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Oil

5K views 54 replies 17 participants last post by  rpeters549 
#1 ·
I live in the Savannah Ga area and am wondering is it better to use a thicker oil in the winter and thinner oil in summer or vise vercia. summer it gets around 97-110, winter as low as 18
 
#2 ·
Thinner winter and thicker hotter. Or just stay with Honda's recommendation and run a 10/40 all the time. Or a 15/40. Look in your owners manual and it lists oil viscosity versus temperature range. That said, the only thing I would caution against is too thin in summer.
 
#4 ·
I used to work for the City of Phoenix, and their Vehicle Maintenance Department will tell you that the arguments against running thinner oils is all Internet Hogwash.

They only have a few thousand vehicles in their fleet, so I guess they don't know what they are talking about. They maintain every vehicle that the city owns, regardless of what department or agency is using it.

They only stock one grade of engine oil for gasoline engines.

Hold your tongue now, wait for it.......................





5 W 20

yep, 5w20 is the only grade they stock....
and it don't get any hotter anywhere than 127 degrees in Phoenix, AridZona...

why are you worrying? the engine is running at 195-205 degrees all the time anyway,
The hottest ambient air temperature is only about 115 degrees most of the time.

That is 100 degrees cooler than the engine is running at...
don't be getting all stewed up over oil grades for the engine.

The transmissions have nearly all of the adverse effects for the thinner oils, it is not the engine.

This all assumes, that the cooling system is working just as good as it did the day the bike left the factory... and if it is not, you need to fix that problem, not change the oil grade.


10w30 will suffice for any of the engines in a Goldwing.... assuming it has stock bearing clearances.

the transmissions? that is a different story.
 
#7 ·
OK, you asked for it so here it is. I'm sick of........Nah, just kidding. I used to work for the city and he is right on the money. We too only had one gasoline and one Diesel oil. 15/40 for diesels and 10/30 for gasoline. I haven't asked but I would not doubt that by now they do use a 5/20. The new cars run much tighter clearances and need the "lighter" oil to travel through those clearances. Government and municipalities almost always have newer stuff. It's the guys who pay for it that have to run the old junk. :) Used to pi$$ me off when I had to fix the squeaky seat for the building inspector when my old truck didn't even have working AC. But I digress. :) I agree 100% with John and this is why.

EDIT: An interesting sidenote. We had a Fiat Allis loader that used only 2 oils in the entire machine. 15/40 in the engine and Tractor Hydraulic in everything else. Yup, transmission, drive axles (yup hydraulic oil in the drive axles) and of course in the hydraulic system. Wish they were all like that. I don't doubt they could be except for propaganda. You have to use John Deere XXX or Case YYY. We cheated a lot and did not have any issues. Oh maybe we only got 99% rather than 100% but how can you stock all the different specialty oils. I had a guy tell me he could only use Valvoline oil in his car "because it was used to it." It's hard to tell the times it really truly is important and ehn you are just being a sucker and they are picking your pocket.
 
#5 ·
Hhahahahah... winter in Savannah.... Brrrrrr.... :)


Tim
 
#9 ·
Now,
I persisted with working the hound out of that mith....

WHY??? mister SUPERVISOR don't you have the 10w30 for the '87 Chevy engines?

his answer??
the city cannot risk a warranty dispute with General Motors if one of their newer engines bites the dirt, and they walk into the shop and spy a hose with 10w30 and 10w40 straddling the hose for 5w20.....

so, they removed all of the other dispensers, lock stock and barrel drum...
so, then me being one very persistent SOB, but but but, that old '87 Chevy we have at the Fire Department needs the heavier oils......

his answer??? "sez who??"
We have 15,789 old cars in here, and all of them have 5w20 and NOT ONE, mind you, NOT ONE of them has ever had an engine problem related to Engine Oil.................

so, I crawled out of there on my tail bone, and ever since then, I have been repeating his story.
 
#13 ·
OK go to stir the pot. I believe the 87 Chev had no oil related failures, sort of. In 1987 the piston to wall clearance would have been in the area of .004. That is you could slide a .004 feeler gauge between the piton and the cylinder wall. That was when new. At the top of the bore now it might very easily be worn twice that. That's a pretty good gap. Which would squeeze through that gap easier? Light or heavy oil?
In the new high tech days there are engines that have a piston to cylinder clearance of negative 2 microns. That's right the piston is 2 microns bigger than the bore. Can you imagine a heavy oil trying to lube that at 10 below zero?
Sometimes it is not about what is best. It is what is best for me. :)
 
#15 ·
He never even mentioned what bike this was for. We have all assumed the F6b...
Just do what the factory says for the temp. Any oil is better than none!
These oil threads are a kick!!
 
