Date:         Wed, 29 May 2013 08:16:12 -0400
Reply-To:     James Eaton <jk_eaton@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         James Eaton <jk_eaton@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: oils and gasoline
In-Reply-To:  <BAY0-MC1-F17CmojTj200197802@BAY0-MC1-F17.Bay0.hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

> 
> Date:    Mon, 27 May 2013 12:57:38 -0500
> From:    Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
> Subject: Re: Engine Oil Question
> 
> I don't think it's better, I think it's very good and moderately priced. I
> know from many thousands of miles of experience that without the right oil
> (of which Castol 20W50 is one) and the right filter, you stand a good
> chance of hearing your waterboxer's oil buzzer go off on a hot day of
> freeway driving.
> 
> It has been explained to me by people who are in the business of selling
> oil and in the business of building engines that the waterboxer does not
> have tolerances that would take advantage of the synthetics' advantages.
> It's like putting high test in the gas tank;  it won't hurt the car but it
> won't help it either, and costs more.
> 
> Jim
> 
Hmmm,

Even back in the '80s, when I had my Rabbit, we were advised that if you wanted your engine to last you should run synthetic oil, especially if you ran a lot under adverse or high load conditions.  And that was back when synthetics were all thin, thin, like 0W20.  Now that synthetics are the same weight as regular oils, only with wider range (e.g. 15W50 is the same thickness as 20W50, except in the cold, where it's thinner for better lube at start-up), all engines, even those needing heavier oil to cope with high temperatures, can find a synthetic to do the job.

And I have a contrary observation to your line about premium octane gasoline;  our '91, with 290k km, gets 2-3 mpg more on 91 octane than on 87 octane on the highway.  (The owner's manual recommends the use of 91 octane under hot, high load conditions, which described our camping trips in eastern Ontario last summer.)  A colleague who teaches and researches gas engine maintenance and repair suggested that the improvement is likely due to the superior flame front propagation properties of 91 octane under higher loads, and to the lower alcohol content (apparently in Ontario premium does not have to have the 5-10% alcohol that regular does).

James
Ottawa, ON
'91 Westfalia Weekender