Thanks for all the comments! I wish I had time to read and respond to all of them, but I still have a day job that keeps me very busy! Fortunately, that "day job" allows me to go to a lot of cool places where we can sneak in a video sometimes, so it works out in the end as a positive. For those with horizontally mounted or inverted filters, see if your vehicle has clear flood mode. If so, that's a great way to prime the oiling system before the higher pressures of combustion kick in.
Where would one look for "clear flood mode" information? I've never heard of such a thing, or seen such a phrase in the owner's manual. I searched for "clear flood mode" in the PDF workshop manual, for my 2005 Jaguar (with horizontal oil filter) and "No matches were found." What about cartridge filters? Should we soak the filter first and then place it in the cap, with oil up to the brim? Many thanks!
Ive got one of my cars that i dont drive very often, wired so that i have the factory fuel injectors fuse, like 10 amps, going through a simple switch, so i can crank with the spark still going and once i crank and see oil pressure i just flip the switch and it lights off. Its also great to test for leaking fuel injectors and a theft switch.
I have always prefilled my oil filters. My dad and grandpa taught me to always prefill the oil filter. They both gave a simple reason for it. Don't make the motor wait for oil.
After you run the engine if the filter is vertical with the mating surface up, the oil doesn't drain out..... that is the 'normal' condition.. so why not just fill it. I don't get people arguing against pre-fill
They were amongst the wisest of men. 3-6 seconds of no or low oil pressure at 1200rpm on a cold start elevated idle speed is never good. Not only pre fill the filter but change the oil while the motor is hot. Reason being, when starting it will go straight to the normal (lower)idle speed.
@@gothicpagan.666 prefill yes, hot change vs warm change, not much difference. They say so the old oil will drain out of the block,but it does that every time you shut it off. Only benefit is the oil flows out of the pan better.
@@davidcann8788 That would be fun! What are motorcycle oil myths? Do air-cooled (oil-cooled) cars and bikes need to run different oils than water-cooled ones? Do rotary bikes (and cars) have different oil requirements?
@@MonkeyPunchZPokerlake is a true tribologist. PF will never be on his level on knowledge with oil. Those oil tests from project farms is a joke. I do like pf tool tests tho.
@@jwatt95 Love PF...most of his tests are great, but sometimes he is way off the mark because he doesn't quite understand something or how something works....
I was an auto mechanic for many years, never prefilled an oil filter. To the best of my knowledge no one else did. I'm refilling NOW! You taught the old dog a new trick. Thanks for your expertly done tests. You are who I look to for knowledge on these topics.
I did my first oil change around 45 years ago and was shocked by the rod knock until the oil came through. Ever since I’ve always pre-filled the filter. Today I want to fit a 2 micron bypass filter that flows in parallel with the standard filter. The snag is finding the necessary components.
I’ve been changing the oil in all my vehicles for the last 24 years. Today was the first day I’ve ever prefilled the oil filter. My engine thanks you, Lake!
I've been an engineer and auto technician for over 40 years. I have always prefilled the filter. Even if it's on a slight angle(old fords) I would try to put as much oil in as I could without it running out. On my BMW E36 track car, that doesn't get used a lot especially in the winter, I installed an electric oil pump. When I turn the ignition on the ECU runs that pump until I get over 30 PSI of oil pressure. No matter how long the car sits I never have a dry start.
My background is in Electronics and Automotive technology and I have wanted to do something like that for nearly 40 years. When I was a kid my dad had a system on his Humber for introducing a certain amount of upper cylinder lubricant (Redex) into the intake manifold on cold starts. Ever since then I always wondered why there wasn't a system like the one you described. How did you implement it and what kind of an electric oil pump did you use. TIA
I am the chief engineer for Hyde Motorworks. I originally built this for my own car, 650 whp 2.3L TVS supercharged 3 l M50. My track toy. now I am developing it for customers. I used a relatively inexpensive gear type oil pump from Amazon. It has a brass housing and stainless steel gears. I use a -8 line from a fitting in where the oil drain plug used to be. Not ideal but I didn't want to take the pan off again. Braided stainless over rubber line to the inlet of the pump. -6 line out. First to a 10 micron inline oil filter, then a one-way check valve, to T where the oil pressure switch is. It's not high volume with the restrictive lines. And the small Port where the oil pressure switch goes. The pump itself is not designed to pump such heavy oil, and will overheat and shut down if I try to run it too long. But even after a complete oil change it only has to run about 5 Seconds to build 40 PSI of pressure. Cold the pump will run more than 30 seconds. So it does the job. There are more expensive continuous duty oil pumps. They are used on small aircraft engines. But they cost over 1K. Back when I had oil starvation issues on high G corners, I thought about buying one. But then I realized the starvation issue was because the oil wasn't draining back to the pan fast enough and that pump would just be sucking air the same as the mechanical one. So far I've had this exact same setup and pump on my car for over 5 years with zero problems. Last year I even dropped the pan and inspected the bearings. Despite all of the abuse they looked almost perfect.
I'm so glad to find so many like-minded people here. I pre-fill my filter so I can get the level on the dipstick right the first time without having to faff around making up for that volume of oil that an empty filter takes up.
@@kcdesignconcepts5216 mech engineer here working in API rotating equipment...I do most of my own auto work. One thing I don't know for sure is, do all street car engines have the oil pressure switch upstream of the bearings? I assume yes but just seeing if you knew otherwise. Basically I've wanted to do this on my 12 Civic, 18 Camry, 05 Highlander.....basically any car I own. I'd love to know the make and model of the pump you use. Thank you! Lake confirmed pumping is different than pouring when it comes to cold pour tests but here in dead of winter, heck ya I'd like to start after oil pressure is satisfied.
Very intuitive results. I was always a fan of 20W-50, and these ridiculously thin oils today are due to carmakers clawing for every last MPG, and a few ppm reduction in emissions, to try to satisfy stricter and stricter government regulations.
right. As a clock and watchmaker my feeling is the ticker the oil the less wear you have FOR THE PRICE of energy e.g. it does give more "stickyness" which needs to be overcome be the mecanisms. I drive a Citroën Dyane (luxury 2CV) first model generation of 1967. No oil filter! The manual say changing every 5'000Km but I do it every 2'500Km. But she needs only 2 Litres xD. Motor has 425cc and 18HP (german horses D.I.N.) ~13kW. AND the best - only 4.5 Litres of gas on 100Km! Normal gas (85 ROZ) and she get's to true 100Km/hour on the Autobahn. She also light - 580Kg emtpy. With some gas and tools 600Kg. The allowed weight charge is 310Kg.
@@Michael-qy1jz No. The holes and lines for the oil and the tolerances between the engine parts are too narrow for such a thick oil on some newer cars. They need thinner oil for the right amount of oil pressure and oil flow quantity for the engine to run properly.
@@heofthebee Dummies believe Project Farm. They claimed fish-oil based WD-40 was a better penetrant than solvent-oil based PB Blaster. They are full of it.
5:21 please check with Jeep, there is a way to spin the motor to get oil pressure before you start the engine. This primes the engine... FreddieB (MA)@wailingalen
@@FreddieB-MAas a dealership technician they do not tell us to do this or explain how to do this when we first join the express team. this goes for jeep and Subaru
In the test they are using a system with no oil filter bypass. This is completely useless in the real world. Cold weather start without a bypass would trash an engine. All manufacturers have an oil filter bypass to prevent engine damage from the filter.
@@gacha24 most labs charge for digesting the sample and have a per element charge on top of that. Multiply that by the number of replicates and that gets expensive really fast. If you want to.do that, go ahead. They would love to take your money.
Very cool BUT with a N=1 on each test its not possible to draw a conclusion such as they did. We have no idea of the variability of the measurements. they might be +/- 30 which would mean its the same. Depending on the variability they might have to run 3, 6, 10 times. Sorry to burst your bubble guys but its an easy fix...repeat at least 3x to get a handle those stats
I knew it. I really did use a little bit thicker oil than what is usually recommended in my diesel trucks. And after so many years, I never had any engine problem with any of them but I could not help by being anxious from time to time as I was doing what is out of the norm. But this video can somehow give me a peace of mind now. Thank you so much TMOG for bringing this topic up.
This is the channel we have all been waiting for, real knowledge about oil and put it to the test, in stead of underbelly science...... Real engine, real oil analysis. Thanks for sharing,
Back in the day one of my manuals said 5w30 was acceptable below 70 ambient, 10w40 for -10 to 110, and 20w50 for 60 and above. That engine is still going with 680,000 on the clock. This was before they cared about mileage and the minute difference it would make.
@@GT-mn3bx nice what engine is this? I’m currently running a Nissan VR30DDTT and oem calls out for 0w20. There are arguments in the FB pages on whether or not to run 0w20, 5w30, 0w30, 0w40 or 5w40. OEM clearances are pretty tight, but this engine gets pushed to the extreme because of the tuning potential so lots of opinions being thrown around. I always suggest to use the oil depending on climate and usage of the vehicle. If the car spends its time at 220+ engine oil temp you’ll want the thicker viscosity, but how thick is too thick on a modern vehicle you know.
@@ZillaFullBoostHow thick is too thick is a fantastic question. My truck calls for 5-20 and I suspect it’s too thin. But I don’t want to have it rebuilt anytime soon so I don’t want to pour 5-30 in and somehow it not receive good lubrication.
I have my parents 58 cadillac they bought in 1960. As long as I can remember dad always ran 10 40 castrol in it. In 1982 it was given to me. By 2011 the blow by coming out of the down draft tube was just no longer tolerable. I had the engine rebuilt by a shop in business for 54 years. The gentleman who did the work was 74 years old. When the car was ready, I asked him his recommendation for the oil. He said , Castrol 20 50. That's what's in it now. I said really? He said yup trust me. Run that oil in it, these 365, 390 engines love it. We're in Southern California, no issues with the winter temps. 13 years now it's running great. And NO BLOW BY!
It use to be "urban legend" that 10w 40 oil was extra full of viscosity improver additives that diluted the desirable lube components of the product and promoted varnishing although that would not have been specific to Castrol. Some of those engines may have had excessively rich choke setting and/or choke pulloffs that didn't work properly and caused the engine to "load up" with increased fuel in oil dilution and wear, also some running without thermostat in the coolant circuit or a stuck open thermostat also contributing to rapid engine wear.
I'm 62 and have been running Castrol 20/50 in everything " but engines with VVT (veriable valve timing) " from dirt bikes at 14yrs. old to US V8s to my old 97 Camry with a quarter million miles now at the advice of my Pop. He was a Millwright . He always told me that it was the only regular engine oil that was approved for aircraft back in the 60-70s. So it must be good stuff. I never had any rod bearing or piston or ring failure since I was 14. And I run the piss out of stuff.
