Dino 10w-30 too thick for PA winter temps?

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Oil doesn't have that many miles on it. Engine is spec'd for 5w-30 and is SOHC. Should my friend change the 10w-30 for 5w-30 with the cold season fastly approaching?
 
4.7 Dodge Magnum V8. I have heard manual says oil pump is clearanced for 5w-30.
 
People have been using 10w30 for many years and have made it through tough winters. It isn't the most ideal winter oil anymore but if it is new oil I wouldn't change it. The MMO recommendation from HTSS_TR will do the trick...don't overfill. If your friend is really worried, change it.

Look up a spec sheet on the oil, I'm sure it will give you're friend some comfort.
 
Not the most ideal choice, but it will be fine. Do whatever lets you sleep at night. If you want to drain it, then drain it. I doubt most people on this board would drain, I wouldn't. But I sleep like a rock anyway
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Thanks for all the replies. I think I'll advise him to drain it into a clean container and save it for use next Spring. I think I'll advise him to go 5w-30 for the winter.
 
0 degrees Fahrenheit is when I'd start to worry about 10w30 just a little bit. -20 degrees Fahrenheit and I would get that stuff out
 
I say this everytime one of these threads is posted.....: per SAE oil grading criteria, 10w-30 is tested at -11F for cold cranking and -22F for cold pumping. Therefore, -11F, if you believe the SAE, is the theoretical threshold at which you'd ever want to start an engine with 10w-30 oil in a crankcase. That means, per cold cranking simulator testing, an engine with a positive displacement oil pump should crank over, and the oil will pump. Most manufacturers place the safe limit at 0 degrees F. Will 10w-30 kill an engine during your average continental US winter? There'd be a whole lot of dead engines if that was the case! Is it optimal? Obviously not. Synthetic oil is a whole different ball game. If you look at published specs, many modern day mostly PAO based synthetic 10w-30 oils will pass at a minimum, the SAE MRV/cold pumping test for 5w.
 
i have an old F150 w/302 that I have run 10W30 year round forever. It sits outside all the time (it is my plow truck too). I have never had a problem even on really cold days (I live in Upstate NY).

I don't drive it much anymore, so I moved to 5W30 synthetic and change once a year now. But in any event, I never had an issue with 10W30. For years people would run this with no problem and oil wasn't nearly as good as it is today.
 
Originally Posted By: sangyup81
0 degrees Fahrenheit is when I'd start to worry about 10w30 just a little bit. -20 degrees Fahrenheit and I would get that stuff out


I have to agree.

This is one example where the W number IS relevant. Not like Jacksonville, FL at 110 steamy hot degrees in the summer, and some of us insist on 0W-30 in that app! *ahem HAAS* **cough**cough*ahem.*

i STILL dont see the relevance of W number of Oil when it is 100 degrees, or even 50 degrees, outside. MAYBE 40. Sorry.
 
It has to get really cold before using a 10w30 oil becomes an issue. I doubt there are many places in PA that get colder than 15F in the winter. Not counting wind chill of course.
 
Good gravy, it won't hurt a thing. I've run 10w40 in my truck and used to run 20-50 arco graphite in my old Chevy Citation all yr in PA and NY. ALWAYS STARTED, NO PROBLEMS. Geeez.
 
I agree with ridge runner. I lived in Green Bay for many years in the 80's and 90's. 10w30 was commonly used and was often the bulk oil carried by the tire stores and the GM dealers. Never had a problem, and the oil back then was nowhere near the quality that is being sold now. I'd be more concerned about the state of my battery than the difference between a 5w and a 10w oil.
 
I have used 10-40 and 20-50 for many years through Chicago winters.

Somehow, I got started and going.

But these were poor choices. I will repeat was is said around here : "No oil is too thin at start up."
A garage kept car will start easier than my outdoors cars.

Your friend can simply change the oil, and not the filter. This would make the use of 5-30 almost painless. He could wait until mid December.
 
Originally Posted By: HangerHarley
Originally Posted By: sangyup81
0 degrees Fahrenheit is when I'd start to worry about 10w30 just a little bit. -20 degrees Fahrenheit and I would get that stuff out


I have to agree.

This is one example where the W number IS relevant. Not like Jacksonville, FL at 110 steamy hot degrees in the summer, and some of us insist on 0W-30 in that app! *ahem HAAS* **cough**cough*ahem.*

i STILL dont see the relevance of W number of Oil when it is 100 degrees, or even 50 degrees, outside. MAYBE 40. Sorry.

It's basically for gas misers. The w number has nothing to do with that thinking directly but the cSt at 40 degrees Celsius (which equals 104 fahrenheit) is what we're looking for. Lower w oils tend to have lower 40C cSt but not always. Also, the gas savings may be so small, it doesn't really matter in real world applications
 
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