What motor oil weight should I use for my 1995 nissan maxima? Should I use 5w-30 or 10w-30? I live in PA and it is starting to cool down here. Thanks!

Monil

 

That's what I use and I believe that is recommended in the owners manual.

 

you can use 10w30 during the warmer season.
stick with 5w30 for the winter. i'm using
10w30 now since that's what Costco have..6qt for $22.
but stay away from 10w40.

 

Stick with some good synthetic 5W30 year round.

 

Totally agreed

Mobil 1 5W30 ... you get what you pay for
~C

 

What is wrong with using a 10w40 oil in the Maxima?

 

I use 5W30 as well. Mobile..

 

5w30 vs. 10w30 ?? Is 5w30 thicker? I see a lot of people using 5w30 around the board. Am I missing something? I just use Mobil 10w30.

 

I'm with you Bernie
I think that thicker grades protect the engine better. The only reason I'd go with 5w is if I lived in Alaska. I think 5W may make the car a weeee bit faster, cause it's thinner. Small sacrifice I guess.

By the way, the service manual for a 98 Max says use 10W30 all the way down to 0 degrees celsius. Anything below, use 5W. The upper limits for both oils are the same though, i.e. use either for hotter temps to 100 and beyond.

 

I'm no expert, but I seem to recall that 5w30 is recommended for winter driving and 10w30 is ok for summer driving - though I also heard that it's perfectly alright to use 5w30 all year round, it might just be a little more expensive.

Andrew Alexander
1998 GXE

 

the manual says use 5w30 in winter for quicker starting,and when it is above 0 then to 10w30, the 2 will still won't go under thirty weight when the car is at operating temp.5w will have 5 at start, and 10w will have 10. i use 10w40, with the s/c since i like to race sometimes and the oil will be getting hotter,the 10w is the same as the 10w in 10w30 just the 40 will provide more protection at high temp., when racing around at the track. always let the car run for about at least 15 secs before takeoff.and take off before it get to operating temp. by the way i believe redline has a 0 ash content. they say spend now or spend more later. and another word about oil changes, 5k miles is a good standard to change oil. even though the oil is still good till about 8-10kmiles.(syn) i like to change mine every 2-3 k miles. new oil makes the s/c talk to me." i like that"wizzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. haha ,just trying to be funny again.

 

Well, since i still work p/t at Jiffy Lube i deal with this everyday. What should be used is 5w30 for all temps. 10w30 can be used for the warmer seasons. The higher the number gets in oil (10w30, 10w40, 1540, 15w50, se30,etc) They get thicker. If you want the best, go with synthetic all the way. I use Mobil 1 5w30 since i've had my Maxima (now 26k miles.)

 

as the viscosity range increases ie.. 10-30 to 10-40 or 5-40 etc... the more viscosity modifiers the must have to be able to perform. ie.. 5w when cold and 40w when warm. As the oil ages(dino especially), it looses it's ability to perform like a 5w and a 40w(or whatever). Just one more reason to use synthetics. This types of oils don't require as much modifiers to perform adequately. Besides, who wants some dead dinosaur running though your engine anyway?? hehe

 

Boys, stop talking out your backsides about THIRTY weight and FORTY weight oil. The first part of the name (5W, 10W etc.) is referring to the weight of the oil, the second part (30, 40, etc.) is referring to the temperature at which the oil will flow at. 30 weight oil is basically GEAR OIL and looks like frickin' molasses when you pour it.

 

5w is a thinner oil when cold so it flows than a 10w oil would thus providing better protection while the engine is warming up, when the oil warms up its all the same.....5w-30 10w-30 etc.

 

 

Royal Purple 5w-30

 

people who are actually worried about savin money between 5w-30 and 10w-30... go jump off a cliff.

 

Please don't attempt to get your post count up by bumping 10 year old threads.

 

I've got a better idea. Don't bump threads from 10 years ago.