Well, It looks like our shop will be updating oil change procedures to filling filters as mandatory. We intend to keep cars on the road as long as possible and we appreciate you guys testing this!
It just makes sense to prefill your filter. I've been prefilling for 30 years and now, when someone says," why you doing that? The internet says don't prefill." I can now respond, "The motor oil geek did real tests and proved prefilling to be beneficial!" Thanks!
I really don't see any reason to NOT fill your oil filter when changing oil. It only makes sense as to why it SHOULD be done. I can't think of any reason at all to NOT fill the filter before installing it, not one that would make any sense at all. So I'm not sure why there is any debate on this subject at all. Maybe someone could enlighten me on the reasoning people are using to claim pre-filling the filter is a bad thing???
@@johngreen6643 They say you are putting unfiltered oil in the clean side of the filter. That's the reason given. I think it was just click bait to get more views, & so..... a myth is born!!
Lake is by far the smartest guy around on oil. Simple explanation for the novices. For us that have been around both stock and racing engines for decades have been through these type tests, but its never too old to learn. Thanks Lake
I have always ran 10-30 Castrol motor oil, And the engines in my rigs never used oil, unless the engine was worn when I got it,,, Most of the engines I have owned had a side mounted filter,,, so they always went on dry,,, Thank you for your informative work on wear in engines based on oil type and techniques in using it,, :-),
Manufacturers are under extreme pressure to achieve higher fuel efficiency and this is the main reason we have such thin oils as 0w8. Thin oils do save fuel. I will continue to use 5w30 or 0w30 in winter for all of my vehicles. If you get a new car every few years then the thin oils will be fine but I keep my cars as long as possible and 5w30 seems to be the ideal for me. The engines definitely run quieter.
5 месяцев назад+3
0w30 actually is better at summer too than 5w30, thanks to the higher viscosity index (given that both have the same viscosity at 100C).
No. 5W-30 is better in summer heat. 0W-30 like Mobil 1's AFE formula breaks down much easier than a 5W-30. 0W oils have more polymers that shear quite easily, allowing them to thin out and burn away. The base oil is always more robust than the polymers.
5 месяцев назад+2
@@Shadows-RC use a GTL based oil like Pennzoil Ultra. Their 0w30 will not break down, and it remains thicker above 100C than an 5w30. Higher VI not only means better cold flow but it remains thicker when hot. There may be exceptions but a 0wX is better on any climate than an 5wX if their 100C viscosity spec is equal.
Except they typically don't have the same viscosity. A 30 weight oil simply means it cleared the 30W bar. It could be a 30.1 or a 39.9 weight. To get an oil down to the 0W side (vs. 5W) they generally have to drag down the top end to the low side or use more viscosity modifiers that cause sheer under load and miles. Look at the HTHS and actual viscosity measurements at temp (see the PDS for the oils) and compare.
5 месяцев назад
@@iamgumbydammit2217 they don't have to if the viscosity index is high enough. Look at the viscosity of the Pennzoil Platinum Euro LX 0w30, that one is an exceptional one.
I had a 76 Jimmy with a 350 and I always originally put the filter on empty when I changed oil, and it would clatter for several seconds before pressure built up on the gauge and the clatter would stop. I always hated that because I knew the engine was running with no oil and that was parts rubbing and wearing. One time, and this was back in the 1990's, I had the sudden idea to fill the filter before I installed it. The Fram filter at the time was the PH13, now the PH5, and it took a full quart. At the startup, it built pressure almost immediately with almost no clatter. I decided to prefill the filter from that point on. I was sold on the idea. Now granted, that engine was upwards of 200,000+ miles by that point and may have benefited from an engine rebuild, but I ran it as is. I recently sold it and the people who bought it are having a blast getting it up and running again.
so why are all newèr cars equiped with non spin on filters you cant prefill if it hurts so much? Also i work on wheeloaders with 3 oil filters who take 3-4L of oil each, none pre fills them and we have had no failure due to not pre filling.
@@alexstromberg7696 Some engines like Subaru have the flood mode so you can crank them without starting (vertical upside down filter on the top of the engine in a FA-series Subaru). I don't believe Hondas have a flood mode though, so with the horizontal filter on the F-series and K-series I don't really understand how you are supposed to prefill it.
@@alexstromberg7696 I’m not sure “All” cars is true. My Tacoma uses a can that I prefill. If you watched the video, failure wasn’t mentioned, wear was. Repeated wear isn’t every a good thing if you can avoid it.
Very cool BUT with a N=1 on each test its not possible to draw a conclusion such as they did. We have no idea of the variability of the measurements. they might be +/- 30 which would mean its the same. Depending on the variability they might have to run 3, 6, 10 times. Sorry to burst your bubble guys but its an easy fix...repeat at least 3x to get a handle those stats
Got a 25 year old 5.3l Silverado with 500k km on the original drivetrain that says prefilling the filter doesn't hurt a thing. Just prefill the filter, you're going to put the oil in the engine anyway! Awesome mention of Project Farm! They aren't as precise but they give a good ballpark idea of what's good or not.
@@WalkerSmallEnginePerformance even then i put a little in it and roll it around. My theory is every little bit helps and soaking the element has to help some.
2 take aways: - pre fill the filter, just in case. - use the correct viscocity for your bearing clearances. Thanks for doing the testing Lake. You're doing Gods work by helping people out in the small parts of thier lives.
Bearing clearances is a BS excuse. Projectfarms ran 0w20 vs 5w30 in a lubricity test where there is no bearing clearance. The 5w30 had less wear, so if 0w20 was a clearance issue, it should have done better than 5w30.
@@dfloper the real one would be the god that chooses to speak for himself and not solely through the mouths of men - and that god hasn't appeared yet .
Project farm is a joke. They claimed WD-40 is a better penetrant than solvent-based PB Blaster WD-40 is for drying out ignition components and light lubrication. I blocked their nonsense.
Those windage losses are not something that the average person thinks much about but they're clearly significant. Thanks for all the info in your videos!
@@josemanuelaviladossantos3705 Agreed. Thinking out loud. If we accept that the water came from the relative humidity of the air in the filter. Does it make any difference HOW the water got out of the air and could it be controlled? A vacuum should force the water to vaporize out , wheras compressing the air would cause condensation. 🤔
@@edwardclark7670 The pump pressure compressed the air condensing the water. Pre-filling displaces the air. Granted, there will always be some air in the system, but pre-filling the filter displaces better than 90% of it
"I don't really care about speculations or opinions; we're going to let the data show us which one works best." That is without a doubt the greatest quotes of all time! I was honestly hoping for a 5w20 vs 10w30 comparison, and hopefully you'll perform that test in the future. :) Regardless, my engine calls for 0w20 and I will never run oil that thin - 5w30 will remain my standard, and this data backs up that choice.
During the winter, if you're seeing 32F, 0W20 or even 0W16 is a good idea, don't believe me? Freeze your favorite oils and do a pour test...Frozen 0W20 flowed like molasses.
I've always pre-filled my oil filters. I figured the less time it takes to build up oil pressure, the better, even if it was only a couple of seconds difference. Now I know why it's a good idea. Thanks for doing these tests! 😊
Oh, and I now want SO BADLY the same test to be carried in a 1.5L 4cyl modern turbocharged engine if possible! Especially a Toyota/Honda one that are "designed" (due to CAFE idiots) to run on 0w20 or thinner. And to have an even broader comparison, use 3 different viscosities: 0w20, 5w40 and 20w60. I know I'm asking for too much but I hope to see it as your channel keeps growing Lake!
This helps validate my choice of going with 5w30 in my brand new 2024 Mazda Miata Club over the “recommended” 0w20. I preformed an initial oil change at 800 miles from the factory fill and after watching a ton of Lakes videos I am going with Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w30 in a prefilled Wix filter! I live in North Carolina and my Miata won’t be exposed to very cold weather and feel this oil will serve me well. Thank you for all the great information and amazing content!
What's wild is in the 2017 Miata owners manual, they recommend 0w20 for the US and Canada, and 5w30 in all other regions. Same story with the BRZ; Canada and US only lists 0w20 as suitable, where the Japanese manual lists 0w20, 5w30, and 5w40, noting that 0w20 will yeild the best fuel economy. It's obvious that they're choosing emissions and fuel economy over engine longevity.
@SpencerWatches Exactly. My wife's 2013 2.4 Honda (now is my Daughter's) is the same way, factory recommended strictly 0w20 unless nothing else is available. The same engine (2.4L) in other countries, which is identical there and here, depending on the country is approved up to 5w40. Commonly recommended viscosity was 5w30. The only few countries had a 0w20 recommendation, all of the 0w20 countries were C.A.F.E countries. I searched many engines out of curiosity, using "recommended oil" choice by country on a Castrol site. I live in the deep south US, and the summer morning are often 80 deg+ at dawn, and 100+ daytime summer temps are run-of-the-mill. I run 5w30 in my wife's Mazda cx90 and 5w20 in the Honda. The honda lives a cush life and never driven hard, and the Mazda for that matter. The honda also runs relatively low oil temps, so I'm confident in synthetic 5w20 with its oil temp and bearing journal clearances. The Mazda is turbo, inherently runs hotter oil temps, so a synthetic 5w30 is my choice in our climate.
@@MightyS-1 Best fuel economy goes hand in hand with more power too though. The 5W30 might be costing 0.5-1hp or something compared to the 0W20. It depends how the car is going to be used (will the MX-5 do track days) and how hot the oil will get (0W8 or 0W16 generally not a problem for Toyota Priuses for instance which will never be driven hard and the oil won't get hot at all), no? It's not unheard of for small block racing engines like the LS in the video (or older Windsors or SBCs) to run 0W20 for qualifying for the extra power and then run a 5W30 for a 1000km race. Conventional wisdom may be to run a 10W50 or 10W60 racing oil in a race motor like that but that's not necessary anymore with modern racing oils, you can have the extra power from the thinner oil and *still* have no appreciable wear when the engine is rebuilt at 3000km.
Really appreciate all the effort that goes into making this great content. I'd also suggest adding chapter markers to the video to help us follow along, especially for longer videos. Thanks you!
I always use a little bit thicker oil than they call for plus pre-fill the filter. They were specifying super thin oils for gas mileage for one. A slightly thicker oil provides better protection. I was figuring this, but THANK YOU FOR PROVING IT. I'm 69 years old and have been working on cars and maintaining them for decades as an amateur. .
