I have a 95 Miata that I drive all year round in Wisconsin. I've been using Pennzoil 5w30 High Mileage for most of my ownership, and a Fram or Bosch filter; whatever is on sale at Autozone. The car has 132XXX miles on it, I'm curious to know if going to a 0w20 or 0w30 would be a good decision to run during the winter months. The 0w20 seems to be easier find compared to the 0w30 around here.
NA Miata Winter Oil
- Thread starter zacha22
- Start date
- Status
You should be able to find 0w-30 @ wally world in 5qt jugs.
Took you a while after registering to get that first post up!
I like 0W-x oils on principle and the learned opinions of some BITOG experts.
The 1.8L is not particularly demanding or problematic with its motor oil selections so you'll likely be fine.
I like 0W-x oils on principle and the learned opinions of some BITOG experts.
The 1.8L is not particularly demanding or problematic with its motor oil selections so you'll likely be fine.
You should be fine using the 0W-30. If you decide on the 0W-20, if it was my car, I would keep an eye on consumption.
First welcome to BITOG.
Yes you would benefit from running a 0W-20 in the winter months and possibly year round if you can maintain an adequate oil pressure reading at maximum oil temp's.
Unfortunately as you know the Miata is not equipped with an OP gauge unless one has been installed. You could simply have the OP tested or if you don't want to bother just run M1 AFE 0W-30.
I don't know how cold you will be starting your car unaided this coming winter but it's the lightest 30 grade oil you can buy in terms of extreme cold performance spec's, better than most 0W-20s.
Yes you would benefit from running a 0W-20 in the winter months and possibly year round if you can maintain an adequate oil pressure reading at maximum oil temp's.
Unfortunately as you know the Miata is not equipped with an OP gauge unless one has been installed. You could simply have the OP tested or if you don't want to bother just run M1 AFE 0W-30.
I don't know how cold you will be starting your car unaided this coming winter but it's the lightest 30 grade oil you can buy in terms of extreme cold performance spec's, better than most 0W-20s.
I have a '94 and it's seen everything from -17 in Illinois to 117degs here in Phoenix. A 0w-30 would be a great choice. The Miata for those years specs a wide variety of oil ranges...
Mine does better with a Xw-30 and 40 vs' a "20" grade. Just remember to let her warm up a bit before trouncing on her!
Mine does better with a Xw-30 and 40 vs' a "20" grade. Just remember to let her warm up a bit before trouncing on her!
Thanks guys, the car has a oil pressure sender and gauge from a '94 . I have to figure out whats wrong with it though as sometimes it reads zero and jumps back and fourth; maybe a ground issue. My local Autozone doesn't offer many 0wXX options but I have found the M1 AFE 0W-30 at walmart.com. Wisconsin winters vary, last year we had a cold snap of -20F ambient with a -60F windchill for multiple days. It consumes about a quart every 2000; depends on how much interstate driving and at what speed. Maybe the heavier 0w30 would be better?
Windchill is irrelevant as it will not cool the oil below the ambient temp'.
It's great that you've got an OP gauge and yes it sounds like a faulty ground is causing the gauge to cut out. Once you get that sorted you can then establish how much viscosity reserve you have on the oil you're running now. M1 0W-30 should be lighter (a lower OP reading) not just on start-up but once up to temperature. I suspect M1 0W-30 will still be heavier than necessary if you're engine is in good shape at normal operating temp's so you could consider M1 AFE 0W-20 or the even lighter Mobil made Toyota brand 0W-20.
You can use M1 0W-30 to thicken up either one of these oils to optimize the viscosity to your own particular application.
It's great that you've got an OP gauge and yes it sounds like a faulty ground is causing the gauge to cut out. Once you get that sorted you can then establish how much viscosity reserve you have on the oil you're running now. M1 0W-30 should be lighter (a lower OP reading) not just on start-up but once up to temperature. I suspect M1 0W-30 will still be heavier than necessary if you're engine is in good shape at normal operating temp's so you could consider M1 AFE 0W-20 or the even lighter Mobil made Toyota brand 0W-20.
You can use M1 0W-30 to thicken up either one of these oils to optimize the viscosity to your own particular application.
- Status
Similar threads
