It sort of breaks my heart to start my Jeep up at elk camp every year... it'susually somewhere around -15 F at 4:30 am when it's time to fire up the rigs toget to the trailheads. I have a block heater but dammit, I can't find anoutlet to plug into up there !Would my engine be better protected if I switched it to synthetic oil beforethe hunt? It's a '97 4.0L with 86K on it. Runs great. I'd probably switchback at the next oil change. I typically do the oil every 3000-4000 miles. Isit bad to switch like that?-jeff

In weather that cold, a synthetic is definitely a good idea since it reallydoes flow much better in extremely cold conditions. I'd run 5W-30 syntheticin those conditions. Maybe even 0W-30 synthetic would be a good idea forthose cold starts. I don't run synthetic due to its added cost and in mytemperate climate, I don't see a whole lot of REAL benefit to synthetic overa high quality mineral-based multi-weight oil. But I sure would runsynthetic without a second thought if I lived and drove in an extremely coldclimate like you do. :)Jerry--Jerry BransfordPP-ASEL N6TAYSee the Geezer Jeep at

But most of the FI vehicles are not running air intake at some resonable temp like the mid 60's to mid 80's engines do. My carb vehicles run exactly the same gas mileage on a long trip in winter and summer. FI vehicles take significantly more gas in extreme cold. Something is differnt.L.W.(ßill) Hughes III wrote:

God Bless America, ßill O|||||||Omailto: mabar wrote:

Nylon did the flat spotting. Rayon was not as strong but did not flat spot.mabar wrote:

Hi Lon, Fiberglass was used in the the first belted bias, seventy seriestires originally designed to for the muscles cars like '65 Pony andGoat. They used the red strip side wall. And a new nomenclature likeG70X15

Very cold at elk camp... synthetic oil in my TJ?

Aug 13, 2004 29 Replies

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RoyJ 21 years ago

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DougW 21 years ago

RoyJ did pass the time by typing:

Colder air is denser and the ecu will increase fuel to keep a proper ratio. Carbs can't do that. FI vehicles almost never have heat risers like a carb does because they arn't as suceptable to icing. That's where having an intake under the hood in cold weather is better than sucking in outside air. A friend of mine uses a hot air system from an old pickup and plumbed the existing air box with it.

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RoyJ 21 years ago

snip

Yeah, I've been thinking about something like that. Gives better gas mileage and makes it more driveable.

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mabar 21 years ago

Back in the 60's that used to be an every day occurrence with Rayon (I think) tires. If you let the vehicle sit for a day or two, all 4 tires would have flat spots that took a few miles to "round out."

Tom

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mabar 21 years ago

Or was it Nylon?

Tom

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L.W.(ßill) Hughes III 21 years ago

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RoyJ 21 years ago

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Lon 21 years ago

I don't remember rayon flat spotting much, it just self destructed with moisture. Nylon develops flat spots, as did some of the fibreglass.

Some of the Pirelli radials still nylon plys, but enough steel that the flatspotting isn't as noticeable.

mabar proclaimed:

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L.W.(ßill) Hughes III 21 years ago

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Lon 21 years ago

I know. Had a set on a 66 Impala SS. Left them on for less than 6 months before removing them and putting on a set of Dunlop "dog biscuit" 70 series radials.

L.W.(ßill) Hughes III proclaimed:

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