You said: 'A slightly thicker oil provides better protection' Not true. If your clearances are small, running a thicker oil means you don't get the flow to the part thus you aren't lubricating at all. Manufacturers design their engines for specific purposes. They have set diameter galleys, hoses, and clearances for journals. Then you come along and decide 'Nah, I'll make my own mind up' Well, that's up to you, but saying 'Thicker oil protects better' is nonsense.
@@Hypersonik Manufacturers LIE. They say to use a thinner oil for MPG. You can go SLIGHTLY thicker. You believe the car companies oil change intervals also? Go ahead. listen to that shit , and it WILL cut a lot of life out of the motor. ANOTHER example where they LIE.
@@coreytran7415 Nice one. All you have to do is tell me why what. I said was rubbish and then you won't need to show yourself as 4 years old. So explain to us all why what I said was wrong :)
I had a 350 Chevy, back in 89 the best thing I came across to do was Castrol GTX 20w50 and slick 50. Cleanest engine I have ever owned. 60 psi everyday (just because gauge topped out at 60).
I've been using 20w 50 regular oil yearly for my 1986 Porsche 928 with over 200k miles recommended by Porsche mechanics in southern California because of Thrust bearings failures on low viscosity oils.
@@outwiththem Yes 20w50 is warm weather only, oddly no one seems to agree on the minimum temperature for the stuff, got wildly different numbers when I looked for number.
@@MS-ig7ku Get a bottle of good 20W-50 and one of 5W-40 and do an informal pour test at your coldest winter temps. Make your own guess as to which oil will get to your bearing and camshafts faster at winter temps. The imagine your camshafts and cranks spinning almost dry at startup.
I always prefill the filter before shaking the jug. I shake the jug before pouring into the engine though. The reason being, if by chance something got into the oil where they bottled it, I want it to get filtered out before going to the heads/lifters.
@@jeremymyers5643 its good to know what it should smell like, thats just one way to do it I did it by getting covered in oil when taking off oil pan before, apparently 2 ish quarts remained below the level of the oil pan bolt and the baffling
"aplication dictates chemistry".......thank you once again for giving me peace of mind and hope you`ll keep it going- best wishes from your silent follower...
FWIW I'm using 5W-30 instead of 0W-20 in my wife's 2018 Jeep Cherokee after the warranty expired and noticed a definite difference in engine noise. It's a 2.4 Multiair and it's working like it should too. We're in a southern climate, though.
I had a 01 Grand Am 2.4l in Phoenix for 12 years. I was using 5w 40 synthetic oil and sold it when moving out of state with 327k miles. Manual called for either 5 or 10 w 30 oil. When some mechanics used 20w 50, the oil pressure sensor blew and started hemorrhaging oil until the oil pressure light came on. Be careful with too thick oil. I chose Mobil European 5w 40 because its specs were almost identical to 10w 30. It took Arizona heat without any problem.
I hope that this comment does not tag me as an ingrate. All your tests are EXCELLENT but a bit too talkative. The listener is deluged with facts, data, etc. It would be so much better if, at the conclusion of the test, you show a written summary of the results and give the viewer a chance to stop the video and READ the results. That would be fantastic. Keep on with the good work, and thank you all your tests. The findings done scientifically by a true tribologist is invaluable.
Cranking the engine with the fuel disabled until it builds oil pressure is an option, but I'm not entirely sure if that's actually much better for the engine since it will be rotating much longer without oil pressure since the oil pump is not efficient at ~200 RPM. And even if cranking to prefill does reduce bearing wear, I'm not sure the extra battery and starter wear would be a worthwhile trade off for most people since bearings hardly ever wear enough to be a problem for the first few hundred thousand miles while batteries and starters frequently do.
@@averyalexander2303 limited load with no combustion, so nano wear. As far as the paper element filters, again crank the engine over by disabling the injector fuse or ignition fuse. With a push button type ignition, hold gas pedal to the floor at the same time holding the brake pedal and push the ignition button letting the engine spin over for about 3-5 sec. Push ignition button again to stop the engine from cranking. This procedure will fill the oil filter. I have tested this--by removing the oil filter on a horizontal spin -on filter after performing the procedure above, oil drained out of the new filter as much as did the old filter when removing it.
I've learned more about lubrication, oil quality, viscosity, Top Tier gasoline, time span between oil changes and many other valuable info' to maintain my vehicles, since I started listening to Lake Speed's advice, than with any other expert on these issues. Period.
30:50 Pre-filling the filter may not be possible on every engine. All of my diesel engines have a large cartridge filter on top of the engine, instead of a bottom-mounted screw-on filter type like your test engine, meaning that pre-filling oil will only drop back down into the wet sump and potentially overfill the engine. In such cases, having an electric auxiliary oil pump pressurising and circulating the oil before first crank goes a long way to reducing cold-start damage.
When racing go karts 35 years ago, the only thing that worked was straight weight oil. It was explained to me that to give it a range, you were swapping out actual lubricant for friction modifiers that you really didnt need. I still use multi-weight oil in road going vehicles but I limit the spread. I have a yukon with 324k, a highlander with 308k, two xterras in the mid 200ks, and so on.
I have noticed increased oil change intervals on my 2018 silverado 5.3 w/a catch can. I currently have 8k on my oil (0w20 costco) and it still has good color on the dipstick. Previously the oil would be dark/black by 20% on the oil monitor in about 5k miles. I'm in a northern cold humid climate.
Love these videos. I run a semi, and i feel like this makes a huge difference for the big trucks that are expected to go 750K-1M MILES before an overhaul. I do have a question though. Could you please do a in depth video on what are the actual problems running a thicker or thinner oil in engines that the manufacturer recommends. Other than oil pressure being higher or lower, is there a tangable difference?
My take.. Use the light oils for short trips in light duty driving , but thicker oils for heavy hauling long trips, when you are putting your foot to the wood. It appears to be all about oil tempurature due to load that the engine operates. It just makes sense to pre-fill an oil filter.. Thanks men for proving it
Always add oil to the new filter. It can make a difference of several seconds of dry knocking. Always prefill the filter as much as possible. Even if the filter is sideways, it will always help to avoid dry starts.
The Engine Masters got exactly the same results in tests they did recently!!! I'm upgrading the 5W-20 to 5W-30 on my 2023 KIA Sportage, especially down at Puerto Rico, where it's hot & muggy!!!
Awesome test, and it confirmed my suspicion that prefilling the oil filter is the way to go. I came to the conclusion myself many years ago by just by the ear test .I could hear less damage taking place.
Good work showing 10qt of oil drops the horsepower vs 7qts of oil 640hp to 607 is Alot of hp loss quite a bit of Windiage loss. Great testing Guys 23:00 @The Motor Oil Geek
Another amazing content as usual. The only regret is that you spend so much time for a no brainer so called debate, pre-filling or not. In this vein, I propose the next video to be the hot topic, Engine with oil vs Engine with no oil 🙄🙄 Yeah I wished you would have spent more time for more in depth information about the differences in oil viscosity and the results in different conditions. Thank you so much anyway for this valuable information provided!
I understand and appreciate the testing you guys have done. My only critique is that the center hole of a filter (where everyone pre fills )is typically the outlet of the filter. In a perfect world you would never dump any debris in it but we don’t live in a perfect world. Caterpillar says not to pre fill filters for that reason. Especially fuel filters (diesel fuel systems have much tighter tolerances than engine internals). I’m guessing the typically heavier diesel engine oil has less startup wear vs dumping unfiltered/ possibly contaminated oil straight to bearings etc…. Great show thanks!!!!!!
This is a fantastic video, I've been fearful of running 0W20 in the summer,but this high horsepower engine will really put 5W20 through the ringer. Thanks guys, fantastic job.
@@Ymier4 Online viscosity charts show 0W20 good to about 70F. I read a post from a Kia owner in Austraila, they use 20W50 in their Kias and have no where near the problems we are having in the USA. The viscosity chart in my RDX owner manual shows 0W20 good in all climates, that is just not true, that chart was made by Acura for our BS cafe' standards. So your statement is correct. I do use the required 0W20 in my RDXs during the 6 months of under 70F, but over, I have used 0W30, and 10W30 over 70F. For summer heat, that second number needs to be higher. A full synthetic 0W30 is good to roughly 35C, or 95F, if your summer temperature average is higher, than a 0W40, 5W40 full synthetic is probably a good choice if your car calls for 0W20. But do look at your owners manual for allowed oil viscosity, and be wary of your car warranty. If you have an engine failure due to bad design, and you have the wrong oil in it per your owners manual, they could void your warranty. If your manual states only 0W20, and you have a warranty, you might want to try Redline 0W20. It's a group IV/V synthetic, and it seems a bit heavier than other 0w20 oils.
@@Ymier4 Upon further research, Redline and Shaeffers both have the highest anti-wear package I've seen so far, I found an oil analysis for them, both are over 300 in molyb. So if I didn't have 6 5qt jugs of 10w30 from buying full synthetics on sale, I'd probably run one of those during the summer in the recommended 0W20, and run a lower priced full synthetic during the winter. I do tend to buy more than I need when it's on sale. And sealed they have a 5 year shelf life in an uncontrolled enviroment.
I always prefill my filters and I've never heard the argument not to. That few seconds difference to build pressure adds up over an engines life time of oil changes.
The dumbest argument I have heard from a well known RUclips channel is that pre filling the oil filter contaminates the oil. My reply is if the new engine oil is contaminated by adding it to the filter you might want to change brands. The oil is the same oil you are pouring in the engine to begin with. I have always pre filled my filters and although you cannot completely fill a horizontal mount filter I usually fill the filter close to half and allow a couple of minutes for the paper element to absorb before I install the filter.
I have been prefilling oil filters for 30 years and it's just common sense. The extra volume of air in an empty filter has to be displaced for one thing, so that air has to get pushed up through the engine before dissipating around the bearings, so no oil until that happens. Your oiling system is designed to always have oil in the filter, so why wouldn't anyone do that with an oil change? Great video! Love the real info!
38 years ago I asked a Pennzoil engineer if the recommended 5-30 was a good idea for my new Olds with the V-6 Buick. Or I was used to 10W-30. He mentioned that the primary reason for the thinner oil recommended was to help meet fuel economy numbers. His conclusion was either would be ok but since I was living in a warm climate… the 10-30 would be fine and maybe better
Retired HD Mech. since I started in late 60s our service manuals all stated to prime our rebuilds, fill our primary lub. filters, same as fuel systems, done it on each and every change on my vehicles.
