Originally posted by Elizabeth:
First off: Wind chill ony affects things that are already warm... like people's bodies. A cold car in -10F in NOT going to be any colder because the wind is blowing!!!
Then the oil is thinner seeming when it's hot and if it was a lower viscosity it would be even worse. The 5W-20 is fine as someone said if you never run your engine very hard. I would NOT do it in an SVT. The 0W-30 as was said has a 'wider' span than 5W-30 and that does need more "stuff" in it to make it span that gap... so a little less of the oil is really oil... not much to worry about though. The "0" is only at startup, and doesn't matter too much... And yeah, viscosity is really a very complex issue, that is part of why it's said: use what is recommended by the manufacturer!!!! and do NOT use 10W-40 (unless you live in Death Valley... then it MIGHT be ok)
Thank you. That was driving me a little nuts.
Wind chill is a measure of the perceived temperature on exposed skin. It is the enhanced evaporative effect of "wind" over still air that causes the wind chill index to be lower than ambient temp.
So, unless your car has sweat glands and nerve endings, the wind chill shouldn't matter.
