Real world lower limit of 10w-30 for cold starts.

[302Xplorer]

I would like to hear for those who use 10w30 year round, what the coldest you would feel comfortable using this weight.

Where I live, it has not fallen below 0 degrees in over 5 years. No where close. It flirts w/ the teens sometimes but is above freezing the majority of the time.

On top of that my cars are garage kept. Do you think I could get away w/ 10w30 year round?

 

[TallPaul]

You can run 10w30 or 10w40, probably even 15w40, year round. I run 10w40 year round here in Detroit. In winter we get a couple weeks or so of zero F and a few days below that. 10w40 a bit rough then, but if you are usually no more than into the teens, 10w30 is absolutely fine for you. Go for it. Conventional 10w30 is rule of thumb good to zero F.

 

[heathenbrewing]

IMO, there is no place in the States that get cold enough to make 10w30 the best choice unless (possibly) you have a worn engine.

Any reason why you dont want to use a 5w30? It is the same thcikness at operating temps as a 10w30 with the added bonus of being easier for circulation to take place in the cold.

 

[Ramblin Fever]

I had 10w30 Maxlife synthetic in the engine last winter, when it dipped down to -16 - -18F below, truck fired up like it was nothing. Swear it started faster/easier then it ever did when it DID have a 5w30 in it.

However, come late fall, it will have Maxlife synthetic 5w30 in it.

 

[3putter]

I lived in Green Bay and used to travel the UP of Michigan. Winter is a real and LONG event up there. All I ran was 10w30, which was the "oil of choice" up there for years. Absolutely no problem with it at all. In your climate you will be fine.

 

[benjamming]

Since you are going to use a synthetic, you can definitely "get away" with 10w30. As other's have said, there's not really any reason to do so that I can so though.

 

[mikeg5]

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I had 10w30 Maxlife synthetic in the engine last winter, when it dipped down to -16 - -18F below, truck fired up like it was nothing. Swear it started faster/easier then it ever did when it DID have a 5w30 in it.

However, come late fall, it will have Maxlife synthetic 5w30 in it.

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if you run synthetic it doesnt matter which you use 5w30 or 10w30 bc it leaves a nice film on everything after shut down so cold startups arent bad at all.. if you have to make a decision on weight then just go by your seasonal averages and go from there.. it really doesnt matter unless you are in canada and it never gets above 60 degrees then 5w30 all the way.. if you live in florida and it never gets below 25 degrees then 10w30 would work just fine year round. your choice. you can always go by your book

 

[98LSC32V]

10w-30 has some advantages over 5w30, the NOACK is usually better for the 10w30.

 

[Cooper]

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I had 10w30 Maxlife synthetic in the engine last winter, when it dipped down to -16 - -18F below, truck fired up like it was nothing. Swear it started faster/easier then it ever did when it DID have a 5w30 in it.

However, come late fall, it will have Maxlife synthetic 5w30 in it.

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if you run synthetic it doesnt matter which you use 5w30 or 10w30 bc it leaves a nice film on everything after shut down so cold startups arent bad at all.. if you have to make a decision on weight then just go by your seasonal averages and go from there.. it really doesnt matter unless you are in canada and it never gets above 60 degrees then 5w30 all the way.. if you live in florida and it never gets below 25 degrees then 10w30 would work just fine year round. your choice. you can always go by your book

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Nice contradiction of yourself. So, what are you saying? 10w30 or 5w30 year round, it doesn't matter what the temp if using synth? But, if it is cold, use 5w30, and if it is warm, use 10w30? So, which one do you believe? I am having a hard time figuring it out since you say both in one post.

 

[TallPaul]

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10w-30 has some advantages over 5w30, the NOACK is usually better for the 10w30.

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Yes and the base oil is usually thicker, meaning less VIIs (all else equal), and HTHS is usually better.

 

[Auto-Union]

I have a crude system:

15w=>+15f
10w=>+10f
5w=>+5f
If you see zero f or below, maybe a 0w- oil is called for.

 

[Virtuoso]

Had a Dodge Shadow with the turbo engine, manual called for 10w30 year round; so that's what I ran (also did this in a SHO that burned a good bit of oil). Even at 0F or below they would start fine and build pressure without issue. The Shadow was running Durablend and the SHO had GTX.

 

[Drew99GT]

10w, per the SAE, is tested at -13 degrees F for cold cranking and -22 degrees F for cold pumping. So, per the SAE, if you could get an engine to crank and start at anything close to -22 degrees F, the oil will pump through the oil pump, but -13 F by definition of 10 "W" is the absolute lowest safe limit for 10w-xx.

I'd say -5F is a better real world limit; I started mine at -15F with 10w30...................OUCH!

 

[Drew99GT]

And it does matter which 10w30 we're talking about. Something like Amsoil or Pennzoil Platinum in 10w30 has very low CCS and MRV numbers, and synthetics like these would still be fine down to probably 20 below. 5w30 would obviously be better though. Pennz Platinum 10w30 could possibly pass the SAE 5w test - definitely for MRV it would.

 

[JohnBrowning]

I routinely have vechiles I service that see temp.'s three or four times a year that hit-30°F and run M1 10W30. Never an issue. Plenty in my neck of the woods run 10W30 year round even dureing winter with no issue. So I do not see were you need to worry about anything in VA. even if you are running a conventional 10W30!

 

[dgp123]

I ran Pennzoil 10w30 HiMi in my Sentra during the winter and I swear the engine would cry when I started it at around 0 degrees F. Made horrible groaning and moaning noises for the first 5 minutes and after that I don't do 10w anything in the winter. But I'd imagine it's more than adequate in VA.

 

[Merkava_4]

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it really doesnt matter unless you are in canada and it never gets above 60 degrees

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Is there really a place in Canada that never gets above 60 degrees Fahrenheit?

 

[mikeg5]

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I had 10w30 Maxlife synthetic in the engine last winter, when it dipped down to -16 - -18F below, truck fired up like it was nothing. Swear it started faster/easier then it ever did when it DID have a 5w30 in it.

However, come late fall, it will have Maxlife synthetic 5w30 in it.

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if you run synthetic it doesnt matter which you use 5w30 or 10w30 bc it leaves a nice film on everything after shut down so cold startups arent bad at all.. if you have to make a decision on weight then just go by your seasonal averages and go from there.. it really doesnt matter unless you are in canada and it never gets above 60 degrees then 5w30 all the way.. if you live in florida and it never gets below 25 degrees then 10w30 would work just fine year round. your choice. you can always go by your book

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Nice contradiction of yourself. So, what are you saying? 10w30 or 5w30 year round, it doesn't matter what the temp if using synth? But, if it is cold, use 5w30, and if it is warm, use 10w30? So, which one do you believe? I am having a hard time figuring it out since you say both in one post.

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i was talking about conventional oil , the syn you can run either year round in most states.. but naturally if you are in a colder climate the 5w30 MAYBE more ideal than a warmer climate... jeesh

 

[JAG]

mikeg5, how does synthetic leave a nice film on everthing and conventional oils don't? And why is a 5w30 synthetic better for cold temps (say -10F and above) than a 5w30 conventional oil?

 

[leebae]

Based on the temps you discussed a 10w30 year round should be fine. I too live in an area where the temp has only dipped into the single digits once in the last 10-12 years. I run 10w30 year round in both of my vehicles. I read an article on the main BITOG page "Effects of Shearing." It suggest keeping the low and high numbers as close as possible.