Oil

[Steve Wallace]

What oil grade is recommended in winter for 2004 silverado

[txab]

5w-30 year 'round

[dsr611]

Straight from the owners manual...5W-30 down to -20°F and then you can use either 5W-30 or 0W-30

Like txab said, just run 5W-30 year round

[Cowpie]

Yeah, 5w30 is recommended.  I have used 10w30 year round with no problem in a 2006 Cadillac I also have that calls for 5w30.  12 year old car that runs great and we will keep for quite a while.   Just now having to replace the original factory battery!     There is only a 5 degree difference in cold flow rating between the two.  Depending on location, either could be just fine.  I live in Central Iowa and have no problems with 10w30 in the Caddy.  If I lived further south like the other posters, I wouldn't even give it a second thought and use 10w30 year round with no worries.    A 5W30 and a 10w30 are both 30w oils.  Only the cold winter flow rate is different.   As a side note though, a 10w30 is more resistant to shear and has a lower burn off or NOACK rate than a typical 5w30, because the 10w30 usually requires fewer viscosity index improvers which can be a weak feature of a motor oil in tough applications.  So 10w30 does have some positives.  All 5w30 has over a 10w30 is a cold flow rate, and unless you deal with some real blistering cold frequently, one may experience no appreciable benefit from 5w30.    It all depends on one's comfort level I guess.

 

I have been using a 5w30 in my 2015 2500, but will probably move to a 10w30 in it also on the next change.