Can't find 0w40 Mobil1 anywhere in Dallas

[tim]

Went to Walmart, Pepboys, Autozone and O'reilly. No dice. Plus I got that special look from each place, (kinda like Chevy Chase in "Fletch" when he goes to the airplane mechanics and says he's G.Gordon Liddy) that says in a nutshell "Gosh, you city folks sure are funny. Can't you just use this here Pennzoil."

Anybody 'round here have a source?

[Bill R.]

dallas zipcode pick a store in dallas and even put the 0w40 mobil1 into my shopping cart with an online order in dallas.

Went to Walmart, Pepboys, Autozone and O'reilly. No dice. Plus I got that special look from each place, (kinda like Chevy Chase in "Fletch" when he goes to the airplane mechanics and says he's G.Gordon Liddy) that says in a nutshell "Gosh, you city folks sure are funny. Can't you just use this here Pennzoil."

Anybody 'round here have a source?

[tim]

I obviously went to wrong Autozone. I'll give that a try. Thanks Bill.

[tim]

Hey Bill,

If you're still following this thread, let me share what just happened. I am a "MyZone" account holder. I went to do as you suggested, and it said that in my zip code, the 0-40 is in normal dealer stock- so when I went to checkout on the site for an internet pickup order, it wouldn't go through. Nor would they ship it to me. So I went to the local "big" autozone. Nope. Not there and the manager told me he hasn't seen it in awhile and didn't know when they would get it. Oh well. I bought a case of 5w30 (it's for my e39 540), and two quarts of 0w30 and I'll mix it. It's pretty cool around here now so the hot weight is not as much of a concern.

Yes I said 0w30! Personally, I'd never seen it before. I hope its not some sort of switch from the 0w40. Anyway, it says "improved mileage formula" and maybe I'm just the only one who hasn't seen it yet.

- Tim

[Bill R.]

for awhile. It seems strange that here in Tucson which is about 1/5 the size of Dallas I can go to every autozone and find 0w40 in all of them, You would think that it would be more available in Dallas.
Sorry, just looked and Tucson is about half the size of Dallas

Hey Bill,

If you're still following this thread, let me share what just happened. I am a "MyZone" account holder. I went to do as you suggested, and it said that in my zip code, the 0-40 is in normal dealer stock- so when I went to checkout on the site for an internet pickup order, it wouldn't go through. Nor would they ship it to me. So I went to the local "big" autozone. Nope. Not there and the manager told me he hasn't seen it in awhile and didn't know when they would get it. Oh well. I bought a case of 5w30 (it's for my e39 540), and two quarts of 0w30 and I'll mix it. It's pretty cool around here now so the hot weight is not as much of a concern.

Yes I said 0w30! Personally, I'd never seen it before. I hope its not some sort of switch from the 0w40. Anyway, it says "improved mileage formula" and maybe I'm just the only one who hasn't seen it yet.

- Tim

[John B.]

So what is the attraction of a zero wt oil particularly in warm climates like Dallas & Tucson? The M30 engines were originally designed to run 20/50 or 10/40 back in the 70s. Is it really a good idea to be running these modern wt oils in an old tech engine like the 3.5 six?

[Bill R.]

a zero weight at 32degrees F. But at operating temps of 212F its the same thickness as a 40 weight oil. The advantage being that at even the low temps here in the mornings of say 36 F or 40F a 20 w 50 still pours a little slow and thick... and a zero pours a lot easier, meaning on startup when its cold it takes longer for a 20w50 to get to the bearings and valve train to lubricate them since the pump has a harder time sucking the cold thick oil up out of the pan. All you have to do on an m30 is measure the amount of time it takes for the oil pressure light to go off in the morning with a 20w50 versus a 0w40. And looking at the tolerances for the m30 and the clearances they run I would hardly call it old tech. The maximum wear allowed on the cylinder wall to piston clearance is .0059.. While thats looser than the new honda spec of .002 maximum clearance you have to keep in mind that thats an iron block and an aluminum piston and the new honda is a aluminum block and piston so the expansion rates are different.

So what is the attraction of a zero wt oil particularly in warm climates like Dallas & Tucson? The M30 engines were originally designed to run 20/50 or 10/40 back in the 70s. Is it really a good idea to be running these modern wt oils in an old tech engine like the 3.5 six?

[winfred]

i read about a old ohv volvo i can't remember if it was a b18 or b20 that left the factory without rings(something to do with moving the factory), it used a bit too much oil and on tear down the dealer discovered it had no rings, other then consuming more oil then usual it suposidly ran fine without huge clouds of smoke

And looking at the tolerances for the m30 and the clearances they run I would hardly call it old tech. The maximum wear allowed on the cylinder wall to piston clearance is .0059..

[John B.]

a zero weight at 32degrees F. But at operating temps of 212F its the same thickness as a 40 weight oil. .

From what I've read about modern multigrades a 5/30 wt oil is created using a 5wt base with additives to make it behave like a 40wt oil at higher temps not the other way around. Is this incorrect? Why go all the way to a zero weight oil for good oil flow? Why not the 5-50wt Castrol that would seem to give you the full range of recommended oils for the M30 engine? 5wt flows well down to temps most of us will never see.

[tim]

John,

While I am no oil expert by any means, after a few years on this board I've gathered that for most oils (other than high quality synthetics) the largest spread that can be acheived between the cold pour weight, and the SAE weight at temperature is about 25 without the addition of an additive.

As far as I know, only Mobil1, Amsoil, Redline and Castrol have "wide spread" synthetics that can have a wider range without an additive package due to aspects of their refining that are over my head. On my v8's I'd venture to say that 90% of my engine wear occurs in the first few seconds after start, where the rings and valves are basically dry. The other 10% is related to number of start cycles as a function of miles driven. The faster my pump can pull that stuff up and start lubricating the top end, the better, especially if at temperature, it actually is a 40 or 50 wt. oil that the factory specifies for the m60, or a 30 or 40 wt. oil on my m62. If I started springing leaks, then maybe I'd change my policy, but I've only had to do one valve cover gasket on my m60, and that was because the P.O. or his mech did not properly permatex the crescents at the back. I go 5000 between changes and I literally don't lose a drop between changes.

Realistically it probably doesn't matter that much. But when the miles rack up, I think it has a cumulative effect. Whenever I hang around the local BMW haunts, and let someone drive my 540, I get that astonished look, and they say, "jeeze boy, whatcha got in there." A chip and that's it. But obviously my tolerances are still very tight, and few have a good enough memory to recall exactly the way a 540 felt on the seat of the pants when it drove off the lot- and I think mine still basically feels that way. (It's somewhat embarrasing but my wifes '99 540 touring will blow my doors off, but the m62 is a major design improvement IMHO).

So, I don't know if that helps at all. It doesn't make more than .0001% difference every day, but after a coupla hundred thousand miles, it may make all the difference in the world.