Winter oil weight for my Suburban 5.7

[Rachael]

Y'all gave me a lot of help with the oil brand choice for my Suburban with 185K, now with winter coming up I need some help with oil weight. In the end I decided on MaxLife Blend 10w40, for help with oil burning, preventing leaks, and sludge clean-up. The truck does also tow a 3800 lb. horse trailer frequently, so I wanted at least a synthetic blend.

Well, I just read through all of the article on the main page about motor oil thickness last night. This got me thinking that the 10w40 HM will be far too thick in the winter... I'm only in Ohio, but it does get down to the single digits in January and February. And this vehicle definitely sees a lot of winter use.

I was wanting a 0w40, but none of the HM oils come in that weight, that I know of. I am really set on a high mileage oil for this truck. Thinking about MaxLife 5w30, but will that be thick enough to help with the oil consumption? On average, it's about a quart and a half every 3K.

 

[tig1]

What ever wt of oil your engine calls for from the factory, I would use year round. Changing wts from winter to summer is something we did in the 60s and 70s.

 

[eljefino]

maxlife 5w30 has pretty impressive cold cranking numbers. I usually run syn in winter but ran maxlife once instead, sort of by accident.

I'd put it in around Christmastime, as pour point depressants wear out over time. This will also let you "poison" your current fill with cold start idling etc right before you dump it.

 

[addyguy]

Why not use the M1 HM 10W-30 you have in your Bonneville?

 

[Rachael]

Yes I do love the M1 high mileage, been very happy with it. But I have 4 vehicles and I'm trying to stick with something a liiitle bit cheaper for the truck. But that's definitely not out of the question, if it seems like the best choice. I forgot about synthetics thickening less in the winter.... hmm.

 

[mechtech2]

Go with a good starting viscosity as your #1 concern.
The other stuff is very minor, comparatively.

 

[Spyder7]

Originally Posted By: tig1
What ever wt of oil your engine calls for from the factory, I would use year round. Changing wts from winter to summer is something we did in the 60s and 70s.


Its still sometimes done in oil burners. People run the recommended grade in winter, because the cooler ambient temps reduce consumption, but then they move up a grade in the summer to thicken and reduce the consumption as the oil sheers to a thinner weight over the OCI. I'm considering doing this next summer. I just have to decide first on which grade I want to move up to. Or if its more worthwhile to stay in grade but go with a thicker HM oil.

-Spyder

 

[Drew99GT]

I'd run Maxlife 5w-30, or Pennzoil HM 5w-30. Despite being 5w-30, these HM oils are on the thick side of each viscosity grade.

 

[cronk]

10w30 or 10w40 high mileage oil will be fine in an Ohio winter.
I live in upstate New York near the Canadian border, we get below zero temps regularly in the winter. I ran 10w40 Maxlife in my 305 powered chevy pickup last winter and it started just fine.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: tig1
What ever wt of oil your engine calls for from the factory, I would use year round. Changing wts from winter to summer is something we did in the 60s and 70s.


+1 A good 5W30 should do just fine! If your truck burns oil try a 5W30 HM oil.

 

[Spyder7]

Originally Posted By: Rachael
Y'all gave me a lot of help with the oil brand choice for my Suburban with 185K, now with winter coming up I need some help with oil weight. In the end I decided on MaxLife Blend 10w40, for help with oil burning, preventing leaks, and sludge clean-up. The truck does also tow a 3800 lb. horse trailer frequently, so I wanted at least a synthetic blend.

Well, I just read through all of the article on the main page about motor oil thickness last night. This got me thinking that the 10w40 HM will be far too thick in the winter... I'm only in Ohio, but it does get down to the single digits in January and February. And this vehicle definitely sees a lot of winter use.

I was wanting a 0w40, but none of the HM oils come in that weight, that I know of. I am really set on a high mileage oil for this truck. Thinking about MaxLife 5w30, but will that be thick enough to help with the oil consumption? On average, it's about a quart and a half every 3K.


I agree that a 10W40 will be too thick for winter. I think it maybe colder where you are than I am in the winter. Here I can get away with a good 10W30 that has a low enough pour point, and having only recently realized it, that's what I plan to do. Ours is a maritime climate though (gulf stream makes it milder than it would be inland at the same latitude), so our cold is more from heavy North Westerly winds that drive the relative temperature down. That has no effect on oil though, and our absolute temps stay above -20C.

My chosen 10W30 has a -39C pour point so I'm good there. Your consumption should go down in the winter, so I'd go with the 5W30 MaxLife. Its still nice and thick for a 30 weight oil, but thinner than a 40, and also has low NOACK and good sheer resistance. You will still see some consumption, but it shouldn't be any higher than you'd see using a 40 weight in the summer. And you might not see any at all.

-Spyder

 

[Rachael]

Thanks everyone for all the replies... I am not worried about the truck not starting (2 batteries), but that article got me all scared about the wear that occurs during cold starts. I guess that's why I'm asking about a 0w-x or 5w-x for the winter.

So I'm definitely liking 5w30 Maxlife... but do feel free to add any other comments

 

[AEHaas]

Originally Posted By: Rachael
Thanks everyone for all the replies... I am not worried about the truck not starting (2 batteries), but that article got me all scared about the wear that occurs during cold starts. I guess that's why I'm asking about a 0w-x or 5w-x for the winter.

So I'm definitely liking 5w30 Maxlife... but do feel free to add any other comments


'Sounds like a reasonable choice to me.

aehaas