Running 5W30 in the Summer instead of 10W30: Any real problems?

I have about 15 litres of Mobil 1 5W30 sitting around and was going to use this in the summer for my 2002 Camry LE V6. I know at operating temp, the

10W30 and 5W30 are both 30 weight but the sheer strength may be thinner on the 5W30 grade. When temps run about 100 degrees F. or about 40 degrees C.. will the 5W30 cause issues with the engine where 10W30 won't? I mean I can always go and get 10W30 but given my driving (85% highway driving at 75 mph) and oil change frequency (every 7 weeks or 4,500 miles), I figure it should be ok.

Any thoughts?

Reply to
Car Guy
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"Car Guy" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@rogers.com:

No problems at all. 5W-30 will work fine in a Canadian summer. I use 5W-30 year-round.

Reply to
TeGGer®

I think you probably shouldn't run this stuff at all. Nope, not a good idea. I will give you my e-mail address; snd me all 15 litres and I will dispose of them for you, at no cost to you! ;)

(there I go being selfless again!)

Reply to
hachiroku

Hey Mr. Selfless:

You need to provide a Snail-mail address if you want that to work. There isn't a postman or delivery driver alive who can stuff a physical parcel through the internet... ;-)

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

You can, and should, use 5W-30 all year around, assuming that your engine has not experienced serious engine wear from no using synthetic oil (not counting the first 5-10,000 miles).

Reply to
Mark A

Mobil 1 shear strength is many, many times higher than regular oil [maybe 5x ? ]. Use 5-30 mobil one. Or ship to me I will even pay shipping and handling.

Reply to
m Ransley

I would also recommend longer change intervals. In the warm weather every

7,500 miles would still be conservative on Mobil 1 given your driving mix.

Richard.

Reply to
Richard

I really don't want to go against what everyone else is saying,...but my '96 Camry's car-owner handbook (which comes with the car when new) has an oil-grade vs temperature horizontal bar-graph which indicates 5w-30 should not be used at temperature-maximums below 50 F or 10 C.

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

By the same token, your Owners Manaul recommendation is NINE YEARS out of date. Do you think a 1996 API SH oil is as "good" as a current API SM/SL oil? ;-)

Reply to
Philip

True,...but I would love to know what a current owner's h/book recommends for grade vs temp, plus (and I know we've been over this before) I not impressed with the ease synthetic oil suffers 'channeling' in an older generation engine.

Jason

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

Likely outdated for the current models. Even so - that recommendation probably was derived with API SH 5W-30 motor oil in mind. Newer 5W-30 is supposed to be more shear stable and less volatile.

I wouldn't worry about Mobil 1 5W-30 in terms of shear strength or high temperature performance. It'll probably protect better than a heavier weight conventional oil at operating temps. It's the factory fill on Corvettes, where GM designed out an oil cooler simply because Mobil 1 5W-30 would be able to withstand 300 deg F without thinning out excessively or oxidizing prematurely.

Reply to
y_p_w

I not impressed with the ease synthetic oil suffers 'channeling' in an older generation engine.

No wonder I have had problems with "spirits" in my older car.

Richard.

Reply to
Richard
2005 Camry book specifies 5W-30 as the ONLY oil to use for all temperature ranges.
Reply to
Goat

I wouldn't trust that. Where I live there is a good 3-4 weeks of -30 to -35C (-22 to -32 F) weather and I don't think I'd wanna start my car with 5W-30 when it's that cold. Maybe it can perform in all temps but 10W30 is definitely better for that type of cold.

Reply to
griffin

That's fascinating info,..thanks.

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

I think you are mistaken in your comment below.

The first number is a indication of the viscosity of the oil at cold temps. The lower the number, the more fluid it is at cold temps. So a 5W30 fluid will be more fluid then a 10W30 fluid (all things being equal).

Reply to
Car Guy

I made boo-boo in my last sentence above,..it should say .." 5W-30 should not be used at temperatures *above* 50 F or 30C",...but I think everyone got the gist of what my book was saying anyway.

Yeah,..like hugely! Great improvements in 10 yrs both in oil and engines.

Even so - that recommendation

My experience was with a Clevo,..had to dump the synth (Mobil 1 10-50) due rod bearing noise once the engine was up to temp. Noise was apparent at about 2000 rpm on feathered throttle.

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

From my '03 Corolla Owners Manual: 5w-30 for all conditions. (southern California). I never see temperatures below freezing and do see temperatures of 110 degrees F for a couple of months. So I run 10w-30 ... which makes no difference for practical purposes. I also use Mobil1. If "channeling" equates to oil leaks, then your concerns are overstated.

I did run Mobil1 in my last car (1990 Prizm). The rear main seal didn't start weeping until the car had over 200,000 miles. I sold the car with

285k on it. The rear main seal area was always a little wet but not sufficient to drip on the ground.
Reply to
Philip

Yep, dyslexic am I ... ;p

Reply to
griffin

Huh? You have it backwards - 5W30 should be better in cold than 10W30.

Ed

Reply to
C. E. White

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