Oil types and additives question

[zombie13]

Looking for insight into the various types of oil and +/- of each. Synthetic vs. non-synthetic vs. 50/50. With Slick 50 as part of the oil or not. Adding Slick 50 when changing the oil. What about the Lucas stabilizers (for the Tranny as well?)

Z.

[Millermagic]

Just use what the owners manual uses. Synthetic is your preference really.

[joe92k1500]

Dont bother with any of oil additives. Most have been proven to do nothing. Just like Miller said, stick with a good synthetic. Mobil 1 is probably the best you can get from your local store.

[Huney1]

HERE is a brief explanation of what oil contains and why.

Here's the scoop on additives. No, don't do them because they're a waste of money. Go to bobistheoilguy.com and click Additives. Fact is, modern day oils already have the additives bult in to do the job.

10W-30 full synthetic is $12.48 at WalMart and regular dinosaur oil 10W-30 SM spec is $6.88 and for most of us dino oil does fine, change oil and filter every 5K mi and rock on. Warren Oil Co use to make WalMart's oil but now I believe it's made by Quaker State or Pennzoil. Their oil filters are $2.08 made by Champion Labs. Before synthetics came out millions of vehicles got 200 & 300 thousand miles on 10W-30. If you have a high mileage vehicle do some research before you switch to synthetic.

"The first number is the weight of the oil at cold start-up, so a lower number means a thinner oil that will be pumped up more readily. The second number is the viscosity (sic) of the oil once it has reached operating temperature (150 degrees). The additive 'V.I. Improver' helps it to do the opposite of what it wants to do when it warms up, which is thin out.
These types of oils are classified as 'non-Newtonian' because of this ability.

The wider the range of viscosities on the oil, the less durable and resistant it is to 'Viscosity Index Breakdown'. For example, 10W-30 oil does not have as much 'V.I. Improver' as 5W-30, so there are fewer additives to be broken down by the shearing of the engine. In fact, 10W-30 is by far the most 'durable' multi-viscosity oil there is. You should try to stay away from the wider spreads like 15W-50, 20W-50 and especially the 5W-50.

Also, thicker is not better, no matter what your mechanic or engineer told you. 20W-50 has 40% more viscosity (resistance to flow) at operating temperature than 10W-30. This means that your engine has to work 40% harder just to move the oil around inside your engine. An engine with thick 'oil' produces significantly less power, uses more fuel, produces more emissions and runs hotter, all contributing to shorter engine life. A thinner oil can move more easily and quickly be 'pumped-up' to the critical parts of the engine, takes less energy to move it around, helps the engine to produce more power, less emissions, better economy. And the engine will last longer too! This has been proven numerous times in test after test, by many different and highly respected testing facilities."

If you want to read the whole article PM me and I'll send you the link.
I live down South and an old mechanic told me straight 30W year round is all we need because it seldom freezes. Hmmm . .. I wonder if straight 30W has no "VI Improvers" and if not, does that make it even better than 10W-30? ? ? ? Comments . . . . ? Anybody . . . .?