Nobody has 5W-40 in town. The Toyota mfg recommends 5-30, does anyone see a problem with using that instead? Nobody has 5W-40 in town. The Toyota mfg recommends 5-30, does anyone see a problem with using that instead?
Using it will void your warranty. benles I just order 5w-40 redline from Solo Performance. Take about 3-4 days for shipping. Cost 7.89 and flat $9 charge shipping. Link: http://www.soloperformance.com/Produ...5/Default.aspx There are lots of other choices, too:

http://209.59.172.12/forums/showthread.php?t=26231 Asked Nick Adams of Lotus Eng. this back at the 04 LA Car Show, he said specifically you had to run 5w-40, I figure if an engineer that worked on the design recommends it, that's enough endorsement for me. 5W 40 Fully Synthetic oils like Valvoline and Castrol
are usually easy to find. Some on this site have been
using Mobil 1's -0W 40 and I do remember asking the
Lotus rep (Mike Fischer) a while back if Mobil 1's 0W 40
would be acceptable and he said yes. stick with the 40 wieght , not the 30. the 2nd # is what the oil performs when hot as far as viscosity goes. the 0W-40 will just be thinner at start up.
I would go with what is recommended by the designers on this engine. Lotus manual book recommend Fully Synthetic SAE 5W40 only.
Check Wall Mart. Last time I found this viscosity there, made by Shell for $14 or $15 per gallon; pretty cheap!
You can also find Mobil 1 5W40 there for little more money. I think I paid $20 some for a 4.73L container which is little more than one US Gallon. Um... Qais at Lotus of South Bay puts 5w30 in my car At least, that's what it says on the invoices. I guess it's time for a phone call.

Any other LoSB users noticed this?

Q I have been able to find Castrol Syntec 5w40 at Volkswagen dealerships. Not as cheap as WalMart, but it is the right oil. Using it will void your warranty.
Just curious, how would they prove this? If you used it one time for 3K miles and then went back to a 40 weight because of availability. I'm guessing the 30 weight would have to be in the motor when you have a problem and you bring it into the dealer with the 30 weight oil, right? Um... Qais at Lotus of South Bay puts 5w30 in my car At least, that's what it says on the invoices. I guess it's time for a phone call.

Any other LoSB users noticed this?

Q
So did Boardwalk at my 1K service. Should we be worried? So did Boardwalk at my 1K service. Should we be worried?
There goes your warranty; I would delete your post, Lotus may be watching.

Just kidding; I highly doubt that you need to worry about it, but next time you do an oil change, I would insist they use the 5-40. In Santa Barbara you're not dealing with freezing temps at start up, so I'd go with 10-40 before 5-30. Mobil 1 0-40 is the favorite of the Volkswagen/Audi users. The VAG dealers use 5-40 Castrol Syntec.

Other considerations are all the API certifications. There's another thread arguing about whether Castrol Syntec 5-50 is OK. It's available at Wal Mart. Um... Qais at Lotus of South Bay puts 5w30 in my car At least, that's what it says on the invoices. So did Boardwalk at my 1K service. Should we be worried? Same with my dealer. When I asked, they said 5W40 was used, but they didn't have that as a standard line item in their invoicing system due to rare use. I wouldn't worry about it. Just curious, how would they prove this? If you used it one time for 3K miles and then went back to a 40 weight because of availability. I'm guessing the 30 weight would have to be in the motor when you have a problem and you bring it into the dealer with the 30 weight oil, right?
Good question. They could ask to see receipts for the proper oil I guess. When was the last time an engine failed due to the oil?

Lack of oil, sure.

Maybe uber-dirty oil.

But the wrong oil? Same as blondie. Qais said topping off with 5W-30 Castrol synthetic was okay if 5W40 not available. When was the last time an engine failed due to the oil?

Lack of oil, sure.

Maybe uber-dirty oil.

But the wrong oil? Can't thinner oil leach into the cylinders easier and thus cause issues? I'm going to exchange 6 quarts of Castrol 5w-30 ful synthetic to Castrol 5w-40 full synthetic that I saw at a local auto store.
I also noticed that FVMC uses 5 quarts of Castrol Syntec at my first service. I am getting the extra quart to have just for top offs.