whats the worst that can happen

[jus2sweetregal]

well i changed my oil today. when i got done pouring the last half quart in- i noticed it was 5w-30 instead of 10w-30. am i gonna be burnin more oil? should i change it right away? or is it gonna be ok? whats the worst that can happen in other words?

[White93z34]

what engine you got? i know my 3.4 says right on the oil cap "use 5w30" however i doubt it will hurt it any if it recomends 10-30

[Aaron]

The worst-You run it to 130mph, about 7000rpm for me, racing a Talon TSI and your oil pump decides it can't handle any more, and you spin a bearing.

 

Worse directly related to your oil change-nothing.

 

No it doesn't matter, there is very little difference between the two anyway. I run 5w30 in mine.

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

I've always used 10w30 in mine.. actually I think I might have put 5w30 in once (I forget.. oil was on sale). On the 2.8 engine it says put in 5w30 so I'm gonna go off on a limb and say I think ALL w-body engines have recommended 5w30 by the manufacturer. So like Aaron said, unless you are driving the living piss out of it for a long time, it doesn't matter at all. IF you burn any, it would be very little nothing to worry about.

[SigEpCutlass]

it's not going to matter. I believe all wbodys are reccommended to have 5w-30 oil. I'm running 0w-30 Amzoil Series 2000 Synthetic Racing Oil and my car runs better. You're fine dude, the oil is barely lighter.

[fathead45]

i run 10w40 in the summer and 5w30 in the winter. just always did it with my other cars so i do it on my gp. seems to help with cold starts and helps with the heat in the summer

[DiscoStudd]

It won't hurt it at all. I think the 60 degree V6's have the 5W30 recommendation, but my 3800 has a 10W30 recommendation. Look in your owner's manual and they have a temperature scale as to what oils perform best at what temps. I believe 5W30 holds up well past 100* F (outside air temp.)

 

I remember when I had my 3100 equipped 94 Grand Am, I normally ran 5W30, but one time I ran 10W30, and the engine was noisier than normal until the next time I changed the oil (back to 5W30...)

 

I would say you would be fine running any oil ending with "W30." Just don't make a habit of running anything with "W20" unless you have your entire engine blueprinted...

[Justin]

I used to run 5W20 in all my vehicles until I got a different job and didn't get it free anymore. Now I believe I run 5W30, but it's whatever's in the bulk oil lines.

[Brian P]

It won't hurt it at all. I think the 60 degree V6's have the 5W30 recommendation, but my 3800 has a 10W30 recommendation. Look in your owner's manual and they have a temperature scale as to what oils perform best at what temps. I believe 5W30 holds up well past 100* F (outside air temp.)

 

I remember when I had my 3100 equipped 94 Grand Am, I normally ran 5W30, but one time I ran 10W30, and the engine was noisier than normal until the next time I changed the oil (back to 5W30...)

 

I would say you would be fine running any oil ending with "W30." Just don't make a habit of running anything with "W20" unless you have your entire engine blueprinted...

 

What kind of noise, like lifter noise during cold starts?

[rudefyet]

hope nobody here runs 5w30 in a TGP....

[DiscoStudd]

What kind of noise, like lifter noise during cold starts?

 

No, it was more like valve clatter. It wasn't real noticible to the untrained ear, but I could tell a difference for sure. I remember it running a tiny bit on the rough side, too. I don't remember that GA ever having the "ticking" lifter syndrome at all as I only owned it from 19k to 66k on the clock. The 3100 in my wife's Lumina has the lifter tick (140k,) and that won't go away (except for when it warms up) no matter what oil or oil filter I run (even the mighty Purolator Pur1 won't quiet the ticking.)

[89oldscutlass]

I run 20w50 in my car in the summer and 10w40 in the winter. Ive done it for the last 6 years that I have owned my car with no problems.

[bluegp]

I'm running 0w-30 Amzoil Series 2000 Synthetic Racing Oil

That's exactly what I used to use in my Beretta GTZ. After switching to it from conventional oil, I measured a 2 MPG increase.

[GnatGoSplat]

You're fine as long as you use a W30 oil. Never use 10W40. Too much viscosity improvers in it. Look in the manuals for most cars, lawn mowers, etc., they say AVOID 10W40.

[91oldscutlass]

I run 20w50 in my car in the summer and 10w40 in the winter. Ive done it for the last 6 years that I have owned my car with no problems.

 

I run the same in the summer in everything I own. I run 5w30 in the winter in the V6 cars. The thing about 20w50 is it takes more to break it down in the summer cause of the temps int he summer. The fact of the V6 cars haveing to be reving higher than a V8 at anytime...thats why its better to run a thicker oil in the summer so it dont break down as quick. 5w30 looks like colored water to me.

[95GTP]

I run 20w50 in my car in the summer and 10w40 in the winter. Ive done it for the last 6 years that I have owned my car with no problems.

 

Thats a bit heavy for a V-6. I ran 20-50 oil in a 350 when racing it. IMO its to heavy for every day driving.