The water in the oil is coming from the air (atmosphere) that was in the unfilled filter. When that air is compressed rapidly (as the oil fills the system) and then decompresses as the oil pressure drops, a "cloud" forms. Tiny droplets of moisture are basically being extracted from that volume of atmosphere that was in the dry filter when it was installed. WILD! I didnt see that coming either.
I'm from Philippines, I've been doing my research for the past few months for my modified engine so that I can figure out what is the best engine oil to use. What viscosity and do i use thick or thin. Been asking the oil suppliers for friction test, heat test and etc. Most of them didn't replied, they are local Filipino brands and some are so called branded. Now because of this I will surely take care of my forst motorcycle because I appreciate the engines and machines so I take care of them like how I take care of myself. Thanks for the expertly crafted test
Awesome.. stumbled on this in my feed and just did an oil change yesterday..Toyota 0w20. I did pre-fill the cartridge filter about 3/4 and carefully spin it on..glad it's worth the effort. i'll keep doing it, I always had done it even w/ 10w30 and 5w30 but i guess it's now proven to matter even more with the thinner stuff. Thank you for this in depth !
To complete this test, you MUST do it on a production engine. Oil goes through intense wear in race engines. That's a given. So it's only natural that the thin oil would pretty much FAIL. But oil is having a....better time, in a production engine, so thin oil shouldn't have issues. Also, there other other variables that have to be taken into account, like horsepower. A beast of an engine, such as this, will most certainly have plenty of power to move THICK oil effectively. A weaker production engine would probably lose power trying to pump it so a thinner oil would be more useful. The most conclusive result of this test is that relation between oil volume,oil pressure and power losses from windage. That was eyeopening. I'd say if you're looking for endurance, a little bit more oil in the engine is worth a mild loss of power. But then again, windage tray design, which varies from car to car, should play a HUGE role in this. Meaning that some engines might not even experience any windage losses even when overfilled, while enjoying the benefits of a little bit of extra oil.
The issue with overfilling a stock engine is the crankshaft may come in contact with the oil in the pan, aerating it to the point you are pumping air bubbles through the oil galleys.
I agree you cannot extend some of these findings to production engines, the oil pump on this engine runs off the crankshaft, probably a high output oil pump, bearing clearances are probably very large. But the comparison what we're looking for is apples to apples. Comparing this to a stock engine is comparing apples to oranges, smaller clearances require a thinner oil, you probably will NEVER pump enough to induce the "windage" loss. Just the fact that it actually had that much oil in the heads proves the larger clearance/high pump volume scenario. The loss of pressure in a stationary engine can hardly be classified as windage, more like the flat pan allowed the oil pickup to be so close to the surface, it was sucking air. Everything except the pre-filling of the filter (& water produced by not filling) can be discounted on a production engine, IMHO.
I don't fill the filter, but I do put just enough oil in it to saturate the filter media before installing. I also want to propose that a lighter oil, especially in an engine with "loose" tolerances, will result in more blow by past the rings and thus a slight loss in compression, compared to a thicker oil which will maintain that oil barrier around the rings better than thinner oil.
They would have seen the compression loss with their direct cylinder pressure measurements. As they said, the changes they made didn't result in gross power changes. The cylinders were making the same power the whole time.
Very enlightening Video. As a Retired Professional Wrench, I've encountered many Vehicles over the span of 5 decades that Unfortunately Pre-Filling the Oil filter just isn't an option. I began my career rebuilding Rotary Engines at a Mazda dealership at age 18 in 1974, Rotary Engines of that era had an Inverted Mounting for the Spin On Oil Filter (upside down). Many European Marques utilize a Cartridge Type oil Filter which is also found in modern Rotax in Marine PWC's
You can definitely get some in there, and the filter will soak it up enough that it won't drip much, if at all.. and I think that's better than nothing.
If you have good access and you're quick, you can fill a horizontal filter to within a half-inch of the top and barely lose any oil at all. I've been doing this for 50 years.
@themotoroilgeek I haven't heard of Ravenol, but the BITOG forum is enamored with HP Lubricants (Illinois) blends the last year. A fellow tribologist rec'd their Euro No VII 5w-30 even for road racing. I hope it's included in your boutique oil test.👍
Always “pre-fill” the oil filter even if side or top mounted! I use “Amsoil” filters with the “Anti Drainback Valve” design for my later model Subarus. The new filter will still soak up the oil no matter how mounted, but “Anti Drainback Valve” design is essential.
My friend uses thicker engine oil because he told me that he drives a lot. I told him no use what's recommended by the vehicle manufacturer they have engineers that know which engine oil is most optimal for their vehicles. Thank u. Speed for awesome video.
The Ford Exec asks the engineer which oil is better. The engineer said better for what, horsepower or protection? The Exec says for Horsepower, the Engineer said run the thin oil. Then the Exec asks the engineer, which oil to make the engine last longer? The engineer says use the thicker oil. The Exec says, okay we will use the thin oil, then the people will have to buy a new car sooner.
@weaverdennisl my cars car calls for 0w20 mechanic shop put 5w30 instead I didn't like the way my little four cylinder engine sounded and felt it was shaking like crazy. Switched to 0w20 by car runs very well. Lakespeed analyzed my engine oil and results came back fantastic vehicle has 185k miles.
Thanks for all the comments! I wish I had time to read and respond to all of them, but I still have a day job that keeps me very busy! Fortunately, that "day job" allows me to go to a lot of cool places where we can sneak in a video sometimes, so it works out in the end as a positive.
For those with horizontally mounted or inverted filters, see if your vehicle has clear flood mode. If so, that's a great way to prime the oiling system before the higher pressures of combustion kick in.
Where would one look for "clear flood mode" information? I've never heard of such a thing, or seen such a phrase in the owner's manual.
I searched for "clear flood mode" in the PDF workshop manual, for my 2005 Jaguar (with horizontal oil filter) and "No matches were found."
What about cartridge filters? Should we soak the filter first and then place it in the cap, with oil up to the brim? Many thanks!
@EdAb I don't think every car has it. If you have an inverted or horizontal filter, even some oil is better than no oil.
@EdAb basically the ability to run the starter without fuel or spark activated.
Ive got one of my cars that i dont drive very often, wired so that i have the factory fuel injectors fuse, like 10 amps, going through a simple switch, so i can crank with the spark still going and once i crank and see oil pressure i just flip the switch and it lights off. Its also great to test for leaking fuel injectors and a theft switch.
@@danbusey Thanks for that explanation!
I have always prefilled my oil filters. My dad and grandpa taught me to always prefill the oil filter. They both gave a simple reason for it. Don't make the motor wait for oil.
It sure doesn't hurt anything.
After you run the engine if the filter is vertical with the mating surface up, the oil doesn't drain out..... that is the 'normal' condition.. so why not just fill it. I don't get people arguing against pre-fill
They were amongst the wisest of men. 3-6 seconds of no or low oil pressure at 1200rpm on a cold start elevated idle speed is never good. Not only pre fill the filter but change the oil while the motor is hot. Reason being, when starting it will go straight to the normal (lower)idle speed.
@@gothicpagan.666 prefill yes, hot change vs warm change, not much difference. They say so the old oil will drain out of the block,but it does that every time you shut it off. Only benefit is the oil flows out of the pan better.
That is the simple truth and based in physics I have no idea the logic people would have for not pre-filling.
This channel is a must for car enthusiasts
Thank you!
Motorbikes too, but I wish Lake would test some motorcycle engines and bust some myths.
@@davidcann8788 That would be fun! What are motorcycle oil myths? Do air-cooled (oil-cooled) cars and bikes need to run different oils than water-cooled ones? Do rotary bikes (and cars) have different oil requirements?
Especially for gear heads
It's a must for people who want to believe a bunch of self-aggrandizing BS from a guy who claims scientific principle but doesn't adhere to it
This channel and Project Farm has saved me $$ from not buying products with trial and error 😡 Valuable information ℹ️
PF is a legend, TMOG is getting there.
@@MonkeyPunchZPokerlake is a true tribologist. PF will never be on his level on knowledge with oil. Those oil tests from project farms is a joke. I do like pf tool tests tho.
@@jwatt95 Love PF...most of his tests are great, but sometimes he is way off the mark because he doesn't quite understand something or how something works....
Love to see the data from both channels not just a guy saying he put it in his car and it was good or bad.
If he could only figure out how to save us all from chinesium junk car parts... 🔔😎
Mmm project farm reference, I love when the channels I watch are watching each other.
That's how you know you are watching the right people :D
This just popped up on my feed. Todd does an awesome job no matter what he's testing.
You mshould give Project Farm a kiss.
I was an auto mechanic for many years, never prefilled an oil filter. To the best of my knowledge no one else did. I'm refilling NOW!
You taught the old dog a new trick. Thanks for your expertly done tests. You are who I look to for knowledge on these topics.
really how odd logic says pre fill
After 74 years, I now prefill.
I did my first oil change around 45 years ago and was shocked by the rod knock until the oil came through. Ever since I’ve always pre-filled the filter.
Today I want to fit a 2 micron bypass filter that flows in parallel with the standard filter. The snag is finding the necessary components.
Ive prefilled filters for years where possible. It only makes sense because the bearings dont run "dry" for as long.
I have always prefilled my filters if possible from 1965 on .
I’ve been changing the oil in all my vehicles for the last 24 years. Today was the first day I’ve ever prefilled the oil filter. My engine thanks you, Lake!
I've been an engineer and auto technician for over 40 years. I have always prefilled the filter. Even if it's on a slight angle(old fords) I would try to put as much oil in as I could without it running out.
On my BMW E36 track car, that doesn't get used a lot especially in the winter, I installed an electric oil pump. When I turn the ignition on the ECU runs that pump until I get over 30 PSI of oil pressure.
No matter how long the car sits I never have a dry start.
My background is in Electronics and Automotive technology and I have wanted to do something like that for nearly 40 years. When I was a kid my dad had a system on his Humber for introducing a certain amount of upper cylinder lubricant (Redex) into the intake manifold on cold starts. Ever since then I always wondered why there wasn't a system like the one you described. How did you implement it and what kind of an electric oil pump did you use. TIA
I am the chief engineer for Hyde Motorworks.
I originally built this for my own car, 650 whp 2.3L TVS supercharged 3 l M50. My track toy. now I am developing it for customers.
I used a relatively inexpensive gear type oil pump from Amazon. It has a brass housing and stainless steel gears. I use a -8 line from a fitting in where the oil drain plug used to be. Not ideal but I didn't want to take the pan off again. Braided stainless over rubber line to the inlet of the pump. -6 line out. First to a 10 micron inline oil filter, then a one-way check valve, to T where the oil pressure switch is. It's not high volume with the restrictive lines. And the small Port where the oil pressure switch goes.
