I recently had my oil changed,and noticed the cap said 5w30. My question is, is that what gm calls for us to run in our cars, and if so will running it year round Kill my engine. I realize it's a thinner oil, but it gets to about 110 115 here in the summer. Also, are there any benefits to using high mileage oil, since i have 117,000 on mine. i did a Search on this ahead of time, and didn't turn up anything. I know a Lot of people on here are fans of synthetic but that's more expensive.
Forgot to mention 2004 Ls sedan 2.2 eco.
It says 5w30 on the oil fill cap and in the owners manual, what do you think?
the 5 in the 5w30 is the viscosity of the oil when it is cold.... takes lower temperatures to make it "thick".
the 30 in the 5w30 is when the oil is at operating temperature. So regardless of if you run 10w30 or 5w30 in your engine wont hurt anything. In my opinion the 5w30 is the correct weight oil to use for summer or winter - plus it says to use it in your manual and on the cap
Thanks Austin, that helps as for you Tinkles, i don't browse my owners manual much. I just asked, because i am sure there are people out there that run straight 10-30, synthetic etc. Austin answered my question though so thanks.
does "straight" 10w30 imply that there is some... crooked... 10w30 somewhere
never understood the people "oh, its just THE MANUFACTURER OF THE ENGINE who says what is the proper fluid. what do they know?
JBO Stickers! Get yours today!
all vehicles today are mandated by the gov't to have a certain fuel mileage. Some of the cars will run 5w20 to keep the friction in the engine down to achieve the mileage they require, And they're engineered to run that oil too. They have smaller oil galleries and wont put up with much higher weight oil (thicker). Hell, i run 5w20 synthetic in my Ford Aerostar and felt i got higher fuel mileage, lol.
As far as when someone says "straight 30 weight" they mean its not multi viscosity like the dual viscosity in say 10w30. It would be just 30 weight oil, so when very cold it would be very thick and take time to warm to properly flow in the engine resulting in a little bit of engine wear everytime you start your engine.
Its like they just toss random numbers on top of the oil fill....
My car has a 710 cap. It does not say what fluid to use.
I wouldn't run 5W30 year run, especially with high mileage, thats just asking for problems.
Bob is the Oil Guy is definitely the place to check out for oil info.
It can get pretty warm around here in the summer too (southern Ontario), and I've never used anything heavier than 5W30 in my car - even when towing. So far at 235,000km, I've had no oil consumption issues whatsoever using this. Absolutely nothing more than an extremely thin blackish coating on the magnetic drain plug - I'm sure it would look a bit fuzzy if much wear was occurring.
According to GM, 5W30 is the "preferred" oil under all conditions, but 10W30 is "acceptable" under all but the coldest conditions (0F and lower if I remember correctly). They even recommend the use of 5W30 synthetic or 0W30 under extreme cold use.
Based on someone else's experience on here lately with oil pressure, I wouldn't try any of the 5W20s in our engines. If 10W30 makes you feel better, then use it - it won't likely make a lot of difference, but the 5W30 will still be superior for faster flow at startup, and especially when it gets colder outside. Above about 50F, it probably won't matter much which one you choose - the differences are going to be pretty negligible.
I wouldn't exactly consider your engine to be "high mileage" just yet - if you want to see what REAL high mileage is, do a search for Irv Gordon, and check out his '66 Volvo... quite impressive! BTW, he's never used any special "high mileage" or synthetic oil either.
As long as you stick to one of the recommended grades, your oil change intervals are probably more important than what brand of oil you're using - although many people have their "favorite" oils for one reason or another. I just stick to brand name products - there are few store brands that I would necessarily trust in my car.
