what does the code for oil mean

[ramair6]

hey guys i have a dumb question but what does the code like 10w-30 or 5w-30 or whatever stand for. i feel like i change my oil and dont know what it stands for. thanks

[Christian]

Originally posted by ramair6:
hey guys i have a dumb question but what does the code like 10w-30 or 5w-30 or whatever stand for. i feel like i change my oil and dont know what it stands for. thanks

The viscosity grade pimp.Water has a very low viscosity -- it is thin and flows easily. Something like honey is thick and has a very high viscosity -- For example, 5W-30 tells you the oil's viscosity, or like I like my women-thickness. A thin oil has a lower number and flows more easily, while thicker oils have a higher number and are more resistant to getting their flow on.

The standard unit used to measure viscosity is the centistoke (cSt).

Viscosity is usually used in terms of the time required for a standard amount of fluid at a certain temperature to flow through a standard area, or circumference. The higher the value my boy, the more viscous (is that a word) the fluid. Since viscosity typically varies inversely with temperature, its value doesn't mean shizzle unless accompanied by the temperature at which it is evaluated. With petroleum oils, viscosity is now commonly reported in centistokes (cSt), measured at either 40°C or 100 °C (ASTM Method D445 - Kinematic Viscosity).
The centistoke rating is converted into the SAE-(like we see), weight designation using a chart like the one shown on this page. http://www.superiorlubricants.com/classtable.html
Multi-weight oils (such as 10W-30) are made possible by adding polymers or something to oil. The polymers allow the oil to shift weights at different temperatures. The first number indicates the viscosity of the oil at a colder-room like temperature, while the second number indicates the viscosity at operating temperature, like in your whip.

If and when the oil warms up, the polymers begin to stretch into long strands that prevent the oil from thinning as much as it normally would. At cold temperatures, the polymers are close strung and give the leeway for the oil to flow as their low numbers say. Basically, at say 100 degrees C, the oil has thinned only as much as the higher viscosity number promises. Another way of looking at it is to think of a 20W-50 as a 20 oil that will not thin more than a 50 weight would when hot...something like that bruh

Got it?

[ April 24, 2004, 05:56 PM: Message edited by: Christian ]

[NSolano]

so which one should we be using?? I always though 10W30 was better.

[Dan Vincent]

10W30 is fine if you don't get under 0 degrees F. At that point, 5W30 is definitely reccomended, though if you live in a wintry area (the northeast) 5W30 is also acceptable for most year round driving. You could put in 10W30 for spring and 5W30 for winter, but why bother, when they will both behave the same when hot?

[Christian]

I use 10 because I'm in Alabama and there is going to be more to worry about than oil if it gets below 0 here, so I never worry about it. Plus since the first user the car has only seen 10, I'm not a huge fan of going in or out on anything with my car. It may not have any adverse effects at all, but that's just me.

[redbird00]

Originally posted by Christian:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by ramair6:
hey guys i have a dumb question but what does the code like 10w-30 or 5w-30 or whatever stand for. i feel like i change my oil and dont know what it stands for. thanks

The viscosity grade pimp.Water has a very low viscosity -- it is thin and flows easily. Something like honey is thick and has a very high viscosity -- For example, 5W-30 tells you the oil's viscosity, or like I like my women-thickness. A thin oil has a lower number and flows more easily, while thicker oils have a higher number and are more resistant to getting their flow on.

The standard unit used to measure viscosity is the centistoke (cSt).

Viscosity is usually used in terms of the time required for a standard amount of fluid at a certain temperature to flow through a standard area, or circumference. The higher the value my boy, the more viscous (is that a word) the fluid. Since viscosity typically varies inversely with temperature, its value doesn't mean shizzle unless accompanied by the temperature at which it is evaluated. With petroleum oils, viscosity is now commonly reported in centistokes (cSt), measured at either 40°C or 100 °C (ASTM Method D445 - Kinematic Viscosity).
The centistoke rating is converted into the SAE-(like we see), weight designation using a chart like the one shown on this page. http://www.superiorlubricants.com/classtable.html
Multi-weight oils (such as 10W-30) are made possible by adding polymers or something to oil. The polymers allow the oil to shift weights at different temperatures. The first number indicates the viscosity of the oil at a colder-room like temperature, while the second number indicates the viscosity at operating temperature, like in your whip.

If and when the oil warms up, the polymers begin to stretch into long strands that prevent the oil from thinning as much as it normally would. At cold temperatures, the polymers are close strung and give the leeway for the oil to flow as their low numbers say. Basically, at say 100 degrees C, the oil has thinned only as much as the higher viscosity number promises. Another way of looking at it is to think of a 20W-50 as a 20 oil that will not thin more than a 50 weight would when hot...something like that bruh

Got it? </font>[/QUOTE]damn fine description...

merlin