Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General 10w30 or 5w30 Mobil1 post your reasoning

Ok, I've had my '00 SVT for 3 months, and Ive put 5k on it. it is currently at 40k The last two oil changes I've put in 10w30 mobil 1. (just on instinct because thats the weight I used in my old car) But I was wondering if 5w30 would be best. Please give me info on engin life, wear etc...

5w30 because that's what the manual says and also what many people on here have said.

Factory recommends 5/30 - can't think of any benefit to using something else.

5w30 =

10w30 = :rolleyes:

I've been using 10W-30, but next oil change will be 5W-30. By the way, if an oil changing place says they use Mobil 1 Synthetic, what kind are they using?? I only want to use Tri-Synthetic, but I think there are other types of Mobil 1 Synthetic out there, right??

FWIW, the rest of the car will likely fall apart before the engine needs a rebuild.

Just use what the manual says.

The shop manual for the '95 Contour says that either 5W-30 or 10W-30 is OK.

I think the user's manual says that 5W-30 is "preferred", but that may be more due to to fuel economy considerations.

Ford is specifying 5W-30 for all engines made since 1989 (more recently they started specifying 5W-20 for some).

Unknown is why the 1989 cut-off date, since I'm not aware of any changes between the 1988 and 1989
Mustang 5.0 engine, for example, that would make the 1989 more suited for 5W-30. The users manual for the 1988 only recommends 5W-30 in cold temperatures, 10W-30 otherwise.

I guess the bottom line is use 5W-30 if you can, but if it's sold out or something using 10W-30 isn't going to break anything.

Brian

Yeah, when your engine blows, and you tell 'em you use 10W-30.. in you last model Contique, Will they still warrant it???
Prolly''' but then again, maybe NOT!!!
Use the 5W-30
NoT 10W-30
NOT 5W-40
NOT 10W-40
NOT old chicken grease with a gasoline thinner..

Oil weight primer:

What the heck does 5W-30 or 10W-30 mean. The first part 5W or 10W is the cold weight. So a 5W oil is flows better at colder temp than does a 10W oil. The 30 is essentially the viscosity at a specific operating temperature.

In the summer time, I would be more comfortable with a 10W-30, especially if it is a traditional (non-synthetic oil). Why? Because there are fewer viscosity index improvers in the 10W-30 oil. There is less spread between the two weights. For a synthetic, this is not as much of an issue, but still an issue to some extent.

Viscosity, or a measure of a fluids resistance to flow is improved by these VI. However, these additives do nothing to actually lubricate the parts that spin and rub in your engine.

(Which is why I prefer a synthetic oil, fewer additives to make the lubricant behave, flow and resist acids, relative to conventional oils.)

So I think you would be fine with either a 5W30 or a 10W30 oil. If I were not using a synthetic, I would use a 10W30 in the summer and a 5W30 in the winter.

FWIW,

TB

That's what I used to use in my '74 Duster.