I apologize if my comment caused confusion. I meant it behaves as a cold 5W oil, giving it a (slightly) higher viscosity. I guess I should have fleshed that comment out more.


Not sure where you get the 60cSt number. It's usually below 20, at least for a 5W oil.

Viscosity Charts

Because it isn't an SAE-5 oil, it is an oil blend. A 5W30 isn't going to perform the same as a SAE-5 or an SAE-30, most of the time it is somewhere in between. It's properties are such that it can pass the minimum test for SAE-30, however there actually isn't any standardized test for Winter weight and most oils certainly wouldn't pass the test of SAE-5.

The viscosity numbers quoted (60 cSt @ 100F) is an average from actual manufacturer test data. On a cold start on a cold day it will be slightly higher, probably around 80-90.

I HAVE NO CLUE AS TO WHAT I AM DOING. With that said, I still give the car a 30 second warm up and then take it easy for the first mile, check where the temp is, and determine wether or not to raise the rev's.

On cold starts I tend to let the idle come down to normal or at least sub 1krpm before going anywhere and then keep it under 4k rpm until temperature gets to around 180.

I've had the issue a few times where I really want to play with someone when the car's cold and I haven't done it...I feel your pain.

^Same here. I try to be as gentle as possible when it is still completely cold but as it warms up, I generally increase the rpms and or throttle that I would allow and would never give it WOT until the temps hit 170 at least.

Maybe I'm confused. I was under the impression that an SAE 5W-30 met the 5W low temp test, as well as the 30 weight 100C test, and behaved as in the following chart:

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/i...a/BP_Fig_1.gif

I know there's a lot of misinformation out there though, and I probably got some of it-- I won't pretend to know everything about oil. I am genuinely curious about how they rate the winter oils, if there is no standardized test. I was under the impression that the timed orifice method was used for the 100C test, and then it had to meet a standard at 40C, based on the cranking/pumping characteristics.

In a perfect world they would want the oil to have the ideal properties of both, both the reality is that it is currently impossible. Trade offs have to be made at either end. Given that the oil spends most of its live at operating temperature they make a few more trade offs in the lower range.

I understand that, but I thought it had to meet the cranking and pumping specs of the lighter weight oil at 40C?

Why hasn't this turned into a lambo vs z thread?!

They do. But it doesn't have to pass the full SAE test regiment that they do at operating temperature. The cranking and pumping tests aren't very tough, basically just there to assure that your oil won't turn to molasses at lower temperatures. It's the other standard tests such as the API (currently SN standard) that are more important and test the wear resistance and longevity of the oil.

Haha, I agree.

SAE weight is about as accurate as stirring the oil with your finger and comparing it to honey, syrup, or pudding and then lumping it under that category.

Look at cSt at a given temperature. It is much more relevant to a combustion engine, where SAE weight is much more relevant to pouring a liquid through a small hole out of a bottle. Completely worthless spec. imo.

I really doubt that....

The tires alone on a Veyron cost more than your Z KBB's for if you still had it, depending on trim level.

I have always been told to let your car warm up a little at first. With that said, waiting till the oil temp guage says 180 is pretty warm for a first rip. My car takes like 20 minutes to get to that temp it seems, and this is in the summer. I let her loose at 140-160 haha. Who knows how accurate those Oil Temp guages are anyways...