Anyone use heavier than 20w50 in the summer? Amsoil...

[kc5gxc]

I am interested in this and want to relate an oil experience. Had a car with a bad lifter (a Pontiac of course) . Running 20w50 worked ok, but on a long trip, the lifter would start clicking...louder and louder and eventually, it would lose all prime or pressure and I would get a dead miss on that cylinder...............If I ran straight 40 wt in engine, on the same trip, I would get some clicking, but never lose the cylinder. I can only conclude the obvious.
However....I am running 20w50 Castrol in the Sportster on days of 102 deg. here in MS.
NO traffic, however, just in rural roads or interstate. If I had stop and go and traffic driving in this heat, I would go to straight 50 for sure.
Good Luck...........Pete

[XDixiecratX]

Ok anything wrong with a quart and a half of 20w-50w and a quart and a half of straight 50w , or is it better not to mix oils

[texaswiz]

In Tejas, dino oils tend to break down at the higher temps that v-twin air cooled engines typically run at in the summer. That is the main reason true synthetics are used in this environment. Lots of people use dino oils in the Tejas heat, but for my money I want something that adds an extra 30-50 degree protection that synthetics offer. Beside that, I get a real kick out of paying somebody $10.00 a quart for synthetics.

[Dave63]

Originally Posted by texaswiz

In Tejas, dino oils tend to break down at the higher temps that v-twin air cooled engines typically run at in the summer.

Hmmmmm....a friend of mine just came back from MMI-Harley school in Arizona. All they run in their bikes is straight 50wt. No issues in the desert....

I agree that Synthetics don't degrade like Dino oil does, because they have a higher flash point and the molecules don't shear as easy.

Originally Posted by XDixiecratX

Ok anything wrong with a quart and a half of 20w-50w and a quart and a half of straight 50w , or is it better not to mix oils

It's fine. Guys at another forum I go to mix, including straight weights. Most of them have 70K+ on their bikes...

Stick to same-brand oil when you do it.

However, if you mix 50wt with 20w50, why not just run straight 50w in the summer?