30 grade in Australia

[supercity]

All the Xw30 grades in Australia cost more, usually a lot more than their 40 or 50 grade counterparts. Is this the same in the rest of the world? Is it because the 40 grades can have a much cheaper add pack? Is the cost of the base stock that much different? Is it just economies of scale? 30 grade is not a big seller.

A typical example

Shell Helix HX7 10w30 $46
Shell Helix HX7 10w40 $34

Add to that most 40 grades are SN, A3 rated while 30's are only usually SN SM

The next obvious question is, cost is cheaper, rating is better, can I use the 40 where a 30 is recommended, will it make that much difference in the real world? The difference in KV100 may be as little as 1-2 cSt for some of them.

 

[Astro14]

Sorry, mate, here, they're about the same price for the same product (E.G: A QT of Mobil 1 is about the same for all grades, EP a bit higher, but no different price for different grades).

And the different brands tend to be close in price, so, a bottle of 5W30 or 10W40 conventional from the major brands are all within a few pennies of each other...

As to the second part - in Melbourne? Pretty mild climate, so if a 10W30 is specified, you could run a 10W40, the oil pump has to work a bit harder, there's a bit more drag on the engine...but it won't hurt anything...

For what kind of car are you contemplating this? What does the Owner's Manual specify for viscosity?

 

[supercity]

That's good to know, I take that to mean there should not be a price difference.

I was thinking of my mum's an old Nissan Bluebird (Altima?) with SR20DE engine when writing this. That takes 10w30, However my wife's Toyota Rav4 with 1AZFE engine takes 5w or 10w30 too.

Most lube guides here will recommend a 40 for these engines, they have their various reasons but I'm starting to think the real reason is simple economics. The cheaper oil is more likely to attract a sale, especially if the other guy is recommending a more expensive 30 grade.

 

[Brons2]

if it was $12 cheaper to run 10w40, I'd probably consider it myself, at least in the summertime.

 

[supercity]

Originally Posted By: Brons2
if it was $12 cheaper to run 10w40, I'd probably consider it myself, at least in the summertime.


And right now Valvoline engine armour 10w40 is on special for $20 a jug!

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: supercity
Is it because the 40 grades can have a much cheaper add pack? Is the cost of the base stock that much different? Is it just economies of scale? 30 grade is not a big seller.


I think a lot of it is based on (at least up here) what they can move. When buying from a place that normally supplies shops, the 10w-30 is the cheapest, with 5w-30 and 5w-20 commanding a very small premium. At the normal retail chains, the 5w-20, 5w-30, and 10w-30 tend to be rolled back at the same time, with 10w-40 and 20w-50 excluded (with a few exceptions).

 

[dave1251]

If I where spending the money I would just go with 10W40 there is not enough benefit to spend more for a 10W30.

 

[Trex101]

I would go 5w30 instead, petrol here are not exactly cheap now at $1.35/L avg.