The pump itself is not designed to pump such heavy oil, and will overheat and shut down if I try to run it too long. But even after a complete oil change it only has to run about 5 Seconds to build 40 PSI of pressure. Cold the pump will run more than 30 seconds. So it does the job.
There are more expensive continuous duty oil pumps. They are used on small aircraft engines. But they cost over 1K. Back when I had oil starvation issues on high G corners, I thought about buying one. But then I realized the starvation issue was because the oil wasn't draining back to the pan fast enough and that pump would just be sucking air the same as the mechanical one.
So far I've had this exact same setup and pump on my car for over 5 years with zero problems. Last year I even dropped the pan and inspected the bearings. Despite all of the abuse they looked almost perfect.
@@kcdesignconcepts5216 I had 4 of those E36 models and an E21 as well. I wish I still had one, they were better made than what followed.
I'm so glad to find so many like-minded people here. I pre-fill my filter so I can get the level on the dipstick right the first time without having to faff around making up for that volume of oil that an empty filter takes up.
@@kcdesignconcepts5216 mech engineer here working in API rotating equipment...I do most of my own auto work. One thing I don't know for sure is, do all street car engines have the oil pressure switch upstream of the bearings? I assume yes but just seeing if you knew otherwise. Basically I've wanted to do this on my 12 Civic, 18 Camry, 05 Highlander.....basically any car I own. I'd love to know the make and model of the pump you use. Thank you! Lake confirmed pumping is different than pouring when it comes to cold pour tests but here in dead of winter, heck ya I'd like to start after oil pressure is satisfied.
Prefilled my oil filters for the past 55 years and intend to do so for as long as I'm alive !
Very intuitive results. I was always a fan of 20W-50, and these ridiculously thin oils today are due to carmakers clawing for every last MPG, and a few ppm reduction in emissions, to try to satisfy stricter and stricter government regulations.
right. As a clock and watchmaker my feeling is the ticker the oil the less wear you have FOR THE PRICE of energy e.g. it does give more "stickyness" which needs to be overcome be the mecanisms. I drive a Citroën Dyane (luxury 2CV) first model generation of 1967. No oil filter! The manual say changing every 5'000Km but I do it every 2'500Km. But she needs only 2 Litres xD. Motor has 425cc and 18HP (german horses D.I.N.) ~13kW. AND the best - only 4.5 Litres of gas on 100Km! Normal gas (85 ROZ) and she get's to true 100Km/hour on the Autobahn.
She also light - 580Kg emtpy. With some gas and tools 600Kg. The allowed weight charge is 310Kg.
@@Watchmaker_Gereon-Schloesser
Rust ate my Citroën away... 😢
So after listening to this, would you run 20-50 in these newer cars like q Ford Focus 2ltr?
@@Michael-qy1jz No. The holes and lines for the oil and the tolerances between the engine parts are too narrow for such a thick oil on some newer cars. They need thinner oil for the right amount of oil pressure and oil flow quantity for the engine to run properly.
@@ralfrufus6573 Thanks!
Love the shoutout to Project Farm. Great channel.
Thanks!
Shout out to his brother😂
Smart Pups watch Project Farm. I love this channel as well. Notice that both channels have
humble modest Hosts and both have fun while doing.
@@heofthebee Dummies believe Project Farm. They claimed fish-oil based WD-40 was a better penetrant than solvent-oil based PB Blaster.
They are full of it.
ALWAYS knew that pre lubing an oil filter IS A MUST and that too thin of oil causes EXCESSIVE wear . Thanks for PROVING it.
On quite a few motors you just can't prefill !!!
Oil filter in wranglers with Pentastar engine have filter on top of engine. It to mention cartridge style... so yes I can't either
5:21 please check with Jeep, there is a way to spin the motor to get oil pressure before you start the engine. This primes the engine...
FreddieB (MA)@wailingalen
@@FreddieB-MAas a dealership technician they do not tell us to do this or explain how to do this when we first join the express team. this goes for jeep and Subaru
In the test they are using a system with no oil filter bypass. This is completely useless in the real world. Cold weather start without a bypass would trash an engine. All manufacturers have an oil filter bypass to prevent engine damage from the filter.
As an analytical chemist, I love seeing proper experiment design and proper sampling technique. Great job! Awesome video!
Thank you!
@@themotoroilgeek how about repeatability and reproducibility? They skipped that part didn't they :)
No.
@@gacha24 most labs charge for digesting the sample and have a per element charge on top of that. Multiply that by the number of replicates and that gets expensive really fast. If you want to.do that, go ahead. They would love to take your money.
Very cool BUT with a N=1 on each test its not possible to draw a conclusion such as they did. We have no idea of the variability of the measurements. they might be +/- 30 which would mean its the same. Depending on the variability they might have to run 3, 6, 10 times. Sorry to burst your bubble guys but its an easy fix...repeat at least 3x to get a handle those stats
I knew it. I really did use a little bit thicker oil than what is usually recommended in my diesel trucks. And after so many years, I never had any engine problem with any of them but I could not help by being anxious from time to time as I was doing what is out of the norm. But this video can somehow give me a peace of mind now. Thank you so much TMOG for bringing this topic up.
You, Banks Power, and Project Farm are like the holy trinity of actually testing things
Thank you! I appreciate being considered alongside those guys.
This is the channel we have all been waiting for, real knowledge about oil and put it to the test, in stead of underbelly science...... Real engine, real oil analysis.
Thanks for sharing,
Thank you!
Putting all of the bro science theories to rest 1 video at a time 👌🏽
Yes, whenever a commenter includes “bro”, I discount them immediately.
Rock on!
Back in the day one of my manuals said 5w30 was acceptable below 70 ambient, 10w40 for -10 to 110, and 20w50 for 60 and above.
That engine is still going with 680,000 on the clock. This was before they cared about mileage and the minute difference it would make.
@@GT-mn3bx nice what engine is this?
I’m currently running a Nissan VR30DDTT and oem calls out for 0w20. There are arguments in the FB pages on whether or not to run 0w20, 5w30, 0w30, 0w40 or 5w40. OEM clearances are pretty tight, but this engine gets pushed to the extreme because of the tuning potential so lots of opinions being thrown around.
I always suggest to use the oil depending on climate and usage of the vehicle. If the car spends its time at 220+ engine oil temp you’ll want the thicker viscosity, but how thick is too thick on a modern vehicle you know.
@@ZillaFullBoostHow thick is too thick is a fantastic question. My truck calls for 5-20 and I suspect it’s too thin. But I don’t want to have it rebuilt anytime soon so I don’t want to pour 5-30 in and somehow it not receive good lubrication.
I have my parents 58 cadillac they bought in 1960. As long as I can remember dad always ran 10 40 castrol in it. In 1982 it was given to me. By 2011 the blow by coming out of the down draft tube was just no longer tolerable. I had the engine rebuilt by a shop in business for 54 years. The gentleman who did the work was 74 years old. When the car was ready, I asked him his recommendation for the oil. He said , Castrol 20 50. That's what's in it now. I said really? He said yup trust me. Run that oil in it, these 365, 390 engines love it. We're in Southern California, no issues with the winter temps. 13 years now it's running great. And NO BLOW BY!
It use to be "urban legend" that 10w 40 oil was extra full of viscosity improver additives that diluted the desirable lube components of the product and promoted varnishing although that would not have been specific to Castrol.
Some of those engines may have had excessively rich choke setting and/or choke pulloffs that didn't work properly and caused the engine to "load up" with increased fuel in oil dilution and wear, also some running without thermostat in the coolant circuit or a stuck open thermostat also contributing to rapid engine wear.
@@davidpowell3347 not to mention the disadvantages of the road draft tube as opposed to having some kind of PCV system.
I'm 62 and have been running Castrol 20/50 in everything " but engines with VVT (veriable valve timing) " from dirt bikes at 14yrs. old to US V8s to my old 97 Camry with a quarter million miles now at the advice of my Pop. He was a Millwright . He always told me that it was the only regular engine oil that was approved for aircraft back in the 60-70s. So it must be good stuff. I never had any rod bearing or piston or ring failure since I was 14. And I run the piss out of stuff.
its 2024, 5w50 is going to be better at everything
Been prefilling my oil filters and cartridges since day one of owning a car! Great to hear the old timers taught us right!
Well, It looks like our shop will be updating oil change procedures to filling filters as mandatory. We intend to keep cars on the road as long as possible and we appreciate you guys testing this!
Good to hear there are shops that actually care about thing like this. Most don't.
It just makes sense to prefill your filter. I've been prefilling for 30 years and now, when someone says," why you doing that? The internet says don't prefill." I can now respond, "The motor oil geek did real tests and proved prefilling to be beneficial!" Thanks!
Just think, there's somebody else in the world looking at the same thing at this very moment!🤔🤫😬🤗😇
Internet nerds only know about cell phones and computers.
I really don't see any reason to NOT fill your oil filter when changing oil. It only makes sense as to why it SHOULD be done. I can't think of any reason at all to NOT fill the filter before installing it, not one that would make any sense at all. So I'm not sure why there is any debate on this subject at all. Maybe someone could enlighten me on the reasoning people are using to claim pre-filling the filter is a bad thing???
@@johngreen6643 I can't figure that one out either.
@@johngreen6643 They say you are putting unfiltered oil in the clean side of the filter. That's the reason given. I think it was just click bait to get more views, & so..... a myth is born!!
This upload will likely launch this channel onto a whole new level.
Lake is by far the smartest guy around on oil. Simple explanation for the novices. For us that have been around both stock and racing engines for decades have been through these type tests, but its never too old to learn. Thanks Lake
You put is so much effort in this test. Yet, you presented the results in a chaotic way, very briefly, and jumping back and forth.
I have always ran 10-30 Castrol motor oil, And the engines in my rigs never used oil, unless the engine was worn when I got it,,, Most of the engines I have owned had a side mounted filter,,, so they always went on dry,,, Thank you for your informative work on wear in engines based on oil type and techniques in using it,, :-),
Manufacturers are under extreme pressure to achieve higher fuel efficiency and this is the main reason we have such thin oils as 0w8. Thin oils do save fuel. I will continue to use 5w30 or 0w30 in winter for all of my vehicles. If you get a new car every few years then the thin oils will be fine but I keep my cars as long as possible and 5w30 seems to be the ideal for me. The engines definitely run quieter.
0w30 actually is better at summer too than 5w30, thanks to the higher viscosity index (given that both have the same viscosity at 100C).
