0w30 vs 5w20

[Soundguy]

was doing a lil research on some of these oils and other 'energy savings' type oils.

have been reading some troubline issues with 5w20 in hot weather applications.


seen many situations where even with 3500m 'dealer' specified changes, people are seeing accelerated wear on engines and lube related (wear) failures in the 30-40k range.. and on larger engines in towing applications with extreme top end ( head / cam ) wear at 80-90k.

saw many recs to use a 0w30 vs a 5w20. was stated you are getting the lower cold pour point ( non issue ) and at temps.. actually seeing similar energy savings with 30 vs 20 due to reduced drag from wear


any opinions?

 

[dodge man]

I'm running 5w-20 in both my wifes 300C and my Challenger. Both have the 5.7 hemi and you don't really have a choice. To make the MDS run correctly (it switches to 4 cylinders), you have to run that weight oil. From what I've read on other forums, people aren't really having any problems with wear on the hemi. I also run synthetic in most of my stuff, but I don't know if that really makes any difference or not.

What engines are you hearing about early wear on?

 

[mjonesnh]

Running 2 Ford cars and a F-150 on the Motorcraft 5W-20 blend oil. No problems have shown up. The Fusion has 29,000 miles and the F-150 has 58,000. Temps were recently in the 105-110f range will no troubles apparent.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Ford recommends 5w20 in my F150, but some of the time I run synthetic 10W30 when I can't find the 5w20 easily. Oil is not just for lubrication, it also cools. I'v read lubrication articles that say the synthetic 20 weight does a better job of cooling the internal engine parts.

 

[hank193]

Not sure if my experience relates. It does get hot here in Bama though. I run synthetic 5w -20 [Mobil 1] in my Toyotas {v-6s] and have for over 140K miles .Change oil and filters at 5-6 k miles. No issues and no noises. My tractors get Rotella 15w-40 turbo rated diesel stuff and so does all the 4 stroke small motors. . No problems noted .
Oil does several jobs ,as you know . Lubricates,cools [actually transfers heat] ,cleans [carries metal and byproducts crud to the filters/screens] , seals [around rings,etc] and prevents rust/sludge from forming inside due to moisture,acid formation. Oil is sooo much better now than in the old days !!
Old engines ,even when the old type, single weight,non detergent oils were changed, would produce a gunk and varnish that could destroy engines before 100 thousand miles on gassers. Diesel were better, but sludge still got them much quicker than today. Sorry to ramble on....

 

[Grateful11]

So far my wife has always used CaseIH No. 1 Diesel Oil 15W40 including the Kubota. She hasn't decided on what to use in the JD yet.

 

[Bob77064]

My 2007 Tundra 5.7 calls for 5W20 or 0W20. During the summer I use 5W20 and 0W20 during the winter. The Tundra has 108,200 miles ans has had no problems. Since 48,000 I have been using Mobil-1.

 

[Bob77064]

My 2007 Tundra 5.7 calls for 5W20 or 0W20. During the summer I use 5W20 and 0W20 during the winter. The Tundra has 108,200 miles and has had no problems. Since 48,000 I have been using Mobil-1.

 

[Soundguy]

interesting, thanks for the comments.

only info i have from the reading and rad program listed a f150 as the truck with top end issues, and I don't recall the car.

all were using non syn and non blended oils though.

 

[LD1]

When it comes to oils, the lower the first number is the better. That is simply how the oil performs at lower temps, not just pourability, but how well it gets where it is needed when the engine is cold. And even living in florida, 80 degrees is cold for an engine. A 0w-whatever oil will flow, when cold, roughly the same as a 40w oil does when hot.

A lot of people have a hard time grasping that 0w30 oil is NOT any thinner than a 5w30 or 10w30. Infact they are the SAME weight oils at operating temperature. And contrary to what alot of folks like to believe, the oil is STILL thicker (even 0w30) when it is cold.

The way I like to explain it is this: 0w30, 5w30, and 10w30 are all the same, it is just simply that the 0w oil doesnt thicken up as much when it cools off. Right now, 0w30 is about as close as you can get to not changing viscosity with temp fluctuations.

So, all that said, it is really just a matter of 20w vs 30w oil that is the issue. And sorry I cant help as I havent heard of the engine failures that you speak of. But what I do know is that I follow what the MFG calls for. Cause engines are designed (bearing clearences and such) with a specific weight oil in mind. If you go too thin, you wont have enough pressure to get everywhere it needs to be. If you go too thick, you will have good pressure, but maybe not enough flow to get to where it needs.

 

[Patches]

My Totota Tundra's spec is for 5-20/0-20 but with a caveat in the owners manual (suggesting) a heavier weight oil may be preferable towing and/or severe duty. I have used 0W-30 Mobil 1 since the initial oil change with no ill effects.

 

[clemsonfor]

Running 2 Ford cars and a F-150 on the Motorcraft 5W-20 blend oil. No problems have shown up. The Fusion has 29,000 miles and the F-150 has 58,000. Temps were recently in the 105-110f range will no troubles apparent.

