5W-30 Vs 10W30 for the cold winter?

Matthew · #1 (**permalink**) 10-13-04, 11:17 PM

Another thing, is it worth switching to mobil 1 at 130,000 miles?
Here in minnesota, its gonna get very cold in the very near future. I was wondering what you guys think about the different weight oils.

I ask about the mobil 1 because i picked up a jug at walmart for just over 20 bucks!

etcCanuck · #2 (**permalink**) 10-13-04, 11:34 PM

I run Castrol Syntec 10w30 year round, synthetic flows much better at sub-zero temperatures than conventional, so there is no need to go to 5w. It gets to -25f here, so trust me. Mobil 1 is good too, I use syntec because I find it doesnt use as much of it, just my observation..

Night Wolf · #3 (**permalink**) 10-14-04, 01:10 AM

Honestly, without starting a debate... Castrol Syntec is the worse "synthetic" oil you can get... it isn't fully synthetic (despite what it says) it is a mix betwen regular and full... Mobil 1 and AMSoil are among the best you can get...

... 130k miles... it depends... *sometimes* if an enigne is gunked up inside, synthetic may break some deposits away and cause restricitons and clogs in the oil system...

.. do what i did... one of the many deciding factors of switching to Mobil 1 for me, when I got my car (79,917 miles) when I removed the oil cap, it was spotless inside the valve cover... no a single spec of gunk, or any build up at al... that enigne is as clean as could be inside... and now, with 95k miles... she is still just as clean as the day i got it... I go about 5k between oil changes, but i use the GM oil life monitor (which was calibrated with dino oil) and always keep it topped off.... between oil changes I may use anywhere from 1/2-1quart of oil.... not burning it, or blow by or anything... but becuase synthetic is thinner then dino (even if same weight) it will find it's way in more palces... that dosn't bother me at all though, as it simply adds to new oil to the older oil, and helps bring back any adative levels that may be low...

I used to run 10W-30 in my Olds (3800 V6) I use regular Mobil Drive Clean... but on the oil cap it says 5w-30... in the manual it said 10w was fine.. but since it is my winter car, and it was often started when really cold out, on startup for a few seconds I was getting a noise I thought was oil starvation... I then swithced to 5W-30, and no longer get the noise, so I just run that... basically, run whatever it says on the cap....

Ralph · #4 (**permalink**) 10-14-04, 01:14 AM

5W30 is ideal for cold winters, however, since it says 10W30 on my 4.9 I use Mobil 1 synthetic 10W30 because it has the flow of any 5W30 in cold weather, or even better.

Matthew · #5 (**permalink**) 10-14-04, 01:46 AM

amsoil has a cleaner that they suggest using before using their oil. i was thinking about doing that just to make sure, but im alittle leary that it may cause problems. its supposed to loosen up the crud.

Ralph · #6 (**permalink**) 10-14-04, 02:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew

amsoil has a cleaner that they suggest using before using their oil. i was thinking about doing that just to make sure, but im alittle leary that it may cause problems. its supposed to loosen up the crud.

Sometimes the crud is all that's keeping the syn. oil from leaking through high mileage valve covers. I had leakage with my 1980 Pontiac and Mobil so I use dino oil in it now.

latinowarrior · #7 (**permalink**) 10-15-04, 02:03 PM

Use Mobil One on my 97 Ford expedition with over 200,000 miles and she still runs great. Fixing up an 84 Eldo Convt and will use same oil when I get it ready for the road..