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I am driving to a mountain in Canada where the temperatures are forecast to be record low. The forecast is for -25F.
Is there going to be a problem starting the car at -25F as far as the oil is concerned?
I currently have Mobil 5W-30 in my car - 2001 Maxima.
Thanks!
Flushing transmission fluid with synthetics cost more than $200: about $100 for labor and other $100 for the synthetics. Mobil 1 ATF costs about $7 per quart at Pep Boys. It depends on model, but for my cars 16 quarts of ATF is required for flushing. Dropping a pan costs even more.
It hardly makes sense flushing transmission for a single trip. If it is about time for transmission service any case, though, I would spend the extra $100 on synthetic ATF. Not so much for cold weather, as for sake of hot one, and for sake of the superior quality of the fluids.
Mobil 1 EP recently changed to SM.
So, what's the difference then between regular 5-30 Mobil 1 and the EP package?
The general feeling on cars with OLM (oil life monitors) (doesn't the Vibe, from GM, have one?) is to trust the oil life monitor; and if you are the nervous type, either replace the oil early (at 50% or 75% remaining life) or use full synthetic.
If the Vibe, a Matrix twin, doesn't come with an OLM, then you have to tell us what the owner's manual recommends - even owner's manuals from different manufacturers seem to disagree -
1. Ford recommends maximum 5,000 mile oil change intervals, with 3,000 miles for severe service. Severe service is a lot of short (less than 5 miles) trips between oil changes. Keep in mind Ford's house brand oil, Motorcraft, is now semi-synthetic for both 5-20 and 5-30, reportedly 50% Group III (darn good stuff) and 50% Group II (hydrocracked, not solvent refined) so all in all they are taking a shorter interval/higher oil quality approach.
2. Daimler Chrysler was one of the last 7,500 mile/3,750 oil change interval hold-outs, but is now at 6,000/3,000 BUT with an important piece of fine print: if you read their description of "severe" service, almost everyone in America (except a long daily freeway commmuter in a non-dusty area with mild winters and summers) falls into the severe service category. Their oil requirement is SM/GF-4; most oil blenders are forced to use hydrocracked, and not solvent refined oil, as the base oil to meet this spec. Hydrocracked, de-waxed conventional oil is pretty good stuff, not as good as the Motorcraft/Conoco synthetic blends.
3. Honda recommends 10,000 mile oil change intervals, 5,000 for severe (but most of their dealers recommend 3,000 mile changes). Their oil requirement is 5-20, a highly engineered (better base stock quality and additives) oil with essentially semi-synthetic characteristics.
I have come to believe that a 3,000 or 5,000 mile interval is reasonable, but a 5,000 mile interval is best if you are doing a freeway commute to work, with light to moderate traffic (not heavy stop and go). Otherwise 3,000 mile intervals are safer.
There are a lot of good oils out there, now that the API (American Petroleum Institute) has upgraded its requirements. If your car uses 5-20, almost any major brand makes a good quality 5-20. Personally I lean towards one of the Conoco-Phillips brands, which are all semi-synthetic at generally bargain prices (less than their competitors "conventional" oils, which are probably Group II or Group II+). These brands are TropArctic, Motorcraft, Union 76, Kendall (easy to find at Firestone Mastercare shops). Or you can find a ton of cheap Group IV full synthetic from Mobil at Walmart.
You can either trust what's coming out of your dealer's bulk oil barrels, or carry in your own (dealer's don't resent walk-in oil). Some of the flakier oil change chains were exposed as using subpar oil in bulk barrels while claiming it was brandname multigrade; no dealer has been accused of this, to my knowledge, but many people have complained about getting 10-30 or 10-40 when their owner's manual calls for 5-20 or 5-30 (mainly so the dealer can keep owners of older trucks and suv's happy, they like those older style multigrade oils); for some reason 10-30 and 10-40 are often little cheaper, too.
Welcome to the world of oils, the more you know, the less you understand. My personal recommendation would be to buy Mobil 1 5-30 or 5-20, whatever your car calls for, and take it in for 5,000 mile oil changes at the dealer. That way you keep up your warranty (which a lot of other options WON'T do) without living at the dealership; the Mobil 1 costs a little more, the extended oil change interval partly makes up for that.
I am not a fan of three things: do it yourself oil blending, that's why Mobil etc. engineers get the big bucks; additives like Lube Control and Lucas, etc.; and oil changes beyond 5,000 miles without an OLM, it's just too much of a crap shoot as to whether your additive package will go the distance based on YOUR actual driving conditions and driving style - with most oils, regular or synthetic, it isn't the actual oil that gives out first, its the additive package. Although premium oils supposedly have better additive packages, there's only so much room in what goes to make up a quart of oil, for additives instead of oil.
Best Regards,
Shipo
To keep on the synthetic being specified, for say a 15,000 mile OCI, the Z06 Corvette which I am familar, uses Mobil One 5w30 has a 6.5 qt crankcase and the OLM goes up to 15,000 miles.
No thanks, I'd rather use the great oils you talk about and still change at 5,000 miles.
Actually the color is really a non scientific indication the oil is in fact doing its job.
