5w40?

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Originally Posted by D1dad
Originally Posted by ka9mnx
Also, he went from a V@100C = 10.5-11.0 to a V@100C = 12.1 oil. The HM oil is "thicker" for ring seal.



I'm not trying to be a dumb [censored] here, I just really wanna understand this, which I think I do. Back in the old days we used 10-30 on everything and never had oil related failures. I understand that engine clearances are much tighter, that being said would a much thicker oil like M1 HM cause other issues? I can deal with the consumption and have for years, I just don't wanna fix one issue and have a much worse one pop up?


Engine clearances are not much tighter. Engine power density has however, gone up significantly. Surface finishes are better, as are tolerances for the most part.
 
Originally Posted by D1dad
... that being said would a much thicker oil like M1 HM cause other issues? I can deal with the consumption and have for years, I just don't wanna fix one issue and have a much worse one pop up?

No, It's not that much thicker. It will, however provide more protection when beating or overheating the engine.

This brings up an issue I have with API and SAE. The sec's given to the oils are as wide as a barn door. I like the ACEA specs where they don't list what grades to use but do list HTHS for their different spec's. There reference to grades is "must stay in SAE grade...".

Here is a good place to learn about ACEA spec's. Download the 2018 Pocket Guide.

https://www.acea.be/publications/article/acea-pocket-guide
 
Originally Posted by D1dad


... that being said would a much thicker oil like M1 HM cause other issues? I can deal with the consumption and have for years, I just don't wanna fix one issue and have a much worse one pop up?


Understand that all oils labelled as 30 must have hot viscosity within a fairly narrow range. Yes, some are thicker than others, but we are talking about small changes within the 30 grade. MUCH THICKER is when you step up to a 50 or 60 grade oil from a 30.

For example a 30 grade oil will be between 9.3 and 12.4 cSt. M1 5w30 is 11 cSt, slightly above average for a 30 grade. M1 0w40 is at 12.9, only slightly thicker than the 30 at 100c (212F), but still within the 40 grade range of 12.5 to 16.2 cSt. M1 15w50 is up at 18 cSt hot, but still within the 50 grade range of 16.3 to 21.8 cSt. Redline 10w60 is up at 25.9 cSt ... Now you are talking about a MUCH THICKER oil ...

I ran M1 15w50 as a summer / track oil in a tired engine that spec'd 5w30 ... and it worked well. Engine felt ever so slightly sluggish until oil warmed up, and mileage may have suffered a bit ( hard to tell on a racetrack ... ! ) but the engine was quiet and smooth for the 4 summer months I had it in the car. That engine went over 320 000 miles, and outlasted the rest of the car.
 
I just changed the oil as it was due. I used M1 high mileage 10w30 and a Bosch filter. I'll report back in a few thousand miles as the car doesn't use a drop the first thousand. I appreciate all your help on this.
 
Originally Posted by ofelas
D1, your engine is going to blow up & have ridiculous wear with the excessively thick 10w30.



Right ... that M1 10w30 HM is a whopping 12.1 cSt ... with a solid HTHS of 3.5 ... OFF THE CHARTS thickness wise. NOT.

Probably a good choice for the OP.
 
Originally Posted by D1dad
I just changed the oil as it was due. I used M1 high mileage 10w30 and a Bosch filter. I'll report back in a few thousand miles as the car doesn't use a drop the first thousand. I appreciate all your help on this.

Great choice on the oil. Not familiar with Bosch filters...
 
I used Mobil 1 high mileage 5-30 and of all the oils I've tried to slow down consumption, the Mobil used the most. I hope there's something to the 10-30 that the 5-30 didn't have.
 
Originally Posted by geeman789
Originally Posted by D1dad
... The car is mint so I don't wanna cause mechanical issues but I'm giving this car to my college son who probably won't be as diligent about checking the oil ...


Life lesson here ...

Give car to son. Show him how to check oil, and when to add oil. Tell him to check oil ONCE A WEEK. Let him know that failure to do so could KILL the car. Send him on his way.

