What is the difference between 10W30 motor oil and 5W30 motor oil?

Signed,

Confused

Michael Searcy says:

In 10W30 oil, for example, the two numbers (10 and 30) mean it’s a “multiviscosity’ or “multigrade” oil that’s effective over a range of temperature. The first number, 10, is an index that refers to how the oil flows at low temperatures. The second number, 30, refers to how it flows at high temperature. The W means the oil can be used in a winter.

A popular belief is that 5W30 oils were to thin to protect vital engine parts when they get hot and 10W30 caused harder starting on those cold winter morings, but numerous studies have concluded there is essentially no difference between  5W30 oils and their 10W30 brand mates. There is no visable way to tell the difference.

A larger number of automakers now recommend 5W30 as the “preferred” oil and even identify 5W30 on the oil filler cap. However, in most cases the manufacture also provided a chart with various temperature ranges and the acceptable viscosity. In our region the temperature ranges usually allow the use of either 10W30 or 5W30.  Most consumers in the state of Tennessee use the 10W30 because it is the most availabile and usually the least expensive, while maintaining quality and your manufacturer’s warranty.

The purpose of oil is to help protect the engine’s moving parts. But motor oil does much more than lubricate. It helps cool the engine, keeps it clean, prevents corrosion, and reduces friction to improve fuel economy. The worts mistake you can make is to put a single grade oil in an engine that was design to be run on a multigrade oil. Viscosity grade is important to the life of your engine, so be careful. Recommendations vary with the make, engine, and model year of the car, so check your owner’s manual and ask your mechanic for the proper grade of oil.

There’s an easy and inexpensive way to do this- just get a premium service oil change for the low, low price of $26.90 and mention to manager Jeff (or Klint if he’s running the desk in Jeff’s absence) that you’re heading out of town, you need a premium service oil change, and you just wanted to make sure everything was looking to be in good shape before you leave. The guys will check out your belts, hoses, tires, and other stuff for you, and you should be good to go.

Now, naturally if you’re having an actual problem you might need a pinpoint diagnosis to see what’s going on, but if your car is running fine and you just want to make sure everything looks OK, the premium service oil change is the way to go.

Incidentally, I just got back from Holiday World. If you’d like to read my thoughts on Holiday World, take a look right over here. Where are you going on vacation, Murfreesboro? Will you go somewhere, near or far, or are you just hanging out around the house?

The difference in opinion comes with the size of the car. Some say to get something huge, that way if he’s in an accident, he’s less likely to get hurt. Some say to get something small, so he doesn’t go around hitting things constantly when he’s parking. The only REAL opinion I have is that it has to be something that doesn’t cost a fortune with my insurance company.

So, let’s hear it, readers! What kind of car would you get for a new driver?

This is why it’s so important to try to remember the exact conditions your car does its strange things under, so you can help our technicians replicate the problem. Does it happen when the car has been running awhile, or does it happen when it is first started? Does it happen when you’re going uphill, or downhill? The more information you can give, the more it helps when trying to get a diagnosis.

And sometimes, the car just won’t act up when it’s at the shop. That’s okay. We can usually catch the problem with our pinpoint computer diagnosis, and if not, we’ll drive the car and figure it out. A test drive can help us diagnose many problems that occur with cars. This is one of the reasons we have you sign our estimate sheet- to give us permission to drive your car if necessary.

Tell me, what’s going on with your car? Does it run like a champ or does it have weird things it does? A customer once said the reason his car was running strangely is because it’s a machine, and machines do weird things. I can’t agree with his assessment more.

When I’m coming to a stop while driving, my steering wheel vibrates and the whole car shimmies. What causes that and is it serious?

Signed,

Shimmy In Smyrna

Ivy says:

Usually, the cause of vibration and shimmy while stopping is due to warped brake rotors. Now, you may ask “Ivy, what is a brake rotor?” No problem, I can explain. When you push on your brake pedal, it sends brake fluid to your brake calipers, which are like clamps. The fluid causes the caliper to clamp onto the rotor, which looks kind of like a metal dinner plate.

If your rotors get warped (generally due to heat from the brakes or possibly worn out brake pads, or even sometimes just normal wear and tear) then this causes a vibration when the calipers are clamping down on your brakes, causing the whole wheel to shake and making your steering wheel vibrate.

Now, is it serious? It’s not the most serious thing that could ever happen to a car, but it is important to get this looked at as soon as you can. The vibration does affect your braking ability to some extent, and therefore you should get it checked out. It also can cause your anti-lock braking system to malfunction. Additionally, some vibrations and shimmies are not caused by brakes and could be indicative of something more serious. It’s hard to tell without looking at the vehicle, so be sure to bring it into the shop.

Did you know our technicians are ASE brake certified? When you bring your car to our shop, you can rest easy knowing the guys that are looking at your car know what they are doing. Not only do they have the ASE certification, but they have years of experience. They’ll keep you safe.

Do you have a car question you would like answered? Send us an email at questions@wefixautos.com