[cutlsp]

You're fine as long as you use a W30 oil. Never use 10W40. Too much viscosity improvers in it. Look in the manuals for most cars, lawn mowers, etc., they say AVOID 10W40.

i would agree with them but they don't take into account that a motor has lasted roughly 375k without a rebuild my suburban is still on its original motor :shock: and was running like shit with 10 w30 i put 10w40 in it and it runs like a new truck now

[GnatGoSplat]

You're fine as long as you use a W30 oil. Never use 10W40. Too much viscosity improvers in it. Look in the manuals for most cars, lawn mowers, etc., they say AVOID 10W40.

i would agree with them but they don't take into account that a motor has lasted roughly 375k without a rebuild my suburban is still on its original motor :shock: and was running like shit with 10 w30 i put 10w40 in it and it runs like a new truck now

 

Yeah, but my motor lasted almost 180k miles using only Fram oil filters before I switched, and everyone knows Fram is the worst, crappiest filters known to mankind.

 

Just because it's possible to run crap in your car or truck and it doesn't kill it still doesn't mean it's a good idea. My mom often went up to 20k miles between oil changes in the old Taurus she owned in the 90's, and it NEVER had an oil-related problem, but I wouldn't recommend 20k oil changes!!!

[Farqineh]

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

20W50?????? In a car???? My good lord!! I have never heard of that!! Hell......I'm a mechanic........and I have never heard of that.

 

Mind you. I dunno. This is Canada! Anything heavier than 10W30 and the dog sled is liable to stick to the ice!!!!

 

Seriously though. In the winter here we switch all the diesels (in the fleet I look after, not everyone in Canada....) over to a 10W30 synthetic, so the damn thin will start in -40. (no guarentee it'll start, but at least a lighter oil wont turn into molasses, and theres a chance it'll turn over)

In the summer, we use regular 15W40 in the heavy trucks. We usually swap between 5w30 and 10w30 for the regular pickups in the same manner.

 

Few things I've noticed about different oils, the lighter the oil, more lifter noise (infamous late80 early 90's Ford 460 issue) for instance! I found the thicker the oil, the better it worked as a cushon between parts.

 

Synthetic, hate the stuff!! Seems like it finds placees to leak out. It's wierd, and theres nothing to prove it, but for whatever reason, the stuff wants to leak out. If theres a place where normal oil might not leak out, kinda sorta maybe........synthetic will find that place and leak the hell outta there!

 

Question for the folks running the 20/50. Do you find that your oil pressure is a little on the high side??? I was wondering this, because It occurs to me that there would be a possibility of the oil just going over bypass in the system. (assuming these little things have such a system)

 

Also excessive oil pressure causes at least on problem that I know of, and it's called bearing wash!!! Basicly the slow deterioration of crank bearings and such, due to erosion. ( as is my information )

I was wrong once....I suppose it could happen again !!!!!

[cutlsp]

You're fine as long as you use a W30 oil. Never use 10W40. Too much viscosity improvers in it. Look in the manuals for most cars, lawn mowers, etc., they say AVOID 10W40.

i would agree with them but they don't take into account that a motor has lasted roughly 375k without a rebuild my suburban is still on its original motor :shock: and was running like shit with 10 w30 i put 10w40 in it and it runs like a new truck now

 

Yeah, but my motor lasted almost 180k miles using only Fram oil filters before I switched, and everyone knows Fram is the worst, crappiest filters known to mankind.

 

Just because it's possible to run crap in your car or truck and it doesn't kill it still doesn't mean it's a good idea. My mom often went up to 20k miles between oil changes in the old Taurus she owned in the 90's, and it NEVER had an oil-related problem, but I wouldn't recommend 20k oil changes!!!

i was talking about my suburban not my cutlass my suburban has a ton of miles on it :? on the original 350

[supreme_style21]

I think you could run a 350 with NO oil in it and it'll keep on chugging.

 

A joke for those who take it seriously. Those 350's are diehard engines.

[Garrett8]

my oil cap says 5W-30 but when i take it to the dealer ship they usually put 10W-30

[rudefyet]

for a turbo engine you want to use a thicker oil...i've seen 20W50 recommend for turbocharged cars

 

since the oil lubes the turbo bearings...and the fact turbo produce lots of heat (the oil also cools the turbo in some applications) you need thicker oil to keep it from burning up and causing the bearings to coke up

 

that and it's also a good idea to use sythenic since it take a higher temp to burn it up...and frequent oil changes....very frequent

 

i myself will use 10W30 Mobil 1 synthetic in the TGP and change the oil every 2,000-3,000 miles ...i want this car to last a long time

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

i myself will use 10W30 Mobil 1 synthetic in the TGP and change the oil every 2,000-3,000 miles ...i want this car to last a long time

 

I use Amsoil 5w30 full synthetic in my Corvette

 

 

[rudefyet]

i myself will use 10W30 Mobil 1 synthetic in the TGP and change the oil every 2,000-3,000 miles ...i want this car to last a long time

 

I use Amsoil 5w30 full synthetic in my Corvette

 

 

 

 

making fun of me again...shame on you

 

 

 

notice i didn't say my TGP this time