Oil... how does it work? [split]

I really hope you’re just attempting to troll this entire thread and not actually that stupid.

Take a straight weight oil, non-winterized. A 5 weight oil when 32* is thicker than when the 5 weight oil is 210*. Just like any fluid.

I don’t know if a 5 weight is thicker at 32* than a 20 weight oil at 212* and don’t care.

All STRAIGHT WEIGHT oils will be thicker when it is cold. The 5w20, 5w30, 10w30, etc… alllllll have additives in them that change the chemical properties of the oil as the temperature changes.

So at 32*, the 5w20 is acting like a regular 5 weight. As it heats up, the additives do their work, and once the temp reaches 212*, the oil no longer is acting like a 5 weight, but a 20 weight. If it was a straight 5 weight, it’d be too thin at 212* to lube properly, just like a straight 20 weight would be too thick to lube properly at 32*.

The table you posted where you said the 20 weight or 30 weight oil has the same viscosity at 212* as the 5w20 or 5w30 is true. Because the additives do their magic to make the chemical properties of the oil change so that that can happen. If you find a table of a straight 5 weight oil at 32* I’d be willing to bet that a 5w20 oil is the same viscosity as that.