What grade oil would you use in a hot climate?

scottyd

scottyd

Wizard
www.fz1-forum.com
So, standard grade is 10w-40, but if your riding in a hot climate during summer, ie. 95Deg (35DegC) and higher, would you consider a 10w-50 or 15w-50? Or just stick to 10w-40?
 
Depends somewhat on if you warm up your bike prior to taking off, too. If you're a good warmer and in very hot temps, you can even go with a Conventional Yamalube 20W-50 at very high temps. Just give it time to warm up.
 
I am in a warmer climate and keep the bike in the garage which is usually around 50 degrees F. I use 20w50 year around and change every 3000 miles. I run Castrol. Expensive oil is a waste of money.

I should point out for general info --- In the middle 80's I was an expert on lubricants. However, I'm not too versed on synthetics. But, in a motorcycle fuel dilution is a serious problem which destroys the advantages of oil that will last longer so I do the above.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys. My local Mobil distributors have Mobil 1 15w-50 in the 4T range, but thats the only one they stock and I am wondering if it's a good grade to run in the hot weather.
Brian, just like you said about warming up the bike before going out, I tend to do that a bit, but I only wait for it to get to about 140deg (60degC) and then head out. Is that enough?
 
Tried the Motul 10-50 I think it is. Had 3 cases of hitting neutral instead of hitting 1st gear while hooting down Lobethal road:hellno: (very tight and twisty, pretty much all 1st gear turns) so kept riding home and put in the 10-40 I had there, and dumped the other after 350km. This was in the early days. Maybe the bike has loosened up more by now. But I'm gonna keep on using the 10-40 this summer, and maybe try it again next year.
 
sloppy said:
Why is there more fuel dilution in a motorcycle than a car. The 2nd gen. engines are fuel injection?
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There was a guy in another forum that made his living working in a lab that analyzed oil. HE said that fuel dilution was a big problem and didn't recommend extending drain intervals. Cars don't operate any where near the RPM levels of bikes and I would think that is part of the problem.
 
scottyd said:
So, standard grade is 10w-40, but if your riding in a hot climate during summer, ie. 95Deg (35DegC) and higher, would you consider a 10w-50 or 15w-50? Or just stick to 10w-40?
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i have been using Motorex 10w60 for 2 oil change now. Not bad consider the super hot weather we have here in Singapore.
 
I normally would not enter a oil thread but I must say that I only use Delo 400 15-40 in all the bikes I have owned over the last 5 years or so, 50k on the 96 bandit and when we gave it a strip down for hot cams and JE pots we could not find any wear at all. Mates are running it in MX four stokers, R1, GSXR's and 2 fjr's with great results. I would never pay for a bike oil again, my FZ1 came with Amsoil synth when I bought it and the shifting was crap and the motor a bit noisy, changed out with the delo 400 same day and shifting is great and hardly a whisper from the clutch and valve train.
 
I use Motul 10w40 all year round. The manual reckons 10w40 is good to 40 degrees and when the temp gets up there I'd rather be inside in the aircon anyway. Also the Motul I use is the premium 7100 which is fully synthetic and exceeds the minimum recomended engine oil grade specified in the owners manual, so even if I did have to ride for a short while in temps above 40 I doubt it would be an issue.
 
ballmead said:
I'm using Motul 10W50 at the moment due to the heat and I have no problems. According to the owners manual it is fine to use in hotter temps.
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So am I clutching at straws with the thought of going from 10W to 15W?

jesjames9598 said:
I normally would not enter a oil thread but I must say that I only use Delo 400 15-40 in all the bikes I have owned over the last 5 years or so, 50k on the 96 bandit and when we gave it a strip down for hot cams and JE pots we could not find any wear at all. Mates are running it in MX four stokers, R1, GSXR's and 2 fjr's with great results. I would never pay for a bike oil again, my FZ1 came with Amsoil synth when I bought it and the shifting was crap and the motor a bit noisy, changed out with the delo 400 same day and shifting is great and hardly a whisper from the clutch and valve train.
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So when you did the change we're you running 10W to start with or was it already 15W?

Bluey said:
I use Motul 10w40 all year round. The manual reckons 10w40 is good to 40 degrees and when the temp gets up there I'd rather be inside in the aircon anyway. Also the Motul I use is the premium 7100 which is fully synthetic and exceeds the minimum recomended engine oil grade specified in the owners manual, so even if I did have to ride for a short while in temps above 40 I doubt it would be an issue.
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Yeah Bluey my other want is to change from the Motul 3100 (cheaper semi-syn oil to full syn) If Mobil Aust stocked 10W40 in Mobil 1 4T I'd be happy as.

