Older car? thicker oil?

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My cars have very high mileage and I am using MaxLife 5w20 in them with great results.You can use whatever grade you want and be fine as long as it is not a thick oil for a cold climate.
 
my 1995 dodge colt, 1.5l 12v 4 cylinder has 200,000 miles on it. everything is original. it is a daily driver. it does not get babied, and it does not get abused either. regular oil changes every 3k all its life with conventional oil.
currently i use 3 parts 5w30 and 1 part 5w20.
heavier oils actually INCREASE the wear. thinner oils flow faster and lubricate better, and keep the engine parts cooler. using a thicker oil is asking for trouble.
 
Originally Posted By: edwardh1
If a car NEW uses 5w 30, when it gets say 110,000 miles on it should you put 10w 40 in it? to compensate for wear?
seems there is SOME wear in 100,000 miles.


Why? If it aint broke don't fix it.
 
As a rule, no.

But sometimes it makes sense to use a thicker oil if you are trying to cure an issue such as oil burning.
 
"As a rule, no.

But sometimes it makes sense to use a thicker oil if you are trying to cure an issue such as oil burning."

+1
 
Thicker has a slight correlation with less volatile, two schools of thought here, one, a less volatile oil will burn less in a consumption prone high mileage engine. However, a less volatile oil may also leave deposits, so it is a game of relevance.

Thicker willy-nilly for thickness sake without reason doesn't do anything for you, IMO.
 
Originally Posted By: edwardh1
If a car NEW uses 5w 30, when it gets say 110,000 miles on it should you put 10w 40 in it? to compensate for wear?
seems there is SOME wear in 100,000 miles.


If you have taken very good care of you engine then it would be NO. My sons 91 Ranger has 338,000 miles and still uses 10-30 M1. as it was when it was newish. I have had the same experience myself.
 
Originally Posted By: Captain_Klink
heavier oils actually INCREASE the wear. thinner oils flow faster and lubricate better, and keep the engine parts cooler. using a thicker oil is asking for trouble.


Misinformation.
 
My 77 LUV with 144K still holds 60 psi oil running 70 on the interstate with 5W-30. The oil light never comes on at idle. Oh, I never have to add more oil either.
 
Originally Posted By: Captain_Klink

heavier oils actually INCREASE the wear.


Can anyone explain why using heavier weight oil increase wear ?

Thank You.
 
Originally Posted By: seremban
Originally Posted By: Captain_Klink

heavier oils actually INCREASE the wear.


Can anyone explain why using heavier weight oil increase wear ?

Thank You.


Thicker oils can't lubricate either.
smirk2.gif


...and your engine will run hot.
 
Originally Posted By: edwardh1
If a car NEW uses 5w 30, when it gets say 110,000 miles on it should you put 10w 40 in it? to compensate for wear?
seems there is SOME wear in 100,000 miles.


No, 210,000 maybe. But 5w30 is fine all the way if you maintain the engine with reasonable oil change intervals.
 
5-30 to 10-40 is a decent jump thicker.
I would never want that cold rating larger, only smaller [the 5 and 10 #s].
110K is not the great achievement it once was. It's not really a lot on a newer style car.
If you are not burning oil, there should be no reason to switch.
If there is an odd known problem like low oil pressure when hot, you cold try a thicker oil.
 
Originally Posted By: edwardh1
If a car NEW uses 5w 30, when it gets say 110,000 miles on it should you put 10w 40 in it? to compensate for wear?
seems there is SOME wear in 100,000 miles.


Ten to fifteen years ago, maybe--as a general rule. Now, not-so-much, unless there has been a history of lack of maintenance, severe service, excessive consumption, etc.

That being said, almost all "high mileage" oils are thicker at temp in the same grades, which is why I would only ever use one in the warmer months...
 
Incidentally, wasn't one of the reasons thicker oils were favored in older engines to compensate for the gradual loss of compression?
 
As my cars approach 300K miles - only using Mobil 1 0W20 - and do not burn or leak oil....

Why would you worry that your motor is badly worn at only 100k miles?? What purpose would using thick oil serve?? Reducing non-consumption even lower? You just want to get poorer gas mileage.... or perhaps worry about winter starting...?
 
In my GM owner's manual for a 3.4l 6 cylinder, the engineer writes it out: DO NOT USE ANY OIL THICKER THAN 5w30. Obviously, going thicker is a problem, and the only problem i can think of, is your engine is going to experience accelerated wear and premature failure. (is there any other significant problem they could be thinking of?). i don't think this is misinformation at all.
the main problem with oils, is that they are too thick. during the running phase, when a heavy oil is hot, probably it can lubricate alright, but as you know, a car gets turned on and turned off all the time, and during the time it takes to get hot, the oil is too thick.
 
Originally Posted By: edwardh1
If a car NEW uses 5w 30, when it gets say 110,000 miles on it should you put 10w 40 in it? to compensate for wear?
seems there is SOME wear in 100,000 miles.


To me, at 110k, the engine is finally "broken in" and I still have over half of it's life left. I wouldn't deviate too much from the manufacturer's original recommendation.

My 180k car is still running 5W/0W-30 and (to me) acts like it did 100k ago.
 
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