Winter Oil ?????

[Jim Becker]

You can still get 30wt Non det.

Yes but that is almost certainly 30, not 30W.
And this statement:

So it pretty much becomes a personal preference as to which grade you use in your Cub.

is just silly. Oil specifications are not like brands of beer. Manufacturers make oil recommendations based on the characteristics of the engine and the oil, using the best information available at the time the recommendation was made. If you have a bolt with a 5/8 head, and your personal preference is to use an 11/16 wrench, it might remove the bolt without rounding the corners off. But that doesn't make it the right wrench.

Don't blow off "W" as a typo. The original question was specific to winter oil selection. That is what the "W" is all about. Like I already said, if you don't keep your tractor in a heated building and need to start it in the winter, you better use something with a "W" rating.

[DanR]

I use the same oil in the Cub as in the Ferrari. 20/40 Rotella T.

[danovercash]

Bannanas (peels) go into the differential or tranny to keep things quiet till the car salesman can get the car offin the lot, at least thats what I heard as a kid.

[Buzzard Wing]

The 'W' is truly supposed to represent winter according to SAE. (generally 15 and below) There is a typo in the below article ('30W') but in general it is a good intro on oil viscosity.

In general I use the same oil as the car, Motocraft 5W-30. (the car is a Chevy, Motocraft is a syn blend with a competitive price) I have used SAE 30 that is old formula 'diesel' (lots of ZDDP -- zinc) because Santa left a couple of cases. But I don't run that Cub in the winter. The only place I use non-detergent oil is in the air cleaner (because I had some kicking around).

BTW the later manuals essentially recommend 5W-20 below freezing. And the PM manual has an asterisk that says it may be used if temps are not consistently above 65F.

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/oil-viscosity.php

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/which-oil-to-use.php

[Jim Becker]

The Blackstone Labs articles are pretty good. They clearly state a lot of what is being discussed here.

I was asked a couple questions off line. I might as well post the substance of my reply here:

The whole story on oil gets pretty complicated. Detergent vs. non-detergent just scratches the surface. Under the current rating system, they started with SA (which was effectively obsolete at the time it was defined) and running through SM (last I know of).

Viscosity is a separate question from the SA – SM question. Actual measured viscosity of oil varies with temperature. It gets thinner as the temperature increases. Straight weight oil is classified 10, 20, 30 etc. based on the measured viscosity at 100 degrees centigrade. A multiweight oil will be the same viscosity as the straight weight oil of the higher number, when tested at the same temperature. For example 10W30, will be the same as straight 30 at 100C. However, additives reduce the viscosity index of the oil (makes the viscosity/temperature graph flatter). So when tested at a low temperature (maybe at 0C, not sure the exact spec), the 10W30 matches the viscosity range of a 10W at low temperature.

The “W” rating, which DOES stand for “WINTER”, indicates the oil passed specific tests at low temperatures. The tests relate to lowest temperatures it will pour at and how well it pumps at low temperatures. I think that 20 is the only viscosity that is defined as both 20 and 20W. In other words, a 20 viscosity oil may meet the specs at 100C, but not at low temperatures and thus be categorized as 20. If it also passes the low temperature tests, it would be 20W.

The point I was trying to make in the thread was that you want a “W” rating on your winter use oil. Whether you use 10W, 20W, 10W30 or whatever, you want a “W” rating. You do not want to use 20 or 30 without the “W”.

[bythepond88]

Just to tone down the vituperation, yes, when I typed 30W, I meant 30 weight. I had no idea that there was a separate "winter" formulation. I regret the confusion.

[Buzzard Wing]

Bythepond.... Not to worry, my note it the post was because the PROFESSIONAL said 30W in the article I listed, not because you did... now you know it means 'winter', so you learned something new a good thing!

American Petroleum Institute (API) 'service categories' that Jim talked about change over time to meet emissions and other standards. Their symbol means that the oil 'label' (brand name and viscosity) passed their standards and the marketer paid their fee for the certification. 'S' is gasoline and 'C' is diesel (compression ignition), they say the latest 'S' (SM) meets all previous standards. http://www.api.org/certifications/engin ... ch2010.pdf

I was looking for this article from Blackstone Labs about oil brands for my other post, but couldn't find it. It is worthwhile because the owner of the oil testing company would use Meijer brand oil (I do like 'thrifty acres'!) and that would burst some folks brand loyalty balloon...

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/Newslett ... 1-2010.php

I have had Blackstone analyze the oil in my diesel truck, car and one Cub. It taught me a few things, mostly that I have been changing the oil TOO OFTEN my whole life. I have doubled the mileage on the car to 6,000 between changes, could easily go longer. They are really fine folks to deal with.

[Landreo]

Just to tone down the vituperation.

Big word, I had to look on google to learn the meaning. When I had to read aloud as a child and I came on a word that seemed big, I would just say "big word" and continue reading! Often still do the same thing except I say it to myself.


Eitherway, several posts in this thread mentioned 30W oil so it is useful to correct that error. I also learned a few years ago that the number, 30 or whatever is not necessarily the same for different catagories. The summer and winter weights for motor oil but also the wieghts are different for gear oils. 90 weight gear oil is close in viscosity to 40 to 50 weight motor oil. There also may be other classes of oils that use the same numbers but represent different viscosities.

[challenger]

DanR wrote:
I use the same oil in the Cub as in the Ferrari. 20/40 Rotella T.

If you are fortunate enough to have a Ferrari, then you likely also have someone who will start and warm up the Ferrari and Cub for you before you leave the comfort of your house.

[MilGunsmith]

I use 15W-40 Rottela T in everything. Diesel truck and all the tractors. We get it in 55gal drum on farm.

[bythepond88]

also the wieghts are different for gear oils. 90 weight gear oil is close in viscosity to 40 to 50 weight motor oil

That's interesting, I did not know that. So now we've learned from each other, which is what makes this place so wonderful.