Yummybud924

I live in BC so it doesn't get super cold her in the witner but teh past week its been getting down to around -1 -2 at night and my car is parked outside and i'm using 15w50 mobil one so i'm a bit worried.

I think 15w50 is suppose to be good down to -15 right? but i'm still worried.

I ran my car with no oil pressure at idle for a couple minutes last winter after my oprv failed and then later on on a subsquent oil change I saw what looked like metal shavings in the oil but las toil change didn't see anything in the oil.

anyways I'm worried about dry starts with the oil getting so thick.

I liek to use 15w50 if possible because it gives me good oil pressure and I just changed my oil so I don't want to go to 5w50 castrol synthec which would have been more ideal unless absolutely necessary.

just wondering is there some kind of magnetic oil pan heater I can get to warm it up a bit in the mornings?

Mike C.

Um.. the oil pan is cast aluminum so I doubt the magnetic idea will work. I'm sure there are block heaters or dipstick heaters that can be made to work but wouldn't it be easier to change your oil?

Yummybud924

haha yeah forgot it was alluminum.

yeah I can change the oil but i was worried because I think I had metal shavings in my oil couple months ago (not the last oil change) and wanted to run thicker oil.

yeah maybe i'll just go to castrol 5w50 in a few weeks.....

it rarely goes below -5 here in the winter. so maybe even the 15w50 is fine?

I let my car idle for 5 minutes or so anyways before driving it and drive it gently until its fully warmed up.

Yummybud924

i'm probably going to get my rod bearings replaced soon also.

I just noticed that it takes an extra second or so when its freezing cold in the morning for the oil pressure to jump to 5 bar when i'm cranking it.

xsboost90

i would run 15w40 in the winter at least- it doesnt get THAT cold here and i dont run 50 in the winter.

944Ross

I assume you mean (-3) Celsius? 20w50 should be OK if thats as cold as it gets. I had to start mine wth 20-50 at 12 deg F this week, watched the oil gauge real close until it got some heat. I'll be changing to 10w30 this week.

V2Rocket

maybe pull the ignition wire and crank it over a few times to get oil moving and then plug it in again and start it

theedge

Dipstick heaters suck, and dont use the coolant heaters that get hacked into the rad hoses. They cause fires.

The best ones are the stick on oil pan heaters. Theyre a small heating pad with a strong adhesive backing. You sand the oil pan clean, stick it on, then it comes with silicone sealant to help seal it some more. I just installed one on my brothers Jetta and it works well, even though it gets down to -30C or lower where he is. The oil pan heaters warm the oil and then the coolant a bit. I might get one for my Passat since it sits outside.

http://www.padheaters.com/
http://dieselproducts.com/cgi-bin/online/storepro.php

I would get model 9.1 or possibly 16. 9.1 might be easier to fit on the oil pan. You will have to put it on one of the vertical sides of the oil pan near the bottom. There are other sources too.

bearone

i ran block heaters thru heater hoses in colorado for years and never heard of anyone having a fire because of it.

what's the diff here, both your options still require electricity and isn't that the cause of the fires.

bgiere

Why are you running a "15" weight at all in the winter? Use M1 5w40 or 0w40.

944Ross

Haven't heard of any fires either; the tank-type units are the only thing with any hope of putting enough heat into the right places, if parked outdoors, in Canada. The oil pan is a big aluminum radiator, how many watts would it take to raise the oil temp 10 deg when it's 20 below with a breeze? The 9.0 model is only 125 watts, a light bulb would be as effective.

theedge

Heater hoses are ok, since the coolant can actually flow. Someone on here put one of the rad hose heaters in the pump to rad hose and his car burned up. The coolant cant circulate with the thermostat in the way. The ones in the heater hoses can, but theres not really space for those in our cars without some crazy hose routing.

944Ross

Agreed, the type you put in the lower hose only work if there is a thermostat bypass circuit.

jstand22

there's no problem using 5w-50 in these cars when it gets that cold

odurandina

what is the perfect winter oil ONCE AND FOR ALL ?