A good quality engine oil not only maintains the strength of your automotive engine but also prevents any kind of wear or tear on the internal moving parts of an engine.
You often confuse SAE30 and 5W30 motor oil, right?
Let’s break it down to understand them well, and also know the clear difference between SAE 30 and 5W30 and which one is better than the other for your automotive engine.
But wait,
If you are in hurry, then this brief comparison table will definitely help you understand these two terms well, at a glance.
Table of Contents
| SAE30 Engine Oil | 5W30 Engine Oil |
|---|---|
| 1. Sae30 engine oil is a hot viscosity grade engine oil. | 5W30 is a cold viscosity grade engine oil. |
| 2. Sae30 doesn’t have detergent. | 5W30 comes with additive detergent. |
| 3. Not effective to clear dirt and debris from the engine components. | It is 25% more effective than other ordinary engine oils in cleaning dirt and debris from the engine components. |
| 4. Sae30 is best for hot weather conditions. | 5w10 is best for varying temperature conditions. The word “w” is for winter. |
| 5. Sae30 is best for old cars, lawnmowers, and generators. | 5w30 is best for old as well as new vehicles. |
| 6. You can use 5w30 in place of sae30. | You are not advised to use sae30 in place of 5w30 in new vehicles and devices. |
| 7. Synthetic variant is available. Not all sae30 variants are synthetic. | 5w30 is also a synthetic engine oil. |
| 8. Effective economic lubricant. | A little bit of expensive lubricant. |
Let me first clear some very basic but important terms so that you can understand them well without getting confused.
SAE30 is a single-grade oil. Its chemical formula is simple and more inexpensive than its runner-up. SAE30 is specifically introduced for small engines and is the best engine oil for your lawnmower.
SAE30 suit most lawnmowers engine because its performance is great in the max temperature in which a lawnmower runs.
SAE30 is a monograde oil, also referred to as a single-grade oil. The word SAE30 contains one number, in our case, it is 30, which means its viscosity rating is 30.
A single-grade oil can be rated either as a warm viscosity grade or a cold viscosity grade. In our case sae30 is a hot viscosity grade oil.
The term viscosity for oil is a very important parameter to judge whether a particular oil is good or not for your machine.
SAE30 is a hot viscosity oil. Viscosity refers to how fast or slow an oil can flow through all the machine components at the operating temperature.
SAE30 can be used in small engines mostly in your lawnmower, small tractor, etc. As sae30 is a non-detergent oil, you can use it in air compressors and hydraulic systems where there is no need for detergent oil. SAE30 is not an ideal choice for snow blower because it does not work at the temperature close to or below the freezing point.
Some 4-stock gasoline engines as you can see in motorcycles, powerboats, and in some 10 to 20 years old cars, SAE30-based engine oil is fine.
Also Read: Sae 30 vs 15w40: What’re The Differences?
Where Sae30 is a monograde oil with a hot viscosity grade, 5w30 is a multigrade oil. Multigrade oils are made with a combination of crude oil + some additives for different purposes.
There are some benefits of using this combination such as
Sae 5w30 is a multigrade oil having Sae5w viscosity at a low temperature and sae30 viscosity when it operates at a hot temperature.
The term 5 in this oil tells about the viscosity of this oil in the cold temperature and the word “W” is used for winter, and the term 30 refers to the hot viscosity of the oil at 100° celsius.
Now you are very clear that sae30 is a single grade or monograde oil type and sae5w30 is multigrade.
As stated earlier, 5w30 is made with a combination of crude oil and several useful additives, which make this oil type thinner in cold temperatures so that it can flow better to all components of the engine in cold weather.
This property is helpful to crank the engine in cold temperatures.
Where sae30 is limited to use in some old 2-stroke and 4-stroke diesel engines, the 5w30 can be used in hardworking cars, trucks, and SUVs.
Many people have a very common doubt…
If you read the above-mentioned detail carefully then the answer is very clear. No, they are not the same. Sae30 is a type of oil having a high-temperature viscosity grade.
While 5w30 has two grades, the viscosity grade 5 is for low temperatures, and the viscosity grade 30 is for when the engine is operated at high temperatures.
5w30 is an ideal choice for different temperature conditions due to its multigrade properties. It can provide better protection to your engine parts in varying temperature conditions.
When the temperature goes down in winter, 5w30 helps to crank the engine in such cold condition and perform better than sae30.
On the other hand, Sae30 performs best and can protect the engine from wear and tear in only hot temperatures.
The answer is yes, both the oil types have the same viscosity grade of sae30, and the viscosity grade and flow rate are the same in the operating temperature (100°C).
It also depends on which engine type your machine has. if it is a lawnmower, motorcycle, or others.
Detergent additives are mixed up in the engine oil to protect engine components from dust and debris. Engine oil with added detergent additives can trap and dissolve the impurities in the oil, and the cleaning process is continued till the oil changes.
SAE 5W30 comes with detergent additives which provide 25% better protection against impurities than a non-detergent engine oil like SAE30.
Every engine is designed to perform at its optimum capability with compatible resources. Engine oil does the same job. Different engines require different oil types having some specific viscosity grade rating.
You are not allowed to mix 5w30 with sae30 because both engine oil has different viscosity grading. 5w30 is a multi-grade oil, on the other hand, sae30 is a monograde oil.
Although mixing the same grade engine oils such as sae30 and sae40 is acceptable mixing two different grade oils is not advisable.
If you owned an old car then using a single-grade engines oil such as SAE30, 40 or any other would be fine, but it is not advisable to use any single viscosity grade engine oil in your new car.
Multigrade engine oil comes with some special additives that are mixed up for different purposes and provide better protection to your car engine than single-grade oils.
Any kind of oil with the word “W” like 5w30, or 10w30, could be the best for your car engine because it provides extra protection in varying temperatures.
A lawnmower is mostly used in summer which means engine oil with hot viscosity grade is perfect for a lawnmower.
You can choose sae30 or 10w30 for your lawnmower. A lawnmower engine requires such oil that can lubricate its whole area without getting thick at high temperatures.
First, you have to understand how the thick and thin properties of engine oil impact the health of your engine.
In winter when the temperature is low, your device engine needs thin oil to crank in cold condition, and the engine oil must be thick when the engine is already hot.
If your engine oil remains thick in all conditions, it sucks more fuel and will damage your automotive engine.
There are a huge variety of engine oils available in the market with different grades and suit best in varying temperatures, so choose wisely.
If you have an oil car, bike, lawnmower, or generator so definitely go with either sae30 or 10w30, but if you own a new automotive then must go with any oil type grade with the word “w”.
I would recommend going with 5w30 if you have a car, truck, or other automotive.
Engine oil plays a very important role to increase the shelf life of your car, motorcycle, or whatever automotive you own.
The time has gone when the engine oil is only used for lubrication. Modern engine oils come with special additives that not only lubricate the engine components but also clear dirt or debris, maintain the temperature, reduce friction and also improve the efficiency of the engine.
So, it is very important to use the right engine oil for your automotive vehicles to use them for a longer period of time with low maintenance costs.
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