[deepstang]

I went to get my oil changed from my usual Sewell dealership, but this time the put in 0w40 instead of the usual 5w30. I live in Texas where the winters are relatively mild. I called them, and they said that 0w40 is fine.

Did anyone else experience this? Is it better or worse? I know it should give better super cold starts, and a little better for extreme temps. I also know that I can have decreased gas mpg with thicker oil. The car does have 90k miles, and I know some ppl use thicker oil to compensate for potential compression loss.

I think that if a WIDER range is not needed with oil, it is better avoided. I heard that more manipulation (additives) are needed to have oils with wider ranges.

 

[Silver0393]

0w40 is the recommended oil for the car. I run 0w30 which is not much different.

 

[robhurlburt]

How do you know its slower?

the manual reccomends 0w-40

 

[Finch 93]

I've thought of this for a while. If I were in Texas, I'd prefer 0W-40 because of the heat. The 40 part is what interests me.

If I were living in perpetual cool weather, then a 0W-30 is what I'd prefer. For Washington state, that is what I prefer even though I've been using 0W-40. The reason is because in short trips, the 30 part seems better to me.

As far as 5W-30, I think the 5 part doesn't flow as well at initial start up so 0 is preferred.

I do understand the OP fear of the spread between 0 and 40 (40 difference). However, if you change oil often, it won't have the chance to break down.

 

[deepstang]

Thanks for the info guys. I definitely noticed that the car feels a little more sluggish and slower to rev since the service. Most people would not notice, but I did. I also feel like it doesn't want to downshift as fast as before. I checked the levels, and everything seems good. Maybe I got spoiled from driving the new 2010 9-3 loadner...which is a fast revver!

 

[JMarkert]

Maybe I got spoiled from driving the new 2010 9-3 loadner...which is a fast revver!

It could also be that the car adapted to a different driving style while it was in the shop. You might either pull the fuses for the computers or disconnect the battery and see if a reset changes anything. Did they do any service other than the oil?

 

[MR.SAAB]

It could also be that the car adapted to a different driving style while it was in the shop. You might either pull the fuses for the computers or disconnect the battery and see if a reset changes anything. Did they do any service other than the oil?

sounds like they tested the rev limiter and the ecu adapted lol:nono;

 

[deepstang]

Did they do any service other than the oil?

Air-filter, transmission service (oil change), and synthetic oil change. I refused the throttle body cleaning and some other crap that I had done on my 60k service.

 

['97 Saab SE Turbo]

My '97 2.0L SET with 151-k miles just got 38.0 mpg on a 100 mile trip this past Friday. I've been running Mobil1 0-40 full synthetic oil in for a couple years and have never noticed a decrease in performance. What you mught be seeing is a decrease in performance due to warmer weather; the turbo is less efficient the warmer the air gets... Ron

 

[maj28]

Well since you said it seems like it doesn't downshift as quick and you did get transmission service, I would lean towards that, but it's hard to say.

Are you sure they didn't put junk transmission fluid in? I'm no trans fluid expert, but I doubt they're all created equal.

-jason

 

[Morel]

Or they just disconnected the battery and/or reset the computer so it's now at stock settings until it relearns.. :

 

[Cosmicflash]

An oil change will not effect engine performance per se. It must be something else.

 

[slonomo]

I think the performance loss from using thicker oil wouldn't be measurable except maybe on a dyno. The mileage might be measurable though. If you are having a real noticable performance loss, I'd look elsewhere.

 

[JonV]

An oil change will not effect engine performance per se. It must be something else.

^^What he said. Plus, 0W30 or 40 are the recommended weights for our cars. Technically in the US, 5W30 is the wrong Oil unless you have a 97 or 92 Saabaru