10W-30W Oil OK In Winter in Midwest?

What car?

-- Subaru WRX (The Bitch)

Range Rover Classic (Monty)

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-15 F is -26 C. I think that's a little too cold for 10-30. My car can start at -30 C with 10-30 but I really dont like the sound it makes until it reaches operation temp. The problem is not that your car will not start, the problem is your engine will not have optimum lubrication for a few minutes each time you start with the temp below -10 F. No problem though if you dont keep your car for a long time.

FWIW I run 10W-30 year round in my wrx. Do you have a block heater? That will certainly help.

Gilles,

Is that with or without a block or sump heater? I'm in SoCal, so we don't know what COLD is, but friends from the colder climes have told me the difference between a heated and unheated engine in the morning's pretty evident.

Rick

No block or other heater of any kind. The cold start wear issue, if it's real, is important. Of course with global warming the car might never see temps that cold again.

I plan to drive this car into the ground, ie until it's reliability and/or maintenance costs dictate a replacement.

And in answer to Gilles Cour, it's a 2.2L engine in a '97 Legacy Brighton Wagon.

Jim

10W30 is only recommended down to about -20C. Use 5W30 or you may run the engine into the ground faster than you meant to. Possibly ditto if you don't fix the leak. Cheers

As long as the oil volume never even drops one quart below full, is there a risk to the engine innards from oil leaks?

I should think as long as the leak's EXTERNAL, the answer is NO. I've run tens, even 100s, of 1000s of miles on "leakers" and just kept 'em topped up religiously. It's messy and a waste of oil, true, but internal damage hasn't shown itself.

OTOH, an INTERNAL leak, like from a head gasket, is a different story. Not good, even if one keeps things topped up.

Rick

For an '01 Outback (2.5 liter 4-cyl) in a climate where it rarely gets below 25 F, what's the advantage of the recommended 5W30 over 10W30?

Well there's no antifreeze in the oil nor vice versa, I've never had to add a drop of antifreeze between biannual flushes/refills.

Jim

Reduced friction and less cumulative engine wear on startup and through warmup cycle. Becomes more important the more cold/short trips you do on average, even at warmer temps. Maybe a v.minor fuel consumption benefit too. Cheers

Sounds good to me! For external leaks, I keep an eye on how fast the oil goes thru and plan repair accordingly. For example, my engine was using a quart in 1200-1400 miles (it's also got over a third of a million hard miles on it before anybody starts in on 'excessive' consumption!) before developing a slight leak. The range went to a quart in 1000-1100 miles. Not worth worrying about. OTOH, when a cam seal let go and I can actually watch oil pumping out (a quart in 200-300 miles!) then it's time for help immediately, even though I still keep it topped up until I can take the time to fix it.

Rick

Thanks -