John
if you read your owners manual you would see the little meter thing that says what oil to run and at what temp
THINK ABOUT IT BUD
GM sells how many cavaliers over north america even to little old ladys that got and get grocerys and church they don't give 2 @!#$s what oils in there as long as theres oil to get them to the store church and bingo on wednesdays so why would you be so concerned about running 5w30
fawk my GP and my cav run 10W30 all year round thats what the cap says thats what it gets (cav is summer only) my equinox runs 5w30 all year round.
what john S said we get up to 35C which is just under 100F some days in the summer plus humidity and we also get as low as -30 in the winter and we run 5w30 and 10w30 with no issues
JBO since July 30, 2001
When making oil decisions, people should consider some oil and industry dynamics. Though manufacturers have been trending toward “thinner” oils for efficiency, the 5W30 of today isn’t the same as that of even five years ago due to evolving API standards that mandate increased oil performance in key areas over prior standards. The “thin” oil of today likely outperforms the “heavier” oil of years ago in many areas. And, manufacturers have a vested interest in your happiness. That being said, many enthusiasts (if not most that I know) modify manufacturers recommendations, if only slightly, to suit their experiences and comfort level.
For example, I change the oil in my primary commuting car twice a year (April and October) regardless of mileage. This coincides with the major seasonal changes in my locale and is convenient for me for many reasons. My car accumulates between 5K and 7K miles during these intervals, which aren’t considered excessive today. I use a 5W40 synthetic year round because its additive package is intended for extended intervals (if I go over mileage a bit) and it has a wider viscosity range than naturals I’ve found (and I prefer that for extreme heat). I made this decision after first driving several thousand miles on 5W30 natural and then again on 5W40 synthetic to see if I measured any fuel mileage differences. (I didn’t.) If I regularly used a natural instead, I’d likely change it once more during the year and I’d likely use a 5W30 in winter and 10W40 or 15W40 in summer since there’s no price difference. The cost of three changes of natural would be a bit more than the two changes of synthetic I now use (especially if you add in the filter), but not enough to get excited about. There’s nothing scientific about any of this and I know no manufacturer likely recommends a *W40 in anything anymore (except maybe diesel engines), but I'm comfortable with it, I’m confident I’m not doing any harm, the costs and schedule are manageable and I’ve never experienced any ill effects. Your methods may vary. (And, I've learned a lot from many here.) - Mark
Tinkles wrote:Its like they just toss random numbers on top of the oil fill....
actually, i think they draw the numbers from a hat
Did I mention I drive a 2000 Lumina now?-----wigm-tuners.org member
*Lmfao* yeah , and the lucky number is.
Well my take is this.My cav has been owned by my sister since 1990 and has always used 5w30 every oil change.Now I bought it in 98 and continue to use just the same.The car uses no oil,runs fine any temp.I have used some of the high mileage oil in my 4 clydr trk which I bought new in 87 and saw no advantage what so ever.I normally run 10/30 or 40 in the trk on seasonal change but thats it.U have to keep in mind with some engines the tolerances are diff and a thicker oil takes longer to get to the top end regardless of time of yr normally the recom oil from the manuf is ok in most cases based on my exper.I do not know everything when it comes to oil,but the specs on oil weights from the manuf have been ok for me.
Bill wrote:*Lmfao* yeah , and the lucky number is.
No offense Bill, but you asked the original question.
I know i did Mark, and the reason i did was because i had never had a car that ran or was supposed to run on 5w30. And since all the other cars i've had, i've run plain old 10-30, at first 5w30 seemed to me like 2 cycle lawnmower oil. I'd honestly until recently, never heard of a car using that kind of oil.
PS don't waste my time PMing me your dumb questions
JBO since July 30, 2001
Not, Ask me if i care a rats hind end about your time. Also don't waste your breath complaining about useless posts, if you don't like it go somewhere else. Newbies or otherwise there are always going to be posts people feel are useless, does no good to complain about that one fact. It will never go away.
Bill wrote:Not, Ask me if i care a rats hind end about your time. Also don't waste your breath complaining about useless posts, if you don't like it go somewhere else. Newbies or otherwise there are always going to be posts people feel are useless, does no good to complain about that one fact. It will never go away.
just like your endless IM's?
Awd, if that's another of your many useless attempts to try and get me to stop posting here forget it it ain't gonna happen.
Tinkles your responses are just pointless and your a jack ass
