Oldsmobile 307 V8 10w-30?

[oldsmobill]

Hi All

I have a 1987 Chevy Caprice station wagon with the 307 Oldsmobile V8 (one of the best engines ever). I mainly use this car as a truck, pulling a boat and hauling around stuff that won't fit in the Focus. Right now I have it filled with 10w-30 Mobil 1.

The car has 227,000 miles on it, still runs great.

Now here is the question: on an engine with this many miles on it, in Minnesota where it is currently 12 degrees in early December and likely to get much much colder, what is the best viscosity to use and should I change viscosities between seasons?

What do you guys think?

-Bill

 

[901Memphis]

Your 10w-30 synthetic will certainly work in those temperatures but for the best cold starts you can move to a good 0w-30 or 5w-30. If you like Mobil 1 the regular 5w-30 is a great formulation, and you can also get the AFE 0w-30.

German Castrol Syntec 0w-30 is also a great choice for those temperatures.

You might want a 10w-40 in the summer if your pulling heavy loads but i would like to hear from someone with more experience on that 307 in the heat before i would do that.

 

[caprice_2nv]

I used German Castrol (0w30 Syntec) and Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 when I had my 87 Caprice with the 307 a couple years ago. It worked fine, and when the temp got down to -25C, it started as quick as a day where it was 10C. other than that I never noticed any difference in the way it worked, no matter which oil I ran. The car has since gone to the scrap yard, but we pulled the engine and swapped it into my friends Cutlass to replace the V6. It only has about 170k on it, so its just a baby.

 

[Bluestream]

I used M1 10W30 year round in my explorer. See's temps of -25 once or twice a year when I go up north. M1 10W30 flows as well as the 5W30

 

[HangerHarley]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
You might want a 10w-40 in the summer if your pulling heavy loads but i would like to hear from someone with more experience on that 307 in the heat before i would do that.


My parents with the heavy foot and always having me (kids) in the car OR something else, driving ~50 miles each way daily put 10W-40 conventional in it exclusively.. in the late 80s and 90s.

The car lasted over 300,000 miles, more like more than that. Then was sold.. and was seen driving a year later.

I say use that, id be scared to put Synth in that car. Though GC is soo intriguing.

Thats new-school oil on an old-school motor.

And yes, that was one of the best engines ever.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

We had this exact car only the 1988 version. Sweet wood stickers!

In Buffalo, it lived on Havoline 20w50 year round and then for a couple years in Cincinnati where it got much colder in the winter. Started right up every time. So anything you're using has to be much better.

 

[beast3300]

M1 10w30 will be great in that. The 307 is indestructible.

 

[ChiTDI]

We're using 10w30 Pennz for that engine in an '86 Cadillac here in Chicago. A little lifter noise at startup sometimes if it has sat for a while, otherwise runs like a top.
Your statement of the engine being one of the best is sure true.
In your case that M1 10w30 would be my choice year round.

 

[HangerHarley]

Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
We had this exact car only the 1988 version. Sweet wood stickers!

In Buffalo, it lived on Havoline 20w50 year round and then for a couple years in Cincinnati where it got much colder in the winter. Started right up every time. So anything you're using has to be much better.


Same deal, but Monroe, NY (Zip 10950) - a little little less cold than Buffalo. Only slightly. Same deal on 10W-40.

Had a 1982

 

[oldsmobill]

Thanks for all the advice.

I'm thinking of switching to the AFE Ow-30 Mobil 1 since there is a good chance I'll have to start it up when its 25 below sometime this winter and thats getting awfully close to the 10w-30's pour point. I'm in a place where the record low is -45F and the record high is 108F so I don't really think there is a great all-season oil for me after all.

I'm guessing I'd go back to the 10w-30 around March.

 

[daman]

AFE would be a great choice for your cold temps always fast starts here with it in MI.

matter of fact you can use it all year around also don't be afraid of th "0" part,it's still a 30w when hot,heck i tow/haul in hot summer temps with this oil no issues.

