why10-30 instead of 5-30?

Pennzoil motor oil
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Kelton

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I'm a new honda owner who squirms at the idea of going with 5-20 for the summer.

I was suggested that I go with Mobil 1 Extended Performance 10w30. I went to the store and saw that M1 also makes a 5-30 in the EP formulation.

Is there something sketchy about the wider spreads? It would be nice to have a thinner oil upon startup (I think).

And, of course, I'm always interested in other ideas for good options to the a 5-20.

Kelton
 
With the Mobil synthetics I don't think you'll see much of any difference in cold startup between the 5WXX and the 10WXX-especially in Florida.

If you get into the colder climates (think sub-zero) then I would lean toward the 5W. But in your application and climate I don't think either one would be a bad choice.
 
Kelton, You should get a sample of that factory fill and get it analyzed. Then use an oil like that until the engine is broke-in, around 30,000 miles.

I think the factory fill has very high levels of anti wear and friction modifier additives like moly and boron and zinc. Some M1 products have add packs like that. But is the factory fill 20 or 30 weight?

After the engine is broke-in change to a higher "W" number if you want.

Joe
 
Any of the XW30's will work well for you. In your climate I would go with the 10W30 because it tends to have less polymers in it to shear.
 
Prior to EP being available Mobil 1 10W30 had a slight very slight edge in additive package and wear numbers in UOA. It also tended to shear less. Now in the grade scheme of things it might not make a difference but my money is on the Mobil 1 Extended Performance 10w30! The 10W30 also has a slight edge in HTHS! When you look at Conventional oils the above differences are magnified even more with 10W30 almost always being the more stable product! I also think that their 10W30 has no viscosity improvers at all!
 
quote:
I also think that their 10W30 has no viscosity improvers at all!
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Is that true it seems to me Mobil would advertise that as amsoil does on there new ACD 10w30. I would like to get that confirmed could be useful in certain apps. Dan
 
It is true of RedLine and it used to be true of Mobil 1 according to them. They do not say one way or the other now.
 
Good question.

Buster recently posted some information on Havoline synthetic that is relevant to this discussion. The 5W30 NOACK volatility (% loss) is 10 vs. 5 for the 10W30 version. The 10W30 has a VI of 151 and the 5W30 a VI of 172. The Havoline Synthetic tech data sheet had no HTHS numbers to compare. BITOG

For someone who drives long trips in warm/hot weather climates....the volatility difference in 10W30 and 5W30 might be interesting. Especially if pushing an extened drain interval.
 
Let me add another thing...

I simply can't go with long OCIs....I tend to change the oil often.

Given that, I probably don't have to worry about some sort of long term breakdown of the oil. So does this diminish the problems involved in using Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w30 rather than 10-30?

In another thread, it is quoted that all oils are too thick upon startup....regardless of ambient temps. Interesting point. It leads me to go with an oil that is as thin as possible at startup and yet handle long hot Florida summer drives.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Kelton:
...It leads me to go with an oil that is as thin as possible at startup and yet handle long hot Florida summer drives.
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Ah, that the question could be answered so simply! Choice of motor oil viscosity range ALWAYS involves some compromise. The conventional 10w30 oils rely less on shear-prone polymers (VIIs) since the base oils are somewhat more viscous than those used in the 5w30 conventionals. From the used oil analysis I've read, it's not uncomon for conventional 10w30 oils to shear down to a low 30 weight when warm by the end of the OCI. Correspondingly, it's not uncommon for 5w30 conventionals to shear down to a medium-to-high 20 weight when warm by the end of the OCI - a grade drop. It's not even June yet, and where I live the last two days were in excess of 100 F. Today is predicted to be the same or higher. I very rarely see temperatures below freezing. For my money, 10w30 offers what I feel is the best compromise. With the winter temperature baseline I experience, the cold flow differences between a 5W-XX and a 10W-XX dino aren't going to be that significant. With the new Mobil Clean 5000, Motorcraft, and the other ConocoPhillips motor oils* relying on Group III base stocks (which some blenders define as "synthetic", others define as "semi-synthetic", and Mobil not making any such distinction at all for fear of diluting sales of its PAO based synthetic products) modern dino-based motor oils have reached a new performance level even at bargain basement retail pricing. For example, one of the ConocoPhillips brands, "Phillips 66 TropArtic Synthetic Blend" in 5W-20, 5w30, and 10w30 viscosities (API SM, ILSAC GF-4) is available nationally at Dollar Tree Stores for, guess how much per quart?
wink.gif


*Conoco All Season
Phillips 66 TropArtic
76
Kendall GT-1
 
Just stick in 5w-20 and call it a day. My Civic likes it. Saw the year's first 100 degree weather Saturday. If this hot weather stays around all summer will be able to get a "good" UOA since I just changed oil.
 
Kelton, look at my post in the used oil analysis section for what good numbers you can get running 10w30 in a truck that Ford wants you to run 5w-20 in. I run 10w30 year round.
 
quote:
I simply can't go with long OCIs....I tend to change the oil often.
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In that case I wouldn't even consider the $ynthetic's. A buck for the conoco blend is a good deal though if you can find it in your grade.

FWIW Honda's position used to be that they would "ALLOW" the use of 5w20 in 96 up civics, and 98 accords. But shouldn't be used in the civic SI dohc vtech motors. This is per an old bulliten, not sure what the official position is now?

Fwiw, Fords 4.0 v6 and 3.9 v8 weren't supposed to use it either. Again an old bulliten.
 
quote:
Originally posted by wileyE:

quote:
I simply can't go with long OCIs....I tend to change the oil often.
Click to expand...
In that case I wouldn't even consider the $ynthetic's. A buck for the conoco blend is a good deal though if you can find it in your grade.

FWIW Honda's position used to be that they would "ALLOW" the use of 5w20 in 96 up civics, and 98 accords. But shouldn't be used in the civic SI dohc vtech motors. This is per an old bulliten, not sure what the official position is now?

Fwiw, Fords 4.0 v6 and 3.9 v8 weren't supposed to use it either. Again an old bulliten.
Click to expand...
My wife's 04 Explorer 4.0 V6 still uses 5w30...so, not sure how old that bulletin is
dunno.gif
 
Ok, so I'm doing short OCI's....and, particularly for the summer, I'd like to use something a bit heavier than 5-20.
Is there anything about the 5w30 conventionals that makes them less desirable than a synthetic given short OCI's?
Hondas, I understand, have a copper issue...and people suggest oils with lots of moly....what are some good dino brands that fit the bill?
 
In the case of the Honda CR-V '04,...well, I've heard that German Castrol 0-30 is thicker than the '30' would suggest. Some say it's closer to a 40.
Otherwise, I would certainly go for the GC.
 
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