# Newbie question: oil



## Dave114 (Aug 12, 2004)

I just got the oil changed in my 1995 Nissan Sentra a couple of days ago, and they threw in 10W40 oil, saying that it was "better" (and also flushed engine coolant at the same time).

Anyways, following this, the car seems a little more sluggish than before, and I seem to be noticing a slightly higher engine pitch.

I'm wondering if this is something that I should be worried about, or just a side effect of the 10W40 oil (or perhaps replacing the coolant) [or perhaps a figment of my imagination, or of the winter weather]


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## off_da_meter (Sep 2, 2004)

Dave114 said:


> I just got the oil changed in my 1995 Nissan Sentra a couple of days ago, and they threw in 10W40 oil, saying that it was "better" (and also flushed engine coolant at the same time).
> 
> Anyways, following this, the car seems a little more sluggish than before, and I seem to be noticing a slightly higher engine pitch.
> 
> I'm wondering if this is something that I should be worried about, or just a side effect of the 10W40 oil (or perhaps replacing the coolant) [or perhaps a figment of my imagination, or of the winter weather]


Thats why I do my oil change, that way I know the brand of oil and the in winter 10w30 might be best, less thicker


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## RockstaR (Nov 22, 2004)

off_da_meter said:


> in winter 10w30 might be best, less thicker


 agreed i just changed mine to 10w30 and it fells much better y not just change your own oil its cheaper and u can pick what u want BTW how much u pay for the job?


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## znamya (Sep 21, 2004)

Dave114 said:


> I just got the oil changed in my 1995 Nissan Sentra a couple of days ago, and they threw in 10W40 oil, saying that it was "better" (and also flushed engine coolant at the same time).
> 
> Anyways, following this, the car seems a little more sluggish than before, and I seem to be noticing a slightly higher engine pitch.
> 
> I'm wondering if this is something that I should be worried about, or just a side effect of the 10W40 oil (or perhaps replacing the coolant) [or perhaps a figment of my imagination, or of the winter weather]



First even if you replace your oil with 10w30, there will be no difference in the engine performance when the engine is cold. Also I dont think coolant has something to with it. I also have 10w40 oil right now(changed the oil from 10w30 2 days ago)I didnt observe any difference. but theoretically the 40 oil should have higher viscosity and more shear stress on the surfaces resulting higher heat generation and more resistance to flow(this is the definition of viscosity)but I doubt we can observe it, watch for your mileage taking into account that winter has come and it is normal to have 2 mpg loss and if you observe loss in mileage more than that, then consider cahnging it back to 10W30


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## RockstaR (Nov 22, 2004)

znamya said:


> First even if you replace your oil with 10w30, there will be no difference in the engine performance when the engine is cold. I also have 10w40 oil right now(changed the oil from 10w30 2 days ago)I didnt observe any difference. but theoretically the 40 oil should have higher viscosity and more shear stress on the surfaces resulting higher heat generation and more resistance to flow(this is the definition of viscosity)but I doubt we can observe it, watch for your mileage taking into account that winter has come and it is normal to have 2 mpg loss and if you observe loss in mileage more than that, then consider cahnging it back to 10W30



mabye u didnt observe a difference cause u live in *GA* :dumbass:


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## Dave114 (Aug 12, 2004)

znamya said:


> taking into account that winter has come


What do you define as winter? I'm on the west coast of Canada ... typically a few degrees above freezing here during the winter. I see snow around here on the order of a day or two every couple of years.



znamya said:


> First even if you replace your oil with 10w30, there will be no difference in the engine performance when the engine is cold.


Well, I just took a look at the vehicle manual, and it lists 5W30 as the reccomended oil for the vehicle. 10W30 vs. 10W40 might not make a difference when the engine is cold but what about 5W30 vs. 10W40? (I've got 35 minutes at 100km/h+ on the way to work, so the engine has time to warm up).



RockstaR said:


> agreed i just changed mine to 10w30 and it fells much better y not just change your own oil its cheaper and u can pick what u want BTW how much u pay for the job?


About $30 CDN was what I paid. I suppose that it's probably quite a bit cheaper to change your own oil ($10CDN - $15CDN including a new oil filter?), but vehicle ownership is still fairly new to me, plus the car is currently under a warantee of sorts (probably not worth the paper its written on I suspect). I've picked up a fair bit of knowledge about vehicles and vehicle maintenance in the past few months, so perhaps I'll have to give that a shot in the near future and try to continue that trend.


