Motor has 130,000 on it and is a daily driver.I always use quaker state oil...I have been using 10w40 for the most part. Question is, is it safe to use 5w30 for the winter time to help on start ups? Will it hurt performance? and i am using Fram TG30 filter. "tough guard"

Any opinions?

 

5W-30 is the factory recommended oil for year round use. It won't hurt you to use it in the winter. I run 20w-50 in my stroker (per the engine builders recommendation), but for winter driving, its 10W-30 (and don't spray the 300-shot ).

 

Thanks for the quick response Fred! Think i should go with 10w30 or 5w30...or there is no difference

 

Use 5W-30. A lighter oil, in most cases, will help performance. But it won't be noticeable.

 

My LT1 is a daily-driver with almost 110,000 miles on it and I'd only run 5w30 in it here in these COLD Chicago winters... It definitely helps things flow better and smoother on those tough cold starts...I'm actually using Mobil 1 synthetic blend right now...

Go with 5w30 and then switch to a 10w30 once the warm weather comes around...

Mike

 

OK sounds good guys!
Thanks

 

Lovin the 0-40 mobil 1

 

5w-30 is good for winter and some brands of it are good for summer too, the facory recommendation of it though is not based on what is right but rather on CAFE and trying to squeek and extra milage they could out of it. M1 5w-30 and 10w-30 are proven to be less than wonderful choices for the LT1 and the 10w-30 is just as thin as the 5w-30 so switching to it for summer just proves a total lack of oil knowledge. The Fram filter that is a problem hands down the worst filters on the market, the Walmart brand filters are better constructed and cheaper. Do some reading here http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi

 

The 5W-30 & 10W-30 are the same weight in warm weather, hence the 30. The 5 & the 10 are what matter when it gets cold out. Personally, on a high mileage stock block LT1 I would use 5W-30 in the winter and 10W-40 in the summer, to provide some extra protection when pressure starts to drop into the 20s on those hot summer days. And the oil recommendations that come from the factory are based on the oil clearances in the bearings, proper lubrication will inherently give better fuel mileage than an engine that's using the wrong weight. Proper engine oil & frequent changes = Engine longevity & better gas mileage.

 

Don't forget that some people run 160* stats which takes longer for the oil to get up to temp before shutting the car down after driving short distances or relatively short. I say using 0-30 oil is better if you are running a colder thermostat with big cam (big cam at idle helps to cool the cylinders from the overlap) and the outside temperature does not help it. If you do not run the proper oil you may get too much moisture building up in the oil.

 

If you dont use Fram filters..then what do you use....An oil filter is an oil filter i dont see how they could be different. When you go to any autoparts store thats all i see is the ORANGE Fram boxes everywhere....Well, to my knowledge my dad has been using these filters for years and years and all motors last him like 200,000 miles...so i dont see any difference

 

The FRAM filters have been shown to have inferior construction, based on comparative oil filter studies available on the Internet. An oil filter is NOT an oil filter. There are huge variations in the quality of the filter medium used, the area of the filter medium (FRAM is on the low end), the size of the dirt particles it can filter, how the end end caps are constructed (FRAM uses cardboard), the strength of tha canister, the quality of the threads, the built-in features like bypass and drainback. I would never put a FRAM filter on my engine, and that is based on firsthand problems with them.

 

Do some reading in the link I posted. As far as needing 5w-30 in winter I have two owners manuals that even GMs dino recommendations say 10w-30 is fine to 0F synthetic flow better at cold temps so you could probably go lower yet.
Factory recommendations will be tied to clearances and the like but are slanted thin to get an extra .001 mpg for CAFE. UOAs PROVE that the LT1 and LS1 even at low miles are not always particularly happy with 5w-30, not saying they will die an untimely death but wear as seen my wear metal content in the oil will be higher than necessary do a little resarch then try to argue that point.
That website will have info and links about the FRAM crap, it is all about marketting and sheep buying it.

 

I use 10w 30 but then mine sits in storage for winter

 

Sry I don't wanna hijack the Thread or anything. But i have similar question. I looked throw the website. but didn't get a solid info. My 94 with 117k A4 is my daily driver. I use Mobil1 synthatic 10W-30. So for winter should i change to synthatic 5w-30 or keep on using what I been using. Sorry man I don't mean to hijack the thread. Just asking, because I didn't get a solid information from the website provided.