New Motor Oil

[Dick W.]

Castrol has come out with a 5W-30 that meets CJ-4 specs. The brand name is Elixion. I know some have expressed an interest in something with a lower viscosity than 15W-40.

Don't know about the availability of the oil, pricing, etc. Just read about it this morning in a fleet trade publication.

[Jim T.]

Re: New Motor Oil

Appreciate the post Dick. I like reading about ZDDP content in oils. With changes possible I want to keep my 68, 70, and 85's engines with continued use without damage. With the lengthed/extended oil change intervals I use do not want to use a oil that has dropped the protection ZDDP gives.

[Duke W.]

Re: New Motor Oil

Interesting; 15W-40 is fine for most of us who don't normally start our vintage Corvettes in very cold weather. For those who might start their cars at below 10-15F, 5W-40 C-category is generally available, but is more expensive because it's blended from Group II and III base oils, so it's considered a "synthetic".

A decade ago, before the P concentration was limited in S-category oil, I used 20W-50s, which were dual rated for both S and C service.

Where I live near the southern CA coast cold starts below 40F are rare.

Duke

[Dick W.]

Re: New Motor Oil

Probably does not matter to most here, but Castrol was touting a 4% fuel milage increase over 15W-40.

[Duke W.]

Re: New Motor Oil

Lower absolute viscosity at a given temperature can yield lower fuel consumption, which is why some mfgs. recommend 5W-20 for late model cars, but the lower the viscosity the less load the oil will support to keep the journal off the bearing, so my choice is a higher viscosity oil unless the engine was specifically designed for a modern low viscosity range S-category oils.

The 4 percent gain also sounds suspicious. I don't think the real world improvement is more than about one percent, but that can mean a few tenths of a MPG, which, because of rounding may allow the mfg. to claim an higher MPG number.

If I had a modern Corvette that was beyond the warranty period that requires 5W-30 Mobil 1, I would consider this new 5W-30 CJ-4 with annual changes.

Since 99.9 percent of the potential market for this new product are diesel owners, it will be interesting to see if they bite.

Are you thinking of trying this product in your diesels?

Duke

[Dick W.]

Re: New Motor Oil

Lower absolute viscosity at a given temperature can yield lower fuel consumption, which is why some mfgs. recommend 5W-20 for late model cars, but the lower the viscosity the less load the oil will support to keep the journal off the bearing, so my choice is a higher viscosity oil unless the engine was specifically designed for a modern low viscosity range S-category oils.

The 4 percent gain also sounds suspicious. I don't think the real world improvement is more than about one percent, but that can mean a few tenths of a MPG, which, because of rounding may allow the mfg. to claim an higher MPG number.

If I had a modern Corvette that was beyond the warranty period that requires 5W-30 Mobil 1, I would consider this new 5W-30 CJ-4 with annual changes.

Since 99.9 percent of the potential market for this new product are diesel owners, it will be interesting to see if they bite.

Are you thinking of trying this product in your diesels?

Duke

I don't think so as the requirements for the eingines are 15-40. At over $17k for a replacement engine and over 135k miles, I think I will stay with 15W-40. Besides I still have almost 50 gallons of 15W-40 left.

[Joe L.]

Re: New Motor Oil

One other little tip: I have found that oils labeled for "high mileage engines" reduce oil consumption considerably. They cost somewhat more but I think they're worth it for the reason stated.

[Duke W.]

Re: New Motor Oil

Unless it's a real oil burner because of worn out valve seals or some other mechanical malady, most vintage Corvettes aren't driven enough between annual oil changes to consume a quart, and those "high-mileage" oils are S-category, so the P limitation is 800 ppm. If the lower viscosity rating is greater than 10W, the P limitation doesn't apply, but that's no guarantee that the P concentration is equal or greater than CJ-4.

IMO those "high mileage" oils are just another market segmentation exercise to get more out of the consumer at no additional cost for the product i.e. higher profit margin.

Duke

[Clem Z.]

Re: New Motor Oil

One other little tip: I have found that oils labeled for "high mileage engines" reduce oil consumption considerably. They cost somewhat more but I think they're worth it for the reason stated.

i switched to that type of oil in my 1988 silverado and one thing it did was stopped the oil leaks in my drive way. i was using mobil 1 before and i now use walmart high mileage oil.