0w30 Motor Oil in Malaysia!

[AlexC]

Folks, Just had the motor oil changed at Sapura Auto last week. The oil BMW specs for our cars is a specially-blended, "longer-lasting" Petronas Synthium 0w30. I've never heard anyone running 30-grade oil in this climate- 40 is the bare minimum for daily drivers that aren't redlined at every opportunity. My other ride has run 10w60 for over 3 years, switched to 50 2 weeks ago and only because its Motul 300v. So personally I think 0w30 is too thin and would break down in our sweltering heat and humidity. Mr Service Advisor's response was that continental cars are prone to sludge build up and using a thinner blend would reduce this. Discuss!

 

[pussy]

wow to thin.... one of our forumers, had 0W40 in his M52 engine and it was causing problems on his vanos...it was jamming up the system..

 

[SilverACBimmer]

I agree 40 is the min.

 

[SilverACBimmer]

Yes.... 40 is min for our temp.

Especially older BMW as the oil is too thin to protect the engine.

Prefer 15-50 or 10-50 if they have any

 

[selespeed]

many modern car engines like toyota and honda are already using W30 oil. even W20 oil is out there. today's engine tech is high enough to warrant use of w30 oil without damage. oil, too, is high tech without causing problem.

 

[meetoo]

Agree with seles. Most modern car are designed to run on W30. Beg your pardon but it's not correct to think an engine is running hotter because of hotter climate here. Ambient temp has nothing to do with engine operating temp. As discussed in earlier thread, if your thermostat is 88C, then your engine operating temp is 90C regardless whether the ambient temp is tropical or winter in temperate zone.

Hot climate and humidity(?) have nothing to do with it. Effect on tyres and aircon yes, but effect on engine, no.

 

[meetoo]

Check the engine oil spec in your car manual and if it is 0-40W, then it's okay to use 0-40W. But if it is 0-30W, then using 40W means you're not giving the right protection to your engine. All you succeed in doing is increasing engine wear in the long run.

Decisions shouldn't be base on myths that people pass around. One common myth is that it's good to lift the wipers when parking the car in the sun so that the rubber don't stick to the windscreen and deteriorate due to the heat. Actually, glass is a poor conductor of heat and on a hot day if you touch a metal part of the car, yes it's hot, but if you touch the windscreen, it's not hot at all. So all you succeed in doing by lifting the wipers is stretching the wiper springs fully for extended time. In the long run this lessens the tension of the wipers on the windscreen and hence their effectiveness. Think about it...

 

[anaksarawak]

It is true that modern engine used W30 oil but older car such as E30, E36, E34, E28 are best using the semi syn 15-50 or at least 5-40 Fully syn.
Dont you agree?

 

[selespeed]

Check the engine oil spec in your car manual and if it is 0-40W, then it's okay to use 0-40W. But if it is 0-30W, then using 40W means you're not giving the right protection to your engine. All you succeed in doing is increasing engine wear in the long run.

Decisions shouldn't be base on myths that people pass around. One common myth is that it's good to lift the wipers when parking the car in the sun so that the rubber don't stick to the windscreen and deteriorate due to the heat. Actually, glass is a poor conductor of heat and on a hot day if you touch a metal part of the car, yes it's hot, but if you touch the windscreen, it's not hot at all. So all you succeed in doing by lifting the wipers is stretching the wiper springs fully for extended time. In the long run this lessens the tension of the wipers on the windscreen and hence their effectiveness. Think about it...

too many myths running around la...

there's also another old-fashioned school of thought that they'll have to "warm-up" engines in the morning for 3 to 5 minutes before moving off!!!

 

[meetoo]

It is true that modern engine used W30 oil but older car such as E30, E36, E34, E28 are best using the semi syn 15-50 or at least 5-40 Fully syn.
Dont you agree?

geoffreylee, if the car spec says use 40W or 50W, then that's fine. But if that not the spec, then what is the reason for using a higher viscosity limit oil for an older car? Just because "people" said it's better for the engine? That's how myths continue.

My brother just service his Kembara at Perodua workshop and even Perodua use 5-30W...

 

[meetoo]

too many myths running around la...

there's also another old-fashioned school of thought that they'll have to "warm-up" engines in the morning for 3 to 5 minutes before moving off!!!

Agreed. Engine warm-up at idling speed is detrimental because it take about 5 mins to warm-up to operating temp vs 30 sec under gentle driving. So about 10 times more of higher engine wear and oil sludging before the car reach operating temp.

The correct way is to drive off immediately on starting engine but using gentle acceleration and not exceeding 2500 rpm until operating temp is reached.

A lot of these myths started in the early days of cars, and still passed on although car technology have developed very much since then.

 

[RedZ4]

Check the engine oil spec in your car manual and if it is 0-40W, then it's okay to use 0-40W. But if it is 0-30W, then using 40W means you're not giving the right protection to your engine. All you succeed in doing is increasing engine wear in the long run.

