Miata Mailing List: September 1993, Message #159
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   From: steve@laforge.ksc.nasa.gov (Steve Davis)
Subject: Re: 5W-30 and synthetic oils
   Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1993 16:08:31 -0400



From: bruce@lurch.Data-IO.COM
>5W-30 synthetic (Valvoline, Chevron) is hard to find, while 5W-50
>synthetic (Pennzoil, Castrol) is pretty common and offered in  
>several brands.  Is it ok to use 5W-50, or should I go to the  
>trouble of finding 5W-30 synthetic?  What does everyone think?
======

  FWIW, Mobil-1 5W-30 is pretty common around here; it's cheapest at  
Kmart-- about $3.45 per quart.  I used this oil exclusively in my  
previous car ('91 Honda Civic) without any problems.  Of course, the  
Honda had a normal OHC/rocker head, and I sold it with less than  
60,000 miles on the odometer-- merely a break-in as Hondas go.

  My first oil change was done at the dealer, and they used Castrol  
10W-30.  I did the second change myself, using Mobil-1 10W-30.   
Before this, I was hearing valve noises for about three seconds  
during cold starts; now it's down to a half second or so.  I haven't  
decided yet whether or not this merits a switch to 5W-30... any  
suggestions?  (BTW... it never gets really cold around here; people  
complain when the thermometer dips into the high 40s.  Heck, that's  
top-down weather in most places! :-)

  Regardless of which grade I use, I intend to keep using Mobil-1;  
since I'll probably be hanging onto my Miata for quite a few years, I  
should have a better idea than I do now on whether synthetic oil  
actually helps.

Regards,

Steve
Cape Canaveral, FL
'93 (freshly-waxed) Classic Red "A"