> I have said it before, and I will say it again. There is a wide range of
> oils one can use, and his engine will be OK. The difference between a
> "good" oil and an "excellent" oil will only show many thousands of miles
> down the road, so your decision what oil to use now will affect you only
in
> the distant long term. If you plan to keep your car indefinitely, it
makes
> sense to invest in the "excellent" oil. Having said that, the multi
weight
> oils are superior to the single weights in almost all respects (they
> represent a huge step forward in engine lubrication technology). Their
> superiority is more significant in the winter, but even in the summer
there
> are advantages. The next important step in lubrication technology are the
> synthetic oils. These oils are for example what allows many manufacturers
> of modern cars to have engines that produce almost 100 hp/liter and still
> be reliable. If you plan to keep your car indefinitely, and especially if
> you like to drive it hard every now and then, its worth the extra cost.
> (why else would we want to drive a hemi or a 440 if you don't put your
> pedal-to-the-metal every now and then). I can live with the oil leaks if
I
> know the engine will most likely last longer.
This is pretty much what the guy who rebuilt my Pontiac's engine said. It's
really more important to change the oil regularly and maintain the proper
oil level than to use a particular oil. That is, unless you just rebuilt an
engine. Then you can't run synthetics cause the rings do not seat as well
as with 'Dino' oil.
I prefer single weights myself, but I don't live in a climate that
fluctuates. We have 3 seasons here in southeast Texas, Hot, Damn Hot, and
Hotter than Hell.
I run straight 30 in the freshly rebuilt Pontiac engine. My Imperial gets
10w40 as that was what the last oil change it had before I got it used. I
run 20w50 in my Fury as the tolerances are a bit loose and if I use anything
lower the lifters will tick. Fury's new engine is at the machine shop so
I'm hoping this will be the last oil change in the old engine. So I say run
whatever the car prefers. If it's ticking at 10w30, go with a heavier
weight. If you're running 50 wt it's not too expensive to see what happens
at a lower grade.
Ray Funke
69 Fury 3 ragtop
70 Imperial LeBaron 4dr HT
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