To the guys using 20w50 - your oil pressure readings similar?

Also for "cold weather" - as long as I start the car and let it warm up for 5 minutes or so before driving and keep the revs under 3k for the first 10minutes or so I would think that would be fine no?

 

Let me ask a simple question, if you were to start a car without any lubrication in it at start what do you think happens? When you start the car are the mechanical interactions any less? So imagine what the very thick lubricant does at start-up before it has time to flow...you figure it out. Did you search on the work of Doug Hillary (on Rennlist and bobtheoilguy)?

 

So many peoples feelings seem to get hurt when you challenge there view of what is right and wrong.
Also so many people have very little real education when it comes to motors and motor-oils on forums like this other then what they have read that has been stated by other un-educated forum experts.

And much is taken out of context or in the wrong context.

My opinion as a person who works as an engineer in the auto sector and oil industry is the motul oil you want to use will be adequate; even for your cold days unless you are doing cold starts on real brutally cold days. With a nice warm up higher vis oils are fine, especially if the car is stored in a heated garage, a worry is usually spiking oil pressure into to high of numberers before the oil has a chance to thin to a reasonable warm oil viscosity; causing the dreaded run dry condition from oil being pumped through a pressure bypass not the engine.

The belief that higher vis oils are in some way much better protectors due to not thining as much is a much misunderstood notion of what the numbers on the bottle really mean. In the above posts I see numerous erronius views or misunderstandings.

Most engine wear occurs at start up due to oil films falling away but there is still no substitute for a good oil when it comes to long term wear. I was going to write more but my day has all of a sudden gotten real busy.

But simple fact is that most wear occurs at start up, I always say if you are so worried about engine wear that you really worry about using the best oil in the world you should consider a pre oiling system instead of what oil to use; that would be of much greater benefit to your car.

 

Aaaaannnddd anyone have that in writing from Todd?

(I'd ask for UOAs to back it up, but I know that is a fantasy)

I use M-one 5W50 BTW "5", not 15

 

Well said Engine guy...Me too Ard.

 

I see about 2.25 at idle, and 4.75 (almost 5 when driving) .. Obviously it fluctuates, but these are the more common readings I notice .. Hope this helps.

BTW, I'm using Valvoline VR1 20w50

Here is my response from Todd/Proto when I asked the question.

On another note, do you have any experience with Valvoline VR1 20w50 on setup's similar to mine ? Need to change the oil soon, and was considering VR1.

We use Valvoline VR1 Racing 20w50 exclusively. It’s a great oil

 

I use M1 5w-40TDT and either my oil sensor is wrong or something else, because while in gear and with throttle above 2.5k rpm, my oil pressure reads 4.75-5 and at idle, it's down at about 2. My oil pressure dips when I let off the throttle and then right when I reapply it, usually from 5 to 4.5 and then straight back up again.

 

That sounds right to me? The oil pressure varies with RPM. Once the engine is warmed up, it should read about 2 at idle and then go up with the rpm to about 4.5-5 while you're driving. So, if you are letting off the throttle, the pressure will dip and go right back up when you get back on the throttle. Sounds normal to me.

 

Just did a little research on the Valvoline VR1
looks like there are two different formulas, one conventional and the other synthetic. Am I to assume that the synthetic one is recommended over the conventional?

 

Why you want to use your car an oil test guinea pig is beyond me.

Porsche reportedly tested the VarioCam Plus system in these engines for 2.5 million activations assume 10 triggers per mile which works out to the VarioCam Plus system working for at least 250K miles.

(I believe based on my limited understanding of when this gets triggered 10 times per mile is a pretty worst case scenario, what a Turbo used as a NY taxi cab might encounter.)

Porsche I'm sure never did the above test with any 20w-50 weight oil or some goofy zinc additives.

There's a 996 Turbo (in fact the car might an 'S' model) owner with over 350K miles on his car and its untouched engine and he's used almost exclusively Mobil 1 0w-40. He drives the car daily -- in the NE too -- and tracks it once in awhile too.

My 03 Turbo gets Mobil 1 5w-50 (not a typo for 15w-50) and runs just fine now with just over 95K miles on it. It started out from day one with Mobil 1 0w-40 and I've used that upon until this year.

My 02 Boxster's engine has over 257K miles on its original engine, original IMSB too, and it has mostly lived on Mobil 1 0w-40 though recently I switched it to 5w-50 just so I do not have to stock different oils.

So, if you want to use some off the reservation oil based on what reasoning and for what gain I can't fathom go ahead.

But only you will know the answer to the question if your car will be fine from using the 20w-50 oil.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

Given that most wear on a normal engine is during start up time, you want the oil to have as much flow as possible during that time. Even at 70F 0w-40 will flow more than 15w-40 until they reach operating temperature. My vote is for 0w-40 for a street car. (/take cover)

Not exact, but gets the point across:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-103/

On the other end, the reason to have higher viscosity on the top end is iff you are getting low oil pressure situations due to severe conditions (racing, etc). For that 5w-50 gets my vote.

From LN Engineering "The only exception to this are the 2001 and later engines with Variocam, since this system is sensitive to oil viscosity and will throw a CEL if the wrong viscosity is used.."
http://www.lnengineering.com/oil.html

That being said, its your car, put whatever you like, believe whomever you want. Though I say stick with approved weights. (/run)

 

Hey,Just to add fuel to this >> New Synthetics of today, regardless of the weight we are talking about here, cling to parts very well to help cold start ups..That being said,,Our oil systems give pressure right away...
Just my thoughts here...