No. 5W-30 is better in summer heat. 0W-30 like Mobil 1's AFE formula breaks down much easier than a 5W-30. 0W oils have more polymers that shear quite easily, allowing them to thin out and burn away. The base oil is always more robust than the polymers.
@@Shadows-RC use a GTL based oil like Pennzoil Ultra. Their 0w30 will not break down, and it remains thicker above 100C than an 5w30. Higher VI not only means better cold flow but it remains thicker when hot. There may be exceptions but a 0wX is better on any climate than an 5wX if their 100C viscosity spec is equal.
Except they typically don't have the same viscosity. A 30 weight oil simply means it cleared the 30W bar. It could be a 30.1 or a 39.9 weight. To get an oil down to the 0W side (vs. 5W) they generally have to drag down the top end to the low side or use more viscosity modifiers that cause sheer under load and miles. Look at the HTHS and actual viscosity measurements at temp (see the PDS for the oils) and compare.
@@iamgumbydammit2217 they don't have to if the viscosity index is high enough. Look at the viscosity of the Pennzoil Platinum Euro LX 0w30, that one is an exceptional one.
I had a 76 Jimmy with a 350 and I always originally put the filter on empty when I changed oil, and it would clatter for several seconds before pressure built up on the gauge and the clatter would stop. I always hated that because I knew the engine was running with no oil and that was parts rubbing and wearing. One time, and this was back in the 1990's, I had the sudden idea to fill the filter before I installed it. The Fram filter at the time was the PH13, now the PH5, and it took a full quart. At the startup, it built pressure almost immediately with almost no clatter. I decided to prefill the filter from that point on. I was sold on the idea.
Now granted, that engine was upwards of 200,000+ miles by that point and may have benefited from an engine rebuild, but I ran it as is. I recently sold it and the people who bought it are having a blast getting it up and running again.
It's pretty hard to argue with your observations. But a few guys here will try anyways!
As far as the prefilled oil filler argument goes, how cool is it that we got real data and were among the first to know for certain, pre filled wins!
With lower viscosity oils, which makes it especially pertinent for most modern cars which specify thin oil grades.
so why are all newèr cars equiped with non spin on filters you cant prefill if it hurts so much?
Also i work on wheeloaders with 3 oil filters who take 3-4L of oil each, none pre fills them and we have had no failure due to not pre filling.
@@alexstromberg7696 Some engines like Subaru have the flood mode so you can crank them without starting (vertical upside down filter on the top of the engine in a FA-series Subaru). I don't believe Hondas have a flood mode though, so with the horizontal filter on the F-series and K-series I don't really understand how you are supposed to prefill it.
@@alexstromberg7696 I’m not sure “All” cars is true. My Tacoma uses a can that I prefill.
If you watched the video, failure wasn’t mentioned, wear was. Repeated wear isn’t every a good thing if you can avoid it.
Very cool BUT with a N=1 on each test its not possible to draw a conclusion such as they did. We have no idea of the variability of the measurements. they might be +/- 30 which would mean its the same. Depending on the variability they might have to run 3, 6, 10 times. Sorry to burst your bubble guys but its an easy fix...repeat at least 3x to get a handle those stats
Some vehicles have a flood mode so you can pre-fill the filter while its mounted to the filter housing. Very informative video! Thank you!
im so glad this channel is a thing, i had so many questions about oil and stuff that i just couldnt get a solid answer on
Happy to help!
Got a 25 year old 5.3l Silverado with 500k km on the original drivetrain that says prefilling the filter doesn't hurt a thing. Just prefill the filter, you're going to put the oil in the engine anyway!
Awesome mention of Project Farm! They aren't as precise but they give a good ballpark idea of what's good or not.
Yep. I always fill it unless it’s at some awkward angle that makes it impossible.
@WalkerSmallEnginePerformace
I put as much as possible into those filters.
@@WalkerSmallEnginePerformance Even then you can usually fill it enough to soak the media.
@@WalkerSmallEnginePerformance even then i put a little in it and roll it around. My theory is every little bit helps and soaking the element has to help some.
@@GT-mn3bx wow i just made that point, i should have read ahead some.
2 take aways:
- pre fill the filter, just in case.
- use the correct viscocity for your bearing clearances.
Thanks for doing the testing Lake. You're doing Gods work by helping people out in the small parts of thier lives.
Forgot to add,
What's the engine is being used for,
long runs= higher viscosity,
errands &mall pavement use= low viscosity
Which god?
@@ding9633 The real one among the fakes ones.
Bearing clearances is a BS excuse. Projectfarms ran 0w20 vs 5w30 in a lubricity test where there is no bearing clearance. The 5w30 had less wear, so if 0w20 was a clearance issue, it should have done better than 5w30.
@@dfloper the real one would be the god that chooses to speak for himself and not solely through the mouths of men - and that god hasn't appeared yet .
What an amazing series of tests, I didn't want the video to end!!!
Thanks. I know it was a long one...
I love that you tip your hat to Project Farm!
Project farm is a joke. They claimed WD-40 is a better penetrant than solvent-based PB Blaster
WD-40 is for drying out ignition components and light lubrication. I blocked their nonsense.
"And we're going to TEST that!" 😂
Great work, thanks!
I’ve ALWAYS pre-filled a filter. It’s a no brainer!
Happy to help!
i dont pre fill mine ever because funny 90 degree filter placement
Those windage losses are not something that the average person thinks much about but they're clearly significant. Thanks for all the info in your videos!
Not as important running at 10% throttle at 2500 rpm. But it does exist.
most engines have windage trays that reduce it
The water was interesting. Thanks for putting this to bed! Also, nice shout out to Project Farm!
Yes because the air has water on it and when you do not prefill the filter, that air and that water will be there until the PCV takes out the air
@@josemanuelaviladossantos3705 Agreed. Thinking out loud. If we accept that the water came from the relative humidity of the air in the filter. Does it make any difference HOW the water got out of the air and could it be controlled? A vacuum should force the water to vaporize out , wheras compressing the air would cause condensation. 🤔
@@edwardclark7670 The pump pressure compressed the air condensing the water. Pre-filling displaces the air. Granted, there will always be some air in the system, but pre-filling the filter displaces better than 90% of it
Water may come from extra blow by since rings are not seeing the oil pressure and lubricating sealing effect.
Extra blow by, which contains water, when oil pressure/flow is lost. Good tip!
Man,I think who ever built that motor with that many dyno pulls is the Goat! Great video as always!
This is excellent news of oil and application. I've always learned that the hotter the weather the thicker the oil and always pre fill the filter.
"I don't really care about speculations or opinions; we're going to let the data show us which one works best."
That is without a doubt the greatest quotes of all time!
I was honestly hoping for a 5w20 vs 10w30 comparison, and hopefully you'll perform that test in the future. :) Regardless, my engine calls for 0w20 and I will never run oil that thin - 5w30 will remain my standard, and this data backs up that choice.
0w20 is just catpiss. 30/40/50 are the real oils for me.
During the winter, if you're seeing 32F, 0W20 or even 0W16 is a good idea, don't believe me? Freeze your favorite oils and do a pour test...Frozen 0W20 flowed like molasses.
I’m glad I watched this video, real world evidence instead of just theories
Thanks for watching and for sharing.
Thanks Lake, that was real research science data driven testing! NO Hogwash! I really like your Motor Oil Geek testing channel !
I've always pre-filled my oil filters. I figured the less time it takes to build up oil pressure, the better, even if it was only a couple of seconds difference. Now I know why it's a good idea. Thanks for doing these tests! 😊
It sure doesn't hurt anything.
It was the same prefilled or not lol
Oh, and I now want SO BADLY the same test to be carried in a 1.5L 4cyl modern turbocharged engine if possible! Especially a Toyota/Honda one that are "designed" (due to CAFE idiots) to run on 0w20 or thinner. And to have an even broader comparison, use 3 different viscosities: 0w20, 5w40 and 20w60. I know I'm asking for too much but I hope to see it as your channel keeps growing Lake!
old engins love 20 W 50 thanks for that👍
This helps validate my choice of going with 5w30 in my brand new 2024 Mazda Miata Club over the “recommended” 0w20. I preformed an initial oil change at 800 miles from the factory fill and after watching a ton of Lakes videos I am going with Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w30 in a prefilled Wix filter! I live in North Carolina and my Miata won’t be exposed to very cold weather and feel this oil will serve me well. Thank you for all the great information and amazing content!
Owners manual actually recommends 5w30 for best engine health.
What's wild is in the 2017 Miata owners manual, they recommend 0w20 for the US and Canada, and 5w30 in all other regions. Same story with the BRZ; Canada and US only lists 0w20 as suitable, where the Japanese manual lists 0w20, 5w30, and 5w40, noting that 0w20 will yeild the best fuel economy.
It's obvious that they're choosing emissions and fuel economy over engine longevity.
@SpencerWatches Exactly. My wife's 2013 2.4 Honda (now is my Daughter's) is the same way, factory recommended strictly 0w20 unless nothing else is available. The same engine (2.4L) in other countries, which is identical there and here, depending on the country is approved up to 5w40. Commonly recommended viscosity was 5w30. The only few countries had a 0w20 recommendation, all of the 0w20 countries were C.A.F.E countries.
I searched many engines out of curiosity, using "recommended oil" choice by country on a Castrol site. I live in the deep south US, and the summer morning are often 80 deg+ at dawn, and 100+ daytime summer temps are run-of-the-mill. I run 5w30 in my wife's Mazda cx90 and 5w20 in the Honda. The honda lives a cush life and never driven hard, and the Mazda for that matter. The honda also runs relatively low oil temps, so I'm confident in synthetic 5w20 with its oil temp and bearing journal clearances.
The Mazda is turbo, inherently runs hotter oil temps, so a synthetic 5w30 is my choice in our climate.
@@MightyS-1 Best fuel economy goes hand in hand with more power too though. The 5W30 might be costing 0.5-1hp or something compared to the 0W20. It depends how the car is going to be used (will the MX-5 do track days) and how hot the oil will get (0W8 or 0W16 generally not a problem for Toyota Priuses for instance which will never be driven hard and the oil won't get hot at all), no? It's not unheard of for small block racing engines like the LS in the video (or older Windsors or SBCs) to run 0W20 for qualifying for the extra power and then run a 5W30 for a 1000km race. Conventional wisdom may be to run a 10W50 or 10W60 racing oil in a race motor like that but that's not necessary anymore with modern racing oils, you can have the extra power from the thinner oil and *still* have no appreciable wear when the engine is rebuilt at 3000km.
