M1 5x30 In a Saturn DOHC? Too thin? who's tried it?

[joe4324]

I know these engines have alot of "room" under the valve cover with the cams and timing chaings and what not. I like the idea of a thinner better "flowing" oil reaching all these critical parts of the engine. I believe the recomended oil is 10w30, I've been using it all along. I'm about to switch to M1. I'm not sure if I should just stick with the 10w30 or if I want to be risky and go for the 5w..., this fill will be my winter fill btw.

I guess I'm also hoping for a tiny boost to my MPG. Not sure if a thinner weight oil is the way to go though...

 

[MikeW]

If the engine calls for 5w30 for the temperature range you're using the car in, just use the M1 5w30 and don't worry about it.

 

[eljefino]

Saturn specifies a 5w30 except it's tolerant of 10w30 above 40 degrees or so.* M1 10w30 is pretty thin for a 10w30 so it should work nicely in a mild winter.

I would not call 5w30 "risky" either; I am running chevron ($1.08 walmart) 5w30 in the wife's SL now. I used to be a 10w30 six months a year guy then segued to one change that covers July and August to always 5w30; it's an evolution of my philosophy... Car gets 43mpg btw.

Saturns get sticky rings and stretched timing chains so keeping them well oiled is a smart move.

* 96 SL SOHC owners manual

 

[Bror Jace]

Do a search on "Saturn" many of these subforums and you'll see what a lot of guys use along with discussion about weights and other Saturn engine issues.

--- Bror Jace

 

[kev99sl]

I ran Mobil 1 5w-30 for the first 100,000 miles in my '99 SL. When I started using 1.5 quarts between changes, I switched to 10w-30. That lasted a few changes (no difference in consumption) before I moved to Amsoil 10w-40. I ran that about 30,000 miles, but consumption actually went up a tad. I've been using Delvac 1 5w-40 for the last 30,000 miles. Consumption is a little under a quart between changes.

[ August 05, 2003, 05:13 PM: Message edited by: kev99sl ]

 

[94 saturn sl1 2000 saturn sc2]

i ran m1 5/30 and now am running m1 10/30 after 60,000 of 5/30 Dino. Dino had no consumption issues. M1 is about a quart in 5000 miles in any weight that i have used. Pherhaps dino is the way to go with the saturn at least in my 2000 SC2

 

[like a rock]

Saturn wants owners to use 5w-30 in the 3.0 liter dohc engine. I am runing 10w-30 mobil ss now and it is working great. The dohc seems to be hard on oil-what uoa I have run has shown shearing on amsoil and castrol-both 5w-30 oils. So we will see if the 10w30 holds up better.

 

[Al]

quote:

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Originally posted by like a rock:
Saturn wants owners to use 5w-30 in the 3.0 liter dohc engine. I am runing 10w-30 mobil ss now and it is working great. The dohc seems to be hard on oil-what uoa I have run has shown shearing on amsoil and castrol-both 5w-30 oils. So we will see if the 10w30 holds up better.

---

I would agree here. 10W holds up better. There is very little difference in the two oils at normal starting temperatures. Certainly not enough to cause any difference in startup protection. And don't forget, Mobil 1 10W will outperform some 5W non syn oils at very low temperatures. The 10W-30 is more shear stable. In N.J. you are more than fine with the 10W-30 Mobil 1 all year around.

 

[JohnBrowning]

Useing 5W30 especialy a conventional oil will almost gurantee oil consuption. I think that Saturn does not have a very good powertrain durability track record. I would take their 5W30 with a grain of salt. You realy have to prevent wear to prevent oil consumption and 5W30 just does not get it done especialy in conventional oils.

I am slowly seeing more and more Saturn owners switching to thicker oils that are apropreate(sp) for the weather. Most have liked the improvment in NVH and increased power. One gentleman on this site is useing thicker oils in his Saturan and loveing it.

 

[mkosem]

I'm running Delvac 1300S 15w40 in my SL1 for the summer. I have an analysis in the UOA section from it. I ran 0w40 mobil1 in the past for the winter months(no analysis unfortunately).

--Matt

 

[Mystic]

I have owned three Saturn SL2 DOHC cars. I tried Mobil 1 5W-30 in one of them and the car definitely did not like that Mobil 1-it seemed too thin! Of course, that was an older Mobil 1 formulation. But I definitely regretted putting the Mobil 1 5W-30 in that car.

Mobil 1 10W-30 has worked great when I have tried it in Saturn SL2 DOHC cars. My guess is that at least in warmer weather the Mobil 1 10W-30 is fine to use-Mobil 1 is supposed to be somewhat thin anyway and 10W-30 oil is allowed in warmer weather in any case.

In colder weather, the 10W-30 Mobil 1 might still be okay (after all, it is synthetic and probably flows as good as most conventional 5W-30 oils) or else use the Mobil 1 5W-30 in cold weather.

 

[Chris B.]

quote:

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Originally posted by JohnBrowning:
Useing 5W30 especialy a conventional oil will almost gurantee oil consuption. I think that Saturn does not have a very good powertrain durability track record. I would take their 5W30 with a grain of salt. You realy have to prevent wear to prevent oil consumption and 5W30 just does not get it done especialy in conventional oils.

I am slowly seeing more and more Saturn owners switching to thicker oils that are apropreate(sp) for the weather. Most have liked the improvment in NVH and increased power. One gentleman on this site is useing thicker oils in his Saturan and loveing it.

---

I always thought Saturns had extreemly durable drive trains. They have a very good reliability record.

 

[joe4324]

I've heard two that saturns own line of engines are quite durable. Its just that they can be hard on oil. My DOHC has 73k on it. and its running like a champ. I really forsee it going at least double that distance before I have any problems with the engine anyway. I hope the tranny lasts as long as the engine does!

 

[manualman]

Here's the scoop on the 1.9 liter Saturn engines. Very durable and reliable, unless you run it out of oil. They commonly start to use oil at alarming rates like 1 qt/1,000 miles once you pass 80,000 miles or so. But it's stable, compression and emissions are good, so add some twice a month and get over it.

95-96 SOHC heads are prone to cracking due to a metalurgical problem. So avoid those years in the SOHC only. (Or ensure that it already got an upgraded head). The timing chains sometimes need replacement around 150,000 miles or so. They usually get noisy before causing real trouble.

So keep your oil topped up, buy a DOHC and listen for noises and you'll get more than your money's worth.

 

[JohnBrowning]

How many people here have a Saturn with 300,000 mile on it that is 100% origanal other then regular listed maintence items that is still running? How many have one with 200,000 miles that does not get an oil change between oil changes running 5W30 dino oil? How many here have a saturn trany with 200,000 or 300,000 and all origanal?

Has any one priced a Saturn V6 at their local dealership. I had one guy that asked for my advice the other day. His Saturn dealer wanted $10,000.00 for an engine. His Saturn is two or three years old and he still owes on it. It is out of warranty and the oil has been changed by dealership since new.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

quote:

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Originally posted by JohnBrowning:


I am slowly seeing more and more Saturn owners switching to thicker oils that are apropreate(sp) for the weather. Most have liked the improvment in NVH and increased power. One gentleman on this site is useing thicker oils in his Saturn and loveing it.

---

I think think that gentleman is me!

See this link to this discussion on 15w50 M1 in my 96 SL2.