10w30 Oil in Saturn SL2

there are a few threads already on this group about oil specs. Search messages for keyword OIL.

The dealer was running it in my 97SL2 here is Southern Calif - I haven't looked at a receipt in a while to see if they still are (thanks for the reminder).

your welcome!

Thats what I run.....

Thanks for the help!

I both 5w-30 and 10w-30 as per the guide in the owner's manual (5w-30 in winter and 10w-30 during the summer). Mobil 1 in both cases. I live in Michigan.

Ken

Straight 30W all year around here. SL1 with 140,000. I wouldn't pour multiviscosity OR $ynthetic on the ground, much less in my engine.

WOW!!!! Here in Wisconsin I don't think that would work well with 0'F and colder nights. What state do you live in?

And people balk at the thought of putting 10w40 in their oil burner!!!

New Jersey. Mobil1.com "recommends" 5w30 if the temp drops below 19F degrees.

What state do you live in Steve B.?

I wouldn't pour any oil on the ground, as I wouldn't want to pollute the ground water. I wouldn't use straight weight oil in anything modern. Even if I did use straight weight oil, I wouldn't run 30W in cold weather.

Ken

Yeah you probably use that high dollar $ynthetic shit in your yuppie SUV (mall terrain vehicle) also. Modern has nothing to do with it. Bearings are still bearings and cast iron is still cast iron. The straight weight oil is a superior lubricant across a much wider range of operating conditions.

Kansas., and the oil has no bearing on the temp. It is all in the pan when cold. The engine should start long before any oil pressure is built up. If it doesn't, then it has other problems.

What a coincidence, mobil 1 just happens to be 5w 30..... hmmmmmm.

kansas

Excuse me? Superior lubricant across a wider range of operating conditions? Where in God's name did you get that idea? Have you looked at what 30W does in cold temperatures?

30W is good only for a lawnmower these days, and the only reason it's used with air-cooled engines like that is that conventional multigrade oil can break down at the higher operating temperatures. However, this doesn't happen with synthetic, and multigrade synthetic is considered OK by small-engine manufacturers these days.

And 0W-30, 10W-30, and 15W-50.

Ken

wouldn't pour

Total presumption on your part. No yuppie here. Grew up rural and moved back after college. No SUV. A '96 Saturn SL2 with approx.

145,000 miles on it and a '97 Dakota 2WD with 172,000 miles on it. As per manufacturer's recommendation I use 10W-30 in the Dakota. Even got a 1950 8N Ford tractor. I use 15W-50 Mobil 1 in the tractor. Definitely starts easier in single-digit temps and quit using the oil that it had been using with the 15W-40 conventional oil I was using.

Tighter tolerances are tighter tolerances too. That's what modern has to do with it. At least that's what my wife's uncle that's a senior engineer for Chrysler told me. That's how we're getting the miles out of an engine now that would have been a rarity with cars 30 or 40 years ago.

At colder temperatures the 5W-30 flows through the engine quicker at startup, which is when a high percentage of wear occurs. A lot easier on the starter and battery, too.

Of course, Chevy uses your straight weight preference in the Corvette and Dodge uses 30W in the Viper because it's so superior. Indy cars and NASCAR must use 30W for the same reason.

When the advantages of synthetics are taken into account they really aren't that expensive. There is a difference between price and cost that is widely ignored in many things, not just oil.

If I was picking oil for a nitromethane burning funny car or top fuel drag car I might well use a straight weight oil, but then they're built to fairly loose tolerances.

Ken

Bearings

pollute

wouldn't

engine.