I'll buy what you're saying about new cars having bigger tolerances
than our classics and therefore being able to handle 5w30 without
trouble, but what about some of the more exotic powerplants on the
market today. Take the Civic Si engine. 1.6 liter, 160 hp, that's 100
hp per liter (neat little engine!). I'd say that engine must have some
pretty tight clearances, especially considering its 7600 rpm power peak
and 8000 rpm redline. How can this engine be thoroughly protected with
5w30? I guess some of it might be due to the fact that this engine's
cooling system is much better than ours and therefore keeps the engine
and engine oil cooler, but still....
Tim Holbrook
1971 TR6
--- Jeff Johnson <jguy@erinet.com> wrote:
> Tim:
>
> Based on my experience, most LBC's will see the temp guage go over
> the
> halfway mark when subjected to heavy idling, esp. in hot weather when
> most of us drive these cars anyway. It is my opinion that they
> weren't
> designed with heavy traffic in mind, they are the type of car that is
> meant to be driven straight away on spirited drives down country
> roads,
> not crosstown commutes.
> Even when my Tr6 was brand new, when it was forced to idle in heavy
> traffic in summertime, it tended to overheat. I don't know if a 5w30
> would slow down that tendency, but I doubt it, it has more to do with
> the flow characterics of the entire cooling system. My engine is
> currently in the shop being rebuilt as I had a couple of lobes wear
> off
> on the cam. It turns out that the bores and crank are fine, so I must
> suspect that the metalurgy of the cam was bad. When I get the engine
> back in the car however, ya, you betcha, I'm gonna put 5w50 Synthetic
> in
> it, because I feel it's the right oil for the way I drive. BTW, I
> used
> nothing but Castrol 20w50 in my car for 24 years and was impressed by
> the lack of wear upon tear-down. Most everything was still within
> factory spec. But I'll do my best to see that the car is driven hard
> as
> it should be, and not subjected to a lot of hot weather idling (very
> bad!).
>
> To answer your question more directly, I don't think that a 5w30
> weight
> oil is stout enough for the tolerances of a TR engine. A new Honda or
> Ford, maybe.
>
> JMHO,
>
> Jeff Johnson
>
>
>
>
>
> Subject: Re: Mobil 1 and oil pressure
>
> Jeff,
>
> If these lighter oils are better at dissipating heat, then wouldn't
> they be useful to many of us who have trouble keeping the temperature
> gauge out of the red on hot days sitting in traffic? Like I said,
> I'm
> running 5w50 synthetic, and I now see (along with using my auxiliary
> electric cooling fan mounted on the front of the rad) that my temp
> gauge never gets about 5/8 or so even when idling in traffic for long
> periods of time in 95+ degrees (very hot and humid here in the Philly
> area). If I'm cruising, I can go at 85+ mph all day long in any kind
> of heat and never see the temp gauge over 3/8. Maybe the synthetic
> has
> something to do with this? I don't run an oil cooler, by the way.
>
> Tim Holbro
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