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Date:         Wed, 2 Jun 2004 20:12:14 -0600
Reply-To:     "John Connolly, Aircooled.Net" <john@AIRCOOLED.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "John Connolly, Aircooled.Net" <john@AIRCOOLED.NET>
Subject:      Re: Synthetic oils in the vanagon
Comments: To: Bike Florida <bikeflorida@earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Synthetic oils are fine. I do want to clarify something though. I have always promoted good synthetics (the heat rejection issue is BS, we have tested them; it may have been true in 1980, but in 2003 when we tested it was proved (to us) to not be an issue). YMMV.

But you have to make sure you match the oil to the engine. When I say that, I am specifically referring to the bearing clearances, which is also related to engine life. Modern engines, which "like" synthetics a lot more then the older ones, have much more accurate and tighter bearing clearances due to improved assembly line machining. It may open some eyes to hear that NASCAR engines break the engines in on peanut oil, and race with 0-40 oil, running 10500RPM for 500 miles at a crack. Try to do this with dino oil and the engine is history real quick. Thin oils move thru the journals quickly, removing heat. Yes the oil pressure is lower, but oil pressure doesn't lubricate the journals. Set your bearing clearances to .0005" and run 20-50 oil and you'll have great oil pressure, and tell us how long the engine runs before it siezes from overheated journals! You won't need to count it in thousands of miles, simply counting you fingers and toes should suffice. ;-)

Watercooled engines can run "thin" oils easier then aircooled, because watercooled engines run in a closer temperature range then their aircooled cousins. More temp range means more clearance range in the engine. A combination of too much clearance and too thin an oil means BOOM. Running tight clearances with thick oils means BOOM too, you have to be in the middle somewhere for everything to be happy.

You are crazy to run straight weight IMO, oils have come a long way in 30 years; and for those that say they do it because the owners manual says so, the owners manual is how old? ;-)

Factory engines from VW (aircooled) come with 5-30 or so in them last I checked, and that's what the owners manual says to run too. Aircooled engines can run cooler with thinner oil, but like I said before too thin and BOOM.

I can't believe I'm adding to the oil thread, I promised myself I wouldn't do it LOL.

John Aircooled.Net Inc.


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