junehhan

Hey guys, just a quick question. The search feature seems to be down and isn't working. I know that for our engines, the factory recommends using 10w30. Right now, my engine still seems to be drinking about 1.5-2 quarts every 3000 miles and i've gotten 5900 miles on my car now. My question and concern, is I know that you can run 5w30 in the winter, especially since I believe that is what Honda specified for the original S2000's that came out. At 7000 miles, if I plan on running Redline, i'll be using either 5w30 or 10w30. If I plan on using Amsoil Series 2000 0w30, would that possibly cause any problems, especially with Vtec since that would be much thinner than a 10w30? Since my car does not get parked in a garage, it has to sit outside in the cold all night. Unfortunately, we can't use our garage in the winter since it's steep, curves with a wicked bank, and thus is dangerous if the driveway get's snowed or iced over. Especially in the winter, I want to avoid running an oil like Redline which consists of diethers which is hydroscopic and retains moisture.

xviper

How cold can it get where you live? It can get as cold as -35*C here but at that temp, I plug the car in. The first year I had my car, winter came 1 week after I took delivery, so I ran the factory 10W30. I would plug it in when it got colder than about -10*C. Just by the way the engine sounded and ran on those cold mornings, I could tell that it didn't like having that thick an oil in it but it managed. The next winter, I went with a 5W30 Mobil 1 synthetic and the car started and ran better on those cold days. When it got to operating temp with that oil, it didn't feel any different than when I had the factory oil in it the winter before. I'm almost temped to put in 0W30 at my next oil change, when the car will be subjected to the most extreme cold of the season.
The "W" rating of the oil refers to its viscosity when cold (I think it even stands for "winter"). Once it's warmed up and at operating temp, it will still be a 30 weight oil.
But back to my original question. If you get temps like I do here, then go with the 0W30 but change it out once the weather is consistently warmer in the spring even if it's not run enough miles to reach the usual change interval. If your temps only get moderately cold, like maybe no colder than about -20*C, you'll be fine with 5W30 synthetic. I know for a fact that even 10W30 synthetic pours normally down to -18*C ........... I'd run this if I could be sure that the temp would never get colder than this but we're talking Calgary, here!
ps. If, next spring, your car is still using oil, then go back to "dino" oil to continue the break-in process. Use the synthetic in the cold to keep your engine a bit happier.

junehhan

Thanks for your advice Xviper. Fortunately, it get's nowhere near as cold as it does up there. The coldest temperatures that we'll ever see will be
-10 to -20 F, but in reality, it hovers in the positive teens most of the winter at night. The reason why i'm tempted to try 0w30, is because Amsoil's latest formulation which is their Series 2000 is only available in 0w30 and 20w50. I talked with Amsoil's tech line, and they said that their Series 2000 0w30 would work great in all 5w30 and 10w30 applications. This is also the same oil i've ran in every single one of my vehicles in the past all year around including in the summer. They have a Series 3000 5w30, but it's formulated for diesel engines like the Ford Powerstroke or the Chebby Duramax or the Cummins used in the Dodge. Amsoil's Series 2000 0w30 is so superior, that it's actually a great oil to use even during the hot summers as it simply doesn't break down or evaporate. In fact, I believe it has some of the best scores on the NOACK volatility test that any motor oil has ever achieved. How well does this motor respond to a oil that is considerably thinner than 10w30?

By the way, you are correct as the "W" stands for winter.

xviper

I've run 5W30 synthetic all last winter and even on the "hot" days when the temp got up to around 65*F, the car felt no different than when I ran 10W30 on cool summer nights of the same temp. I have never tried 0W30. If you try it, please let us know what you observe. Just make certain that the "API" rating is "SJ" or better or you could be risking warranty issues.

junehhan

Hi Xviper, i'm at 5900 miles right now, but i'll definately give 0w30 a try once I hit 7000 miles. If I try it before you do, i'll let you know how it goes. I will probably give it a try just to see what happens since if it doesn't run well, I can always change it back to 5w30 or so. Due to my experience with Series 2000 0w30 in every vehicle i've owned, I don't expect to see any problems although it might consume a bit of oil in this motor.