REALLY cold oil changes?

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svtdreams

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Ok so I live in Alaska and the Temps drop to about -25 for the most part of the winter, My question is when would be a good time to change the oil between intervals? As of right now I go about 5000 miles between changes and do a lot of off roading. I use Royal Purple 5w20 every time. Any advice would be great...
 

Chris@FreedomMotorsports

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It depends on several factors. First, the cold pour point of the oil you are using. If the temperature outside is getting to or below the cold pour point, then it will shorten the effectiveness of the oil when the vehicle/engine is left to sit long enough to fully cool down. Check the cold pour point of the oil and take that into consideration. One thing that would help the cold weather guys is the installation of a "Pre-oiler" pump to get the oil moving before engine start up. Because of the colder conditions, the oil will move throughout the engine a little slower in the dead of winter and there is a possibility of engine damage occurring as a result. Check out this kit Engine Pre Lube System Insta-Lube Kit


Another factor is the oil you are using. Make sure and double check the service interval recommendations from the manufacturer of the oil itself. All synthetics are pretty good oils any more, but they are not all created equal and that is represented in their advertised guaranteed change intervals. Make sure to investigate the brand of oil and make sure that they do not have a specific cold weather recommendation, this could mean the difference between properly protecting your engine and ruining it due to too many cold weather dry starts. Think of it this way, if an oil has a guaranteed service interval that is longer than another oil, because it is designed specifically to hold up for that longer interval, if it is indeed holding up that much longer, what makes it better than the oil that cannot last as long, but breaks down instead? Food for thought.
 

Spider-One

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I'd assume you run a block heater just add a stick on silicone pad heater to the oil pan and call it a day. I've gone with 8000km as per the severe schedule using Amsoil fluids. Only issue I've had is power steering hoses which seem to really dislike anything below -40C.
 
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svtdreams

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Appreciate all the help fellas.... And Spider-One, I don't run a block heater on the raptor... thought about doing so but I only have one more winter left before I leave Alaska and on to my new duty station... I brought it up last year right at the end of winter but it was always around 30 so not so bad, this year just went straight COLD
 
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