Cold temp oil pour test - synthetic vs dino (no more doubt in my mind)
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 37,305
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Cold temp oil pour test - synthetic vs dino (no more doubt in my mind)
As a result of this thread:
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.php?...&threadid=39683
I couldn't stand it anymore. My curiosity got the better of me and I did yet another xviper "home made" lab experiment.
1 oz. of Castrol GTX 10W30
1 oz. of Mobil 1 Tri-Syn. 10W30
2 small tupperware cups
domestic chest freezer measured at -24.5*C (lab thermometer)(-12*F for the rest of you).
I put the oil in the cups and placed these at the bottom of my chest freezer for 3 hours. At the end of this time I quickly took the cups out and inverted both and watched the oil fall out.
Observations: The Mobil 1 poured out like it wasn't even cold. The Castrol came out like slightly warmed up honey.
You could definately tell which was which. THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. So in answer to the question from the quoted thread: YES, you can tell if the dealer actually put synthetic oil in your car (and without the fuss and expense of sending it to a lab).
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.php?...&threadid=39683
I couldn't stand it anymore. My curiosity got the better of me and I did yet another xviper "home made" lab experiment.
1 oz. of Castrol GTX 10W30
1 oz. of Mobil 1 Tri-Syn. 10W30
2 small tupperware cups
domestic chest freezer measured at -24.5*C (lab thermometer)(-12*F for the rest of you).
I put the oil in the cups and placed these at the bottom of my chest freezer for 3 hours. At the end of this time I quickly took the cups out and inverted both and watched the oil fall out.
Observations: The Mobil 1 poured out like it wasn't even cold. The Castrol came out like slightly warmed up honey.
You could definately tell which was which. THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. So in answer to the question from the quoted thread: YES, you can tell if the dealer actually put synthetic oil in your car (and without the fuss and expense of sending it to a lab).
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Joined: Oct 2000
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From: Timonium
Originally posted by xviper
It's common knowledge that even at the best of times, a cold start produces engine wear equivalent to driving the car 500 miles on the highway.
It's common knowledge that even at the best of times, a cold start produces engine wear equivalent to driving the car 500 miles on the highway.
Sometimes common knowledge is dead wrong. There's no doubt that cold-engine starts wear the engine more than warm starts, but this 500 mile assumption sounds like more than a little bit of an exxageration.
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Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Louisville
[QUOTE]Originally posted by xviper
[B]
Rick, I think when one looks at these numbers, it is very alarming ......... BUT! ....... I remember this test was done by some technical institute many, many years ago.
[B]
Rick, I think when one looks at these numbers, it is very alarming ......... BUT! ....... I remember this test was done by some technical institute many, many years ago.
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Joined: Apr 2001
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From: Sydney
But if you had done it at -20*C there would have been no difference 
.
10W is the same down to -20*C and 5W is the same down to -25*C . It's only at temperatures lower than that, that the paraffin in the dino oil solidifies.
For you poor bastards who live in climates that actually reach -20*C that's useful information
. 10W is the same down to -20*C and 5W is the same down to -25*C . It's only at temperatures lower than that, that the paraffin in the dino oil solidifies.
For you poor bastards who live in climates that actually reach -20*C that's useful information