Oil grade used for car oil change?

Question

I've just done an oil change on my vauxhall corsa. I used 10w 40 and the manual recommends a max of 5w40 - is this to much of a problem? Plus anyone know what the grades mean? I know it has something to do with viscocity, but what?

Answer 1

if it doesn't get too cold where you are at you will be fine until your next oil change. about your other question, its the winter viscosity and normal viscosity. as an example the oil that you used has a winter viscosity of 10 and a non-winter viscosity of 40. during the summer months you don't need to worry about the #W part. just the second number, but i would recommend defiantly using the 5W 40 that is recommended during the winter to prevent any engine problems.

good luck.

Answer 2

The "5" in 5w40 is the viscosity or weight orf the base oil. A "5" is thinner than a "10". The "40" is the measure of anti-wear additives added to the base oil. A "40" has 30% more anti-wear additives than a "30".

Most newer diesels now call for a 5W40 verses the old staple 15W40. At temperatures consistantly above 50F or 10C you can use just about any weight oil you wish without worrying about viscosity or "pump-ability" of the oil by the oil pump.

The faster the oil gets to the bearings and pistons and rings the faster you get the benefits of the lubrication. They have realized that most engines benefit from the thinner viscosity oils as all they do is carry the anti-wear additives to the engine parts.

Some new cars will take a 0w20 synthetic oil like the Chevrolet Corvette. This gives the best miles per gallon (and henceforth horsepower) to engine protection balance.

Stick with the recommended oil and you can't go wrong.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

This is how it works: The higher the number on the bottle, the thicker the oil is. And the colder the weather is the thicker oil gets, the hotter the weather is the thinner oil gets. And different types of motor oil will have different thicknesses at the same temperature. Most modern motor oils are multiviscosity, which means they have the viscosity characteristics of 2 different weights of oil, so they have 2 numbers. 10w40 means the oil has the characteristics of a 10 weight oil in the winter (meaning it doesn't thicken as much in the cold so it flows easier), and the characteristics of a 40 weight oil in the summer (meaning it stays thicker at higher temperatures to protect against friction). Since your engine requires 5w40, that means the 10w40 oil you put in would be a little too thick for use during winter, but would be fine to use in the summer.

Personally, I don't think it's enough of a difference to cause a problem, but if cold weather comes and you don't want to bother doing an oil change, it wouldn't hurt to pour in a bottle of Marvel Mystery Oil to help thin it down. MMO is a good crankcase cleaner made of a very thin solvent that will thin down the rest of your oil a bit so it flows faster in the winter.

Answer 4

first the oil pump is designed to pump that weight of oil the higher the milage the more likely that the pump will fail by using a heavier weight of oil. check with the manufacture some have summer/winter rating for their oil usage ie 5w40 or 10w40 for heavy duty applications (taxi,etc) Now for the weights the first number 5w,10w,15w is the actual weight of the oil. The oil never changes weight only the thickness. They add addditives to the oil so that it will protect (work) the same as a different weight that is the second number read the source listed for more than you ever want to know

Answer 5

From what very little I know, I would go with what's recommended until you put a lot of miles on the car and then maybe go with 10w30 or 10w40, which I believe are thicker.

Answer 6

Also has to do with the thickness of the oil. 10w40 thins out to 10 in cold weather and thickens up in hot. It will be ok.

Answer 7

nothing to worry about..thinest oil to thickest are 0w20,0w30,5w20,5w30,5w40,10w30,10w40,15w40,20w50, its your car and you have a choice of protection,these new thinner oils are designed to provide better fuel economy,less drag on the engine than running on thicker oil...a number so small it cannot reasonably be measured

Answer 8

5 weight is for colder starts (not for summer use) the higher the 2nd number, the thicker it is, slower to move through the engine, but harder to break down/burn off

Answer 9

for optimum performance
you need to use what is recommended by the manufacturer
some might be too thin
others might be too thick
causing damage over time

Answer 10

u should really use what ur manual tells you! Your car will be fine but from now on use the 5w!