03 Saturn Ion 2.2 Ecotec in the Desert Heat.

[JustinH]

Hey Folks.

I just picked up a 2003 saturn ion with 30k miles on it. Great little car.

I was searching for oil recommendations for it, and didn't come up with too much.

I'm going to be moving to the desert this summer. We are looking at las vegas or phoenix right now.

I'm going to do an oil change on it, and have been thinking what to get.

The owners manual says use 5w30 at all temperatures, but 10w30 may be used above freezing if 5w30 is "not available".

Here in NY, I would use 5w30 year round. I'm thinking of the blazing vegas heat, when its 115 degrees outside.

I'm leaning towards a 10w30 in the summer there.

Would I be giving up much economy?

I was looking at Motorcraft 10w30, as I'm a big fan of conoco phillips.

The viscosity charts for this oil seem to read that the 5w30 is thinner than 10w30 at cold temperatures, but then at 100F, the 5w30 is actually a little thicker. That doesn't make sense to me.

My number two oil choice is going to be Pennz Platnium 10w30.

Any other sleepers out there for this motor?

Thanks,
Justin

 

[daman]

First i would definitely stick with a good synthetic to help
with the heat and i would start with a 10w30 see how it likes
it and how mileage plays out..you can always go back to
the 5w30, i think you'll be fine with either..

 

[Pablo]

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The viscosity charts for this oil seem to read that the 5w30 is thinner than 10w30 at cold temperatures, but then at 100F, the 5w30 is actually a little thicker. That doesn't make sense to me.

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Why not?

 

[badtlc]

From what I have seen, which isn't much, it is not uncommon for the 10w30 version of an oil to be thinner than the 5w30 version at temps above 100 degrees F. I dont know how common it actually is, though.

 

[JustinH]

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The viscosity charts for this oil seem to read that the 5w30 is thinner than 10w30 at cold temperatures, but then at 100F, the 5w30 is actually a little thicker. That doesn't make sense to me.

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Why not?

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Perhaps you can tell me sir, I haven't any clue. I just assumed without ever looking that 5w30 would be thinner than 10w30 across the entire temperature spectrum.

If its 100 degrees ambient outside, then the oil is always over 100 degrees, then should I stick with 5w30 when using certain brands?

Here is from the motorcraft site.

http://www.motorcraft.com/products.do?item=15

 

[JustinH]

I correct my statement, they are using the temperature 100C, which is around 212F.

Does engine oil usually get this hot?

 

[daman]

Yes and higher

 

[SaturnIonVue]

I have basically the same car, except it's a 2004 MY. I'm not sure that I would go with a 10W-30 oil even in that heat. My owner's manual (OM) specifies 5w30 and allows 10W-30 IF 5w30 is not available. However, I don't believe that part of the OM statement is permissive enough to say that 10W-30 is preferred or that it should be used in lue of 5w30. My OM goes on to say that 5w30 should be switched back to when 5w30 is available. Your OM may say something diffrent, or you are misreading the intent of the statement.

Either way, since you are out of warranty it probably doesn't matter much one way or another, but as someone already stated, why not go with a good quality synthetic oil and use 5w30 for fuel economy reasons, if any are to be had. The 2.2L Ecotec seems to be a pretty tough little engine so I would doubt that you could hurt it much by up-changing by one grade.

We have heat (and humidity) issues here in my part of the country too so I've used Mobil 1 5w30 since the first OIC just to hedge my bets while using the GM oil life monitor with very good UOAs.

 

[LAGA]

We have a 04 Ion 2.2 and I run GC in it. Other Saturn owners have posted that they get great results with it also. At 100c it is almost a 40 weight, so it should do good in the heat. I ran a 6 month OCI with 5K miles in heavy city traffic driving and the UOA came back with very good numbers. If you shop around enough you can still find some at Autozone.

 

[Pablo]

Quote:

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Quote:

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Quote:

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The viscosity charts for this oil seem to read that the 5w30 is thinner than 10w30 at cold temperatures, but then at 100F, the 5w30 is actually a little thicker. That doesn't make sense to me.

---

Why not?

---

Perhaps you can tell me sir, I haven't any clue. I just assumed without ever looking that 5w30 would be thinner than 10w30 across the entire temperature spectrum.

If its 100 degrees ambient outside, then the oil is always over 100 degrees, then should I stick with 5w30 when using certain brands?

