whats the difference between 5w30 and 10w30 as far as motor oils?

unlucky and shelly have it backwards...... 5w-30 and 10w-30 are the same weight at operating temp ( 30 weight ), 5w and 10w basically refers to its cold cranking weight, the 5w-30 has a better cold flow... so its thinner at the same cold temp then what 10w-30 would be.... 10w-30 does however shear less (go out of grade) while 5w-30 (excluding synthetics) will go out of grade easier.... 10w-30 in the summer, 5w-30 in the winter.... OR since oils have improved so much, just use a 5w-30 all year long....

The number are related to the viscosity of the oil. The higher the number the "thicker" the oil's function.

The first number is the Winter viscosity and the second is Summer.

The two oil you mention would be fine anywhere except places where you get hard freezing in Winter. If that is the case take the 5W30 oil. Its thinner viscosity will make Winter engine starting easier.

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RE:

whats the difference between 5w30 and 10w30 as far as motor oils?

whats better in the summer and whats better in the winter?

If you had ever taken time to read the manual in your glove compartment Volvo recommends 5W-30 all year long. The lower the first number before the W, the faster the oil pump forces a *greater quantity of lubricant to frictional surfaces. You still will have 30 weight protection when the engine get's up to operating temperature. 80% of all engine wear occurs during start up. The higher the number before the W the slower the oil is pumped through the oil galleries to the frictional surfaces. It is a fact that 5W-30 Mobil1 continues to pour @ -42 below zero C which is within a degree or two of -42 F. Conventional 5W-30 stops pouring @ - 25 F -30 F depending on the brand of oil.

ok imagine a thin oil and a thick oil.

Thin oil is 1W Thick oil is 200W

MULTIGRADE oil is oil that can be as thin as 5W and as think as 40W.

So first number is how thin it can go and second number is how thick it can go.

1/100 would be immensely great, unfortunately it doesn't exist os 10/40 is average, or 20/50.

For your info in VERY HOT climates, oil has to be thicker, in very cald climate thick oil would block everything, becoming kind of grease so thin oil is necessary.

I gave you enough info and now you can sort it out by reasoning..

RE:

Whats the difference between 5w30 and 10w30 as far as motor oils? -

whats better in the summer and whats better in the winter?

well the difference is weight/thickness. a 10w30 is better for summer time because it will get thin with the warmth. the 5w30 is better for winter because it will thicken with the cold temperature. the first number5 or 10 is the thinnest this oil should get at very high temperatures. the 30 is the thickest the oil will get at low tempuratures. if a bottle of 5w30 is near freezing it will be close to the 30 weight(thick), and at 100degrees it would be closer to the 5weight(thin). FYI most new cars recomend 5w30. however the newest cars require 5w20. the thinner the oil the less ressistance from the motor and better gas milage is a result. german cars want thick oil in the US because our temps are higher than in Germany so the oil needs to be thicker. i did work in a shop for 5 years. i hope this answers your question. sorry for the long answer. in short the oil will be between the thinkness of 5weight and 30weight.

5w30 is a thinner viscosity when the oil is cold. The 30 refers to how thick the oil is once it is at normal operating temperature.

572 ci Has the simplest and correct answer. All are correct. Wat many people don't know is that the first number stands for how many Pounds Per Gallon (ppg) and the second number stands or viscosity in sec/qt. So the higher the first number, the more the oil weighs. The higher the second number, the more viscous the oil is. Viscosity is a property of fluids and slurries that indicates their resistance to flow, defined as the ratio of shear stress to shear rate.

5w30 Or 10w30

This difference is in the viscosity. Meaning in warmer temps you would want lower viscosity (5w30) and in the winter you would want a higher viscoisty (10w30). Check your manual though because if it is a newer car, you might just stick with 5w30 or 10w30. My car is older a 1995 Protege and I switch from 5w30 in the summer to 10w30 in the winter, and I usually switch when temperatures hit the 50's or 60's. Hope this helps.