Just wondering if any of you really change your oil viscosity in the winter. The owners manual says to run 10-30 or even lower viscosity oil in the winter. I just dont feel comfortable running anything less than 15-40 in my baby! What do you think? Should we really change to 10-30 or even 5-30 in the winter? I know it would make it easier to start and circulate the oil a little quicker but once warmed up those lower weight oils seem too thin for me.<br><br>Keith

 

I run my Delo 15-40 year round and it get's pretty cold here. I agree on the others seeming way too thin! ;D<br><br>Tony

 

I run rotella-t 15-w40 all year round. I have a couple of friends that go to a lower weight oil. They have not had any problems. ???

 

[quote author=wheels link=board=5;threadid=6488;start=0#60431 date=1036162193]<br>Just wondering if any of you really change your oil viscosity in the winter. The owners manual says to run 10-30 or even lower viscosity oil in the winter. I just dont feel comfortable running anything less than 15-40 in my baby! What do you think? Should we really change to 10-30 or even 5-30 in the winter? I know it would make it easier to start and circulate the oil a little quicker but once warmed up those lower weight oils seem too thin for me.<br><br>Keith<br>[/quote]<br><br>I use 15-40 in winter with the block heater!<br><br>KC

 

Delo 15 - 40 year round.

 

I agree, Rotella 15-w40 year round.<br><br>Gene

 

My Uncle is a HD Diesel mechanic and he runs mobil 1 syn 5w30 in his Cummins. Also changes it at 200 hrs instead of the 150 hrs with 15w40 in the summer. He lives in central Alberta where it is cold. <br><br>I live in WA, and will use 10w30 next change.<br><br>Mike<br>

 

Mike,<br>You need to tell your uncle about Mobil's Delvac 1 5W-40 synthetic. It is blended by Mobil for Heavy duty diesel service; their Mobil 1 5W-30 oil does not meet the requirements for our engine. If he doesn't believe you, have him read the owners manual for &quot;oil requirements&quot; and then have him read the labels on both Mobil 1 and Delvac 1, side by side. The labels tell the story, but they don't shout it out, they just whisper, so you have to listen close...<br>(Note: Mobil 1 in the Cummins &quot;works&quot;, but you get increased wear of some parts. It takes miles and miles before the troubles show up, but it will catch up with him eventually...)

 

15w-40 AMSOIL year around.......

 

[quote author=HC link=board=5;threadid=6488;start=0#61334 date=1036352048]<br>Mike,<br>You need to tell your uncle about Mobil's Delvac 1 5W-40 synthetic. It is blended by Mobil for Heavy duty diesel service; their Mobil 1 5W-30 oil does not meet the requirements for our engine. If he doesn't believe you, have him read the owners manual for &quot;oil requirements&quot; and then have him read the labels on both Mobil 1 and Delvac 1, side by side. The labels tell the story, but they don't shout it out, they just whisper, so you have to listen close...<br>(Note: Mobil 1 in the Cummins &quot;works&quot;, but you get increased wear of some parts. It takes miles and miles before the troubles show up, but it will catch up with him eventually...)<br>[/quote]<br><br>Thanks HC- I will tell him. Where does the 5w40 fit in order of viscosity with 15w40 and 5w-30?<br>I might have to do that as well.<br><br>Mike

 

I would never use a 30 weight oil.. But I do change right about now to a Semi-Synthetic 0W-40 blend from Esso in thier Heavy duty oils.. It is certified Cummins/ Mack / Cat and is great for cold weather starts.. You get oil pressure right away and still have the 40 weight when it gets warm.

I would highly recommend it as a person who doesn't always get to plug it in and have to start at -25..

Its XD-3 0W40 by Esso.

The following Data sheet also deals with Viscositys of the different grades .

Esso XD-3

J-eh

 

hi, I new to the board just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents

we have always had diesels in my family ........

my dad runs amsoil 15w40 synthetic sumer and series 3000 5w30 winter, in both my mom's tdi jetta(230,000km) and his 85 toyota diesel pick up(480,000km) ........ he only changes the oil twice a year (spring and fall) since it's synthetic. both cars run like a top and burn no oil .......

his old landcruiser diesel (I learned to drive on that one way back when) went 800,000km before we shut it down due to rust problems ..... he alwyas ran esso xd3 15w40 sumer and xd3 0w30 winter on that one(we had no plug in then and it would start down to -25 with the 0 weight, after that he had to heat it up with the tiger torch)

I run esso xd3 15w40 summer an esso xd3 10w30 winter in my 99 ram(150,000km) no problems yet

if I was towing or working my truck hard I'd run 15w40 year round and garage the truck(it gets -40 regularly in the winter around here ........)

 

[quote author=Marine link=board=5;threadid=6488;start=0#61794 date=1036434872]<br>Where does the 5w40 fit in order of viscosity with 15w40 and 5w-30?[/quote]<br>In theory, the 5W-40 should be as good as the 5W-30 for cold starts, and as good as the 15W-40 at normal temperatures. One of the true oil experts could give you a better answer; I'm sure there's some variation of minimum pour point, which one holds viscosity as miles build up, or some subtle difference between brands - I just don't know to that level of detail. <br><br>I think (maybe) the 15W-40 synthetic will &quot;cold start&quot; better than a 15W-40 dino oil, so I don't feel like I really need to go to one of the 5w-xx options in my warmer climate. And I like the feeling that at the summertime temperatures, I'll have the owner's manual recommened weight of 15W-40. If I expected to need to start in sub-zero (F.) temperatures, I would chose the 5W-40 instead. I'm considering switching to the 5W-40 anyway just for grins and to compare oil analysis numbers, but I don't like frequent brand-switching. I routinely do the oil analysis thing, so I've become very comfortable with Amsoil in general and their 15W-40 HD Diesel and Marine oil in particular. However, if someone wants API certified, &quot;big brand name&quot; oil, and is maybe a little nervous about thinner oils, then I think Mobil's Delvac 1 is a good choice for those people. To make a long story short (oops, too late), some synthetic fans who know more about oil than me are chosing Amsoil 15W-40, while other's who also know more about oil than me are chosing Delvac 1.