I am totally against Penzoil due to the oder that I have come to notice and can pick out when I drop a drain plug. No other oil smells worse in my opinion. I also notice that all of our customers that use Penzoil always come in a quart or more low. Even on new vehicles. I finally got one to switch to Valvoline, (lube center brand). It took about 2 oil changes after but he was never low again (unless he went way over on mileage) and the horrible odor was gone.
jlilley have you had the occasion to change the oil from any Quaker State lubricated cars? If so, does it smell the same as the Pennzoil?
True story, I was hired to overhaul the engine in an old Dodge Dart with the venerable 225 Slant-Six engine (an engine that even with bad maintenance was usually good for 200K miles). Said engine had about 100K on the clock and had a couple of rods a-knocking. The owner complained that recently the engine had simply been blowing all of its oil out through the breather cap (the oil filler cap on those engines was a slide on affair with a wire mesh inside the cap and a breather tube leading to the air cleaner housing). After a couple of air filters had been destroyed in short order, this guy simply disconnected the hose to the filter housing and let the oil vent all over the engine. What a mess.
When I pulled the engine apart (actually all I needed to do was to pull the valve cover) I found a smelly (so bad I wanted to retch) and gooey paraffin mess that was so thick that the rocker arm oil couldn't find its way back down to the pan (in spite of the absolutely cavernous return galleries going down the lower side of the engine). I called up the owner and said, "Let me guess, you used Quaker State oil."
"Nope," he replied, "Wolf's Head, my dad swears by that stuff and this was his car before he passed it on to me."
Long story short, he insisted that I refill the newly rebuilt engine with Wolf's Head oil in spite of my protests otherwise. :confuse:
Best Regards,
Shipo
I don’t think Ill return to that place again.
1) If your engine burns/leaks a lot of oil, then using synthetic can get expensive.
2) Synthetic oil cannot hold TEL (lead from leaded gasoline) in suspension. If you are operating a car in an area that still uses TEL, DO NOT use synthetic oil, you will destroy your engine in as little as 200 hours of operation, even with frequent oil changes.
3) The following three characteristics, which are normally considered benefits of synthetic oil combine to make it less than desirable for use in cars that are only driven on an occasional (i.e. once a month or so) basis. The net result of using a synthetic oil in an occasionally used engine is that it will quite literally rust from the inside out.
3a) Synthetic oil has far greater stability under the normally high internal engine temperatures (meaning that it doesn't vaporize and coat the inside of the engine with a layer of varnish).
3b) Synthetic oil has a far greater capacity to be manufactured with many more additives in its witches brew, detergents being one of those additives. What that means is that the internals of your engine will end up far cleaner and varnish free compared to the same engine being run under the same circumstances on conventional oil (i.e. residual -as in from previously used conventional oil- varnish coating on the internal surfaces will be washed away).
3c) The superior cold temperature flow properties of the synthetics mean that post engine shutdown, if left long enough (as in weeks) all of the oil that isn't pooled somewhere will eventually find its way back to the oil pan.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Best Regards,
Shipo
Some work for hosts to remove postings.
Krzys
Synthetic oil and OEM filter every 5k per the owner.
My impression is that "bottom ends" in modern engines are capable of 300K but that usually top ends like cylinder heads, or vital accessories like the oil pump, fail and keep the bottom end from reading the elusive 300K.
In truth, the mileage potential doesn't much matter to owners, since most cars are junked or wrecked or sold prior to the 300K mark anyway.
If you go to a modern wrecking yard, you don't see odometers with 300K on them. Sometimes you see them in advertisements, but who knows what's what with that.
I know that's less than ideal. But it's an old car, as long as it's not too harmful it's worth the convenience to me.
I have been running 15,000 mile OCIs with Mobil One 5w30 for over 700,000 miles. I run one 25,000 miles (5w40 Mobil One Truck and SUV). It is a turbo diesel!!!
I understand most folks are of the 3k OCI bent. Another way to say it would be: why change oil 47 times when 234 times will do just fine!!
As an aside, I think most manufacturer's are going to the longer OCI's. Honda recommends (for my 2004 Civic) 10,000 mile OCI's with CONVENTIONAL oil !!! The (oil) filter recommendation is every OTHER oil change, i.e., each 20,000 miles!!!
All the best !!
Thanks in advance
http://p66conoco76.conocophillips.com/index.htm
Thanks
This is also similar to the Mobil "Drive Clean series."
Ford Motor Company told me Conoco Phillips.
Maybe they dont even know!
lol
So to cut to the quick the old defintion USED to be PAO IV vs III's. There of course are some very highly technical definitions and if you want some good insomnia materials, you might want to do a search on www.chevron.com
Yes, we manufacture Motorcraft lubricants for Ford Motor Company to their published specifications.
Brad Armstrong
Product Specialist
ConocoPhillips Commercial Lubricants
1000 S. Pine
RW 6614
Ponca City, OK 74602
Thanks in advance
If I didn't have leakage issues, I would stay with Mobil One with factory recommended OCI's if one wants to follow that OEM (3/5/7.5k) regime. But I would do the 10,000-15,000 mile OCI with Mobil One 5w20 if it were mine. The conventional 5w20 is a very very robust oil ( and full synthetic also) in spite of doubts and in some cases vilification.