Will 0w40 be good for next winter?

Joined
Oct 27, 2018
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700
Location
MD
Hello,
I have an engine that calls for 5w30 (year around) and 10w30(manual calls it preferable) in Mexico weather.
Due to various reasons out of the scope of this topic, would 0w40 a good oil for a year round oil in this application? excuse my noobness here but I assume 0w40 would include the viscosity range of the 5w30 oil.

Here's the oil recommendation from the factory service manual
[Linked Image from i.ibb.co]

Reason also I have 2 of these engines and hating to stash 2 different viscosities. I wanted to change my system to 0w40 instead of the 5w30

Thanks
 
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Should be fine, for example the Diesel Chevy Colorado manual calls for 5w-30 in most cases but recommends 0w-40 if you live in a very cold climate, 0w40 should be fine, most of them start out as a thin 40 and sheer to a thicker 30 by the end of the OCI but have some benefits in cold pumpability.
 
That chart does not show "viscosity range", it shows temperature range. A 0W-40 oil would not have the same viscosity range as a 5W-30. They are two different grades.

If you want to run a 40-grade oil then there's no reason not to use the 0W-40 considering it would likely carry a plethora of manufacturer approvals.
 
I would think you would be completely fine, but have you considered a good 5w-40? Maryland isn't that cold. What is the vehicle BTW?

I could be accused of overthinking this, but when I use a modern synthetic in older engines, I tend to not go lower then the lowest cold rating and no higher than the highest...I use a lot of Mobil1 5w-50
grin.gif
 
mahandeem
Not sure why you failed to mention your engine. But I've used 0w40 in my Colorado during the winter. It's an engine 3.5 that calls for 5w30 and my local area sees temps the same, or colder than Maryland
 
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Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
mahandeem
Not sure why you failed to mention your engine. But I've used 0w40 in my Colorado during the winter. It's an engine 3.5 that calls for 5w30 and my local area sees temps the same, or colder than Maryland


Lol liked the (..failed to mention..) part. Sorry my bad. It's a Nisssan 3.5L VQ35DE engine.
 
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If that's my vehicle and is still under warranty - plus the owners manual includes 0w40, then I'd use it. If not, then I'd wait for the warranty to expire - then use the 0w40.

One can horse around more with different viscosities after the warranty. I'm currently trying a thick 0w20 in my 04' Colorado and she seems fine with it.
 
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Originally Posted by kschachn
That chart does not show "viscosity range", it shows temperature range. A 0W-40 oil would not have the same viscosity range as a 5W-30. They are two different grades.

If you want to run a 40-grade oil then there's no reason not to use the 0W-40 considering it would likely carry a plethora of manufacturer approvals.



I agree 100% and you beat me to the punch.
 
I run M1 0W-40 in all my cars and pickup year round. They all turn over quick in cold weather, and no consumption in any vehicle. I switched to it because it is easy and cheap to find at Wally's, and then I only stock one oil. As far as a 40 goes, my dad used 10W-40 as long as I can remember( I am 62) and all his cars and pickups from the 60's onward went well over 200,000 miles and died from rust, not worn engines.
 
Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
If that's my vehicle and is still under warranty - plus the owners manual includes 0w40, then I'd use it. If not, then I'd wait for the warranty to expire - then use the 0w40.

One can horse around more with different viscosities after the warranty. I'm currently trying a thick 0w20 in my 04' Colorado and she seems fine with it.


What "thick" 0W-20? They all look about the same to me for the ones I've researched.
 
Originally Posted by ka9mnx
Do you have a real reason not to use 5w-30?


It's a theme on here. Some folks just think something other than what's recommended by the manufacturer is better.
 
Originally Posted by Leo99
Originally Posted by ka9mnx
Do you have a real reason not to use 5w-30?


It's a theme on here. Some folks just think something other than what's recommended by the manufacturer is better.



Remeber not all manufacturer oil recommendations have always been right or the best.

How's your back feeling ??

Hope your back does not get to hurting...
 
Originally Posted by bbhero
Originally Posted by Leo99
Originally Posted by ka9mnx
Do you have a real reason not to use 5w-30?


It's a theme on here. Some folks just think something other than what's recommended by the manufacturer is better.



Remeber not all manufacturer oil recommendations have always been right or the best.

How's your back feeling ??

Hope your back does not get to hurting...


Thanks. Icing it now.

I know not every recommendation is the best but it's usually good enough. I've read enough anecdotal reports to come to the conclusion that it just doesn't matter what grade of oil is used as long as it's close to the recommended grade and meets the specs. Even then I'm not so sure it matters.
 
Yeah that's true what you said here...

Does heat help with your back ??

Or alternating heat and cold ??
 
The VQs shear down quicker than others with the long timing chains...0W-40 being on the thinner side will shear to a 30 and you can therefore ensure you won't be lower than where you should be at the end of the OCI. I personally run my VQ with 5-6K or 12 month OCIs.
 
Originally Posted by bbhero
Yeah that's true what you said here...

Does heat help with your back ??

Or alternating heat and cold ??



Heat helps sometimes and so does alternating heat and cold. My chiro recommends that. Often he'll recommend ice 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off for 3 cycles and jump into a hot shower after the 3rd icing so the hot water hits cold back muscles.
 
Originally Posted by tbm5690
The VQs shear down quicker than others with the long timing chains...0W-40 being on the thinner side will shear to a 30 and you can therefore ensure you won't be lower than where you should be at the end of the OCI. I personally run my VQ with 5-6K or 12 month OCIs.

You use 0w40 for your 3.5 VQ?
 
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