As J & Stephen both said, it's just the way that Mobil decided to make'em. Will your engine be able to tell the difference between'em? Maybe. Maybe not. Does it make us crazy trying to decide? Definitely. 0W/5W oils will never be "too thin," because it's not the "xW" part that determines the oil's "operating viscosity" (for lack of a better term).

ANY oil will be thicker when it's cold than when it's hot, regardless of its viscosity range. As the oil warms up, it gets thinner & thinner until it either burns/boils off, or the temperature levels out & the oil stays where it's at. ALL oils do this; it's just a matter of when.

Think of it this way:
A "thick" example might be honey-consistency when the oil's cold, & olive oil-consistency when the same oil's hot.
A "thin" example might be syrup-consistency when the oil's cold, & water-consistency when this same oil's hot.

The benefit of multi-viscosity oils in general, & synthetics in particular, is that they start out not-as-thick when they're cold, & don't get as thin when they're hot. So now you can get one oil which only gets as thick as syrup when it's really cold, but never gets thinner than olive oil when it's hot.

Is this too weird of an analogy? (Do I think about food too much?)


posted by 216.160.177...

• Ed NC's used oil analysis, Jason 0W-40, Thu, 8 May 2003 18:08:33
  • analysis issues LONG, Dean, Fri, 9 May 2003 07:04:04
    • fuel contamination, Jason 0W-40, Fri, 9 May 2003 11:18:06
    • Speaking of iron..., Daniel, Fri, 9 May 2003 08:35:10
      • cast iron liners in alloy blocks, Dean, Fri, 9 May 2003 08:47:17
        • Re: cast iron liners in alloy blocks, Wesley Dunnington, Fri, 9 May 2003 09:03:38
  • If Ed NC does a lot of city driving, Saab 0W-30 ..., J, Thu, 8 May 2003 19:38:59
    • Re: ok Lucy, 'splain soneting to me..., Ed NC, Fri, 9 May 2003 05:34:37
      • Yes, they're all 30wts, Greg Netzner, Fri, 9 May 2003 10:54:59 <-- Viewing This Message
        • My biased ranking of Mobil 1 30 weight oils., J, Fri, 9 May 2003 11:17:34
          • I just gotta say..., Ed NC, Fri, 9 May 2003 12:01:05
          • Re: My biased ranking of Mobil 1 30 weight oils., Ed NC, Fri, 9 May 2003 11:59:03
      • As left out of NINES..., Stephen Goldberger, Fri, 9 May 2003 08:16:38
      • It's just Mobil 1's choice., J, Fri, 9 May 2003 07:40:10
    • VOA of Saab 0W-30., J, Thu, 8 May 2003 19:45:31
  • Ed NC: questions, Jason 0W-40, Thu, 8 May 2003 18:15:07
    • Re; Jason:, Ed NC, Fri, 9 May 2003 05:26:31
      • insolubles, Jason 0W-40, Fri, 9 May 2003 11:08:36
      • Dealer oil, Greg Netzner, Fri, 9 May 2003 10:14:35
        • Re: my third change w/ M1, Ed NC, Fri, 9 May 2003 11:55:31
    • Ed, one more Q: you using a SAAB OE air filter? n/m, Jason 0W-40, Thu, 8 May 2003 22:51:47

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