Decisions shouldn't be base on myths that people pass around. One common myth is that it's good to lift the wipers when parking the car in the sun so that the rubber don't stick to the windscreen and deteriorate due to the heat. Actually, glass is a poor conductor of heat and on a hot day if you touch a metal part of the car, yes it's hot, but if you touch the windscreen, it's not hot at all. So all you succeed in doing by lifting the wipers is stretching the wiper springs fully for extended time. In the long run this lessens the tension of the wipers on the windscreen and hence their effectiveness. Think about it...

Hey that interesting. Now I can go tell my friends that put up their wipers when the car is parked under the sun.

 

[meetoo]

Yes, ask them to touch the windscreen when they say they do it because the windscreen is hot. Then show them how much their wiper spring is stretched when they put up the wiper. And they leave it like that the whole day at work... Those are the spring that press the wiper to the windscreen.

 

[selespeed]

Yes, ask them to touch the windscreen when they say they do it because the windscreen is hot. Then show them how much their wiper spring is stretched when they put up the wiper. And they leave it like that the whole day at work... Those are the spring that press the wiper to the windscreen.

when wipers are raised, it's a sign that your car has just been doubly washed! i see many of these in my office indoor car park.

 

[selespeed]

geoffreylee, if the car spec says use 40W or 50W, then that's fine. But if that not the spec, then what is the reason for using a higher viscosity limit oil for an older car? Just because "people" said it's better for the engine? That's how myths continue.

My brother just service his Kembara at Perodua workshop and even Perodua use 5-30W...

i just had my oil change using my regular oil Carlube RRR 10W40 sully synthetic from carrfoure and the engine is incredibly responsive and i accelerate to 140 easily. love the push!

 

[absidian]

I'll happily throw a spanner into the works here about engine warm-up and idling... the "time spent idling at lower temperature" versus "driving below 2.5k immediately" is not entirely correct either. There isn't a perfect answer, there is only the best compromise to choose from.

The main argument here is in engine load, more specifically load on the crankshaft bearings. At idle, there is minimal load/stress, but when you drive you are loading it greatly whilst cold. So it's not just getting the temperature up, but what you do with the engine in getting there.

In today's modern engines, the cylinder wall selling-point that you see in adverts is not as important as the crankshaft bearings in terms of oil. Look at highly stressed engines or race engines (e.g. M-cars) the bearings are more likely to fail before any cylinder wall issues.

Interesting eh?

 

[meetoo]

In today's modern engines, the cylinder wall selling-point that you see in adverts is not as important as the crankshaft bearings in terms of oil. Look at highly stressed engines or race engines (e.g. M-cars) the bearings are more likely to fail before any cylinder wall issues.

Hi absidian. It's not just the cylinder walls having greater wear before the engine reach operating temp, it's all the moving part including valve train. Also, sludge formation takes place when the oil is cold.

The crankshaft bearings do not operate at 90C and are not heated up at idle anyway. Driving gently at below 2500rpm is not comparable to the stress on race engines.

Finally, which is more important to look after, the engine or the crankshaft bearing?

 

[Silver]

i just had my oil change using my regular oil Carlube RRR 10W40 sully synthetic from carrfoure and the engine is incredibly responsive and i accelerate to 140 easily. love the push!

what car do your drive?

 

[selespeed]

what car do your drive?

e30 316i entry model la! but i can accelerate fairly easily to 185+ 190 with goodl 10w04 oil.

seems that the more i revv the better consumption i get!

 

[selespeed]

I'll happily throw a spanner into the works here about engine warm-up and idling... the "time spent idling at lower temperature" versus "driving below 2.5k immediately" is not entirely correct either. There isn't a perfect answer, there is only the best compromise to choose from.

The main argument here is in engine load, more specifically load on the crankshaft bearings. At idle, there is minimal load/stress, but when you drive you are loading it greatly whilst cold. So it's not just getting the temperature up, but what you do with the engine in getting there.

In today's modern engines, the cylinder wall selling-point that you see in adverts is not as important as the crankshaft bearings in terms of oil. Look at highly stressed engines or race engines (e.g. M-cars) the bearings are more likely to fail before any cylinder wall issues.

Interesting eh?

i have to agree with meetoo -- protection of cylinder walls is most important to prevent wear of engine. crankshaft bearings are very durable so long you don't pound the engine without load.

once engine is properly warmed up with sufficient oil pressure and temperature, revv all you want within the limits. do it only with LOAD. i see lots of people revving the engine when car is idle and this is very damaging to bearings - con rod, big end... this sure is route to engine overhaul.

when i was in germany during winter, my friends just drove off their as soon as they started. there is no need to do warm up but they moved off slowly gradually picking up the speed as engine temperature rose.