How long does un-opened oil last on the shelf?

[oldtuckunder]

We won't quibble that its now been over 8 but no I meant between being told they had to on Tuesday and publishing it today

[stillp]

[JohnG]

So how is that different for modern cars kept outdoors during the winter as most are ? The oil might regularly go below zero overnight.

 

Rob

Overnight, the oil temperature in the sump may touch zero, but, it's doubtful.

 

When working on cold weather effects on oil in construction machinery, we put a dump truck into a freezer at -40C for a weekend (Friday late afternoon til Monday Morning)

Whilst the outside temperature was a constant -40, when we checked the oil temperature on Monday morning, it was 'only' -16 in the centre of the mass.

 

It will take longer than overnight at minus 1 or 2, to lower the sump oil temperature below freezing.

 

However, even at +5 the viscosity of the oil will have changed, this will affect its ability to flow quickly so, start up needs to be done with care.

Edited January 27, 2017 by wjgco