r Thinking of buying my oil in bulk (55 gal) to save money in the future . Using 10W 30 in three vehicles right now . In hard times would it be possible to thin the oil to run a car that requires , say 5W 20 ? If need be , can Something be added to change the viscosity of oil’s or is this much more complicated than it looks ?
If you don't mind gambling with your engines, you can do what you want with them. Everyone will say to stick to what the owners manual says unless they update the spec with a Technical Service Bulletin. You can ask your brand of vehicle's dealerships if they can provide you with them, if they exist.
As for thinning oil on your own, no, it's not easy to do. Oils are designed by engineers who choose various hydrocarbon chains found in petroleum to construct a motor oil. Different hydrocarbons have different viscosities based on temperature. Compare gasoline to gear oil for the rear end of a truck. They're both hydrocarbons, but one is extremely runny and the other hardly flows. Unless you have equipment like a refinery, you can't do any of this accurately.
If you get into a big a pinch, use the cheap oil at a Dollar General. As long as the oil meets federal regulations, (a seal on the front guarantees this in the U.S. if it is a decent oil) it will work. A friend of mine penny pinches and does this with his '98 Camry all the time. I personally believe you get what you pay for, and only run the expensive Pennzoil Platinum in two of my three vehicles.
No. Oil isn't "thinned" like paint.
Crude oil is first separated into components in a fractional distillation column. The components are then blended into gasoline. The proportions of different hydrocarbons carbons determine the oil viscosity profile.
