 

OK so what are the advantages to a zero viscocity? wtf is a ZERO viscocity anyway I run a 10-30 M1 what flows better than a 0-weight a -0? Seriousl though, what are the perceived advantages?

 

Hey inch, I was told to run 5w30 or consider running even 10w30 for texas climate by my builder. It makes sense to me that 5w or 0w would be good for your climate. Although it gets colder on occasion, our average low in DFW is 34 in the winter and our high is 54.

 

I often find myself driving in weather that would make other people shut the doors, board up the windows and get the candles ready in case of a real snow storm. I live in an area of Minnesota where it is not uncommon to get 20" of snow in a single night at temps below 0. In fact, I often do the hardest driving my truck sees out on frozen lakes while out ice fishing, so I was tossing around the idea of running two different weights of oils depending on the season.

5W-30 as GM suggests for warmer months, typically from March to October...so the majority of the year. This is due mostly to driving in temps that rarely reach 90*F, and when they do it's only for 2-3 days. The 0W-30, as you know, is a thinner oil. I bought a quart of it and poured 5W-30 into a clear plastic cup right next to the same M1 0W-30 and there was a considerable difference in viscosity. The 0W-30 was like pouring water out of a water bottle, it was that thin, at 75*F or so. I put those two plastic cups in the freezer overnight and checked them the following morning to see what the oil would look like at a mild 28-30*F according to the thermometer in the freezer. I could already see the difference in thickness, where now the 0W-30 poured just like the 5W-30 did at room temperature before. Honestly though, 28*F is a warm balmy day in a Minnesota winter where the snow and lakes would start melting. It is fairly common for MN to see temps below -15*F with wind chills far below that. I'm trying to find a freezer around me that will go below 0 so that I can see the differences as temps fall.

Bottom line, I'm trying to see if the 0W-30 oil will have the same viscosity as the 5W-30, but at a lower temperature. The bottle says it meets or exceeds all 5W-30 and 10W-30 oil requirements for protection, yet still as a thinner oil. If I ran the 0W-30 it would be in the colder months between November and February when temps are rarely above freezing. Hopefully the 0W-30 will do as it says, offer less resistance on cold starts and when up to temperature still protect like a 5W-30 oil. Quite a few guys over on LS1tech are running 0W-30 in hopes of a little better fuel efficiency, and I haven't heard of any of them in MN, which means if I wanted to I could probably get away with running 0W-30 all year long, but I wont.

 

I dont know much about that kinda specifics in oil. i just run M1 5w-30 year round down here in MS..

Have you thought about a block heater or oilpan heater? Just a thought..

 

I do have a block heater and use it when I'm home. Most of the time I'm not home though, especially during hunting and fishing seasons.