10w30 over 5w30

[Vincent_Vega]

I have a 2002 Explorer that is specd for 5w30. I have a chance to get some 10w30 for a steal. My question is can the 10w trade off with the 5w without any problems in this southern climate where the winters are not that severe? The lowest it has been this year down here is 21 degrees F. Thanks in advance for helpful replies and no thanks to any smart a.. ones.

 

[02zx9r]

you shouldnt have a problem with the 10W.

Depending on which chart you look at the 10W is good from -4 to 95 degrees farenheit, 5W is -13 to 95 degrees.

 

[02zx9r]

 

[ThirdeYe]

Should be no problem at all, switch at will.

 

[Vincent_Vega]

Thanks guys.

 

[02zx9r]

with your southern temps, the 10W isnt going to thicken up overnight as much, so you *shouldnt* have any problems

 

[artificialist]

My dad ran SAE10w30 in many cars that had "USE 5w30" written on the oil cap, and so did I. Neither of us had oiling problems in our cars.

 

[oilyriser]

I'll use slightly more gas, perhaps 0.4% more or worse if it does a lot of cold starts. That might mean an extra 1.3 gallons of gas over 7500 miles. So if the price difference is better than the cost of an extra gallon of gas, it's a good deal.

 

[02zx9r]

The chart was posted just so you can get an idea of what temps the oil grades are good for

 

[slipperysam]

I always say use the thinnest allowable oil grade for the expected temperature range. 10w-30 may be more robust than a 5w-30 but this comes at the expense of start up flow. Generally speaking it is thought that among the modern oils, 5w-30 can do anything 10w-30 can as long as you mind your OCI, so why not take advantage of quicker lubrication at start up since it is also thought that most of your wear occurs at this point. Check your manual and do what it says!

SS

2000 Honda Accord 3.0
2004 Honda Pilot 3.5
Mobil Clean 5000 5w-30 / Pure One filters
happy... happy!

 

[Steve S]

Originally Posted By: oilyriser
I'll use slightly more gas, perhaps 0.4% more or worse if it does a lot of cold starts. That might mean an extra 1.3 gallons of gas over 7500 miles. So if the price difference is better than the cost of an extra gallon of gas, it's a good deal.
Maybe .02% or less untill the oil starts to warm up..

 

[Badlees]

My truck states 5w30 on the cap but what about the hot Summer months when temps are in the high 90's and hit 100 and more? I can sit in traffic where the street temps are easily 120. Shouldn't I be running a different weight in those months and use the 5w30 at all other times?

 

[02zx9r]

In my cars I normally just run 1 year round, normally 5W30, but I may eventually run a 5W or 0W20

My streetbike calls for 10w40, yet I have run 20w50 in the summer months. Same thing for my dirtbike, i run 20w50 in that in the summer

 

[Greggy_D]

I'm running 10w-30 TropArtic in the Taurus right now. Earlier in the month it was 1 degree F outside in the morning. Car started right up with no noise whatsoever.

In GA you have NOTHING to worry about running 10w-30.

 

[TallPaul]

I run 10w30 all winter in wife's Aerostar and in the motorhome (which we do use a little in winter). My pickup has 10w40 in it all winter, though I may go 10w30 in future winters.

 

[Ponch]

I posted a section about this awhile back, and I firmly believe that using 10w30 in summer temps to take advantage of the thermal stability is better even if your vehicle calls for 5w30 year round. Take pennzoil platinum for example... PP 10w30 has excellent cold pumping abilities, if you look at the specs on their website, pp10w30 has a slightly lower cst at 0 degress than their conventional 5w30... pp10w30 has a slightly better HTHS number, and better volatility,than pp5w30 which means alot to people who drive like me (lots of towing,heavy acceleration). I dont think there is too much difference in pumping ability in the summer time between 5w, and 10w30. I just feel more comfortable with the 10w in summer though. I really dont think it will hurt MPG as much as people think?