Not wanting to open Pandora's Box on oil brand vs brand and conventional vs synthetic,but what would be the ideal weight of oil for the 283's,327's,and 427's of the sixties.I think most of us drive in the 40-90 degree temperature range.Thanks Don,64 Coupe.................
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Re: 30W,10W30,10W40,20W50 ????
Don----
Remarkably, most of the engines of the 60s carried manufacturer's oil viscosity recomendations very similar to those of today, although there were more acceptable choices to select from than now. The BIG DIFFERENCE is the quality of the oils. Run-of-the-mill oils today are FAR, FAR SUPERIOR to the VERY BEST oils of the 60s. And, in my opinion, synthetics are the "creme de la creme".
For engines in good mechanical condition and operated between 40-100 degreesF , I would use 10W30 or, possibly, 10W-40. In fact, I plan to standardize on 10W-30 Mobil 1 for all my Corvettes. In my opinion, considering the quality and lubricating properties of today's oil, you just don't need a heavyweight oil anymore for a street driven Corvette.In Appreciation of John Hinckley -
Re: 30W,10W30,10W40,20W50 ????
Don----
Remarkably, most of the engines of the 60s carried manufacturer's oil viscosity recomendations very similar to those of today, although there were more acceptable choices to select from than now. The BIG DIFFERENCE is the quality of the oils. Run-of-the-mill oils today are FAR, FAR SUPERIOR to the VERY BEST oils of the 60s. And, in my opinion, synthetics are the "creme de la creme".
For engines in good mechanical condition and operated between 40-100 degreesF , I would use 10W30 or, possibly, 10W-40. In fact, I plan to standardize on 10W-30 Mobil 1 for all my Corvettes. In my opinion, considering the quality and lubricating properties of today's oil, you just don't need a heavyweight oil anymore for a street driven Corvette.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Joe is right, again.....
but for the added protection it does not hurt to go 20W 50. Case in point, I took delivery of my 91 Blaser S10 4Dr on Jan 3rd, 1991, and after the initial 3000 miles, time for the oil change, out went the fossil, in went Mobil 1 10W 30. When 20W 50 hit the shelves, I switched to the higher viscosity oil, reason? Old road racer like me used Valvoline 50W racing oil in the 427, and saw no harm in the higher viscosity. Anyway, since 91, I've put 179 thou miles, and the V6 is still as strong as the day I picked it up, no oil leaks, no oil fouled plugs, no oil consumption, and though the winters and summers in Cleveland are not of the severe nature, we do get spells when it gets to zero in winter, and 100 in summer, so, needless to say, I am pleased with the oil's performance.
One word of caution, I switched to synthetic on a fresh motor with only 3000 miles. If you are planning to switch and the motor has tons of miles, it may do more harm than good, as synthetic will find leaks that fossil oil won't.Comment
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Joe is right, again.....
but for the added protection it does not hurt to go 20W 50. Case in point, I took delivery of my 91 Blaser S10 4Dr on Jan 3rd, 1991, and after the initial 3000 miles, time for the oil change, out went the fossil, in went Mobil 1 10W 30. When 20W 50 hit the shelves, I switched to the higher viscosity oil, reason? Old road racer like me used Valvoline 50W racing oil in the 427, and saw no harm in the higher viscosity. Anyway, since 91, I've put 179 thou miles, and the V6 is still as strong as the day I picked it up, no oil leaks, no oil fouled plugs, no oil consumption, and though the winters and summers in Cleveland are not of the severe nature, we do get spells when it gets to zero in winter, and 100 in summer, so, needless to say, I am pleased with the oil's performance.
One word of caution, I switched to synthetic on a fresh motor with only 3000 miles. If you are planning to switch and the motor has tons of miles, it may do more harm than good, as synthetic will find leaks that fossil oil won't.Comment
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Re: Joe is right, again.....
I've switched to synthetic oil (Mobil 1, in my case) on a number of engines, from freshly rebuilt ones to ones that have been around the block a few times, and I've never noticed any increase (or decrease) in oil leaks because of the switch to the synthetic oil.
Bill BairdComment
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Re: Joe is right, again.....
I've switched to synthetic oil (Mobil 1, in my case) on a number of engines, from freshly rebuilt ones to ones that have been around the block a few times, and I've never noticed any increase (or decrease) in oil leaks because of the switch to the synthetic oil.
Bill BairdComment
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Re: Joe is right, again.....
George----
Just a couple of comments:
First, one thing that one has to be careful of is that most late model GM cars and trucks specify the use of 5W-30 or 10W-30 in the owner's manuals. Usually, they say that 5W-30 is "preferred", but allow the use of 10W-30 under certain ambient temperature conditions. For some engines, 10W-30 is the "preferred" viscosity. Usually, the owner's manuals are very specific and include an admonition that NO OTHER oil viscosities are approved. So, at least during the warranty period, I'd never use any other oil viscosity.
