maxlife 10w40 or 10w30

[wisco]

I have 2000 chev prizm with 96,000 miles burning qt oil every 700-800 miles. Engine not leaking oil at all! Started using Maxlife 10w40 and it has helped somewhat with less consumption. With colder Wisconsin weather coming up should I go to 10w30 instead or stick with 10w40? Also should I use maxlife full synthetic 10w30 rather than the blended? Appreciate the help!

 

[Drew99GT]

With that much consumption, I'd use 5w30 blend in the winter and the 10w-40 in the summer. It gets ---- cold in WI!

Might also consider an engine flush of some kind; BG Quick Clean, Amsoil flush, or Auto-RX to see if it cleans the rings out and lowers the oil consumption. Has the vehicle missed some oil changes or something - to create deposits that could contribute to the consumption?

 

[remmious]

Has the engine always seem to have 'consumed' some oil? That seems like a lot but some engines just 'use' oil. Maybe find an oil that is known for low vilatile.

 

[mitchcoyote]

You can stay with the 10w-40 year round... It's not that different than the 10w30 upon cold start ups....

 

[Drew99GT]

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You can stay with the 10w-40 year round... It's not that different than the 10w30 upon cold start ups....

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It gets freakin cold in the upper midwest; Valvoline MaxLife 5w30 is a better choice. It's still a lower volatility oil. And the 10w-40 is a for sure gonna be worse than 10w30 in the cold; the data sheet shows a higher MRV spec and per my calculation, it's roughly 700 Cst thicker at 0 degrees F.

 

[remmious]

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You can stay with the 10w-40 year round... It's not that different than the 10w30 upon cold start ups....

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It gets freakin cold in the upper midwest; Valvoline MaxLife 5w30 is a better choice. It's still a lower volatility oil. And the 10w-40 is a for sure gonna be worse than 10w30 in the cold; the data sheet shows a higher MRV spec and per my calculation, it's roughly 700 Cst thicker at 0 degrees F.

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I agree. Viscosity is one aspect. For start up conditions the MPV and/or CCV is the other area you want to look at. I would use the 5W for WI.