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## BII (May 13, 2004)

5W30 would have probably been better, but you'll probably be OK with the 10W40.

The numbers refer to how _viscous_ the oil is; the lower the number the easier it flows. On a multi-weight oil, the first number represents viscosity when the oil is cold, the second when it is at operating temperature.

In the winter you want a more viscous oil at cold temperatures, this helps your engine start up faster and prolongs engine life (oil reaches the moving parts faster and begins to lubricate them sooner).

The shop sold you 10W40 because that's what they have on the shelf, its the most popular oil, and again, you'll probably be fine. A better choice would have been 5W30 or 5W40 or if you can afford it, a synthetic that is 0W30 or 0W40 (that's what I use and I love it :thumbup: ). Synthetic is the best way to go, but if you can't spend the extra $$$ don't worry conventional oil is fine as long as you change it regularily (3 months/3,000 miles). I change my own oil and the money I save I use to buy synthetic so I come out about even. If you let someone else change your oil, thats fine too, its up to you.


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## Tavel (Aug 21, 2004)

almost all cars require 5w30(except old cars with ineffective seals). i dont even know why they sell 10w. our cars also use 5w30.

first number is viscocity(not thickness) in cold or winter(thus the W). the second is viscocity when warm. warm viscosity is a matter of choice, higher viscocity will increase the amount of cusion on all componants, but at the cost of increased friction. whilst lower viscocity will reduce the amount of cushion but will also decrese friction. 

almost all wear occurs at startup when the parts aren't properly lubricated. a 5w oil will get to these unlubricated parts about twice as fast as a 10w, just think about it. 

10w is fine for anything above 35F(i think thats what the manual specs) but below that 5w is required. i would reccommend using 5w all the time to reduce engine wear. now 30 or 40? your choice, i stick with 30w cus its cheaper and i dont think there's a real performance difference between the two.


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## RockstaR (Nov 22, 2004)

Tavel said:


> ..........first number is viscocity(not thickness)..............



http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/thesaurus?book=Thesaurus&va=viscous
you might wanna check that one out buddy ^^^ :dumbass:


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## Gimp (Jun 9, 2002)

RockstaR said:


> http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/thesaurus?book=Thesaurus&va=viscous
> you might wanna check that one out buddy ^^^ :dumbass:


Watch the ":dumbass:" comments! First and FINAL warning. This ain't off-topic.


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## Jaralaccs (Jan 18, 2004)

w40 is too thick even in the summer. I would change if possible, either that or wait until operation temp before moving the car


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## Tavel (Aug 21, 2004)

RockstaR said:


> http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/thesaurus?book=Thesaurus&va=viscous
> you might wanna check that one out buddy ^^^ :dumbass:


you can't read can you, the definition says "having a glutinous adhesive consistency or quality." which means a highly viscous liquid does not flow, therefore; viscocity literally means the inability of a liquid to flow. it has absolutly nothing to do with thickness. 

you might wanna check this one out buddy.


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## RockstaR (Nov 22, 2004)

Tavel said:


> you can't read can you, the definition says "having a glutinous adhesive consistency or quality." which means a highly viscous liquid does not flow, therefore; viscocity literally means the inability of a liquid to flow. it has absolutly nothing to do with thickness.
> 
> you might wanna check this one out buddy.


 hey try checking out the RELATED WORDS mabye you *CAN'T* read good enough :loser:


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## RockstaR (Nov 22, 2004)

*re*

ill give you some highly viscous liquid








closed


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## Tavel (Aug 21, 2004)

RockstaR said:


> hey try checking out the RELATED WORDS mabye you *CAN'T* read good enough :loser:


the related words aren't part of the definition. or maybe they are and you'd like to point out that motor oil is ropy, stiff, and a slab. right? 

maybe not, learn how to use a dictionary.


and back to topic, i think 40 is too thick as well, but again i dont think it'll hurt any because its not that much different from 30. 33% increase in viscosity...well maybe. i'd go back to 5w30 if i were you, just to be safe.


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## Gimp (Jun 9, 2002)

Since NEITHER of you can play nice, and you know who I'm talking about....THREAD CLOSED!


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