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FREEDGUY 
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 Topic: Oil Viscosity ?
Posted: 08 Jun 2021 at 7:46pm |
The wifes "buggy" calls for 0w20 synthetic or a 5w30 conventional substitute  . Does this seem like a huge jump in viscosity to you guys ?
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Lars(wi)
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Posted: 08 Jun 2021 at 7:51pm |
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To me , not really that big of a jump. Now if you talking going from 0w-20, to say a 15w-40, or to a straight SAE 30, now that is a jump.
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I tried to follow the science, but it was not there. I then followed the money, and that’s where I found the science.
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FREEDGUY
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Posted: 08 Jun 2021 at 8:00pm |
Thanks Lars, the conventional/synthetic #'s throw me
I guess it's the "0"w ??? that scares me, "0" seems like pee water viscosity to me 
Edited by FREEDGUY - 08 Jun 2021 at 8:02pm
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Lars(wi)
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Posted: 08 Jun 2021 at 8:04pm |
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If you can’t find 0w-20 synthetic, then go with 5w-20 synthetic, or 5w-30 synthetic.
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I tried to follow the science, but it was not there. I then followed the money, and that’s where I found the science.
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FREEDGUY
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Posted: 08 Jun 2021 at 8:06pm |
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I went with 5W30 SEMI. What does the "0" stand for ?
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JTOOL
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Posted: 08 Jun 2021 at 11:26pm |
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@FREEDGUY; I know that I'm stirring up the hornet's nest here but oil is oil. Don't put anything from 50wt to 140wt in the engine and you'll be fine.
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JTOOL
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Posted: 09 Jun 2021 at 12:00am |
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@FREEDGUY; Actually, now that I read my previous post, 20W50 is OK in certain circumstances. Just don't use 60 weight (or higher) oil in an engine. LOL.
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JohnColo
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Posted: 09 Jun 2021 at 12:21am |
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An old stubborn, "thrifty" neighbor ran 90 weight in his 8N ford, it still smoked a lot but it ran!
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Tbone95
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Posted: 09 Jun 2021 at 6:09am |
 FREEDGUY wrote:
I went with 5W30 SEMI. What does the "0" stand for ? |
"0" stands for 0 on the viscosity scale, which is, you already said it water. Not that water truly has NO viscosity, it does, but it's an arbitrary start point for a scale, much like when it's 0 degrees F or 0 degrees C, it's just a reference point.
"W" much to everyone's chagrin does not stand for WEIGHT, it stands for WINTER, which means the first number is the viscosity when it's cold/ cold weather, then higher viscosity when it gets warm. Yes, "backwards" to common thinking, through the magic of science.
So 0W pours and flows like water when it's cold, and develops some viscosity when it's warm, but not as much as 30, 40, whatever.
So no, 5W30 isn't really that much of a jump.
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PaulB
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Posted: 09 Jun 2021 at 6:53am |
JohnColo wrote:
An old stubborn, "thrifty" neighbor ran 90 weight in his 8N ford, it still smoked a lot but it ran!
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Old worn out Fords need engine oil that thick to suppress the knocking. Some of the tractor jockeys even add sawdust 
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If it was fun to pull in LOW gear, I could have a John Deere.
Real pullers don't have speed limits.
If you can't make it GO... make it SHINY
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WF owner
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Posted: 09 Jun 2021 at 7:29am |
The newer engines are designed for high volume lubrication, so you need a thinner oil. If you use a heavier oil, like 15W-40, it will run, but lubrication will be slightly compromised and longevity could be lessened.
Think about how, in the 50's to the 80's, people bragged about getting 100,000 miles out of a car/truck. Now, no ones notices when you get twice that many miles.
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Tbone95
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Posted: 09 Jun 2021 at 7:36am |
WF owner wrote:
The newer engines are designed for high volume lubrication, so you need a thinner oil. If you use a heavier oil, like 15W-40, it will run, but lubrication will be slightly compromised and longevity could be lessened.