My main concern is the change from 10W to 15W with a new motor, well 3500km's on it, so it's almost new.



Thanks for all your comments guys! :)
 
scottyd said:
My main concern is the change from 10W to 15W with a new motor, well 3500km's on it, so it's almost new.
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Are you worried that 15w is too thick for a "new" (although 3500km is in no way new and is well past the "break-in" period) motor? I ran Yamalube 20w50 right from the start with my motor before swapping to Amsoil 10w40 at about 1,500 miles and my motor runs great and does not consume oil. 15w is certainly nothing to worry about... particularly in hot weather.
 
RavenFZ1 said:
Are you worried that 15w is too thick for a "new" (although 3500km is in no way new and is well past the "break-in" period) motor? I ran Yamalube 20w50 right from the start with my motor before swapping to Amsoil 10w40 at about 1,500 miles and my motor runs great and does not consume oil. 15w is certainly nothing to worry about... particularly in hot weather.
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Yep exactly, you've hit the nail right on the head, I was worried about changing the grade by going thicker. I also thought (and read a few times in other forums - knowing they are personal opinions and not authoritative documents) you only go thinner when the engine is much older, ie 100,000 or older... I just don't want to bring on wear from a bad decision... So (maybe answering my own question here) there's no harm in going slightly thicker as long as you don't go overboard?
 
scottyd said:
Yep exactly, you've hit the nail right on the head, I was worried about changing the grade by going thicker. I also thought (and read a few times in other forums - knowing they are personal opinions and not authoritative documents) you only go thinner when the engine is much older, ie 100,000 or older... I just don't want to bring on wear from a bad decision... So (maybe answering my own question here) there's no harm in going slightly thicker as long as you don't go overboard?
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I wouldn't be worried about harming your engine at all by going up to 15w or even 20w during warmer weather (IIRC the owner's manual states that it is ok to use 20w50 down to about 40 degrees Farenheit). It is odd that people would recommend thinner oil as the engine gets older/higher mileage... there seems to be more logic in using thicker oil as mileage and tolerances increase in the engine. If you do choose to use "car oil" like some people are recommending, just make sure it is not "energy conserving" with any friction modifiers as this will likely cause clutch slippage.
The problem that most people have with synthetic oil is that they don't give it enough miles to get a feel for what it is capable of. They switch from dino to synthetic and think that they are supposed to have butter smooth shifting and whisper quiet motors instantly. The reality is that you don't notice some of these benefits until after running the first oil change of synthetic for a couple thousand miles, draining and refilling again because the first oil change still has some residual dino oil mixed in. I did notice right away an increase in gas mileage and a decrease in running temperatures since switching to synthetic. I get Amsoil for about $8/qt and it only needs to be changed once a year or 6k miles, so price isn't an issue at all.
 
scottyd said:
Yep exactly, you've hit the nail right on the head, I was worried about changing the grade by going thicker. I also thought (and read a few times in other forums - knowing they are personal opinions and not authoritative documents) you only go thinner when the engine is much older, ie 100,000 or older... I just don't want to bring on wear from a bad decision... So (maybe answering my own question here) there's no harm in going slightly thicker as long as you don't go overboard?
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Scotty, if you want to be safe just go with any 10W40 grade of semi-synth oil.
Personally, I will be going back to Motul 10W40 next oil change as the worst of the heat should be over for this year.
 
Thanks guys.
Yeah Raven, I won't go near car oils. Thanks for the feedback on synthetics too. I like the idea of a slight drop in engine temps!

John, which Motul are you going back to? I want to change to Mobil 1 because of all the comments in these forums about the improved gear change feel with mobil 1.
 
Motul 5100 semi-synth. I have very crisp gear changes with this oil and I have used it on most of my past bikes with great results.
Don't get too caught up in which oil to choose, as long as it's 10W40 and meets the manufacturers specifications, you'll be alright.
No matter what oil you use, the most important thing you can do is to change it regularly and for me that is at least every 5000 klms.
 
ballmead said:
Motul 5100 semi-synth. I have very crisp gear changes with this oil and I have used it on most of my past bikes with great results.
Don't get too caught up in which oil to choose, as long as it's 10W40 and meets the manufacturers specifications, you'll be alright.
No matter what oil you use, the most important thing you can do is to change it regularly and for me that is at least every 5000 klms.
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Yeah I know, but the 3100 semi-synth I'm using makes my gear changes sound really clunky... I like the idea of a peace of mind of having the best...
 
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