I found the 15/50 a little stiff for NE Iowa winters(especially the
past week or so!) so I'm glad I cut back to the Mobil 10/30 synthetic
last November.  Still won't fire below 10 degrees, but at least the
oil isn't holding the starter back!!

DM&FS

!!At 09:36 AM 2/6/2007, dylan friedman wrote:

>I have been using Mobil1 15/50 extended performance synthetic for
>over a year now in my 90 Carat w/ 89k original miles.  It doesn't
>see winter use, but I have pulled it out of its bay during very cold
>times here in New England, let it sit overnight and gave it a start
>in the early am to test it.  No issues, little bit slower cranking,
>but would fire right up.
>
>dylan
>
>
>----- Original Message ----
>From: Dennis Haynes <dhaynes@OPTONLINE.NET>
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Sent: Tuesday, February 6, 2007 9:53:31 AM
>Subject: Re: Castrol, QT, 5W50
>
>Using conventional oils, 20w-50 is the preferred oil for normal
>temps and operation. For low temaparatures, 20F is really the
>comfortable lower limit for this viscosity. Synthetic lubes can be
>extended for both extremes as not only do they have better viscosity
>indexes, they do not have the waxes that will solidify at lower
>temperatures. The viscosity ratings work as follows. The lower
>number is the viscosity at 40C. The upper number is the viscosity at
>100C. There can be major differences at temperatures far above or
>below this. This is the differences we do not see in the ratings.
>
>Mobil 1, 15w-50 claims to be able to still flow at -30F. The 0w-40
>goes well below that. The Castrol 5w-50 will definatley be much
>better than 20w-50 conventional. My experience with the Mobil 1is
>long term so I am partial to it. Oil testing has shown that 7,500
>mile changes are no problem in the Vanagon engine. Nitration and
>oxidation become an issue beyond that. For a daily driver doing
>relatively short commutes, The 0w-40 European Formulae or 10w-40
>Extreme performance would be my choice.
>
>Dennis
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: mordo
>Date: Tuesday, February 6, 2007 8:58 am
>Subject: Castrol, QT, 5W50
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>
> > I'm confused, Frank. In a previous post this morning you said
> > 20W50 is the
> > required oil and then here you say you use 5W50. I challenge
> > only because
> > I'm about to change the oil that I just put in 15 miles ago
> > because I'm lead
> > to believe that it is a bit too heavy for these cold temps.
>
> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > From: Frank Condelli
> > Date: Feb 6, 2007 7:18 AM
> > Subject: Re: Castrol, QT, 5W50
> > To: vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com
>
> > In a message dated 05/02/2007 8:49:41 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> > LISTSERV@GERRY.VANAGON.COM writes:
>
> > I always ran Castrol, QT, 5W50 Full Syntec Motor Oil; it seemed
> > to cover me
> > well in the winter as well as the summer in my 1.9L WBX.
>
> > Any concerns with this oil? Other's experiences?
>
> > What is the "oil brand and weight of choice for all season
> > application" in
> > a
> > 2.1L?
>
>
>
>
>
> > I've have used Mobil 1 5w50 until recently switching to Elf
> > 5w50 in both my
> > '87 Westy and '90 Carat. Both very good full synthetics. In
> > the Ottawa
> > Valley where this morning it was -45C and the Carat started up
> > just fine
> > and
> > carried Rita off to work with no problemo. It does have a
> > block heater
> > which was
> > plugged overnight.
>
> > Cheers,
>
> > Frank Condelli
> > Almonte, Ontario, Canada
> > '87 Westy, '90 Carat, '87 Wolfsburg (Forsale) & Lionel Trains
> > (_Collectionfor sale_
> > (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/trainsal.htm) )
> > Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in the Ottawa Valley
> > _Frank Condelli & Associates_
> > (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/busindex.html)_Vanagon Stainless
> > Steel Exhaust Systems_
> > (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/stebro.htm)
> > _BusFusion_ (http://members.aol.com/BusFusion/bfhome.htm) a VW Camper
> > camping event, Almonte, ON, June 07 ~ 10, 2007
>
>
> > --
> > mordo
> > 1990 Carat
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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