Oil Weight Question: *MODIFIED/UPDATED* (Possible Sticky?):

[Captain D]

Hello all,

Recently, a topic came up with some friends and I just thought that I would throw out this topic to see if there is a consensus, more or less:

I'm looking to have an oil pan gasket replaced on my Charger fairly soon (swapping out the cork for a rubberized gasket) in my 69' Charger 383 4 brrl BB, but when I do, do you feel that I should put 10W-30 oil during the dead of winter or 10W-40? I live in south-central Pennsylvania and from December/January to about March it can get too cold for my liking, lol.

I'll probably stay with the Brad Penn, but as far as actually weight of the oil goes - I just want to make sure that all of the inner components of the engine are well lubricated during the dead of the winter and I was thinking of using the 10W-30. Is this best or would either weight be just as good?

Thank you for any and all replies,  
Aaron

[flyinlow]

Both weights should flow like a 10 Winter weight oil at zero degrees.  Still thick. I guess with those two choices for winter time oil I would go with the 10W-30.
I have always felt that the wider the spread, 10W-40 for example ,the more the base oil stock depended on its additives to make it perform like a 10w oil at 0*F and a 40 weight oil at 225* F. Possibly causing the oil to brake down sooner. 

Synthetics flow better cold.

[Pete in NH]

Hi Aaron,

I used to run 10-40 in my 71 383 when it was on the road every day way back when. I still do, although the car never sees cold weather anymore. I was always more concerned with summer temperatures with the A/C on and thinning the oil out too much. Flyinlow is right about the synthetic oils they are superior oils that have been used in aircraft for years. They have outstanding cold flow characteristics.

[Captain D]

Thank you gents for the reply,

Although I tend to prefer to run the Brad Penn, but based on some of this info - does anyone feel that maybe I should run the full synthetic (say, for example, Valvoline or Mobil 1) and just add a bottle of the ZDDP Plus during the course of the winter (s)? The Brad Penn, being a synthetic blend and overall ideal for our engines, is my first choice,  but if you feel that the full synthetic + the ZDDP Plus route is the best route to go for the winter; I'm interested in any input.

Thank you again for the replies,
Aaron

[Pete in NH]

Hi Aaron,

I ran Valvoline Durablend which is a synthetic blend in a 96 Jeep Cherokee I had and it worked out very well in our cold New Hampshire winters. It flowed much better on cold starts than conventional oil. I'm using 10-40 Durablend in my Charger now even though it doesn't see the cold anymore. I'm not familiar with the Brad Penn oil you are referring to, but I would think any of today's oils are way ahead of oils available when our cars were new.

[Captain D]

Hi there Pete and I hope that you've been doing well my friend - my alternator set-up that you had helped me out with a few weeks back has been running great thus far,  .

Here is a link (with a write-up), to the oil I've been running in mine (its a synthetic blend, ideal for our type of cams, and already has the needed zinc/phosphorus pre-mix added):

http://www.penngrade1.com/

I thought about just using their 10W-30, but then I didn't know how well it'll lubricate the inner components of the engine during the dead of winter vs. the full synthetic (Valvoline Mobil 1) + adding a bottle of the ZDDP Plus stuff. I can always call them directly and see what they say, but I was just curious to get your guys' take on it as well,  .

Best regards,
Aaron

[Captain D]

I had called Brad Penn for some additional info and I just wanted to post with the hope that others could benefit from this information as well (just in case its not posted elsewhere):

Basically, the tech rep @ Brad Penn was most helpful in saying that, during winter time and the car is not going on the road due to snow, salt on the road, etc., to do an oil change just prior to this 'winter storage,' drive it around for a little while to help get the oil into all the inner components of the engine well lubricated, and then simply pull the car into the garage where it is to be kept off for the entire course of the winter. Moreover, he added to pull the battery and keep it inside as you won't need it and, by storing it indoors away from the cold, you are protecting its longevity, as well.

Contrary to what I assumed to do, which was to start the car at least once or twice per week during the course of the winter months just to keep the electrical stuff charged, he said that is the worse thing to do because in doing so, it creates moisture - moisture that collects in your engine block/causing rust on account that the car is not running up to its full capacity level by simply running for 20 minutes or so while sitting in a garage. He said that its actually best to NOT run the car at all during the course of winter and what makes this okay to do is that the Brad Penn oil is designed to cling to all of the inner metal components of your engine (even when the car is not being used over long periods of time), so that when we go to start the car come springtime, the car should fire right back up and the oil from Brad Penn is still present on all of the inner metal components of the engine. He also added that today's other oil options are substandard on account that not only do they not cling to key metal components during the course of the winter (which causes metal against metal), but they also are not produced to meet the needs of our engines as they were designed 45 years ago (such as lacking the needed zinc/phosphorous). Plus, they are tailored to fit primarily environmental and fuel efficiency concerns. However, the Brad Penn is, essentially, the same oil that meets or exceeds that oil when our engines were originally manufactured (both for winter storage as well as day-to-day operating capabilities to protect the life of the engine).  

The point being here is winter storage (not putting the car on the road due to ice, salt, etc.), however, if the car remains driven throughout the course of the winter - you can obviously start the car and run it as much as you want. On the topic of which oil weight to use, he looked up the information on our 68-70' Dodge Chargers and it showed that we can run 10W-30, 10W-40, etc. all the way up to 20W-50 even during the winter (he noted that the 20W-50 maybe even ideal to install just prior to winter storage due to the fact that its heavier and may provide a thicker protective coating for winter storage), but - it basically comes down to personal preference for the most part which oil weight you decide to use. For me, I 'may' use the 20W-50, but may continue using the Brad Penn 10W-40 as I seem to get really good oil pressure readings and he stated that it will still provide exceptional protection.

As far as the Brad Penn, in general, it seems to be a really great oil to run in our Chargers overall, regardless of winter or summer months, as it appears to be designed specifically to meet all of our engine needs. Anyhow, just wanted to pass along this information to share with others and/or open up a discussion. Again, here is their direct link:

http://www.penngrade1.com/

Best wishes,
Aaron