[DC2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wuwhere /img/forum/go_quote.gif Relatively, 23F is not that cold. I got stranded overnight once in Indiana in the middle of a winter blizzard where the wind chill dropped to -40F. My Jeep sat on an open parking lot overnight. The following morning it took a few cranks to get it started. At that extreme temp, your oil can jell. So you need to winterize your car with proper oil and flash your radiator with fresh anti-freeze. You can use synthetic oil too, they are pricey but made for extreme temps.

My Sentra sometimes needs a few cranks to start even in warmer weather

. I hope it doesn't give me any problems this winter(I bought it in May).

 

[lextek]

When start in the "cold" they start in open loop which is a preset determined my some of the engine sensors (intake air temp, coolant). As far as the pistons moving, unless it's 30 below the oil will allow them to move. Yeah there is a lot taken for granted when you twist that key or press that button.

 

[Menisk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arainach /img/forum/go_quote.gif Spark Plugs are electrical; the spark they generate doesn't care about temperature or humidity.

Not entirely. Much easier to create an arc when it's humid, so humidity does affect the spark but a spark plug has more than enough power behind it to create an arc in the dryest of conditions

 

[MD1032]

Does anyone know precisely how much of a difference a synthetic makes over a regular oil?

I have a 1998 Civic DX and Firestone usually puts in their stock 5W-30 but one time we had some kind of coupon and they decided to put this crazy 10,000 miles synthetic stuff in there. I'm not sure whether it made much of a difference but I do remember the fact that it behaved itself really well over time... even after a few thousand miles it still looked clear and it would always stick to the dipstick, even when the engine was cold.

 

[120717]

I don't think any cars work better in the cold. Even Fred Flinstones car if you think about it.

 

[Stereo_Sanchez]

The huge leaps in oil refinement in the last 50 years, including synthetic oil, have certainly helped in cold weather.

 

[oqvist]

No cars don´t do to well with cold. Before global warming

we used to get down to -30 degree Celsius over here in the winters. -42C is my personal record The cars starts but man you feel sorry for the engine when you here it struggling. There is a saying that you shorten the lifetime by the engine with 100 km for every such start. Also fuel economy get shot out of the window on a engine that runs cool. Not to mention how cold it´s unless you have a heater in your car.

 

[kydsid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MD1032 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does anyone know precisely how much of a difference a synthetic makes over a regular oil? I have a 1998 Civic DX and Firestone usually puts in their stock 5W-30 but one time we had some kind of coupon and they decided to put this crazy 10,000 miles synthetic stuff in there. I'm not sure whether it made much of a difference but I do remember the fact that it behaved itself really well over time... even after a few thousand miles it still looked clear and it would always stick to the dipstick, even when the engine was cold.

A lot or little it depends on the temperatures. While in Alaska it made a huge difference. Regular cheapo 10w30's say they are good to -10F. The synthetic I switched too was rated to -60F. Now of course it was also a 0w30 so not an altogether fair assesment. That said in -50f the cars cranked over easier with the thin synthetics than otherwise.


Oh and my synthetic is 25k miles/1 year.

All that said if you are thinking about putting synthetic in you 98 civic be warned the engine needs to be in good shape. Generally synthetics are thinner and less viscous leading to the possibility of leaks when put into a higher mileage engine.

 

[appophylite]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oqvist /img/forum/go_quote.gif -42C is my personal record

-60 F for me out here. At work, we have to get our cars started up in temperatures the can crest into -70 F every now and then. No fun at all trying to start a car up in that weather without a block heater. And when you start getting down to it, if you have no garage, an autostart starts to become more of a necessity than a luxury.

 

[Armaegis]

The coldest we've ever had here was -63°C (-81°F) with the windchill...

 

[10068]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Armaegis /img/forum/go_quote.gif The coldest we've ever had here was -63°C (-81°F) with the windchill...

This and the other 'record temps' above just sounds awful...

 

[oqvist]

Honestly it´s much much better then +35 or something. That is really really horrible if you have no access to shade in particular

 

[zx10guy]

The whole thing about synthetic oil causing more leaks is a wive's tale. There is no substantiated study which proves this point. The only thing synthetic may cause is some abnormal oil consumption if the engine is near it's usuable life. This is due to worn piston rings allowing excessive blow by.

If you want your engine to last, you will use synthetic oil. Synthetic oil not only flows better but can withstand more shearing forces in the areas where the oil is lubricating crank and cam bearings for example. Also, there have been plenty of studies which all point to the same conclusion that because of the decrease in friction with the use of synthetic oil on recipricating parts, this has translated to measureable increases in HP on certain types of engines as tested on a dyno.

Here is a paper done by Amsoil:

https://admin.acrobat.com/_a72623148...clewhitepaper/

PDF version:

http://www.amsoil.com/lit/G-2156.pdf

While people may question the findings of the study as it was commissioned by Amsoil, all the testing was done under recognized ASTM standards.

If you want to learn all there is to oil as not all synthetic oils are made equal, go here:

Welcome

Lots of expert information from industry experts to include many who are petroleum engineers.

 

[MD1032]

I remember reading this excellent article by a PhD who was retired from Exxon-Mobil. He talked on and on about motor oil and despite that, it was one of the most interesting articles I've ever read. I wish I still had it.

 

[10068]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zx10guy /img/forum/go_quote.gif The whole thing about synthetic oil causing more leaks is a wive's tale. There is no substantiated study which proves this point. The only thing synthetic may cause is some abnormal oil consumption if the engine is near it's usuable life.

Is this true even if, say, you switch to Full Synthetic in an engine that's already done 100,000+ miles using Conventional?