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#18 ·
The tighter tolerances excuse is hogwash as well. One only needs to look at any current model owners manuals. Yes...plural. US spec cars will "require" 5w20, but the very same car, with the same engine, that came off the same assembly line, but sold in Canada or Mexico will say 5W30, or even 10W30 in it's owners manual. The 5W20 "requirement" is for CAFE purposes only. Pressure will be the same at operating temperature regardless of the extremely minor differences in viscosity ratings of a 20 vs 30 oil. Nooks and crannies will still be filled, and pressure activated valve technology will still operate normally no matter what.


The next API rating oils will be taking oils to the next level of 0W16. So you just watch. I did during the 5W20/30 fiasco.
 
#20 ·
Has the OP chimed in yet? Or are we all just having fun?
 
#22 ·
Remember the old days when oil was simple.. 10/20 was for the Singer sewing machine, or lub for the shotgun, 30/40 was for you car, 50 went in the tractor and anything heaver went in the rear end.........
 
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#24 ·
My fingers can't hardly comment on an oil thread with a straight face, (let alone a mixed metaphor) but here goes: I'm really serious. Once when I was worrying about what weight oil to use in a Cessna T210, a grizzled old mechanic, (at my age all old friend mechanics are grizzled) said, "look, the hot end is controlled by all the oil pressure relief valves, thermostats, cowl flaps, and stuff. What matters is the weight of the oil when the engine is COLD. The cold start. That's what tears stuff up, the bearings, the pistons, cylinder walls, etc. Burns up grunting starters, and kills batteries. Use the oil that best fits what temp you are going to be starting the cold engine. Like a good mult-vis oil the manual recommends for your engine. Threre--with a straight face.
 
#25 ·
the cold number on oil is viscosity measured at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, an ambient temp lower than most of us venture out on the bike.

both numbers on oil are made up- additives make it perform as if it were ~ at whichever temp.
 
#26 ·
Oh, I think sub water freezing temps are somewhat commonly ridden in by this tough group of old birds...
Assuming you live in an area where it gets that cold.
 
#27 ·
iirc the test for viscosity is performed after 8 hours of the oil being subject to 32F.
Per owner book a 10w-whatever is plenty thin at cold startup to prevent damage

Some might use a higher concentration of anti-freeze than 50-50 in super cold temps too

With heated riding gear, sub-freezing temp riding is possible- and likely- this winter for many on here.
Remember to consult a wind chill guide and leave no skin exposed.
Wind chill doesnt affect the bike, but human skin is very susceptible to its effect.
How to know it was a great cold ride? 2 fingers are blue!
 
#28 ·
One great thing about the Goldwing - not much body is in the direct wind.
Sorry got sidetracked from original thread topic.
:)
 
#30 ·
I have spent the past 9 yrs in the oil business ,as a certified chevron oil technician every thing here appears to be correct thin oil will not harm old engines but thick oil will destroy a new one but the only number you need to concern yourself with in oil ratings is the second one . 5w30 10w30 are the same viscosity oil at temp the first number indicates its viscosity at freezing and its formulated this way to insure an engine does not dry start in freezing weather .....same with 5w20 and 0w20 they are the same at temp

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk
 
#31 ·
wish I could find some 0w30 in my local store.....

I would really like to keep the ADG working for a long time.......
in the '01 to '05, some bikes have had broken ADG, er, uh,
Alternator Drive Gear.... and that is a PITA to replace.

My little flea bitten brain thinks those have been caused by folks starting the bike up cold, and reving the engine immediately.

I make it a point, every time, do NOT touch that throttle, leave it alone, until it gets warm enough for the idle to return to normal all by its' lonesome.

that's my thoughts, and of course they are keerect!! I thunk it up....
 
#32 ·
Our local Wally World carries 0/30 in Mobil-1. Yours doesn't?
As for the other, yup! A legend in your own mind! (As am I of course). :laugh:
 
#36 ·
Found a good link on what oils to NOT use.....
instead of trying to decide what to use, it is easier to learn what you should NOT use.

http://www.pqiamerica.com/devilsindisguise.htm


just check your owners manual for the oil specification grade and find one that matches that....
no friction modifiers allowed for wet clutches...

and I got that direct from a Mobil 1 oil engineer who is head of their Quality Control department..... and he rides a Honda!!!
 
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