5W or 10W?

[DLW]

98 camry 2.2l 4cyl 246,000 miles. Runs well. No leaks at this time. Climate-Chicago.

Oil change due soon. I have ran 5W30 since day 1. I have been reading alot on forums about oil etc. and a little confused.

Would it be a good idea to switch to 10w30 from now on due to having almost 250,000 miles on the engine ? What are pros-cons of switching. What do you recommend? Thanks!

[touringcamry]

Why do you want to change now? It seems that 5W-30 had been good to you for the past 15 years.

If your winters get down to 0F or below, stick with 5W-30.

That aside, 5W-30 is the recommended weight for all conditions and fuel economy. Also 5W-30 tends to be made with higher quality oil than 10W30.

[fenixus]

I would try 0w-30 (very similar in thickness as 5w-30) or even a fantastic 0w-40 formula (for European cars).

0w oil class makes the cold starts very quick and easy, with very rapid engine lubrication at close or below freezing temps while maintaining same good (or better) properties at hot running engine.

that is if you want to try fully synthetic oils.

[ty**20]

keep sticking with 5W. you got the car to go that long. you can use 10W in early spring and summer, if you want to.

[Zembonez]

If 5w30 got you 250K miles... why in the world would you change now?

Stick with what works man!

[DLW]

Thanks for the information. I only want to change if it has benefits. I was reading in different places where some people change to 10W from 5W when they get alot of miles on their car. The reason had to do with wear on the engine etc. with higher miles so they said it would benefit to change to 10W. Just was wondering if that helps in a high milage engine. They said it mad the engine quieter, run smoother and consumed less oil in their engine. Do not know if there is any truth to that or if its just an opinion thing. I will just be staying with 5W as it seems no reason to switch to 10W. It has worked for the 1st 246,000 well, ha!

[gladis]

^^ I'm no expert, but I think this is a common misconception. The 5w indicates the viscosity when the oil is cold, whereas the 30 indicates the relative viscosity when the oil is warm. So you'd want a thinner oil that flows better at start, especially if the weather is cold.

The reason for a thicker oil is something like there being more gaps within the engine because the engine's been running for so long so you'd want the oil to be thicker and fill the gaps better, but that's after it's warmed up. I'm not sure about the merits to that.

From that, it seems that if anything, you'd want a 5w or 0w, and a 30, or 40 oil, but not a 10w oil.

(I could be talking completely out of my butt, though, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong)

[JohnGD]

10W-30 will NOT meet Chicago winter temperature needs. You need to have 5W-30. However, consider using Mobil-1 0W-40. Or at least try Motorcraft synthetic blend 5W-30 from Walmart.

As mentioned, it's the warm viscosity number (the -30, -40), and not the higher W number you need.

Originally Posted by DLW

98 camry 2.2l 4cyl 246,000 miles. Runs well. No leaks at this time. Climate-Chicago.

Oil change due soon. I have ran 5W30 since day 1. I have been reading alot on forums about oil etc. and a little confused.

Would it be a good idea to switch to 10w30 from now on due to having almost 250,000 miles on the engine ? What are pros-cons of switching. What do you recommend? Thanks!