In Europe they have stricter emissions standards, so perhaps a lighter W weight saves some gas when the motor is cold? Less fluid friction before warmup. Maybe at the cost of higher wear in the long run?

Brainstorming, also maybe driving habits are different overseas... in most of the places I've been in Europe, the car will get warmed up at modest speeds, like 20-40 mph. The last three houses I've owned in the US, I can literally be doing 85 on the interstate before the coolant temp needle is off the peg on a cool morning.

 

I think it's just a result of Land Rover partnering with Castrol, declaring it their "official" oil (which doesn't really mean anything) and recommending something Castrol sells. The only difference between 0w and 5w is viscosity at low temperatures, but on average temperatures are milder in Europe than they are in the US. If you are paranoid, just pick a synthetic oil with a performance range over a temperature scale that you expect you will experience until the next oil change. But the truth is the car won't notice the difference unless you are living in Siberia, in which case you should have bought a diesel with the engine warmer. And given how climate change is affecting even Siberia these days, even that may not make any difference.

 

No big differences in the existence of cold weather (sub-zero) climates in North America vs Europe. So I doubt it's that.

Since this viscosity only applies for cold startups, may not be much difference for emissions. Operating viscosity is the same at 30 where you would expect most of the emissions.

I was thinking maybe the VVT on the vehicles is different. That could explain the thinner viscosity at startup, but why would the VVT be different?

Another LR/Volvo stumper.

 

I think it's just another Ockham's Razor moment.

 

Hmmm, I don't know about that. we reached -40 this winter. Incidentally, do recall I lost an engine coincidentally when it dropped below -30 and I didn't use the inline heater (modern equivalent to the block heater) that one time...
Now I always heat her up for 30mins plus before starting that new engine, replaced on warranty.

 

I mentioned the use of the engine heater in a prev msg.

 

sorry. I didn't read the entire thread.

 

How easy/difficult was it to get warranty coverage for the new engine? Didn't they challenge you on using the inline heater?

 

Fuel Fired Booster Heater - FFBH. If only there was naming consistency.

 

Should MOS2 be added at every OCI? Can't find a straight answer online, although they clearly specify 30k miles for ceratec.