Extreem Cold - Engine Oil

What oil am i best to put in my 200tdi for the extreem cold, I was thinking 10W 40 as I can still run it here on this oil. Will be at tampritures of -25 celcius, possibly even down to -30.

I have also heard 5W 30 used in the cold, but would it be too warm here too operate on it? I am driving from here to northern Norway, I dont realy want to have to change the oil half way through the trip, and again on the return.

Rich.

Do you have the owner's manual? It has a chart of engine oil viscosities and the ambient temperatures its suitable to use them at. For this reason, I put 5W/30 oil in for the winter and will probably go back to 10W/40 for the summer.

just had look in the owners manual and its says 5w/30 will do as well as 5w/40 and 5w/50. i spent 6months in canada in the winter and im sure the army used the same oil all through the year (OMD 90) and the temp drops to about -45 with wind chill.

3ddisco said:

just had look in the owners manual and its says 5w/30 will do as well as 5w/40 and 5w/50. i spent 6months in canada in the winter and im sure the army used the same oil all through the year (OMD 90) and the temp drops to about -45 with wind chill.

Click to expand...

Wind chill doesent effect a truck!

Thanks for the replys. So I can use 5w/30 here?

paul_c said:

Click to expand...

That is fantastic, thankyou! Im now happy with the fluids i just put in my boxes and axles as well, cheers!

and why does wind chill not effect a truck then...course it does.

aston108 said:

and why does wind chill not effect a truck then...course it does.

Click to expand...

Because wind chill is a phenomenon which affects things which lose heat by convection in winds, eg animals which sweat; or people. Wind chill is not a 'real' temperature, but an apparent temperature due to the effect of the wind and rain.

Okay, look at it another way - if you go out on a cold windy, wet day in a T shirt and shorts, you'll feel a chill - if its not windy/wet, you'd not feel so much of a chill.

Go out in a similar day with a large waterproof jacket, overtrousers and hat, and you will hardly feel the wind or the chill from it.

paul_c said:

Because wind chill is a phenomenon which affects things which lose heat by convection in winds, eg animals which sweat; or people. Wind chill is not a 'real' temperature, but an apparent temperature due to the effect of the wind and rain.

Okay, look at it another way - if you go out on a cold windy, wet day in a T shirt and shorts, you'll feel a chill - if its not windy/wet, you'd not feel so much of a chill.

Go out in a similar day with a large waterproof jacket, overtrousers and hat, and you will hardly feel the wind or the chill from it.

Click to expand...

I know yr right, in a way..... but yr also wrong, cos by yr own argument "wind chill is a phenomenon which affects things which lose heat by convection in winds" ergo if it's cold n windy the temperature of the metal of yr truck will be lower than if its just cold

It will affect the outer bodywork of the car but we're not discussing that - we're talking about engine oil.

...and you're wrong anyway - the temperature of the metal won't be different. It will heat or cool more effectively in wind, but its temperature will pretty much be the same as ambient anyway, and it will not drop below ambient in wind/rain.

paul_c said:

It will affect the outer bodywork of the car but we're not discussing that - we're talking about engine oil.

Click to expand...

Ah and of course that'll not be in contact with the metal

paul_c said:

...and you're wrong anyway - the temperature of the metal won't be different. It will heat or cool more effectively in wind, but its temperature will pretty much be the same as ambient anyway, and it will not drop below ambient in wind/rain.

Click to expand...

Exackerly It will heat or cool more effectively in wind

I'm not sure what point you're making. Wind chill, in the context discussed (wind chill of -45°C in Canada) doesn't affect engine oil. The lower temperature limit is to do with cold starting, more specifically the viscosity of the oil at that temperature. If the outside temperature is -30°C and the engine's been sat for a long time, the engine oil will be -30°C. If the wind is blowing and its raining, resulting in a "wind chill factor" of -45°C (remember, this is not an actual temperature, but an apparent temperature based on the effects of wind and rain), the engine oil will still be -30°C and its viscosity will be unchanged.

paul_c said:

I'm not sure what point you're making. Wind chill, in the context discussed (wind chill of -45 deg C in Canada) doesn't affect engine oil.

Click to expand...

My point was that wind chill will affect the truck, the truck is not able to appreciate the temperature difference caused by wind chill but it will be affected by wind chill and by point of fact so will the oil.

Aparently after about -40 deg C wind chill is no longer a factor in making anything colder. Not sure how I know that but there it is.

Like I said I know your right but also you is wrong

It doesn't affect the temperature of the engine oil as it sits in the sump, with the engine not running and the engine cold. See above - ambient temp is eg -30°C, oil temperature at cold start is -30°C, and cannot be lower.

Everyone knows that a radiator or oil cooler works best when its in 'wind', ie with the car moving or the fan blowing air over it, etc etc. But that's irrelevant in this case, we're talking about cold start! Also it doesn't really matter how much "overcapacity" the radiator or oil cooler is in cold climates or windy or rainy weather, since there is a thermostat which maintains oil temperature by cooling only a proportion of the oil, etc.

There is a danger in trying to apply "wind chill factor" to anything except its intended to be applied to.

The windchill factor is the temperature that a person feels because of the wind.

I am going to express my understanding of wind chill, though I am just re-iterating what has already been said!

If your land rover is in a place which is 10 degrees celcius and its not windy, your land rover will be at 10 degrees celcius.

If your land rover is in the same place which is 10 degrees and it is windy, your land rover will be at 10 degrees.


Higher wind will increace the rate that you land rovers tempriture tends towards the tempriture of its surroundings, but will not effect the tempriture it eventualy reaches (which will be the same as its surroundings). This is considering the land rover to be switched off and sitting as we are talkig about the viscosity of the oil for a cold crank. :5brant:

still say your wrong.. wind chill will have an effect on a car .. and to prove it put two thermometers outside on a cold windy night one in the wind and one sheltered ( in a shed or outhouse for example).. check them every hr and you'll see I'm right

aston108 said:

still say your wrong.. wind chill will have an effect on a car .. and to prove it put two thermometers outside on a cold windy night one in the wind and one sheltered ( in a shed or outhouse for example).. check them every hr and you'll see I'm right

Click to expand...

Use the correct terminology and you are right but dont use "windchill".
Windchill factor is the temperature that a person feels because of the wind.
Walkin fridges/chillers use fans to reduce the tempreature within the fridge, it soon gets very cold when the fans switch on but thats not windchill.

aston108 said:

still say your wrong.. wind chill will have an effect on a car .. and to prove it put two thermometers outside on a cold windy night one in the wind and one sheltered ( in a shed or outhouse for example).. check them every hr and you'll see I'm right

Click to expand...

If you put it in a shed it will still retain heat from the day time, so its an unfair test. Put the sheltered one in a open top cardboard box or somthing so its not windy but is exposed to the same air. Zero the thermomiters to eachother first too, and they both need to be dry.