Coworker thinks 10w30 is obsolete

[53' Stude]

Since most here know I’m a good person and I believe in paying it forward; gave my co worker with a beat to heck F-150 truck 2 5quart jugs of Providence 10w30 motor oil.

Then he says “ain’t 10w30 like obsolete?” I just walked away, and said “it’s free for gripes sake, is it not?”

I’m not using it; waiting on my no VII 5w20 from HPL Lubricants for my Focus


Is 10w30 actually obsolete? I don’t think it is

 

[Cujet]

Here in S. FL, 10W-30 M1 was my go-to oil for decades. 355K miles and zero problems, zero sludge or varnish. I think it's the ideal viscosity.

 

[supton]

Did he refuse to take it, or was it an honest question?

Sure seems to me to be “obsolete “, not sure what, outside of OPE specs it.

 

[Malo83]

Just changed the oil in my Silverado with 10w30, still a player.

 

[NismoNVT]

I think its on its way out, as I have not seen a gasoline engine spec a non-0W oil in eons.

 

[AutoMechanic]

I don’t think it’s obsolete as far as being sold even though it’s harder to find now than say 5-10 years ago. As far as cars coming from the factory I don’t think any of them would spec it anymore. So I believe it’s obsolete in that sense.

 

[walterjay]

I have used it in my SantaFe.

 

[brianl703]

I have one vehicle that specs 10w30 and I use 5w30 in it. Not going to make a special trip to buy 10w30 for this one vehicle, plus I think that 5w30 can be used anywhere that 10w30 was once specified.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Obsolete yes just like all water that isn't rated 0W-H20 is obsolete! Oh and shut my mouth I left out Dexos!

 

[SC Maintenance]

10w30

10W-30 hasn't been spec'd in years by any OEM - mainly because they want to spec a grade for the entire country, and 10W in North Dakota in the winter probably isn't the best.

Also, you can't get 10W-30 in every flavor - I think Mobil 1 has only 2 options out of there 6 different formulations. You will never see it on the walmart shelves either - again because most people just follow whats printed under the hood.

This is likely why people think its "obsolete".

 

[skyactiv]

In the fleet world, 10W30 has largely replaced 15W40 in semi trucks. The only new diesels we get that still use 15W40 are the spotter trucks equipped with a Cummins B6.7.

 

[brianl703]

10W-30 hasn't been spec'd in years by any OEM - mainly because they want to spec a grade for the entire country, and 10W in North Dakota in the winter probably isn't the best.

The performance of the 5W-30 oils has also gone up over the years, so that OEMs probably considered it a year-round grade.

 

[RooflessVW]

I just picked up 4 jugs of Valvoline Advanced Synthetic 10W-30 for $72 and got $20 back from Valvoline.

For $2.85/qt it ain't obsolete in my world.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Did he refuse to take it, or was it an honest question?

Sure seems to me to be “obsolete “, not sure what, outside of OPE specs it.

Just because CAFE essentially requires thin oils from the manufacturers’ recommendations hardly means that the protection offered by a good 10w30 is obsolete, or unable to be enjoyed in today’s engines.

 

[jeepman3071]

My Jeep 4.0 Liter inline-six specs 10w30. It even says it right on the oil cap, although the manual says both 10w30 and 5w30 are recommended, depending on temperature. I'm sure it wouldn't matter much in my use case, but FWIW I did have less shear down using a 10w30 vs a 5w30 in some UOAs I did in a previous 4.0L powered vehicle.

 

[53' Stude]

In the fleet world, 10W30 has largely replaced 15W40 in semi trucks. The only new diesels we get that still use 15W40 are the spotter trucks equipped with a Cummins B6.7.

Not true. Around here and WV areas and east fleets still use 15w40. Work even got 30 gallons rotella 10w30 free since trucking company’s said no thanks and use 15w40

 

[53' Stude]

Did he refuse to take it, or was it an honest question?

Sure seems to me to be “obsolete “, not sure what, outside of OPE specs it.

He didn’t refuse it. He’s a odd bird let’s leave it at that. I know he will use it

 

[OVERKILL]

10W-30 hasn't been spec'd in years by any OEM - mainly because they want to spec a grade for the entire country, and 10W in North Dakota in the winter probably isn't the best.

Also, you can't get 10W-30 in every flavor - I think Mobil 1 has only 2 options out of there 6 different formulations. You will never see it on the walmart shelves either - again because most people just follow whats printed under the hood.

This is likely why people think its "obsolete".

In the fleet world, 10W30 has largely replaced 15W40 in semi trucks. The only new diesels we get that still use 15W40 are the spotter trucks equipped with a Cummins B6.7.

This.

In terms of passenger car applications, I believe FCA was the last to spec 10W-30 for anything. The push to have something that works everywhere from Alaska to Arizona has driven the uptake of 0W-xx in pretty much everything and even the "old holdouts" like the HEMI, which spec'd 5W-20 have now been re-spec'd for 0W-20.

Due to this, you won't see many modern approvals (dexos for example) on a 10W-30 bottle. In terms of the OEM's for PCMO applications, it is indeed considered obsolete.

On the other hand, for HDEO applications, 10W-30 is the new 15W-40 as @skyactiv notes. Cold climates will get spec'd with a 5W-40 or 0W-40, but the "conventional" option is now a 10W-30.

If ambient isn't going to get down to -25C (the CCS limit for 10W-xx) then it will be fine, obsolete or not.

 

[brianl703]

And you can't, last time I checked, get 10W-30 at Costco anymore. (edit: In the store, probably still available online).

 

[SC Maintenance]

My Jeep 4.0 Liter inline-six specs 10w30. It even says it right on the oil cap, although the manual says both 10w30 and 5w30 are recommended, depending on temperature. I'm sure it wouldn't matter much in my use case, but FWIW I did have less shear down using a 10w30 vs a 5w30 in some UOAs I did in a previous 4.0L powered vehicle.

I have looked into running 10W-30, and interestingly all the 5W-30's start at a higher KV100 than their 10W-30 counterparts. I assume this must be due to the 5w having more VII to start? My primary interest is also shear - or possibly dillution. I run short OCI so it likely matters not either way, but I found this curios.

Anyone know why? Is it just more VII, or is it formulated different?