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The (SAE) 30 is a 100° C range, so it’s always smart to check the 100°C viscosity specs on the 5w30 and 10W-30. Contrary to popular belief the spec range is the same for any 0W-30, 5w30 and 10W-30. (9.3-12.5 cSt) Sometimes a high quality 0W-30 is the most viscous of the group! It’s all in the formulation. It’s all in the base formulation selection, and in the amount of viscosity enhancers used. Maybe the true benefit of SOME conventional 10W-30’s vs. SOME higher viscosity 5w30’s is that a quality 10W-30 MAY not need or use much as much viscosity enhancer to achieve the lower vis. This gets very muddled when you compare different formulators and different base oils.

 

[oilyriser]

The motor's designed to survive in desert heat, climbing mountains with a/c on, using a mineral oil that will shear out of grade. I think you'll do fine with PP 5w30.

 

[Nyyt]

Try either castrol syntec 10w-30 or mobil 10w-30 synthetic. Those have done well in my 2003 saturn and it's been through good heat and mountains without much complaint. In high heat make sure you use synthetic, keeps the temp down farther than dino.

 

[Bill in Utah]

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Try either castrol syntec 10w-30 or mobil 10w-30 synthetic. Those have done well in my 2003 saturn and it's been through good heat and mountains without much complaint. In high heat make sure you use synthetic, keeps the temp down farther than dino.

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Please let us know your measuring instruments that you used and the conditions of the test to come up with that statement.


Bill

 

[Merkava_4]

Excuse me, but I just don't see the point in going from 5w30 to 10W-30 for the purpose of increasing protection during the Summer heat; they are both the same thickness at 212 degrease Fahrenheit.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

I agree with Merkava, there's no difference in summer. Winter startup below 10F, then yes, there would be a cold-cranking difference.

Pick any 5w30 nowadays to protect your engine in the desert heat.

 

[Greggy_D]

I thought 10w-30 afforded you less shearing and less burn-off than 5w30 (speaking generally).

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

I believe that was true pre-SL spec oil. Nowadays, I don't see that holding true as much anymore. IMO, technology has helped make 5w30 a great all-around oil. Almost makes 10w-30 an obsolete product.

 

[JustinH]

Great thread, alot of information here, and great for the 800 post newbies like myself.

 

[Ramblin Fever]

While I do believe most 5w30's are just as shear resistant as their 10w-30 brothers; I don't believe that's the case for Maxlife 5w30 & 10w-30 - at least not in my experience; in which case the truck used about 1/4 qt of the 5w30 in 4k miles, and didn't use even 1/8qt of 10w-30 in 4,500 miles.

So, I don't believe ALL 5w30's are as shear stable as their 10w-30 brothers.

Aside from this, I lived in Las Vegas, NV and the desert for 5.5yrs myself; at the time, I had 3 trucks & a Chevy RV -

'85 Toyota P/up 22re 4-cyl, called for heavy 30wts - 50wts
'91 Isuzu Rodeo 3.1L GM V6, called for 10w-30 & greater
'97 Isuzu Rodeo 3.2L V6 sohc, called for 10w-30 & greater
'94 Chevy 454 1-ton 28' Motorhome, called for 10w-30 & greater


The 3 trucks, in the winter (if you care to call it that in the desert), ran strictly on Havoline 10w-30.

In the summer, all 3 trucks had a 50/50% dilution of Havoline 10w-30 & 10w-40; not one of them used any oil with this combination.

Combination included heavy traffic idling, a/c, constant stop/go, extensive highway driving at speeds of 65-75mph with & without a 4,000# boat, driving in/on heavy dusty road surfaces - wind blows ALL the time in Vegas!

And the 2 Isuzu Rodeo's had equal share of trips coming home along the I-70 corridor to Denver, CO - VERY mountainous terrain.

'94 Chevy RV - had a diet strict diet of 10w-40 Havoline; used about a quart between 4k oci's. Had I known then, about HDEO's such as Rotella synthetic 5w-40, that's what it would've had.

In fact, that's what ALL my vehicles would've had.

However, I think for a car that's not pulling heavy loads, doesn't weigh much in and of itself, and being 7yrs after the time in which I lived there (meaning oil quality has come a LONG way since then) - I think you'd be just fine with a robust 5w30 oil.

However, if you find you're having to add more then 1/2 qt in say 3-4k miles, switch to 10w-30, if you don't have to add any in 3-4k miles, or VERY little, then you should be fine.

NO HARM what-so-ever will be caused by using a 10w-30 versus a 5w30, Vegas temps *may* get as low as 15-20F in the heart of winter, Nov thru Feb, but it's not common and it won't hurt a thing.

You could even use a heavy 30wt or weak 40wt if you find yourself adding a quart or 2 every 3-4k miles.

 

[mitchcoyote]

I suggest a 5w30 synthetic...