Mobil 1 High Mileage 10w40 for winter in northeast

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Aug 24, 2016
Messages
115
Location
NJ, USA
I've been using this oil to help with consumption, and recently did an oil change and used it. Is it okay to leave a 10w oil in the car over winter? It's gone to -10f a few times here in NJ. Usually, it's coldest from January to early March. Should I change it out around December, regardless of miles? Or is it okay to leave it in?
 
Last edited:
Forgot to mention the most important part
confused.gif
confused.gif
confused.gif
: BMW M54 motor. 99k miles. Currently doing 5k changes with Mahle filters.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: OldEuroCarLover
I've been using this oil to help with consumption, and recently did an oil change and used it. Is it okay to leave a 10w oil in the car over winter? It's gone to -10f a few times here in NJ. Usually, it's coldest from January to early March. Should I change it out around December, regardless of miles? Or is it okay to leave it in?


A 10W is probably OK for a minimum temp of minus 10f. If you look up the pour point in the oils product data sheet, you will not get any significant extra wear during cold starts until the temperature drops below 10c above the pour point.
YEABUT some might say, using a 10w40 in winter is kind of tough on the battery, starter motor and alternator. It will also result in higher fuel consumption than using an 0w40 (Or even an 0w30 if you are a thin oil fan).
I would just use Mobil 1 or Ultra 0w40 all year AND add half a can of Liqui Moly Motor Oil Saver (It's a stop leak additive).
When selecting an oil it's a good idea to use the oil finder or guide page of the oil company web site as a cross check against the owners handbook. It can be very important to use the correct API (Or Acea) spec oil for some engines, as you can get real bad long term results using a DPF approved low ash oil in older engines in particular.

I'm not a real fan of HM oils if you do not have any oils leaks that are beyond economic repair.
 
Last edited:
10 prolly thickens up near its pour point, I would go with 5w or 0w. I'm sure some more members here with more knowledge than me can help chime in:)
 
Last edited:
I would use 5w40 Mobil 1 its a good proven oil although i did not use it personally many people do and like it. They sell a ton of it at wal mart.. I never saw Mobil 1 oil containers with dust on them unlike some of the other oils they stock.
 
Is the car in a garage at night?
If yes, I'd say you'll be very happy with the 10W over the winter.
If no, your starts might be a little rough on the few really cold nights you have, but I think you'd still be just fine. Just make sure your battery is in decent shape...-10F is about -23C, still above the temp at which the cold cranking test is performed for 10WX oils. But, I've had a battery that seemed fine around 50F suddenly make my life miserable trying to crank an engine filled with 5W30 on a windy 30F night when I was working late!

BTW, pour point is probably not the best way to evaluate oils for cold applications...Shannow taught me about that! (starts at page 152)
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=GQS...p;q&f=false
 
Last edited:
Leave it. We used to run 20W-50 back in the day year round. Nobody ever exploded an engine because of it. My buddy used only 20W-50 Castrol GTX in his 80s Accord and traded it w 260k miles. The engine was running fine, no smoke - the rest of the car was showing age.
 
Originally Posted By: bigt61
Leave it. We used to run 20W-50 back in the day year round. Nobody ever exploded an engine because of it. My buddy used only 20W-50 Castrol GTX in his 80s Accord and traded it w 260k miles. The engine was running fine, no smoke - the rest of the car was showing age.


I also think that with the temps you have at night in winter there would be no problem to start and drive your car with 10W-xx oil, it's not as to crank it with -40 Celsius as it gets in some parts of the world during the winter.
I still remember some years ago when the most used oils were conventional 15W-40 and semi 10W-40 year round and nobody complained.
Yeah, it would be definitely better to use some quality 0W-XX or 5W-XX for the winter months, but still I think no problem in running 10W
 
I have 10w-40 oil in my M54 right now, and I'm planning to run it through winter. The car is parked in an attached garage though, for the most part.
 
Those years Hondas ran forever on anything, that is when Honda knew how to build a great engine that lasted forever.. They don't build them that way anymore that's for sure
 
Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
Those years Hondas ran forever on anything, that is when Honda knew how to build a great engine that lasted forever.. They don't build them that way anymore that's for sure


Certainly not just Honda. Cars from that epoch were more reliable and less complex - counting on less useless electronic components to do their job. It seems the whole philosophy of car making has changed nowadays and the philosophy of engine oils making has changed as well.
 
Last edited:
In SE CT, I've used 10W-30 in the winter with no issues; 15W-40 in my Echo was a bad idea; valve train tapping for several minutes isn't reassuring.
 
I don't get it.

What's the big deal with consumption? So what if it burns oil? Just top it off, nothing is going to be some magic elixir and completely stop it if it's actually burning a ton of oil.

Just keep it topped off and use an oil that's appropriate for the temperature.
 
Originally Posted By: ammolab
In the 1960s & 70s 10W-40 was the year round oil for everyone. My Dad used it in all his cars thru Pennsylvania winters.


During those years I used Valvoline 10-40 for the most part and I lived in Maine at the time.
My Chevy V8 had terrible lifter clatter in very cold starts. That's when I switched to M1 5-20, and OH! what a difference. Easy cold starts and I loved those 10K OCIs.
 
The consumption seems to have gone down after I did some work on the PCV system. It hasn't been long enough to say for sure, though. If I get to 1000 miles and it's still where it was before, I'll probably switch to a better winter weight oil once I get this to 3k, or December hits. It can't hurt to run this for a short cleaning OCI. So all will not be lost.
smile.gif
Probably Castrol Edge 0w40.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top