03-21-2001, 01:10 PM
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Postmaster
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Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: So Cal
Posts: 4,403
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5w-30
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Don't worry about it. The W part means the Winter weather rating. The - part is the normal weather rating.
In effect 5W-30 means it acts like a 5 weight oil at cold(say below freezing) temps and like a 30 weight oil at normal(say 80 degree) temps. Engines with lots of miles may "like" a thicker oil to prevent noise and burning oil.
Most manufacturers started recommending 5W-30 due to gas mileage improvement and since most new engines are built to tighter tolerances, or so they say. Unless you live in Alaska or Saudi Arabia, 5W-30 will fit most uses, especially if you use a synthetic. The oil companies have informative websites that explain this in detail.
A word of warning. Do not use 10W-40 or any other dino oil with a point spread greater than 20(ie 40 minus 10=30>20). Long and complicated, I can dig up the web site with the details but through experience it has been found that oils like 10W40, 15W-50 or most anything else with a spread greater than 20 will eventually "coke" up and clog up the oil system, called "Black Death". This is due to the viscosity index improvers required to make the large point spreads. The vii are in effect plastic, and plastic burns at high temps, the more plastic used(ie higher point spread) the more there is to burn. Many car and small engine manufacturers(Volvo and Generac come to mind) will VOID your warranty if you use a 10W40 oil. Note that a 20W50 while haveing a >20 point spread is still OK, because the oil is more temperature tolerant due to the 20W starting base oil. Synthetics are exempt from this rule. I like synthetics, if you can't tell.
Jim Henderson
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