My first engine oil leak - Page 2

Bror Jace · Dec 30th, 2003, 10:45 PM

"As I understand it a 5W-30 has twice as many additives as a 10W-30 making the 5W more unstable."

I don't think any of us at the Oildrop know the exact ratio of polymer VII (viscosity index improver) additive in the various oils. It depends so much on the quality and type of base oil used and each manufacturer has their own ideology shaped by their chemists and their access to base oils.

But we can make generalizations and yes, in general, 5W30 use a great deal more (relatively unstable) VII than 10W30.

As for how your engine treats a particular brand/weight, you need to test samples over time to find out.

For warmer climates I almost always prefer 10W30 over the one-size-fits-all 5W30 most often recommended. But depending on the length of drain interval and quality of the brand, it might not make any difference even after 150,000 miles or more.

96R50 · Dec 31st, 2003, 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bror Jace

"As I understand it a 5W-30 has twice as many additives as a 10W-30 making the 5W more unstable."

I don't think any of us at the Oildrop know the exact ratio of polymer VII (viscosity index improver) additive in the various oils. It depends so much on the quality and type of base oil used and each manufacturer has their own ideology shaped by their chemists and their access to base oils.

That information was a generalization about oils from a college professor. I didn’t mean to mislead you.

simon kenton · Dec 31st, 2003, 07:12 AM

This forum is great.

I have been using the Pure One filter for three years. At that time my fiancee had bought a new Infiniti I30. I was reading on the Infiniti forum about how much better the Pure One filter was. I had no idea that a "better" filter could cause increased oil pressure, and a leak.