Obsolete 10W30

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: SS1970chrysler
I'm using SAE30 daily. It was -2 F the other night coming home from work and the car started just fine.

I certainly wouldn't recommend it. And I do believe that it worked, too. Plenty of carbed vehicles, in my experience, had no difficulty starting where it probably was in their best interest to lay dormant for a time. I remember a Duster in my youth starting at -40 C with 10w30 and not being plugged in. At temperatures like that, whether it starts or not is one issue; it should probably be plugged in for the sake of the vehicle in any event.

I didn't even use SAE 30 in the taxis, and they hardly ever shut off. As for the difference between old 10w30 and old 5w30, even the old 83 LTD survived. Half of its 500,000 km life was on taxi service with 10w30 QS. The other half was spent as my personal vehicle running 5w30 GTX.

 

[dlundblad]

10w30 might not be used in newer model cars, but its far from obsolute. Plenty of cars on the road today and years to come still use it.

 

[fdcg27]

Garak, since you mention this I'm going to go a little OT.
Do you think that carburettors actually made for easier starts in very cold conditions?
AIR, you could bring a carbed engine to life in very cold conditions with a little fancy footwork, while with an FI engine, all you can do is turn the key and hope.
When all we had were carbs, we had no trouble with starting when the ambients were very cold and we were running much thicker oils than we do now.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Garak, since you mention this I'm going to go a little OT.
Do you think that carburettors actually made for easier starts in very cold conditions?

Absolutely. I've driven propane vehicles, diesel vehicles, vehicles with FI, and those with carbs. The carbed ones started the easiest. I don't have a lot of problems with fuel injected vehicles in good repair, but you're quite right about what you can accomplish with fancy footwork in a vehicle with a carb. Heck, even a shot of carb cleaner or something could accomplish miracles if an automatic choke wasn't doing the job right.

I could get the F-150 started in just about any weather even if not plugged in, even when that carb was on its last legs, between a few pumps and even a squirt of carb cleaner I had behind the seat. Of course, that was the only good thing about that carb. Aside from that, it diluted the heck out of the oil and didn't run worth a hoot.

The Duster I mentioned had been sitting in the cold for about a week without being started, much less plugged in.

 

[fdcg27]

Yeah, a couple of shots from the accelerator pump made the choke superfluous.
If the battery was really weak and cranking was really slow, a shot or two on the loud pedal would help the engine turn over fast enough to start.
You might then have to tap the pedal for a bit to keep it running until it would idle.
I never really minded carburettors just as I never really minded ignition systems using points.
These were simple and easy to understand systems that were therefore pretty easy to diagnose and repair.
OTOH, I've never had a problem with any FI system in any vehicle we've had of any kind, whether we're talking about our old Benz diesels or the many gas EFI engines we've had since.
It's also nice not to have to mess with ignition points every 12K or so, but they worked and were pretty cheap and easy to keep working.

 

[steve20]

I can't imagine trying to teach any kid my son's age how to accomplish the 'fancy footwork' truely a lost art-----even after it was started you had to keep it running at a stop sign, so when you pulled out into traffic it didn't leave you dead in the middle of the road

 

[fdcg27]

That was all a part of driving forty years ago.
The engine might not take throttle well until somewhat warmed up.
You wouldn't end up dead in the middle of any road, but you might not have had the luxury of hard acceleration with an engine that had just been started in very cold weather.
The later emissions carburettors were also far worse than the earlier ones, although the the three barell Keihins in the three old Civics we had were always pretty good.
TBI was a cheaper alternative to a carb capable of complying with 1981 MY emissions standards and some makers adopted it.
Honda stayed with carburettors, and since they made them and understood them, they worked just fine.

 

[Garak]

I don't miss points. Even my old school dad hated the stupid things. I believe I have some Chryco points laying around the garage, new in the original packaging.

 

[DragRace]

My first car - work car was a 75 Malibu,4-door,350 carbed motor with unknown mileage.That car,with a high torque starter,and manual choke would always fire up just as fast,or faster then todays fuel injected vehicles.

It was hilarious working with co-workers,they'd always ask me,"Your car gonna start tonight,It's really cold outside!" Always started and when the snow got deep (10-12 inches deep),I'd throw some some tire-chains on,that car would go anywhere!

 

[SS1970chrysler]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
That was all a part of driving forty years ago.


...and 40 minutes ago here.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: Patman
I have been saying for years that 10w30 is obsolete because there is no need to use 10w30 in a vehicle when 5w30 does everything it can do PLUS has the added benefit of quicker flow on startup (even when it's 80F outside it will still flow slightly better) The NOACK value honestly means virtually nothing to me, because in the real world there are tons of vehicles out there that have been running 5w30 since new and now have 200,000 miles or more on them. So what benefit would those vehicles have had if they had run 10w30? In my opinion, none.


slightly happier catalyst...i.e. nothing that the average owner will ever see/notice.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Garak, since you mention this I'm going to go a little OT.
Do you think that carburettors actually made for easier starts in very cold conditions?
AIR, you could bring a carbed engine to life in very cold conditions with a little fancy footwork, while with an FI engine, all you can do is turn the key and hope.
When all we had were carbs, we had no trouble with starting when the ambients were very cold and we were running much thicker oils than we do now.


You can still do the foot work with FI, if it doesn't start in a couple tries, hold at WOT to shut down the injectors and try again... Main thing is not let it get flooded...

As far as starting as good, well maybe but 99% of carbed vehicles are likely to be balky for the first few minutes, FI isn't likely to have a issue... For a everyday driver I'll take FI any day...

I learned about FI's virtues when I bought a diesel Olds back in the mid '80s(till then I'd only driven carbed vehicles)... With no block heater(didn't have one), it'd start better at 15*F than any carbed vehicle I'd owned in the 20 years prior... In fact, it never failed to start except when the glow plug controller would decide not to light plugs, temp didn't make much difference then... I'd hop out and jump across the glow plug solenoid for 6-8 seconds, jump back in and she'd crack right off...

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: TFB1
As far as starting as good, well maybe but 99% of carbed vehicles are likely to be balky for the first few minutes, FI isn't likely to have a issue... For a everyday driver I'll take FI any day...

That balkiness until they warm up is another thing I don't miss.

 

[crazyoildude]

there was a time that most people used 10w40

 

[Merkava_4]

There was a time when 10w30 was considered a 20 weight and 10W-40 was considered a 30 weight. By time they get done shearing, that's basically what they were.

 

[285south]

Originally Posted By: wemay
Originally Posted By: danthaman1980
For sure, I think 10w30 might be obsolete in New England, the Midwest, and Canada. However it is quite nice in areas like south Florida, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, SoCal - especially in the summer when a 'cold start' might mean a starting oil temp of 100°F or higher.


+1


+1

I think 20W50 is obsolete and 10w30 is not. Since it seems from consumer truck drivers use 15w40. Don't know what 18-wheelers use.
Original poster never lived in a warm climate or one that is hot year around, I'm looking at you Arizona.

Fact, not opinion, Sonoran Desert is the hottest part in North America then Chicuahuan Desert.

 

[TFB1]

NOTHING is obsolete till there is no market for the product or it's discontinued...

In that light 20W-50, 10w30, etc are far from obsolete...