More synth

[Al Powell]

Although I recently took issue with one of Phil's replies, I greatly respect
his experience and expertise.  He added another notch to my knowledge in his
response:

[Over here (UK) "synthetic" usually means Mobil 1 or something similar.  If
you walk into one
of the auto stores such as Halfords and ask for some Mobil 1, they will
without comment give
you a can of 0W30 or 0W40.  These oils _will_ make your lifters rattle -
they're much too thin
for I5 engines.

I wonder if that's what your monkey boys really mean.]

Could well be, Phil. The lighter weight multi-vis oils are getting more
popular all the time, probably because manufacturers are trying to increase
gas mileage and the thinner oils help. I've had excellent luck with
synthetics, and over the past years, I recall that many I-5 engines with
noisy lifters have been quieted by a switch to synthetic. However, as per
your point, I suspect that a multi-vis oil with that low a bottom-end would
not be a good choice. If a motor clattered with 0-40, I'd certainly try a
different weight like the classic 10-30 weight. I also have observed that if
an engine is using a bit of oil, running a 5-30 or a 0-30 will often make
the oil consumption worse. Running an oil with a bit higher viscosity range
usually reduces the consumption.

I am a big fan of synthetics and have done a fair amount of homework on
them. Especially for turbo engines, I think they're the most sensible choice
because of their resistance to coking, their longevity  and their reduced
viscosity shift in high-temp service. However, I can't say I'm a fan of the
multi-vis oils with a very low range.

************************************
Al Powell
apowell at gocougs.wsu.edu
1958 Fiat 1200 Transformabile Spyder
1983 Datsun 280ZX Turbo
1993 Audi 90Q
1997 Chebby Blazer
1999 Chebby Blazer
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