5w40 Is even Better, w30s are not so good in Summer if you actually run your engine like Is meant to
Really appreciate all the effort that goes into making this great content. I'd also suggest adding chapter markers to the video to help us follow along, especially for longer videos. Thanks you!
I always use a little bit thicker oil than they call for plus pre-fill the filter. They were specifying super thin
oils for gas mileage for one. A slightly thicker oil provides better protection. I was figuring this, but THANK YOU FOR PROVING IT. I'm 69 years old and have been working on cars and maintaining them for decades as an amateur. .
You said: 'A slightly thicker oil provides better protection'
Not true.
If your clearances are small, running a thicker oil means you don't get the flow to the part thus you aren't lubricating at all.
Manufacturers design their engines for specific purposes. They have set diameter galleys, hoses, and clearances for journals. Then you come along and decide 'Nah, I'll make my own mind up'
Well, that's up to you, but saying 'Thicker oil protects better' is nonsense.
@@Hypersonik Manufacturers LIE. They say to use a thinner oil for MPG. You can go SLIGHTLY thicker. You believe the car companies oil change intervals also? Go ahead. listen to that shit , and it WILL cut a lot of life out of the motor. ANOTHER example where they LIE.
hyper reetord
@@coreytran7415 Nice one. All you have to do is tell me why what.
I said was rubbish and then you won't need to show yourself as 4 years old.
So explain to us all why what I said was wrong :)
@Hypersonik
Testing in the video showed thick oil had less wear by about one third of the thin oil
As an engineer, I love data. I also love the fact that you guys did the tests so systematically. The results blew my mind - thank you!
I had a 350 Chevy, back in 89 the best thing I came across to do was Castrol GTX 20w50 and slick 50. Cleanest engine I have ever owned. 60 psi everyday (just because gauge topped out at 60).
I've been using 20w 50 regular oil yearly for my 1986 Porsche 928 with over 200k miles recommended by Porsche mechanics in southern California because of Thrust bearings failures on low viscosity oils.
20w50 is great in old Porsches, VWs, Volvos, and motorcycles.
@@MS-ig7ku And all old engines except in freezing weather, Then i use 10W30 on my old cars and family old cars too. We hate debt.
@@outwiththem Yes 20w50 is warm weather only, oddly no one seems to agree on the minimum temperature for the stuff, got wildly different numbers when I looked for number.
Have you try the thick oil on brand new Porsche?
@@MS-ig7ku Get a bottle of good 20W-50 and one of 5W-40 and do an informal pour test at your coldest winter temps. Make your own guess as to which oil will get to your bearing and camshafts faster at winter temps. The imagine your camshafts and cranks spinning almost dry at startup.
These videos are so informative. Knocking these theories out and showing evidence based proof is awesome. Keep up the great work.
I always shake my oil container - smell the oil and pre-fill the oil filter ! Done this for decades ! Same o'l me !
I always prefill the filter before shaking the jug. I shake the jug before pouring into the engine though. The reason being, if by chance something got into the oil where they bottled it, I want it to get filtered out before going to the heads/lifters.
@LeadStarDude I'll remember that. Thanks, man!
Speed says that shaking doesn't remix any settled out additives.
Thought I was the only weirdo that smelled oil, some of it smells good to me
@@jeremymyers5643 its good to know what it should smell like, thats just one way to do it
I did it by getting covered in oil when taking off oil pan before, apparently 2 ish quarts remained below the level of the oil pan bolt and the baffling
This informational video was thoroughly riveting for me, not once did I want to skip, you kept my attention the whole time! Subscribed!
Awesome, thank you!
Incredible efforts! Shows that it is better to inch up the viscosity....do not go Lower. U guys are the best!
"aplication dictates chemistry".......thank you once again for giving me peace of mind and hope you`ll keep it going- best wishes from your silent follower...
FWIW I'm using 5W-30 instead of 0W-20 in my wife's 2018 Jeep Cherokee after the warranty expired and noticed a definite difference in engine noise. It's a 2.4 Multiair and it's working like it should too. We're in a southern climate, though.
I did the same thing on a high mileage ford modular 5.4 3v engine. Also, a southern climate. Went from 5w-20 to 5w-30
@@impaledface7694
Me too
So am I. In a BMW 2.0 diesel 🤞
I had a 01 Grand Am 2.4l in Phoenix for 12 years. I was using 5w 40 synthetic oil and sold it when moving out of state with 327k miles. Manual called for either 5 or 10 w 30 oil. When some mechanics used 20w 50, the oil pressure sensor blew and started hemorrhaging oil until the oil pressure light came on. Be careful with too thick oil. I chose Mobil European 5w 40 because its specs were almost identical to 10w 30. It took Arizona heat without any problem.
exactly and as you approach 250k you may concider 10w40 if you live in a warm climate.
Forgot to mention great video one of the best most verbal controlled test i seen.
When you and Ben get together it is always enlightening.
I hope that this comment does not tag me as an ingrate. All your tests are EXCELLENT but a bit too talkative. The listener is deluged with facts, data, etc. It would be so much better if, at the conclusion of the test, you show a written summary of the results and give the viewer a chance to stop the video and READ the results. That would be fantastic. Keep on with the good work, and thank you all your tests. The findings done scientifically by a true tribologist is invaluable.
I agree about prefilling oil filter…. But with a horizontal oil filter you’re screwed…
Saturating the filter media and filling half way has benefits without spillage.
I have an inverted bare element, so I can't.
But I don't worry too much about it. It's still miniscule wear. But if possible, why not do it.
Cranking the engine with the fuel disabled until it builds oil pressure is an option, but I'm not entirely sure if that's actually much better for the engine since it will be rotating much longer without oil pressure since the oil pump is not efficient at ~200 RPM.
And even if cranking to prefill does reduce bearing wear, I'm not sure the extra battery and starter wear would be a worthwhile trade off for most people since bearings hardly ever wear enough to be a problem for the first few hundred thousand miles while batteries and starters frequently do.
@@averyalexander2303 limited load with no combustion, so nano wear. As far as the paper element filters, again crank the engine over by disabling the injector fuse or ignition fuse. With a push button type ignition, hold gas pedal to the floor at the same time holding the brake pedal and push the ignition button letting the engine spin over for about 3-5 sec. Push ignition button again to stop the engine from cranking. This procedure will fill the oil filter. I have tested this--by removing the oil filter on a horizontal spin -on filter after performing the procedure above, oil drained out of the new filter as much as did the old filter when removing it.
you could pre fill the vertical filter on my Fiat as long as you used the filter with the anti drain back feature. Could at least 2/3 fill it.
I've learned more about lubrication, oil quality, viscosity, Top Tier gasoline, time span between oil changes and many other valuable info' to maintain my vehicles, since I started listening to Lake Speed's advice, than with any other expert on these issues. Period.
30:50 Pre-filling the filter may not be possible on every engine. All of my diesel engines have a large cartridge filter on top of the engine, instead of a bottom-mounted screw-on filter type like your test engine, meaning that pre-filling oil will only drop back down into the wet sump and potentially overfill the engine. In such cases, having an electric auxiliary oil pump pressurising and circulating the oil before first crank goes a long way to reducing cold-start damage.
This was one informal video that I sat through the whole video, and wasn't tempted to skip in any way. Subscribed!
Thank you!
When racing go karts 35 years ago, the only thing that worked was straight weight oil. It was explained to me that to give it a range, you were swapping out actual lubricant for friction modifiers that you really didnt need. I still use multi-weight oil in road going vehicles but I limit the spread. I have a yukon with 324k, a highlander with 308k, two xterras in the mid 200ks, and so on.
Love the science based approach on this channel and tribology seems very interesting. Thank you for your service to the car community!
Great content. If you get a chance, could you shed some light on the oil catch can? Love the info. Thanks
Sure thing
Definitely
I have noticed increased oil change intervals on my 2018 silverado 5.3 w/a catch can. I currently have 8k on my oil (0w20 costco) and it still has good color on the dipstick. Previously the oil would be dark/black by 20% on the oil monitor in about 5k miles. I'm in a northern cold humid climate.
Love these videos. I run a semi, and i feel like this makes a huge difference for the big trucks that are expected to go 750K-1M MILES before an overhaul.
I do have a question though. Could you please do a in depth video on what are the actual problems running a thicker or thinner oil in engines that the manufacturer recommends. Other than oil pressure being higher or lower, is there a tangable difference?
Yes please let us know.
you will probably get worse MPG with a heavier oil its just smarter to go in the middle
My take.. Use the light oils for short trips in light duty driving , but thicker oils for heavy hauling long trips, when you are putting your foot to the wood. It appears to be all about oil tempurature due to load that the engine operates. It just makes sense to pre-fill an oil filter.. Thanks men for proving it
Always add oil to the new filter. It can make a difference of several seconds of dry knocking. Always prefill the filter as much as possible. Even if the filter is sideways, it will always help to avoid dry starts.
The Engine Masters got exactly the same results in tests they did recently!!! I'm upgrading the 5W-20 to 5W-30 on my 2023 KIA Sportage, especially down at Puerto Rico, where it's hot & muggy!!!
I wonder how the thicker oil will lubricate the turbo shaft now? Ahh, lets not think about that :)
Awesome video... especially with Ben and EFI University involed. Very well done. 👏👏
An awesome vid as usual Lake! Thanks to You and Ben for dropping all this USEFUL, ACCURATE science!
Ben is the man! I hope we get to do more with him.
Awesome test, and it confirmed my suspicion that prefilling the oil filter is the way to go.
I came to the conclusion myself many years ago by just by the ear test .I could hear less damage taking place.
Good work showing 10qt of oil drops the horsepower vs 7qts of oil 640hp to 607 is Alot of hp loss quite a bit of Windiage loss. Great testing Guys 23:00 @The Motor Oil Geek
I believe this video just ended the never ending arguments about thinner & thicker oil + pre fill oil filter
people who believe that prefilling filters will always believe it. (it doesn't matter)
Not really, because that's a race engine. The results might be completely different for a production engine. I bet on that.
@@xXturbo86Xx I agree. try this on modern mass production direction injection engine's...I'd be more surprised if it replicated this video's results.
@@alexstromberg7696 didnt you even watch the vid? there scientific proof prefilling is better.
@@xXturbo86Xx grasping at straws.
Another amazing content as usual. The only regret is that you spend so much time for a no brainer so called debate, pre-filling or not.
In this vein, I propose the next video to be the hot topic, Engine with oil vs Engine with no oil 🙄🙄 Yeah
I wished you would have spent more time for more in depth information about the differences in oil viscosity and the results in different conditions.
