I have a 1996 Nissan Maxima GXE with 151,000 miles (half city miles/half highway). I recently got 5 qt of Quaker State full synthetic oil from Walmart (free after rebate), the oil I grabbed yesterday is a 5W20, but unsure whether it would work the best for my Maxima. Should I get a 5W30? what is the difference?

thanks!

 

just differences in weight, in colder temperatures you want a thinner oil, warmer temperatures you can run thicker oils. 5w20 is thinner than 5w30. 5w30 is a good compromise between light and heavy

 

I'm in SoCal, I think I'll need 5W30 then.

 

The recommended oil is for these cars are a 5w-30 EPI recommends. The cap has the 5w-30 written on it. I would say that you should not go lower than the standards. The 5w-20 is only for Fords,Chrysler,Hondas can be too light and the protection will not be better than the 5w-30 or up.

 

I thought that the "5" in both oils indicated their cold start viscosity? (I don't know the actual terminology) So, if they have the same viscosity when cold, you are getting a thinner, less protective oil at operating temperature with 5w-20 vs 5w-30. Right?

OP, read your owner's manual. Nissan tells you what type of oil they recommend for the temperatures in which you operate your vehicle. Simple.

 

I believe you are 100% correct with this entire post.

 

you are correct. chrome91 was incorrect.

 

I don't think it would hurt it if you put the 5w-20 in, but I wouldn't reccomend anyway. Nissan designed it for 5w-30.

 

^^Couldn't of said it any better.There's different reasons why people use the thicker oil,one being the car is burning or consuming oil.Synthetic is fine just know you have to keep using it and if your car burns or consumes oil you might want to stay off of the synthetic because you'll have to keep topping it up between oil change and synthetci oil are quite a difference in price.

 

5w30 fools.