Second, I like you always used to think that heavier weight oil offerred better protection. And, in the old days, it did. The heavier weight somewhat "made up" for deficiencies which the old technology oil exhibited in lubricating properties. However, I've now "adjusted" my thinking. Bear in mind that the lower the viscosity of the lubricating oil, the greater the horsepower that the engine can produce and the greater the fuel economy. Of course, we're not talking about MAJOR benefit here, but there is SOME benefit. Coupled with the fact that with lower viscosity, modern oils you don't lose anything in terms of engine protection, why not use them?In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: Joe is right, again.....
George----
Just a couple of comments:
First, one thing that one has to be careful of is that most late model GM cars and trucks specify the use of 5W-30 or 10W-30 in the owner's manuals. Usually, they say that 5W-30 is "preferred", but allow the use of 10W-30 under certain ambient temperature conditions. For some engines, 10W-30 is the "preferred" viscosity. Usually, the owner's manuals are very specific and include an admonition that NO OTHER oil viscosities are approved. So, at least during the warranty period, I'd never use any other oil viscosity.
Second, I like you always used to think that heavier weight oil offerred better protection. And, in the old days, it did. The heavier weight somewhat "made up" for deficiencies which the old technology oil exhibited in lubricating properties. However, I've now "adjusted" my thinking. Bear in mind that the lower the viscosity of the lubricating oil, the greater the horsepower that the engine can produce and the greater the fuel economy. Of course, we're not talking about MAJOR benefit here, but there is SOME benefit. Coupled with the fact that with lower viscosity, modern oils you don't lose anything in terms of engine protection, why not use them?In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Bill, the reason you haven't notices oils leaks is
that there were none, or that there were no potential areas for the synthetic to find and escape. One of the attributes of synthetic, is the ability of the oil to flow, regardless of temperatures, and this attribute is also synthetic's downfall, its ability to find potential areas to leak. Since your gaskets and seals were tight, the potential for leaks were non existant.
Syunthetics will leak in an area even though fossil oil won't.
Joe and I danced around the mullberry bush on this subject on an another board.
The bottom line, synthetic is great stuff if you don't have leaker, and, yes it takes more HP to pump higher viscosity oil, but not as much to pump synthetic as compared to fossil oil.Comment
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Bill, the reason you haven't notices oils leaks is
that there were none, or that there were no potential areas for the synthetic to find and escape. One of the attributes of synthetic, is the ability of the oil to flow, regardless of temperatures, and this attribute is also synthetic's downfall, its ability to find potential areas to leak. Since your gaskets and seals were tight, the potential for leaks were non existant.
Syunthetics will leak in an area even though fossil oil won't.
Joe and I danced around the mullberry bush on this subject on an another board.
The bottom line, synthetic is great stuff if you don't have leaker, and, yes it takes more HP to pump higher viscosity oil, but not as much to pump synthetic as compared to fossil oil.Comment
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Re: Bill, the reason you haven't notices oils leak
Some of the engines were in good shape and not leaking, others had their fair share of minor leaks. Before I switched to synthetic oil, I did a fair amount of reading up on the potential benefits and drawbacks, and some people were saying that synthetic oils would leak LESS than conventional oils, while others were saying that the synthetic oils would leak MORE.
So, not knowing what to expect, I kept an eye out for any changes in oil leakage, but I never noticed any. As I said previously, some of the engines were nice and leak free, while others were "seepers". Nothing changed with the switch to Mobil 1.
Bill BairdComment
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Re: Bill, the reason you haven't notices oils leak
Some of the engines were in good shape and not leaking, others had their fair share of minor leaks. Before I switched to synthetic oil, I did a fair amount of reading up on the potential benefits and drawbacks, and some people were saying that synthetic oils would leak LESS than conventional oils, while others were saying that the synthetic oils would leak MORE.
So, not knowing what to expect, I kept an eye out for any changes in oil leakage, but I never noticed any. As I said previously, some of the engines were nice and leak free, while others were "seepers". Nothing changed with the switch to Mobil 1.
Bill BairdComment
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Bill, that is interesting to know.....
that some seepers never materialized into leakers. Back around '75, a Mobil engineer came to one of our club meetings and showed us a movie on Mobil 1, the benefits, and if memory serves me correct, one of the items he covered is the potential for leakage, but that was 25 eaons ago. We can't argue with fact, so, we'll thank ya for setting the record straight.Comment
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Bill, that is interesting to know.....
that some seepers never materialized into leakers. Back around '75, a Mobil engineer came to one of our club meetings and showed us a movie on Mobil 1, the benefits, and if memory serves me correct, one of the items he covered is the potential for leakage, but that was 25 eaons ago. We can't argue with fact, so, we'll thank ya for setting the record straight.Comment
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