OIL newb needs help.

[shortylickens]

Last year when I had my Mazda Protege in the desert, I always kept it filled with 10W-40.

Now I have a pickup in the northwest and I'm not sure what to do.
Its a lot cooler up here and I intend to do more off-roading than highway driving.

Been using 5W-30 through the winter, mostly because thats what came with it.
I have a chevy S10 4.3 liter with 4WD. I already got the filter picked out but I'm not sure which oil to use. I was considering synthetic but I'm not sure which weight is appropriate for summer off-road fun.

Any insights or insults would be appreciated.

 

[mitaiwan82]

Mobil 1 oil picker

 

[mugs]

What does your manual say?

It'll have a chart of which oils you can use in which temperature ranges

 

[shortylickens]

That link is nice but it only tells me to pick 5W-30 regardless of temperature and doesnt take into account my activities.

EDIT: The manual isnt much better, it only tells me to use 5W-30 but I know thats not automatically correct.
Actually, now that I look at it, the book I got with it is pretty thin, doesnt tell me how to do much more than change the clock and stuff. Its not really a proper owners manual.
Might have to ream the dealer for that one.

 

[nakedfrog]

Bob is the Oil Guy.

 

[FoBoT]

read the manual, the people that made the vehicle engine wrote down what oil to use in it

 

[j00fek]

should say in the manual

 

[shortylickens]

Well, I made my last edit at 8:55 so the guys who posted at 9:02 and 9:03 should have seen it.

EDIT: The manual isnt much better, it only tells me to use 5W-30 but I know thats not automatically correct.

But thanks anyway, I found out from some more knowledgeable friends that if the book says to use 5W-30 all the time than you should use 0W-30 in extreme cold only. Thats not the situation up here in Oregon so I'm OK.
I also had some gearhead friends tell me I should use an alternate weight only if the vehicle we be used exclusively for off-roading. Again that is not the case with me so I should use the normal stuff.

If anybody cares I got a K&N filter and 5 bottles of Mobile Synthetic. I'm gonna try and see if I can get 10,000 miles out of it.