5w30, 10w30 does it really matter?

[FOXCOUPE]

I know the owners manual calls for 5w30 but what if i start using 10w30 will i really be taking any risks? I also got a civic which calls for 5w30 but ive been using 10w30 in that for the last 10 years and the car runs good so far at 220k's. The reason i want to switch is because i'm burning oil, not enough to see it or smell it but i do have to top it off and the car isn't even a daily driver so it doesn't see any real milage.

 

[Seraphitia102]

Besides 10W30 being a thicker oil, I don't see any problems as I've used it as well with the exception of super cold weather where thicker oil doesn't flow as fluidly.

According to Toyota, 10W30 is a "generally" approved oil to use in virtually all vehicles (from what the manual of a Toyota said).

 

[Mustang5L5]

Considering that engines are built these days with tighter tolerances, i would run the recommended oil weight.

The thicker oil can actually cause more problems

 

[5.0's 4 ever]

The fleet of ford police cars that my dealership works on only wants to run 10w30 in their vehicles. I have not seen any increase in engine related failures by them doing this switch from the recommended 5w20 or 5w30.

 

[n0v8or]

5W-30 and 10W-30 both have the same viscosity (equivalent to straight 30W) when the engine is hot. So I doubt if there will be much difference in oil consumption.