So you just bought a new dirt bike and you do not yet fully understand how it operates. Well, don’t worry; our team at dirtbikewarrior.com is ready to help you with any queries you have about your dirt bike. A common area of interest in the dirt bike is the lubrication system. What oil to use and which to avoid and so much more.
In this article, we will tackle some of the main topics that revolve around the lubrication system of your dirt bike?
What Does 10w30 Mean?
Those enigmatic combinations of characters and numbers may be found on motor oil bottles all over the place. What exactly do they imply?
Understanding viscosity is required to decode them. The viscosity of engine oil is a measurement of its ability to resist flow. In other words, the speed with which an oil bottle spills out reflects its viscosity. The slower it flows, the more viscous it is.
The SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) devised a standard scale to represent viscosity. The thinnest layer is 0W (“W” stands for winter). This is followed by 5W, 10W, 15W, 20W, 25W, 30W, 40W 50W and the thickest layer is 60W.
Because it can respond to a wide variety of temperatures, the suggested multi-viscosity oil you use in your car is usually good all year.
That’s why most oils have two numbers on them.
Consider the following scenario: 10W30; When the engine is cold, the viscosity is 10W, and when the engine is heated, it is 30W.
What Happens When Your Engine Heats Up?
When your engine heats up, greater viscosities imply your motor oil won’t thin out as much, keeping parts separated by an oil layer. As a result, your motor oil must strike a delicate balance: it must flow freely when the engine is cold, while simultaneously retaining enough body at higher temperatures to keep metal parts lubricated and separated.
Because the oil is thinner, low viscosities are suitable for cold temperatures (thus the “W” association). Thinner motor oil is easier to work with and moves faster. When you restart a cold engine, the oil must travel to the top of the engine and then trickle back down. Because oil is essential for lubricating your engine, it must move fast, and low viscosity aids this process.
Check your dirt bike’s owner’s manual to see what motor oil grade is best for it.
Is 10w30 The Same As 4 Cycle Oil?
Engine oils are divided into two categories. There are two types of cycles: 4-cycle or 4-stroke and 2-cycle or 2-stroke. Except in an emergency, you can’t use one for the other (no oil and few miles to go to safety).
Lossy lubrication is used in two-stroke engines. If you look up how they function, you’ll notice that there’s no room for an oil pan. When refueling, two-stroke oil is combined with fuel, although some engines have a separate oil tank (for JAWA and CZ motorbikes this system was called Oilmaster).
In all situations, the oil-fuel mixture enters the carburetor, then the crank (where the oil lubricates the parts), and finally the combustion chamber, where both oil and fuel are burned.
Lossless lubrication is used in four-stroke engines. After doing some research, you’ll discover that there is a separate oil pan and combustion chamber. It is a difficulty when oil and fuel meet in a four-stroke engine. It is the way a two-stroke engine operates.
The SAE code for an oil grade is 10W30. It doesn’t matter if it’s engine oil, gear oil, or any other type of oil. It’s tied to the oil’s viscosity (or viscosities). Only four-stroke lubricants designed for modern engines are designated with the SAE notation in the field of motor oils. Different nomenclature is used for old four-strokes and two-strokes. So with that, we see that 10W30 is a type of 4-stroke oil.
Note that the SAE notation does not indicate whether or not the oil is acceptable for your engine; rather, it indicates which oils are not. Look up paperwork and the right oil to find one. The SAE designation refers to viscosity, although the oil class (mineral vs. synthetic) and additive mix also play a part.
What Oil Can I Use For A 4-Stroke Engine?
Consult your owner’s manual for the easiest approach to choose the right oil for your bike no matter what engine it uses. It will tell you all you need to know about the oil, from the weight to the quantity, as well as which brands to use. It will also show you where the filling/draining points are, as well as where the Dirt Bike Oil Covers are located and how to check the oil level of your unique bike.