Thank you so much anyway for this valuable information provided!
Stay tuned for the next one…
Thank you for confirming my choice to always run 20w50 in my hot rods
I understand and appreciate the testing you guys have done. My only critique is that the center hole of a filter (where everyone pre fills )is typically the outlet of the filter. In a perfect world you would never dump any debris in it but we don’t live in a perfect world. Caterpillar says not to pre fill filters for that reason. Especially fuel filters (diesel fuel systems have much tighter tolerances than engine internals). I’m guessing the typically heavier diesel engine oil has less startup wear vs dumping unfiltered/ possibly contaminated oil straight to bearings etc…. Great show thanks!!!!!!
This is a fantastic video, I've been fearful of running 0W20 in the summer,but this high horsepower engine will really put 5W20 through the ringer. Thanks guys, fantastic job.
So it's not ideal to put thiner oil in the summer right?
@@Ymier4 Online viscosity charts show 0W20 good to about 70F. I read a post from a Kia owner in Austraila, they use 20W50 in their Kias and have no where near the problems we are having in the USA. The viscosity chart in my RDX owner manual shows 0W20 good in all climates, that is just not true, that chart was made by Acura for our BS cafe' standards. So your statement is correct. I do use the required 0W20 in my RDXs during the 6 months of under 70F, but over, I have used 0W30, and 10W30 over 70F. For summer heat, that second number needs to be higher. A full synthetic 0W30 is good to roughly 35C, or 95F, if your summer temperature average is higher, than a 0W40, 5W40 full synthetic is probably a good choice if your car calls for 0W20. But do look at your owners manual for allowed oil viscosity, and be wary of your car warranty. If you have an engine failure due to bad design, and you have the wrong oil in it per your owners manual, they could void your warranty. If your manual states only 0W20, and you have a warranty, you might want to try Redline 0W20. It's a group IV/V synthetic, and it seems a bit heavier than other 0w20 oils.
@@Ymier4 Upon further research, Redline and Shaeffers both have the highest anti-wear package I've seen so far, I found an oil analysis for them, both are over 300 in molyb. So if I didn't have 6 5qt jugs of 10w30 from buying full synthetics on sale, I'd probably run one of those during the summer in the recommended 0W20, and run a lower priced full synthetic during the winter. I do tend to buy more than I need when it's on sale. And sealed they have a 5 year shelf life in an uncontrolled enviroment.
I always prefill my filters and I've never heard the argument not to. That few seconds difference to build pressure adds up over an engines life time of oil changes.
The dumbest argument I have heard from a well known RUclips channel is that pre filling the oil filter contaminates the oil. My reply is if the new engine oil is contaminated by adding it to the filter you might want to change brands. The oil is the same oil you are pouring in the engine to begin with. I have always pre filled my filters and although you cannot completely fill a horizontal mount filter I usually fill the filter close to half and allow a couple of minutes for the paper element to absorb before I install the filter.
I have been prefilling oil filters for 30 years and it's just common sense. The extra volume of air in an empty filter has to be displaced for one thing, so that air has to get pushed up through the engine before dissipating around the bearings, so no oil until that happens. Your oiling system is designed to always have oil in the filter, so why wouldn't anyone do that with an oil change? Great video! Love the real info!
Why would engineers design the filter to be upside down then. Surely they knew that it couldn't be "pre-filled"
Real FACT is that we luv these vids! Science for the win!
Thank you!
@@themotoroilgeek i just found your channel but you are quickly becoming my favorite geek, keep up the good work
38 years ago I asked a Pennzoil engineer if the recommended 5-30 was a good idea for my new Olds with the V-6 Buick. Or I was used to 10W-30.
He mentioned that the primary reason for the thinner oil recommended was to help meet fuel economy numbers. His conclusion was either would be ok but since I was living in a warm climate… the 10-30 would be fine and maybe better
Retired HD Mech. since I started in late 60s our service manuals all stated to prime our rebuilds, fill our primary lub. filters, same as fuel systems, done it on each and every change on my vehicles.
i want to see the same test on an engine design for 0w-20 oil
Love this!! Fantastic data, every car guy should be subscribed
Thanks!
The water in the oil is coming from the air (atmosphere) that was in the unfilled filter. When that air is compressed rapidly (as the oil fills the system) and then decompresses as the oil pressure drops, a "cloud" forms. Tiny droplets of moisture are basically being extracted from that volume of atmosphere that was in the dry filter when it was installed.
WILD! I didnt see that coming either.
I was about to state the same and then I read the comments. I cant imagine that there is another explanation.
I'm from Philippines, I've been doing my research for the past few months for my modified engine so that I can figure out what is the best engine oil to use. What viscosity and do i use thick or thin. Been asking the oil suppliers for friction test, heat test and etc. Most of them didn't replied, they are local Filipino brands and some are so called branded. Now because of this I will surely take care of my forst motorcycle because I appreciate the engines and machines so I take care of them like how I take care of myself. Thanks for the expertly crafted test
Awesome.. stumbled on this in my feed and just did an oil change yesterday..Toyota 0w20. I did pre-fill the cartridge filter about 3/4 and carefully spin it on..glad it's worth the effort. i'll keep doing it, I always had done it even w/ 10w30 and 5w30 but i guess it's now proven to matter even more with the thinner stuff. Thank you for this in depth !
The first thing I learned as a starting Mechanic was to prefill the oil filter 40 + years ago.
To complete this test, you MUST do it on a production engine. Oil goes through intense wear in race engines. That's a given. So it's only natural that the thin oil would pretty much FAIL. But oil is having a....better time, in a production engine, so thin oil shouldn't have issues.
Also, there other other variables that have to be taken into account, like horsepower. A beast of an engine, such as this, will most certainly have plenty of power to move THICK oil effectively. A weaker production engine would probably lose power trying to pump it so a thinner oil would be more useful.
The most conclusive result of this test is that relation between oil volume,oil pressure and power losses from windage. That was eyeopening. I'd say if you're looking for endurance, a little bit more oil in the engine is worth a mild loss of power. But then again, windage tray design, which varies from car to car, should play a HUGE role in this. Meaning that some engines might not even experience any windage losses even when overfilled, while enjoying the benefits of a little bit of extra oil.
No, Do Not overfill your daily driver street car.
You are not going to feel the difference in power in the real world, so why not use what gives longer engine life?
The issue with overfilling a stock engine is the crankshaft may come in contact with the oil in the pan, aerating it to the point you are pumping air bubbles through the oil galleys.
@@bobt897 And aerated oil doesn't lubricate well. You will be saying bye bye to your main and rod bearings.
I agree you cannot extend some of these findings to production engines, the oil pump on this engine runs off the crankshaft, probably a high output oil pump, bearing clearances are probably very large. But the comparison what we're looking for is apples to apples. Comparing this to a stock engine is comparing apples to oranges, smaller clearances require a thinner oil, you probably will NEVER pump enough to induce the "windage" loss. Just the fact that it actually had that much oil in the heads proves the larger clearance/high pump volume scenario. The loss of pressure in a stationary engine can hardly be classified as windage, more like the flat pan allowed the oil pickup to be so close to the surface, it was sucking air.
Everything except the pre-filling of the filter (& water produced by not filling) can be discounted on a production engine, IMHO.
I don't fill the filter, but I do put just enough oil in it to saturate the filter media before installing.
I also want to propose that a lighter oil, especially in an engine with "loose" tolerances, will result in more blow by past the rings and thus a slight loss in compression, compared to a thicker oil which will maintain that oil barrier around the rings better than thinner oil.
They would have seen the compression loss with their direct cylinder pressure measurements. As they said, the changes they made didn't result in gross power changes. The cylinders were making the same power the whole time.
More blow-by would also likely contribute to increased fouling.
Very enlightening Video. As a Retired Professional Wrench, I've encountered many Vehicles over the span of 5 decades that Unfortunately Pre-Filling the Oil filter just isn't an option. I began my career rebuilding Rotary Engines at a Mazda dealership at age 18 in 1974, Rotary Engines of that era had an Inverted Mounting for the Spin On Oil Filter (upside down). Many European Marques utilize a Cartridge Type oil Filter which is also found in modern Rotax in Marine PWC's
MR. Lake you are the best!!
A lot of vehicles can't have the filter pre-filled as they mount horizontally
You can definitely get some in there, and the filter will soak it up enough that it won't drip much, if at all.. and I think that's better than nothing.
@@ronp4529yes, you would be surprised how much a horizontal oil filter can absorb and not drip back out during installation
If you have good access and you're quick, you can fill a horizontal filter to within a half-inch of the top and barely lose any oil at all. I've been doing this for 50 years.
I’ve modified the hoist in my shop so I can safely rotate vehicles 90 degrees.
Problem solved.
I’ve been “geeking out” getting most of my motor oil knowledge, beliefs, & practices confirmed.
Keep those vids coming!
Give me the Amsoil, Ravenol and Red Line episode, aka the boutique oil episode. Anyway, quality work as usually Lake.
Thank you! We’ve got some stuff on boutique oils coming very soon…
Ravenol is number 1
@themotoroilgeek I haven't heard of Ravenol, but the BITOG forum is enamored with HP Lubricants (Illinois) blends the last year. A fellow tribologist rec'd their Euro No VII 5w-30 even for road racing. I hope it's included in your boutique oil test.👍
@@evcass69 Ravenol is well known in Europe in Rallying.
Ravenol are Technical Partners for 1 of the Formula 1 teams.
ravenol is awesome
Always “pre-fill” the oil filter even if side or top mounted! I use “Amsoil” filters with the “Anti Drainback Valve” design for my later model Subarus. The new filter will still soak up the oil no matter how mounted, but “Anti Drainback Valve” design is essential.
My friend uses thicker engine oil because he told me that he drives a lot. I told him no use what's recommended by the vehicle manufacturer they have engineers that know which engine oil is most optimal for their vehicles. Thank u. Speed for awesome video.
The Ford Exec asks the engineer which oil is better. The engineer said better for what, horsepower or protection? The Exec says for Horsepower, the Engineer said run the thin oil. Then the Exec asks the engineer, which oil to make the engine last longer? The engineer says use the thicker oil. The Exec says, okay we will use the thin oil, then the people will have to buy a new car sooner.
@weaverdennisl my cars car calls for 0w20 mechanic shop put 5w30 instead I didn't like the way my little four cylinder engine sounded and felt it was shaking like crazy. Switched to 0w20 by car runs very well. Lakespeed analyzed my engine oil and results came back fantastic vehicle has 185k miles.