Cold-weather Stuff

[David Buchner]

Greetings, all.

-10F this morning, here in central Minnesota. This is pretty much the
first *serious* cold of this wacky so-called winter. And neither of our
vehicles will start at all.

I was wondering if anybody had experience putting one of those "tank
heaters" in their car -- one of those engine heaters that goes in-line
in one of the heater hoses (I think)? The 400W Subaru one takes a long
time to warm up the engine enough to matter -- because of course it's
meant to be left plugged in overnight.

(In this case, we're talking about an '02 Impreza, the Outback Sport
version with the 2.5 engine)

Why don't I just leave it plugged in overnight then, you ask? Because we
have a solar-powered house and can't spare that much electricity from
our batteries overnight. On cold mornings, I have to hope the gas
generator will start, plug in the car and wrap it up with blankets, and
wait as long as possible before trying to start it.

I have one of those tank heaters on my ancient diesel tractor, and it
warms it right up to operating temperature if I give it 20 or 30
minutes.

On the subject of Subarus in winter, and as it's been a long while since
I was reading this newsgroup -- has anybody found any nifty ways of
coping with the ice/snow buildup in wheel wells and inside rims (short
of a nice, warm garage)? I heard a rumor that Subaru was going to
redesign this out somewhat (I assume with more clearance) -- but that
doesn't help me until I get a new car.

Also, and please forgive my laziness in not searching the archive to
answer this, as I'm sure it's been covered plenty 'o' times before: how
many guys follow what the owner's manual says about using 5W-30 all year
in this engine? I use the Castrol synthetic, and have been switching to
10W-30 in the summer the last couple years, but can't decide if it
matters or not. It would be nice to always use the same stuff, and not
have an assortment of half-bottles waiting around for 6 months...

 

[Blair Baucom]

I use 5w-30 year round, as I have with every car since 1984. I did switch my
1996 Ford Ranger to 5w-20 when Ford changed it's recommend oil. I have never
had any excessive oil consumption or engine problems. On my motorcycles I
have used their recommended oils of 20w-40 for Yamaha and 10w-40 for Suzuki
as on the air cooled engines seem to be a lot harder on oil.

Going back to 5w-30 after using 10w-30 may cause more consumption. You will
have to try it and see the result for your engine.

On your cars, I assume they are turning over ok? If not may need battery
heaters for -10F weather. Their are block heaters but still need high power
overnight.

Blair

 

[Body Roll]

David Buchner wrote:

[skipped]

On the subject of Subarus in winter, and as it's been a long while since
I was reading this newsgroup -- has anybody found any nifty ways of
coping with the ice/snow buildup in wheel wells and inside rims (short
of a nice, warm garage)? I heard a rumor that Subaru was going to
redesign this out somewhat (I assume with more clearance) -- but that
doesn't help me until I get a new car.

You don't have enought clearance in the wheel wells on the Outback
Sport????
You must be joking, right? On my 2005 there's like 2-3 inches between
the tire
and the wheel well covers. Waaaay more than on Outback.
I was surprised to see hardly any on the one I saw at work. Looks like
about 1-1.5" or so.

Also, and please forgive my laziness in not searching the archive to
answer this, as I'm sure it's been covered plenty 'o' times before: how
many guys follow what the owner's manual says about using 5W-30 all year
in this engine? I use the Castrol synthetic, and have been switching to
10W-30 in the summer the last couple years, but can't decide if it
matters or not. It would be nice to always use the same stuff, and not
have an assortment of half-bottles waiting around for 6 months...

I use 5W-30 in mine and I live in California.
10W30 in the other car that does not ever sees any snow.
Just bit the bullet and went to walmart. $7-8 for 5qt of dino and
$14-15 for
supertech synthetic.

Can't comment on the heater but I think you need a cold weather package
up there with heated windshield, mirrors, seats and just about anything
else.
Dunno if that is available on the cars sold in the US.

 

[David Buchner]

You don't have enought clearance in the wheel wells on the Outback
Sport????
You must be joking, right? On my 2005 there's like 2-3 inches between
the tire
and the wheel well covers. Waaaay more than on Outback.

Dude. Drive on my road after a snow, and get back to me. It's pretty
bad.