If he fails to follow these instructions and grenades the engine, he will not have a car. We can't hold their hands forever ...


As a father, I fully agree with this. Remembering my upbringing, I learned far more from my failures than my achievements.

My father noticed that I missed a connecting rod when I was torquing down the rod bolts on an engine I assembled as a teenager. He didn't say anything. I fired that engine up and not 30 seconds later it started knocking. He said "If I'd told you that you missed that rod, you would've tightened the rod, but you wouldn't have learned anything. The next time I may not be around to tell you. Disassemble it, find where you went wrong, correct it, and repeat." He died 3 months later from pancreatic cancer. Every engine I put together now, I triple check all rod, main, and head bolts.
 
Originally Posted by D1dad
Hey all,
I'm new here but have searched and can't get a definitive answer. I have an 09 altima, 2.5, 105k that uses oil and has since it was new. I had the oil consumption test done at Nissan when they considered "under a quart per 1k normal" it's always [censored] me off but I've dealt with it. This car uses around a quart every 1500,... In the old days we just went with thicker oil so I'm considering 5w40 as opposed to the 5-30 that's recommended. Has anyone done this with this engine? ..


Your engine will never know the difference, completely fine to use 5w40.
Personally for me, I would choose a conventional oil all the time, any 10w40 in above 20 degree weather and possibly a 10w40 synthetic blend in the winter.
 
I reckon the sarcastic tone didn't come through when I posted that ;-)

Originally Posted by geeman789
Originally Posted by ofelas
D1, your engine is going to blow up & have ridiculous wear with the excessively thick 10w30.



Right ... that M1 10w30 HM is a whopping 12.1 cSt ... with a solid HTHS of 3.5 ... OFF THE CHARTS thickness wise. NOT.

Probably a good choice for the OP.
 
Originally Posted by alarmguy
Originally Posted by D1dad
Hey all,
I'm new here but have searched and can't get a definitive answer. I have an 09 altima, 2.5, 105k that uses oil and has since it was new. I had the oil consumption test done at Nissan when they considered "under a quart per 1k normal" it's always [censored] me off but I've dealt with it. This car uses around a quart every 1500,... In the old days we just went with thicker oil so I'm considering 5w40 as opposed to the 5-30 that's recommended. Has anyone done this with this engine? ..


Your engine will never know the difference, completely fine to use 5w40.
Personally for me, I would choose a conventional oil all the time, any 10w40 in above 20 degree weather and possibly a 10w40 synthetic blend in the winter.


That's an interesting suggestion although I'm not sure how a 10-30/40 would do in ohio at -5.
 
D1dad, not so long ago, a dino 10w30 was the norm for Canada winter fills, even on diesels.

I think you'll be fine.
 
Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
D1dad
You should try 0w40 in that Altima year-round.


I changed it out with M1 10-30 yesterday so I'll repost in a few thousand miles. I'm also considering Liqui Moly. My daughters 07 S80, 3.2 was using a couple quarts every 7500, I filled it with LM 5-30 and it hasn't used a drop in 5k. I do like the idea of a 0 weight in the winter. We had some actual air temps of -17 this winter.
 
Last edited:
The reason I used Liqui Moly btw was I found it on clearance and it's such a pain in the backside to service that car that I wanted something that she could run out to 15k with a filter change or two in between.
 
Originally Posted by ofelas
D1dad, not so long ago, a dino 10w30 was the norm for Canada winter fills, even on diesels.

I think you'll be fine.

I agree. We had a Volkswagen Routan, 4.0 that was speced for 10-30. I used PP in that and never had an issue in the winter. There was a couple times when it was bitter that it had a timing chain rattle for a split second.
 
Well the Mobil 1 10w30 experiment seems to have failed. Usually this car wouldnt use a drop till after the first 1k. I ran 400 miles round trip at 80mph and it's down the same if not a little more than usual. Actually there's only 462 miles on this oil change and it's burnt up the Mobil 1 which it's never done that before.
 
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