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Desired Oil Specifications


nic walker

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Wal Mart has the following oil on a sales promotion : Havoline Himi 5W30 5-Quart Motor Oil for $14.97

 

I know nothing about oil chemistry/weights, and was curious if the high mileage ........and the 5w is a desirable combination for the 3800.

 

At one point many years ago I was told to forget all of the hype..... and to just go with conventional oil, use a decent filter, and change per factory weights & intervals. 

 

Current thoughts please....

 

and Thanks!

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On 8/25/2018 at 10:14 AM, nic walker said:

At one point many years ago I was told to forget all of the hype..... and to just go with conventional oil, use a decent filter, and change per factory weights & intervals.  

 

I agree with that but if I need to save money on auto maintenance costs, I'll buy cheap windshield washer fluid instead of cheap oil.

 

We all have our views on oil. Some say oil is oil as long as it meets the car manufacture specifications. I'm a firm believer that oil is the life blood of your engine so I buy what I know is going to keep my engine clean inside and well lubricated.   I have run Castrol GTX in my vehicles for most of my life and will continue to do so. It's served me well. I usually put over 200k on my vehicles with no engine mechanical problems.

 

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21 hours ago, ChrisWhewell said:

I blend, 20w-50 motorcycle oil with straight 20 weight. The motorcycle oil still has high zinc levels that my Reatta was designed for, I think api spec SG was the perf level in 1990

 

Does the Reatta need High Zinc oil. I was under the impression that hardened valve seats became standard in about 1980.  Am I wrong?

 

Murray

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Remember everyone has their own opinions and here is mine;

 I buy the cheapest oil on special, hopefully with a rebate I can find. I then buy AC oil filters from Rock Auto [ 6 at a time when I buy other items to save on freight]. I change my oil every 3000 miles and have over 280,000 miles on both the Red and the Black. But then again I drive my Reattas a total of about 30,000 miles a year. 

 My thoughts are the oils today are formulated better then oil was in 1989/90.

Edited by DAVES89 (see edit history)
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The important specification for a multigrade oil is that it has the hot (ie, 100°C) viscosity of a 30-grade oil.  The first part of the viscosity (0W-, 5W-, 10W-, etc) is the oil's cold temperature performance (W means winter).  You can easily substitute a 0W-30 or 10W-30 oil for the manufacturer's recommended 5W-30.  Generally, only synthetic oils can get 0W cold weather performance.  Excessively thick oil when cold does not pump very well and can lead to additional engine wear.  See Engine Wear.

 

The requirement for the reduced  phosphorus (the antiwear component of ZDDP) content is to minimize poisoning of catalytic converters and has nothing to do with hardened valve seats.  The concern with hardened valve seats had to do with the phase-out leaded gasoline in the 70s.

 

If you have a passenger car engine with its original flat-tappet valve train (ie, no high pressure valve springs), modern Starburst oils (with a 600-800 ppm phosphorus limit) will be fine.  Additional ZDDP in the oil (as found in HDEO) will reduce valve train wear with the risk of faster poisoning of exhaust catalysts.  See Engine Oil Myths - GM TechLink.

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I have changed my thinking on the oil viscosity and brand names. I used to use higher viscosity oils than recommended as the increased oil pressure made me feel I was being extra caring for my engine. For an engine used regularly and brought up to full temperature on most occasions, almost any good quality oil should be fine. I am down to three vehicles and a single driver so oil gets changed once a year, and use full synthetic 0w-xx motor oils. If you think about it, clearances are at a minimum with a cold engine and a very light viscosity rating will flow the best and at higher temperatures the upper temperature rating should be at least as high as originally specified. Bearing clearances on the Buick V6 are very tight, it has a crank driven gerotor oil pump plus roller lifters, so no need for excess viscosity. What I find interesting is 0w-40 motor oil, (popular for European engines), is easier to find than 0w-30. JMHO

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