Can't comment on the heater but I think you need a cold weather package
up there with heated windshield, mirrors, seats and just about anything
else.
Dunno if that is available on the cars sold in the US.

All that stuff is just convenience and comfort. For actual, practical,
stupidly-cold-weather ruggedness, they need a different set of options.
Tire chains, high-power engine heaters, dual batteries, blankets, hot
brandy dispensers, ...

 

[Steve Parker]

David,
I would strongly recommend changing to synthetic oil. It does not
thicken nearly as much when cold. This should ease strain on stater and
allow it to spin faster when cold. This has worked well for me in 7
years in Montana. You can get 5w-50 and use it all year.
Sparky

 

[David Buchner]

David,
I would strongly recommend changing to synthetic oil. It does not
thicken nearly as much when cold. This should ease strain on stater and
allow it to spin faster when cold. This has worked well for me in 7
years in Montana. You can get 5w-50 and use it all year.

I don't blame you for missing it in my overlong post, but I did mention
that I'm already using Castrol synthetic in the car -- have been since
just after it was new. In my Toyota pickup, I actually went and had the
trans oils replaced with synthetic too, which eliminated most of that
gooey-gearshift feeling in cold weather (you know it's bad when the
engine stalls when you let the clutch pedal up in neutral).

I've always been vaguely suspicious of those super-broad-range
viscosities. If this oil is really okay at all temperature ranges, of 5W
through 50 oil -- then why do they also make a 10W-30 and a 5W-30? Just
for stubborn customers? What?

 

[Porgy Tirebiter]

Greetings, all.

-10F this morning, here in central Minnesota. This is pretty much the
first *serious* cold of this wacky so-called winter. And neither of our
vehicles will start at all.

I was wondering if anybody had experience putting one of those "tank
heaters" in their car -- one of those engine heaters that goes in-line
in one of the heater hoses (I think)? The 400W Subaru one takes a long
time to warm up the engine enough to matter -- because of course it's
meant to be left plugged in overnight.

(In this case, we're talking about an '02 Impreza, the Outback Sport
version with the 2.5 engine)

That's weird....it was 20 here this morning and the neighbors POS 1992 Ford
Escort fired right up.
My Ford truck fired right up, and the 'ol ladys Honda Civic fired right
up.....
Doesn't say much for Subaru's engineering does it?
P.S. they ALL live outside, in the driveways and DO NOT have any accessory
heaters installed.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

That's weird....it was 20 here this morning and the neighbors POS 1992 Ford
Escort fired right up.
My Ford truck fired right up, and the 'ol ladys Honda Civic fired right
up.....
Doesn't say much for Subaru's engineering does it?
P.S. they ALL live outside, in the driveways and DO NOT have any accessory
heaters installed.

Doesn't say much about your intelligence to draw a universal conclusion
from a coupla' anecdotes.

But, please - keep posting. You are so entertaining!

Carl

 

[Joe Kultgen]

(e-mail address removed) (David Buchner) wrote in

I don't blame you for missing it in my overlong post, but I did
mention that I'm already using Castrol synthetic in the car -- have
been since just after it was new. In my Toyota pickup, I actually went
and had the trans oils replaced with synthetic too, which eliminated
most of that gooey-gearshift feeling in cold weather (you know it's
bad when the engine stalls when you let the clutch pedal up in
neutral).

I've always been vaguely suspicious of those super-broad-range
viscosities. If this oil is really okay at all temperature ranges, of
5W through 50 oil -- then why do they also make a 10W-30 and a 5W-30?
Just for stubborn customers? What?

It's my understanding that the auto manufacturer sets the lubricant specs
based on what's right for the hardware they designed. Normally they
design for commonly available consumables and people driving under
average conditions. The owners manual will specify a different viscosity
range or different type of lubricant under extreme conditions. Sometimes
the engineers crowd the limits and it takes specialty lube to cover the
error.

For a while I drove a '92 Nissan Sentra SE-R with a 2.0 engine. To get
proper oil flow to the upper end and keep the valve train from rattling I
had to run 0W-30 Synthetic year 'round. I've heard some Isuzu Troopers
had similar problems.