 

[caprice_2nv]

I've had no issues with the new school oil in old school engines. It didn't seem to affect how much they leaked or used either. I was pretty hard on both of my 307's, and my 305TBI has 329k on it and i'm driving the snot out of it with 5w30 synthetic, not the slightly tick or noise from the engine, even starting up after an oil change. I don't think I could possibly wear it out.

 

[addyguy]

Honestly, the M1 10W-30 will work fine year-round. I don't 'feel' that there is actually that much difference between M1 5W-30 and their 10W-30 formulation.

That said, if you're open to the idea, the 0W-30 AFE will work really well also, but i doubt you'll really feel any difference betyween the two oils....all M1 oils are really good in the cold.

 

[901Memphis]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
Honestly, the M1 10W-30 will work fine year-round. I don't 'feel' that there is actually that much difference between M1 5W-30 and their 10W-30 formulation.

That said, if you're open to the idea, the 0W-30 AFE will work really well also, but i doubt you'll really feel any difference betyween the two oils....all M1 oils are really good in the cold.



I had heard that the 5w-30 was a newer formulation than the 10w-30 that is on the shelves now and the 5w was better, can any confirm?

 

[HangerHarley]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Honestly, the M1 10W-30 will work fine year-round. I don't 'feel' that there is actually that much difference between M1 5W-30 and their 10W-30 formulation.

That said, if you're open to the idea, the 0W-30 AFE will work really well also, but i doubt you'll really feel any difference betyween the two oils....all M1 oils are really good in the cold.



I had heard that the 5w-30 was a newer formulation than the 10w-30 that is on the shelves now and the 5w was better, can any confirm?


There are those that say that, but unless you get into really expensive Oil, the higher "W" number usually indicates more stability in heat.

You can run 5W-30 year round up north but also most of the time you can run 10W-30 too. it is right around "Zero degrees" that i think id switch AWAY froma 10W.. though in this car, it was said 10W-40 could be used year-round even in NY

 

[Hokiefyd]

I had an '84 Cutlass Supreme Calais with the Olds 307. One of the best engines around! Durable...never any issues out of that engine. I often wished that GM had used that Oldsmobile V-8 platform for its corporate V-8 engine program, though the Chevy V-8 was more compact. I always ran Valvoline 10W-30 in my Cutlass, religiously. For no reason other than I really liked Mark Martin and, hey, you gotta pick an oil brand, right?

I think it'd run REAL nice on Castrol 0W-30. But that's if you wanted to spend the money on that. Any of the Mobil 1 xW-30s would work fine as well. I'd probably use the 10W-30 myself.

Keep those EGR tubes in the intake manifold cleaned out!

 

[pavelow]

I'd run Shell Rotella Syn 5w40 in that old Olds.

 

[ronrackley]

Originally Posted By: pavelow
I'd run Shell Rotella Syn 5w40 in that old Olds.


Me too. I believe the additive "package" it has is about the closest to be found to the best oil available at the time that engine was new, in a modern base oil that is among the very best coming out of refineries today. And, I'd switch to Rotella conventional 15w40 if leaking turned out to be a problem.

One thing I like about Rotella is that I never see TV commercials for it so I think that maybe some of the money I pay for it goes into making better oil instead of mass marketing. The ads with bizarre visual representations of "sludge" and claims about how it will probably decreases engine performance if you aren't using the advertised oil insult my intelligence and I would not consider those oils for that reason.

There are lots of good oils today. The Rotella oils are an excellent buy for those who know, in my opinion.

 

[901Memphis]

I wouldn't let a tv ad sway my purchase decision, i just think they are funny. I will buy the products that have the best prices or the best quality, period.

 

[caprice_2nv]

Just a note, the 85 and up 307 V8 is a roller cam engine, so no real worries about camshaft wear. I am running 5w40 Rotella Syn in my 83 305 V8 right now but i put that in during the summer, and the car isn't being put into service until next winter. At that time I will probably try to decide on something a bit thinner for winter startups.