If your 4-stroke’s owner’s manual advises 20w-50, don’t use 10w-30 weight oil. 10w-40 is the most popular size for dirt bikes. Your owner’s manual will also tell you how to mix your oil and gasoline for 2-stroke motors. You’ll get the best performance, fewer rebuilds, and less exhaust smoke if you follow this and other recommendations on properly jetting your bike.
Can I Use Regular Oil In A 4-Stroke Engine?
It’s safe to say that most four-stroke engines, whether in a car, truck, or motorbike, consume oil in the same way. This is one of our most often asked questions, and the short answer is yes, as long as the label does not state that it is energy efficient.
If you have a choice, the best decision to make is to use the oil specified by the manufacturer of your dirt bike. Because as much as most 4-stroke oils are similar, a few chemical discrepancies do exist that do make a big difference.
Because cars require more mileage, chemicals in the oil are present to reduce friction. That’s OK for a vehicle engine, but it’s extremely tough on motorcycles with a wet clutch, or a clutch that operates in the engine’s usual oil supply.
Is 10w30 Better For Older Engines?
Friction modifiers in 10W30 oils cause the clutch to slip on older bikes. Because 10w40 and heavier automotive oils have friction modifiers, any 10w40 or heavier auto/truck oil will suffice in your motorcycle. Friction modifiers are not present in 10w30 motorcycle oils.
Is 10w30 Oil Thick Enough And Good For Winter?
For starters, “W” does not stand for “Weight” in oil nomenclature. It stands for “winter,” and comprehending viscosity grades begins with knowing what it means. 10W-30 motor oil is multi-grade (two viscosities) motor oil that meets more than one grade, as the name implies.
There were winter grades for cold weather and summer grades for milder weather forty years ago. In the winter, a normal grade was 10W. The average summer grade was 30. These oils were of a pure grade. In cold weather, a 10W works well to protect the engine during startup, but it’s too thin for usage in the summer. For summer use, 30 grade oil was advised, which was thick enough to protect against the heat.
After that, multi-grade oils were created. The winter cold start flow qualities of a 10W were combined with the summer high-temperature thickness of a 30 grade in a 10W-30. Multi-grade oils may maintain a consistent viscosity across a wide range of temperatures, not too thick in the cold and not too thin in the heat.
The difference between a 0W-30 and a 10W-30 is the ability of each to flow at lower temperatures. Because the viscosity of hot oil is measured differently from cold oil, the numbers following the “W” do not correspond to the numbers in front of the “W.”
The high temperature viscosity is the difference between a 10W-30 and a 10W-40. At high temperatures, a 10W-40 is obviously thicker than a 10W-30.
How is Viscosity Applied?
How can we put our knowledge of viscosity grades to good use now that we have it? Keep in mind that using oil with a high viscosity can result in high oil temperatures and higher drag. When using a low viscosity oil, significant metal-to-metal contact between moving parts can occur. The right viscosity oil makes it easier to start, lowers friction, and delays wear.
Use a synthetic 10W-40 instead of a conventional 20W-50 for even better start-up protection. When the synthetic 10W-40 gets hot, it flows readily while still maintaining enough viscosity to protect piston skirts and bearings. Synthetics are a preferable choice for race engines and serious high-performance engines due to their greater thermal stability.
However, even with a synthetic, viscosity varies with temperature. Knowing the operating temperature of the oil is necessary for selecting the suitable viscosity for an application. Oil with a higher viscosity is required for engines with high running oil temperatures.
Point to Note
It’s crucial to consider the place where the dirt bike will be utilized when comparing oils. Thin oils that have a less likelihood of thickening will come in handy during winter. While thick oils that are less likely to thin in hot temperatures will help your engine operate better in the summer.
Conclusion
Thank you for choosing our website for your queries about the lubrication system of your dirt bike. We do hope that all of your queries have been answered and if you have any more questions about your dirt bike please scroll through our website for the relevant article. Furthermore, share this website to any of your friends and family who also have their own queries about the operation of a dirt bike.