The wide viscosity range is a feature of synthetics. With conventional
oil you start with a base stock that comes closest to your specs, then
use additives to extend its range. With synthetics you have in effect a
"designer" base stock and can greatly extend its range with fewer
additives. The whole field is an incredibly complex subject and I've
probably over simplified it to a degree that would make a petroleum
engineer cringe but the explanation matches my experience in the real
world fairly well.

 

[DK]

That's weird....it was 20 here this morning and the neighbors POS 1992 Ford
Escort fired right up.
My Ford truck fired right up, and the 'ol ladys Honda Civic fired right
up.....
Doesn't say much for Subaru's engineering does it?
P.S. they ALL live outside, in the driveways and DO NOT have any accessory
heaters installed.

If you enjoy anecdotal evidence so much, consider this:
not one of the three Subarus I own/ed ever failed to start even
in the coldest weather (-20F).

 

[Joe Kultgen]

If you enjoy anecdotal evidence so much, consider this:
not one of the three Subarus I own/ed ever failed to start even
in the coldest weather (-20F).

I did have one of the early SPFI models get into a "failure loop" around
that temp. It was cranking slow and dumping a lot of raw gas into the
intake. When it fired the o2 sensor got wet with fuel and the ECM leaned
the mixture until it quit running. After two or three attempts I ran out
of battery. Fortunately it was stick shift and after a bump start
everything cleared out. It doens't get that cold here often enough to know
if it would have been a recurring problem.

 

[David Buchner]

That's weird....it was 20 here this morning and the neighbors POS 1992 Ford
Escort fired right up.
My Ford truck fired right up, and the 'ol ladys Honda Civic fired right
up.....
Doesn't say much for Subaru's engineering does it?
P.S. they ALL live outside, in the driveways and DO NOT have any accessory
heaters installed.

What's weird, is that you'd be bothering posting here if you're so
annoyed by the group's subject. But anyway:

1. There's quite a difference between 20 and -10
2. Its battery was overdue for replacement anyway. I put in a new one
and it will start. I just like pre-heating it a bit before starting when
it's really cold, cuz I figure it's easier on the engine. What I'm doing
for now is plugging in its accessory heater, plus one of those 300W or
so magnetic ones stuck to the bottom of the oil pan.

Oh well. Shoes for industry.

 

[tom klein]

Greetings, all.

[snip!]
Also, and please forgive my laziness in not searching the archive to
answer this, as I'm sure it's been covered plenty 'o' times before: how
many guys follow what the owner's manual says about using 5W-30 all year
in this engine? I use the Castrol synthetic, and have been switching to
10W-30 in the summer the last couple years, but can't decide if it
matters or not. It would be nice to always use the same stuff, and not
have an assortment of half-bottles waiting around for 6 months...

the *meaning* of multi-viscosity oil weights is that they behave like
the "w" part in the winter and the other part in the summer. so, for
warm weather, 5w30 and 10w30 (and plain old 30) are all equivalent.
but when it's colder, 5w is a lot "thinner" than 10w, making it easier
to start (and more fuel efficient, which is probably why most
manufacturers recommend it). so what you're doing makes no difference
at all (except for your collection of half-bottles).

 

[strchild]

the *meaning* of multi-viscosity oil weights is that they behave like the

"w" part in the winter and the other part in the summer. so, for warm
weather, 5w30 and 10w30 (and plain old 30) are all equivalent. but when
it's colder, 5w is a lot "thinner" than 10w, making it easier to start
(and more fuel efficient, which is probably why most manufacturers
recommend it). so what you're doing makes no difference at all (except
for your collection of half-bottles).

Not to start an argument, but my XT-6 manual specifically states, do not do
continuous high speed driving with 5-30 oil, only with 10-30 or thicker.
Must be a little more to the lower thickness parts of the oil than just
winter temperatures?

~Brian

Greetings, all.

[snip!]
Also, and please forgive my laziness in not searching the archive to
answer this, as I'm sure it's been covered plenty 'o' times before: how
many guys follow what the owner's manual says about using 5W-30 all year
in this engine? I use the Castrol synthetic, and have been switching to
10W-30 in the summer the last couple years, but can't decide if it
matters or not. It would be nice to always use the same stuff, and not
have an assortment of half-bottles waiting around for 6 months...