The OP's selection was either 0W20 or 5W30.
Oil for NY Winter
- Thread starter smh410
- Start date
I want to thank you for responding back, we do have a member that has posted about starting a car in temps well below 0, it might have been -18F, I do believe the oil was Mobil 1 5W-30
I could be wrong, and I will not test this, but at -30F, some might be ok with a 5W-30, and let's stick with the last number being 30, maybe I am more Barney as opposed to Andy, but at -30 I would want the 1st number to be 0 LOL
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- Jul 28, 2024
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5W30 will be fine
We had a mild winter but I still use 0W-30 all year.
I would pick one oil and be done.
A 5W-30 would be fine. When I lived in Northern Vermont, I ran Mobil 1 5W30 in the truck I used to leave outside. We saw absolute temperatures between -25 and -30 on occasion.
That said, if it makes you feel better, find a good 0W30 and use that. It’ll be fine in the summertime too.
Nah, I just use a battery maintainer and good float charger. I got nearly 9 years out of my last Super Start battery due to my Pro-Logix charger reviving it a handful of times.
Montana has entered the chat. HA HA
We normally get a few days here in the -30's each winter. I run M1 EPHM 5w-30 all year. Unheated garage at home, but out in the elements at work. Last year we had a 4-5 day stretch in the -30's to -40's, reaching a low of -44 one morning. 2019 F150 started every time. Battery in the truck is the original Motorcraft with 800 CCA.
We normally get a few days here in the -30's each winter. I run M1 EPHM 5w-30 all year. Unheated garage at home, but out in the elements at work. Last year we had a 4-5 day stretch in the -30's to -40's, reaching a low of -44 one morning. 2019 F150 started every time. Battery in the truck is the original Motorcraft with 800 CCA.
Antifreeze is a concern at -40Fmost are only good to -34F
Patman
Staff member
I definitely would not want to be running a 10w anything in -30 degree weather. I actually would not even want a 5w in there. If there is any chance of the temperature getting that low, a 0w oil is the way to go, especially keeping in mind that after a few thousand miles that 0w oil will actually be a 5w oil
Ya. Well you definitely want to do a 60/40 or even 70/30 mix instead of the standard 50/50.
Why 0w-20 in the Winter? Why not 0w-30 year round?
that would work too, AMSOIL ss 0w-30 is a good oil to use. Year round.
At least in terms of PUP, there is no 0W-30 option.
I had M1 EP/ESP in mind.
True - but with 5W30 Pennzoil Ultra Platinum in the crankcase, my Tundra has started up instantly in below zero weather. The 5W is good down to about -30F. The PUP is stable, doesn't breakdown that much, and the OP is in NYC, not far upstate, where -30 is possible.
Even so, I have the Tundra in Northern Vermont pretty often. It was fine on the PUP.
I’ve got 0W30 in the Tundra now, but that’s only to simplify oil inventory across the fleet. I would be fine with the PUP in 5W30 (bought on sale on Amazon for $22/jug).
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Ah Potsdam! Graduated 1976. The coldest I recall was -40, high for the day...-20. Wind chill?? -100 at one point. My '67 chevelle with a straight 6 and no power anything would start...if I went out every day. Like you said, would barely turn over, then chug chug chug, would barely run for a minute until it got warm enough then it was fine. If I skipped a day...nope, had to wait until it warmed up. I had the biggest battery I could fit in it. When I went back to North Syracuse where it was +10 to 20 degrees I would be taking off my jacket because it seemed warm.When I was in college, 2nd semester freshman year it was about that in Potsdam, NY. For 2 weeks the daytime high was -10F on outdoor thermometer, not windchill, real feel BS. My little Honda Civic had 10W-30 conventional instead of 10w-40. Dad said better for winter. We didn't know better. It started but cranked at like 1 revolution /second. The battery was a "bit" larger than stock.... sized for moms 318 Chrysler!
Memories
Pretty sure it had 10w-40 in it. But it might have been 10w-30.
4 years at Clarkson U. I remember many -30 to -40 Potsdam days. I think I ran 10w-30 in my Chevette.
BTW, I'm using my heated steering wheel when it's 50 degrees in Florida. I don't know how I survived up there.
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The heated steering wheels are a nice thing as you get older. The one in my father-in-laws Renegade gets hot quick. Wife's Pilot doesn't have it, I was going to add it but reviews from forums were pretty lackluster on how warm, how slow, and how long before it shuts off. Rest of my cars are too base model. Heck I'd be happy with just a leather upgrade on my Accord.
Clarkson U. from '87-'91. Only time in my life I ever broke multiple ice scrapers trying to get into the vehicle and that was with Rain-X and good wax coats always kept fresh.
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