Does it really matter?
I drive it from early Spring to late Fall here in the Northeast putting anywhere from 3000-5000 miles on it. Fresh oil, usually an inexpensive dino, is poured in before it is stored for the Winter, then, in the Spring, changed out for synthetic after a few hundred miles.
So it sees some colder cold starts in the Spring and Fall, and during the Summer, of course, will run in higher temps, 80 degrees and up.
I don't drive it hard, but the little 1.6 liter will rev at approximately 4000-4500 on the highway going 70-75 mph.
The manual really is not much of a help as 5w-30 and 10w-30 are both specified for the ambient temperatures I drive in, and preference is given to neither. It puzzles me why they would even make the distinction, since the 5w-30, according to the chart, is good from below -20 to over 100 degrees F, while the 10w-30 is good from 0 to over 100 degrees F. Why not just specify 5w-30 and be done with it?
I know the cold starts are helped by the 5w, I guess my question is whether the 5w-30 offers adequate protection when I am running it during the Summer in the higher temperatures.
I drive it from early Spring to late Fall here in the Northeast putting anywhere from 3000-5000 miles on it. Fresh oil, usually an inexpensive dino, is poured in before it is stored for the Winter, then, in the Spring, changed out for synthetic after a few hundred miles.
So it sees some colder cold starts in the Spring and Fall, and during the Summer, of course, will run in higher temps, 80 degrees and up.
I don't drive it hard, but the little 1.6 liter will rev at approximately 4000-4500 on the highway going 70-75 mph.
The manual really is not much of a help as 5w-30 and 10w-30 are both specified for the ambient temperatures I drive in, and preference is given to neither. It puzzles me why they would even make the distinction, since the 5w-30, according to the chart, is good from below -20 to over 100 degrees F, while the 10w-30 is good from 0 to over 100 degrees F. Why not just specify 5w-30 and be done with it?
I know the cold starts are helped by the 5w, I guess my question is whether the 5w-30 offers adequate protection when I am running it during the Summer in the higher temperatures.