How do you know? He is saying wear results. Are you having your oils tested or engines torn down to see the issues? Even 58k is no amount of miles on a modern vehicle these days, where almost any engine will run out to 300k.

Just to show my point, my ranger has wear on it yet it runs perfectly fine, no idle issues starting issues or acceleration issues. But it uses oil so i know it has some wear past a certain point. But that is to be expected with 290k miles on it. Im not saying you should be burining oil even if there was an issue but there is know way to know without teardown and expert eyes or expert oil analysis.

 

[Soundguy]

My Totota Tundra's spec is for 5-20/0-20 but with a caveat in the owners manual (suggesting) a heavier weight oil may be preferable towing and/or severe duty. I have used 0W-30 Mobil 1 since the initial oil change with no ill effects.

interesting that they suggest the heavier oil for 'work'.. perhaps sounding a lil like the show I heard..

 

[crashz]

I ran up to 115K miles on my F150 with the horrible little 4.2L V6. Most of the time it had the Ford spec'ed 5w-20 in it, almost always Motorcraft or M1, as they were about the only two brands that made it back then.

I had no oil or engine wear issues with that truck. Just lack of power and terrible fuel mileage.

Now - a lot of the Ford Triton V8 wear issues are misleading. They used an aluminum alloy composite bearing, but the V8's in the trucks had aluminum timing chain guides. The guides, by design, tend to wear and increase Al in the oil. Some labs get punchy and cry wolf, expecting immediate engine seizure, when in reality the engine is just fine.

Another common issue is that old school folks have always used heavy weight oil in their trucks, so many people have done some serious damage to the engines by using 15w-40 or 20w-50 in the Ford modular engines. The oiling systems are very picky, so they damaged the top end where the oil didn't flow as well when cold. When the trucks are towed to the dealer, its immediately blamed on the oil, but the customer is never going to admit that he used the wrong weight.

Ford and Honda have both been using this oil weight recommendation for over 10 years. Most other manufactures have fallen in line as well. Me - I wouldn't hesitate, as long as its a quality oil brand.

 

[WilliamBos]

Excellent explanation. So the same train of thought could be used when talking 0W40, 5W40, and 15W 40 diesel oils?

When it comes to oils, the lower the first number is the better. That is simply how the oil performs at lower temps, not just pourability, but how well it gets where it is needed when the engine is cold. And even living in florida, 80 degrees is cold for an engine. A 0w-whatever oil will flow, when cold, roughly the same as a 40w oil does when hot.

A lot of people have a hard time grasping that 0w30 oil is NOT any thinner than a 5w30 or 10w30. Infact they are the SAME weight oils at operating temperature. And contrary to what alot of folks like to believe, the oil is STILL thicker (even 0w30) when it is cold.

The way I like to explain it is this: 0w30, 5w30, and 10w30 are all the same, it is just simply that the 0w oil doesnt thicken up as much when it cools off. Right now, 0w30 is about as close as you can get to not changing viscosity with temp fluctuations.

So, all that said, it is really just a matter of 20w vs 30w oil that is the issue. And sorry I cant help as I havent heard of the engine failures that you speak of. But what I do know is that I follow what the MFG calls for. Cause engines are designed (bearing clearences and such) with a specific weight oil in mind. If you go too thin, you wont have enough pressure to get everywhere it needs to be. If you go too thick, you will have good pressure, but maybe not enough flow to get to where it needs.

 

[clemsonfor]

yes exactly

 

[Bob77064]

My Totota Tundra's spec is for 5-20/0-20 but with a caveat in the owners manual (suggesting) a heavier weight oil may be preferable towing and/or severe duty. I have used 0W-30 Mobil 1 since the initial oil change with no ill effects.

Since my Tundra is way out of warranty 2007 with 108,200 miles, I have thought about using 0W30 or 5W30. The main reason the manufacturers want the 0W20 or 5W20 is for the slight improvement in fuel mileage. It makes a difference in the CAFE.

 

[LD1]

Excellent explanation. So the same train of thought could be used when talking 0W40, 5W40, and 15W 40 diesel oils?

Correct

yes exactly

:thumbsup:

Lower first number is ALWAYS better.

Unless for some reason you want the oil THAT much thicker when cold:confused2:

 

[WilliamBos]

Correct


:thumbsup:

Lower first number is ALWAYS better.

Unless for some reason you want the oil THAT much thicker when cold:confused2:

Does it matter which one gets used in hotter climates? Is 15 better than 5 in hotter weather?

 

[greasemonkeyok]

The first number is the weight of the Base Oil. So in a 15w50 oil, the base oil is 15w. Then they add thickeners that when the oil heats up, it has the same properties as a 50w oil. The bigger the spread in the numbers, the more the oil relies on the thickeners to perform at a 50w level. In other words, a 0w40 oil relies more on thickeners that a 10w30.

If you are in a really hot area where there is no benefit to the lower first number, my vote would be to use the higher first number.