Oil weight

From: BARRY OLIVER (DHSPA58@dhs.state.il.us)
Date: Wed Feb 11 2004 - 13:08:57 EST


Hey guys, I recently changed my oil in the Dak. Who cares - right? Well it turns out that I ended up with 5w30 instead of 10w30 [mobil1]. Given that it's been gawdauful K-K-Kooooold here lately (subjective) the lighter oil seemed like a good idea anyway, so I went with it. Which brings me to my question:
    I have been switching weights with the seasons, 10w30 in the cold, 15w50 in the heat up to this point, and Blackstone has confirmed some facts for me. The most interesting is that, fresh out of the bottle, the 15w50 is better oil, in almost every respect. After 6000 miles [hot], the 15w50 was only showing a little over 1/2 used, and according to Blackstone, could have been pushed to close to 10k safely. The 10w30 was almost completely used up after 4500 miles [cold], and should probably have been changed after 4000 or so. I am assuming that the 5w30 will also suffer this "shorter" lifespan, but I haven't sent samples in to confirm or deny this.
    As an experement, I also tried delo400 15w40 dino oil for almost 3000 miles. I probably could have gone longer, but it was getting cold, and 15w40 seemed too heavy. I'll post the results of that , and of the 10w30 castrol synthetic blend that I am trying in the bimmer currently, when I get them. Oh yeah, I had a question.. Do any of you guys that run 10w30 year round, ALSO send your oil to blackstone for testing? I'd like to see how it holds up during the summer.
BTW this is all in a stock, 99, 318 with a K&N and a Mopar catback, with factory plugs and thermostat.

                              -Barry
MCP, A+, Network+, Server+
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