gruffalo

A little to thick for an S4 w 60k miles, and who lives an easy life in chilly climates?

123quattro

That's a little thick for anything but a turbo powered race car.

dcrasta

Don't
Too much viscosity is almost as bad as too little.
You want it to drain back in the pan fast enough to circulate. Stick with 20/50 . In Norway [I have visited Oslo!] I would use 10 or 15w40 and give it a minute or two under 2500 rpms in the mornings..

RCinXS

Uhh. No.

+1 on 20W50.

I've found Royal Purple for less than $6.00 a quart on sale when bought by the case.

dcrasta

Remedial, but pretty cool (with pictures !)

http://www.smartsynthetics.com/motor-oil-viscosity.htm

Tom. M

I'll go against the grain here and say it's fine (10W ...cold viscosity)...to 60W...hot viscosity...so it will be fine. Castrol TWS is a true full synthetic (not at all like the usual castrol's we get here). This is the spec'd oil for a M series BMW's.

I did a test a while back (using Mobil 1 15-50)..and had two bottles out in the garage (up in Canada in winter)..so it was cold. like -10C. The bottle of standard 10W40 (I think it was pennzoil)..wouldn't pour out of the jug... the 15W50 Mobil one...poured like water.

Usually they say to say away from oils that have such large ranges ..since it's usually additives that give the "stock" the range on the bottle..and those additives go away over time, but this is a highly refined synthetic stock..so it's range is a good thing.... (check out bob the oil guy's page..I think he has lots to say about the TWS)....

gruffalo

This is indeed the bmw m-series oil. A local bmw specialist has it on sale, about half the price of mobil 1.

Tom. M

If it's on sale... Curious how much the regular price is? The BMW dealers charge about $10 a liter (true liter not a quart) and that is where I used to get it (when I ran it way back) ...

Here's a quick link to a BMW M5 thread directly addressing cold weather and the 10W60..
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39...il-1-0w40.html

dr bob

Just a reminder that the second number is the hot film strength, not the hot viscosity.

PHIL928

I ran this for a while, but decided to go back to 20w50, the car didn't feel too good with having 10w60 in it.

John Veninger

The TWS 10w-60 is a great oil for summer use.

Cheburator

I use it in all my BMWs and Porsches. Almost as good as MOTUL 15W50 Chrono, but half price...

Vilhuer

Many locals use it without problems. Those of us who are slow drivers on track or don't go there at all use cheaper Valvoline 20W50 simply because we don't need 60 at top end. Very few use any Mobil variant in engine as most feel they do not work. At least avoid any and all 0Wnn oils available regardless of who makes it.

waynestrutt

I would not use an oil with the lower visc number less than 20 in the summer. The higher number can be as high as you can afford as it is the equivalent viscosity of the oil when hot . A 10w- or 20 w - is the cold equivalent viscosity. A 10w 30 and a 10w 60 will both flow the same when cold down to 5 degrees F or about -10 C. Its when they get hot that matters.They DO NOTget thicker when hot.The higher number 60 means that when the oil is at normal operating temperature it behaves as a 60 grade oil (as dr Bob states it is the hot film strength) in that it does not break down as fast with load and temperature and it retains a useable film on all bearing surfaces.Some think that a 10w 40 or 20w50 is too thick for starting and therefore opt for a 10w 30 or 20w 40. The first number is the cold number and the oil never gets thicker than that down to -10C, opting for the higher number means longer bearing life. 20w-50 is recommended.

gruffalo

Thanks for the info. But why recommend 20w50, if the 10w60 is better when cold AND hot???