10w40 when 5w30 is recommended

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aaron98801

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I used 10w40 (M1 full synthetic HM) in my last oil change when the car specs 5w30. I have been doing my best to not worry about this (it's probably no big deal) but I still do.

What do you guys think. Is this no big deal. The car is a 4cyl with 111,500 miles. I live in North Central Washington and although we have snowy winters our average temp is around 30deg F. Occasionally we will see 10deg F. but not often at all. Is this a cold enough climate to worry about not having (5W) oil? Is the 10w40 to thick for this situation.

I don't care about swapping it out but would I be doing it for no reason. (I have 800 miles on this OCI)
 
Well, I would not worry too much if it is not under any kind of warranty and the only thing I would have done differently is use a 10w30 HM or even the MaxLife 5w30 syn blend. The Mobil 1 HM is the better oil but the MaxLife 5w30 would probably be better overall for you on the next OCI. Maybe you could do a good 3k OCI to let the Mobil 1 clean things out then switch to the MaxLife 5w30. We will see what others say as well.
 
Originally Posted By: aaron98801
I used 10w40 (M1 full synthetic HM) in my last oil change when the car specs 5w30. I have been doing my best to not worry about this (it's probably no big deal) but I still do.

What do you guys think. Is this no big deal. The car is a 4cyl with 111,500 miles. I live in North Central Washington and although we have snowy winters our average temp is around 30deg F. Occasionally we will see 10deg F. but not often at all. Is this a cold enough climate to worry about not having (5W) oil? Is the 10w40 to thick for this situation.

I don't care about swapping it out but would I be doing it for no reason. (I have 800 miles on this OCI)


LOOK, if you aren't worry about your actions they why bother enough to post this on BITOG? Is this still concerns you very much? If so, change it out and just switch it back to 5W30 and call it a day.
 
Your stated coldest temperatures won't affect the cranking ability of the 10W-40, but you might feel a difference in acceleration and perhaps see a decrease in fuel economy. If you don't notice either of these things, then I wouldn't worry about it. On a positive note, you may see a decrease in oil consumption, if that has ever been a problem for you.
 
The oil is not going to hurt anything in one run. The M1 10w40 is pretty thick stuff. Just take some extra care when starting in very cold temps and baby it a little for 10 mins or so. Remember that oil gets hot much slower than your antifreeze. It usually takes about 15 mins of driving to get your oil full temp in a normal passenger car. If it were me i would not make a habbit of running this in the winter but your not going to hurt anything for a run. From most of the data sheets i have seen, this is probably one of the stoutest oils short of going to HDEO
 
I would not swap it out.
Go for your entire normal OCI.
Unless you already bought the stuff [10-40], I would not choose it again. The M1 is very high quality, but why not get it in 5-30?
 
It might be a slightly heavier (than a 0 or 5w-x) on those rare 10F mornings. OTOH, the oil has a pour point of -39 (F and C are the same at -40), and will still pump with ease. The engine will start right up and run great w/o fear of oil starvation.

The 40W hot visc is a complete non-issue. It might cost you 0.25 MPG. Big Whoop. (Mo thickah, mo bettah!
thumbsup2.gif
)

If you're still concerned, buy one of those magnetic block heaters. On cold nights, set it to run off a timer and have it warm the engine for an hour or two in the AM. Apart from quicker starts, you'll probably see a noticeable increase in gas mileage - enough to pay for the heater and the dime's worth of electricity it uses. Hypermiler guys love the things.
 
My current half-informed thinking is that you can't hurt an engine using an oil that is correct for the temperature range you will see.
If you can get a good clearance deal on a good oil that is a range or so higher than what is recommended, use it without hesitation in warmer weather.
Since you won't see real cold where you live, I can't see a 10W-40 doing any harm.
I have run oils of much higher viscosity than recommended during the warmer months here, and the engines have lived to tell about it.
Fuel economy differs little if at all between M1 0W-30 AFE and M1 EP 15W-50 in my '99 Accord, as well.
Used the 0 last winter, and the fifteen fiddy over the summer.
The last few warm weather tanks on the AFE were not consistently better than the 50 weight EP, and the EP was run with pretty much full time A/C use.
 
If your using M1 10w40HM why not use the 10w30HM and be closer to spec??????


i have M1 10w30HM in our sunfire right now because i want to clean it up some,after that i'm going to M1 5w30HM when it hits store around here.
 
