76 camaro car

I have a 94 accord lx with 250k mi on the engine. I change my oil every time the maintenance reminder turns from green to orange. I usually run castrol 10w-30 in the engine but today when I went to buy the oil they were out of the 10w-30 so I bought 20w-50 instead. Should this be alright to run in my engine? Thanks

MAD_MIKE

Kind of depends on your weather conditions.
Now will a 20W(inter)-50 work in your car, yes.
The first number is indicative of how viscous the oil is when it is cold. So 10W is much more fluid than 20W when cold. At operating temperature, which is around 200°, the oils viscosity will be the weight found on the second number. Now 30 weight is fine for normal driving, but 50 weight is going to be a bit thicker at the same temp. This can affect how quickly the engine will accelerate, and may affect MPG if it is too thick.

However, in your region if it is becoming colder or going to be, you will want to use a 'thinner' oil to allow compensation of the temperature change. Such as a 5W-30. But if you drive the car pretty hard, and know your oil temps are getting hotter(via an oil temp gauge), then a thicker oil will help protect the engines internals. Because with hotter temps the viscosity of the oil drops.

Personally I would not use a 20w-50 in a daily driver that I put put around in.
In a cold snap the oil will not flow well at startup.

6_Speed

I would stick with what's recommended for your car. 10W30 should be widely available.

76 camaro car

Thanks for the responses, Since I have already changed the oil I guess I will go ahead and run it for a month so I do not feel like I totally wasted my money.Our temps here are still in the 80s to low 90s during the days. I will be sure to get it out of there by the time the cooler weather gets here. Thanks again.