Mobil 1 oil weight

[Grant Lenahan]

I'd really suggest anyone who really wants to know, read the article(s) 
I suggested. I cannot do the job Dr. Haas did.

That said, my summary is:

1.) the world is wrong.  Most oils are too thick, and the manufacturers 
even are living in the remote past
2.) yes, synthetics hold up at high temps amazingly well. Read the 
flash point specs for, say, mobil1 0W40.
3.) since 90%+ of wear is when the motor is cold, and oil is not 
flowing well, who cares about the other 10%?

That said, turbos are a unique situation, running VERY hot, with VERY 
tight tolerances.  Yes, most good synthetics today will stand up tot he 
high temps of turbos, even in "thin"formulations.  Again, read the 
specs. Flash point defines the point at which oil begins to vaporize - 
which is bad, but also just before it begins to coke, whcih is VERY 
bad.

but think also of a turbo. It may spin at between 10,000 and 100,000 
rpm. When cold, oil cannot keep up. Period.
Thin oil flows better and therefore is less terrible at lower 
temperatures.  You cannot avoid cold.  Cold is when most motor and 
turbo bearing wear occurs - maybe 90-99% if it. The rest is ireelevant.

hot is another story.  You rarely get that hot. When you do, anyone 
who's read the manual knows to let the car idle for 30-100 sec to let 
oil cool the bearing prior to shut down.

So much for theory.  in reality, I ran M1 5W30 year-round in my 2000 
S4.  The 2000 S4 had the tiny K03 turbos that were fragile.  One night 
after a hard run home in the hot summer, I looked under my car and they 
were glowing, very faintly, red. This means between 600-750 degF.  yes, 
you read that right.

My turbos were quiet and perfect at 80k when I sold the car.  very 
simply, I:

- drove it very easy until the oil was at 70-80 deg Celcius
- coopled it down after every run, longer after a hard run
- ran M1 5W30 year round, with 6k changes

If I knew what I do now, I would have run either M1 0W40 or ELF 0W30, 
both of whcih are ACEA A3 rated, porsche approved and have superior 
specifications.

if anyone wants my crib sheet of oil specs, just email me. Its excel.

The link for Haas' tirade on oil is:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/faq.php?faq=haas_articles


Grant



On Apr 29, 2007, at 8:46 PM, Ameer Antar wrote:

> So, you're saying that the weight in the manual is too thick, even for 
> a turbo
> motor? Is that because the new synthetic oil is different from the oil
> available in '85?
>
> I don't think I'll be seeing those cold temps this summer, but it's 
> good to
> know the oil is capable of that range. I guess I might try 0w40 like 
> you're
> suggesting.
>
> -Ameer
>
>
> -------------------- Original Message --------------------
> From: Grant Lenahan [glenahan at vfemail.net]
> To: Ameer Antar [antar at comcast.net]
> Cc: Quattro List [quattro at audifans.com]
> Date: 4/29/07 12:08:37 PM
> Subject: Re: Mobil 1 oil weight
>
>> Both 10w30 and 15w40/50 are too thick. run either 5W-30 or 0W40.
>>
>> If your oil stays below 100 degC, all of those oils are TOO THICK, if
>> you do a flow test.
>> Unless you are truly racing, it is a fallacy that you need thicker 
>> oil.
>>  What you should really concentrate on is somethign that will give 
>> good
>> lubrication at 20,30,40 deg C.
>>
>> If you want lots of data to support this, do a search for "motor oil
>> 101" by AEHAAS, who's done extensive research on the subject.
>>
>> 0W40 is approved by Audi (VW50x.x approvals) for all temperatures we
>> encounter in the USA/Canada/mexico at least.
>>
>> I used 5W30 in my biturbo S4 (far more demanding than most motors) 
>> with
>> great results.
>> I subsequently saw the specs on 0W40 and "that's all she wrote". Its
>> quite impressive.
>>
>> You should look for an oil with ACEA A3/B3 approval if you want the
>> best hgih temp/high shear protection.
>>
>> Another great oil choice is ELF Excellium Full Tech synthetic 5W40 or
>> 0W30.
>>
>> Grant
>>
>>
>> On Apr 29, 2007, at 11:58 AM, Ameer Antar wrote:
>>
>>> I'm about to do an oil change and was wondering what's the consensus
>>> on running
>>> full synthetic 10W30 during the early summer. That's what I ran 
>>> during
>>> the
>>> winter, but not sure if I should change that up now. I live in CT, so
>>> temps
>>> will definitely be in the 80's when I need another oil change. I know
>>> the
>>> manual calls for 15w40, but I'm not sure if that applies to full
>>> synthetic.
>>> There is a 15w40 available in the extended performance oil, but it's
>>> more
>>> expensive and very hard to find around here. So far, no ticking noise
>>> from the
>>> lifters, but everything is fairly new. Am I going to do any damage
>>> running
>>> 10w30? What about 0w-40? TIA.
>>>
>>> -Ameer _______________________________________________
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