I run Rotella 15w40 in my Jeep and it's 31 right now. I wouldn't worry about it. I just filled up today and I got 18.3 mpg. Anyone that drives or knows a few things about Jeeps that's [censored] spectacular. So the short answer would be don't worry about it!
 
Thanks guys! My main concern was to not damage anything. I know newer engines have tighter tolerances and I was not sure if this thicker oil would not protect as well in this situation. I will just swap it out at my normal OCI.

I still have no idea what 5w-30 oil I am going to use though. I have asked on another post and am still clueless. For some reason I dont think that I need to be running synthetic cause I like to change my oil and I change it every 3,000 anyways. So I want to go DINO or blend. The more I read VOA's, UOA's and everything else I just get more confused. Do I need an oil with a certain additive in it like moly, boron, etc... Or if they lack certain additives are they still fine? I just dont know. Maybe I just stick with a good synthetic so it has a great ADD pack and I force myself to not change the oil so often.

But thanks again for all the info
 
use M1 5w30HM(great add pack boosted Cal and Zink) or 0w30AFE with a quality filter and run it out 7-8,000+/year depending on your mileage your engine will live great on that schedule.

you'll get a cleaner running engine, better cold winter/weather start up performance,with better hot summer/temp protection outa a synthetic and have to change oil less often too.
 
Originally Posted By: daman
use M1 5w30HM(great add pack boosted Cal and Zink) or 0w30AFE with a quality filter and run it out 7-8,000+/year depending on your mileage your engine will live great on that schedule.

you'll get a cleaner running engine, better cold winter/weather start up performance,with better hot summer/temp protection outa a synthetic and have to change oil less often too.


Is a ow30 oil perfectly acceptable to use in a car that recommends 5w30. Is there any disadvantages to this using this oil or is it all good. Also how does the ADD pack on the M1 ow30 compare to the HM 5w30.

Thanks
 
Originally Posted By: daman
use M1 5w30HM(great add pack boosted Cal and Zink) or 0w30AFE with a quality filter and run it out 7-8,000+/year depending on your mileage your engine will live great on that schedule.

you'll get a cleaner running engine, better cold winter/weather start up performance,with better hot summer/temp protection outa a synthetic and have to change oil less often too.

How do you like the 0W-30 in your car? Anything noticeable to point out? I bought 8 quarts of it on Black Friday and I'm interested to know what others think about it.
55.gif
 
a 0W30 IS PERFECTLY FINE TO RUN IN A 5W30 SPECKED CAR(darn caps)it's still a 30w when hot but you get the benefits of better cold weather starting/flow and usually a better base oil too.

i love it,been using it for awhile now my GM cars have no issues with it,in 7,000 mile OCI it may be down 1/8 of a qt,so not bad. hard to tell if mileage is better tho maybe a tad.
 
I'd use Valvoline Maxlife 5W-30 when you're ready to use a 5W-30. Great oil.

That said, the 10W-40 M! HM is a full-syn oil, so it's not going to do any harm in cold temps.
 
Originally Posted By: aaron98801
Originally Posted By: daman
use M1 5w30HM(great add pack boosted Cal and Zink) or 0w30AFE with a quality filter and run it out 7-8,000+/year depending on your mileage your engine will live great on that schedule.

you'll get a cleaner running engine, better cold winter/weather start up performance,with better hot summer/temp protection outa a synthetic and have to change oil less often too.


Is a ow30 oil perfectly acceptable to use in a car that recommends 5w30. Is there any disadvantages to this using this oil or is it all good. Also how does the ADD pack on the M1 ow30 compare to the HM 5w30.

Thanks


0w-30 is a good replacement for 5w-30, it has sightly better flow when cold and an insignificant increase in mileage till warm.

The HM variant has a slightly stouter add pack since they arent constrained by new car requirements, more ZDDP, etc.

I know nothing about their 0w-30, but their 5w-30 is believed by some to be Mobil's worst product. Their have been several reports of Subaru turbo failures when using that oil in high stress environments and with high lateral g's.
 
Originally Posted By: Geonerd
(Mo thickah, mo bettah!
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)



i hereby confer you with honorary australian citizenship. and your kids just got a penrite scholarship to college.
 
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