Think about how, in the 50's to the 80's, people bragged about getting 100,000 miles out of a car/truck. Now, no ones notices when you get twice that many miles. |
Yeah, totally agree. Don't see a guy in his garage adjusting the valves on a 2020 very often.
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WF owner
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Posted: 09 Jun 2021 at 7:56am |
Remember "tune ups"; points, plugs, condensor, adjust timing and adjust carburetor ? Remember stuck chokes and holding the choke open on a flooded engine that wouldn't start on a cold morning ? Many times they backfired through the carburetor sending out a ball of flames !
The good old days, my butt (for lack of a shorter word) !!!
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Tbone95
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Posted: 09 Jun 2021 at 8:58am |
WF owner wrote:
Remember "tune ups"; points, plugs, condensor, adjust timing and adjust carburetor ? Remember stuck chokes and holding the choke open on a flooded engine that wouldn't start on a cold morning ? Many times they backfired through the carburetor sending out a ball of flames !
The good old days, my butt (for lack of a shorter word) !!! |
Exactly.
Had a friend in college who's car would flood, told him to hold the accelerator to the floor. "I don't need more gas, it's already flooded!" I explained, no, don't pump it, just press it once all the way to the floor and hold it there, it will crack the butterfly open just a tad. Trust me. It worked, and he was amazed.
We had an IH pickup that.....well.....so many things, but we had a Spray- N-Wash bottle of gasoline sitting in the seat with us. Often needed a friend to help start it, one to spray gas in the carb while another cranked it. Would often burn the hair off your knuckles!
Oh, and speaking of reaching over the box side, THAT was EASY, because the whole damn side rusted and fell completely off!
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FREEDGUY
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Posted: 09 Jun 2021 at 6:14pm |
Tbone95 wrote:
FREEDGUY wrote:
I went with 5W30 SEMI. What does the "0" stand for ? |
"0" stands for 0 on the viscosity scale, which is, you already said it water. Not that water truly has NO viscosity, it does, but it's an arbitrary start point for a scale, much like when it's 0 degrees F or 0 degrees C, it's just a reference point.
"W" much to everyone's chagrin does not stand for WEIGHT, it stands for WINTER, which means the first number is the viscosity when it's cold/ cold weather, then higher viscosity when it gets warm. Yes, "backwards" to common thinking, through the magic of science.
So 0W pours and flows like water when it's cold, and develops some viscosity when it's warm, but not as much as 30, 40, whatever. Thank you for the interpretation of the viscosities 
So no, 5W30 isn't really that much of a jump. |
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Stan IL&TN
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Posted: 09 Jun 2021 at 7:31pm |
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Wife's car calls for 0w16 with 0w20 as an alternative. I run the 0w20 as the other is hard to find......or it was at the time anyway. I like the thin stuff. It comes out of the pan fast and out of the new bottle fast too.😜
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1957 WD45 dad's first AC
1968 one-seventy
1956 F40 Ferguson
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JTOOL
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Posted: 09 Jun 2021 at 9:58pm |
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@JohnColo; In Colorado? Did he ever run it in a Colorado winter? The reason I ask is because years ago when I was working at a diesel shop in central MO, during a long cold snap (0*F high for 2 weeks), I had to go on a service call with the road tech to a local truck stop where an operator who had his truck shut off for several days, somehow got that old girl to start. Sadly, the oil was so thick that it literally split/blew BOTH oil filters off (NH/NTC Cummins?). Just curious.
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shameless dude
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Posted: 09 Jun 2021 at 11:40pm |
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used to have a brother that had an old ford something car, started burning oil, and since it was all he could afford, had to keep driving it to school, moved up from 30 WT, on to 40-50 WT, on up to 90 WT, and on farther up to 120 WT. smoked BAD and stunk bad too, could always tell when his car was in the area...could smell that burning gear lube smell. i think the fire dept got it for training!
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