Hello again! I have been reading a plethora of the previous oil threads and learned a TON about oils and all that. My question is would a full synthetic 15w50 with ester in it, be alright to run in Michigan for the summer time? I read the manual but I talked to some people at the dealership and they said that running it would be okay, but I take what they say with a grain of salt because they don't always know what they are talking about, at least by me lol. I do know from working on cars and trucks that synthetics generally seem to be thinner than conventional, so I was just wondering if anyone has/does run 15w50 synthetic in a 400ex? Thank you!!!

 

not sure much about the weights but it does have to be for a wet clutch. i tried reg synthetic in a bike once and the clutch started sliping bad. went back to the wet clutch oil right away and clutch was back to normal

 

Yeah it is for wet clutch. I do know if it isn't for wet clutches it will slip. had a friend do that and it wasn't pretty lol. Thank you for the input!

 

If you look in your owner's manual chart, you will find that 10W40 is the heaviest weight of oil that is recommended for a 2007 model! I have run Maxima Extra 15W50 in the past, but only in summer and I live in So. Calif. where it is 100 degrees every day. I live nearer to the coast so it is a little cooler here, but when you head inland to places like Palm Springs, Las Vegas, or Phoenix, it can be 100 degrees in the middle of the night.....

In Michigan, I think 15W50 is over the top, so stick with 10W40. Synthetics, and particularly ester, have very high "film strength" (the HT/HS or High Temperature/High Shear values on oil data tables). That means that a 40 weight ester will give you the same protection as a 50 weight petroleum oil. So, you can safely run a lighter weight oil for less parasitic drag and easier pumpability, while still getting the protection of a heavier one!!!

 

That said, the EX is an old school air cooled engine. These have slack tolerances, compared to the more modern liquid cooled engines. The greater tolerances mean that you need a thicker oil to bridge the larger gaps between moving parts. So, with this engine you want to err on the side of being a little to thick, rather than a little to thin. In Michigan, a 10W40 should be a fine summer oil, but you wouldn't want to run a 10W30 instead for example.....

 

i run 20w50 in summer in my 07 400ex.

 

Thank you all for replying to my post! Reconranger you never cease to amaze me with your information on oils! I went ahead and got Maxima 10w40 synthetic with ester (no one around me sells or orders redline for some reason) and I believe this will be fine for the 400ex. Thanks again!

 

I was trying to pick oil one day, and realized that I really knew nothing about it! Had no clue what all those letters like API and JASO meant, so I began a campaign to banish my own ignorance!

It is interesting that beginning in 2006, Honda began recommending thinner oils. Gone is the chart from the old days that had 20W50 and 20W40 on it, and now for most models they recommend only 10W40 for hot weather, 10W30 for mild weather, and 5W30 for winter (my Rancher 420 also recommends 0W30).

Not sure what changed in 06. I doubt that they tightened up the tolerances or anything like that, but they made the changes in every model line. Maybe just trying to keep things simple????

I was glad to see that Cycle Gear is now carrying Redline....seeing that I have a store near me, so I don't have to mail order it anymore! Cycle Gear - Motorcycle Apparel, Parts and Accessories

 

That is very interesting!!! A lot of people don't know anything about oil, and how crucial it is to your machine! Before shop class in highschool, I didn't know a great deal of information about oil, but I have learned and it makes more sence. That is really cool that you decided to go and actually learn about oils and different aspects of it, that is great that you wanted to learn about it, and you didn't just push it off to the side thinking it was nothing special to learn! I am going to check out that link that you put on here too, I really did wish someone sold redline by me though! Thanks again!!!!!!

 

Oil "weights" are assigned based on the oil's Kinematic Viscosity (cSt @ 100 degrees C). For example, 9.3 to 12.5 is a "30 weight", 12.5 to 16.3 is "40 weight", and 16.3 to 21.9 is "50 weight". Usually you can find the values for your oil in the data charts on the oil companies web site. http://www.maximausa.com/products/4s...synthextra.asp

Maxima specs the viscosities of Extra and Ultra right on the borderline between oil weights. Extra 10W40 for example at 12.5 could be called a "light 40", or just as accurately a "heavy" 30. My point here is that it is very light for a 40 weight.

While I run Redline in all my quads (we only ride the quads in the mountains where it is relatively cool, during summer), I do run Extra in one of my motorcycles that gets ridden as a daily commuter in very hot weather. Its owner's manual specs 20W40 for hot weather, so I do a 50:50 mix of Extra 10W40 and 15W50, and this gives me something that approaches the viscosity of a "heavy 40" ((17.42 + 12.5)/2 =14.96 cSt), like a 20W40 would be.

If your weather is quite hot, you could consider doing the same thing for the summer months......