I have just bought my first car in about 30 years... 2nd hand. It's about due for an oil change. I need a refresher course on motor oil from you gentlemen. First is the weight of oil. I live in Hawaii for starters. Engine recommendation in the manual is 5w30... What I can remember is that one used the higher weights for hot climates and the lower weights for typical wintry conditions with low ambient temps.
The temperature here seems to never drop below 60 Fahrenheit (say 17c) where I am located. That's early morning temp in January. So is 5w30 the correct weight oil to use?
Secondly, the synthetic vs conventional oil debate. I am reading online that synthetic actually lasts longer so I would like to go with synthetic. I have no idea what oil is in the engine at the moment. I have seen folks state that one cannot switch between conventional oil and synthetic. Other folks state that there is no problem in doing so. So what's the opinion of folks here? thanks