Would you use 5w30 in place of 0w20 oil?

[cantdrv55]

Truck calls for 0w20 or 5w20 but I already have 5w30 in the garage. Will it hurt the motor if I use that? Most likely will affect my mpg but making sure I don’t grenade the truck.

[Superman]

Today's cars specify a certain viscosity for good reasons. For example, mine has variable cam timing and oil viscosity is part of what regulates that timing. It takes 0w20. 5w20 is not likely to grenade anyone's engine, but it might not run quite right. If you do use it, then find a case of 0w20 before your next oil change.

[speeder]

Must be a pretty new truck to call for 0w20, I wouldn't mess with the factory recommended oil, myself. It's a small price to put in the right stuff and use the other oil for something else.

[pwd72s]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKdhgKUZhPA&ab_channel=EngineeringExplained

Too big for me to embed...he gets into what happens when changing viscosity near the end.

[afterburn 549]

I have studied this carefully and will tell you my take on it.
Looking at the oil ratings for temps thought to be operated in, is one answer.
Maybe is the biggest one.
Next- in my case, in other countries the 0W 20 oils are not used, same engine.
Here, the EPA has mandated a percentage better fuel economy and this has made auto stop /start engines appear.
The engine will automatically shut off at stop lights and restart. The thinner oils and auto start-stop engines deliver their 1.5% more required.
As for me ?
Yes I got rid of the 0W20 crap after the first 4000 miles and went full synthetic 5W30
Also, the Oil pour viscosity rating between 0W and 5W is almost negligible.
If you look at the brand of oil Called "Driven" they also list viscosity used for bearing application clearance.
The EPA does not give a rip about how long your engine might last, and the manufacturer is caught in the middle of the hoop jumping.
I for sure am NOT telling what to do, but what I did.
If I was living in the Desert I would be running 10W40 or maybe 50 In my B58

[porsche tech]

I’ve used 0/20 Mobil 1 in my wife’s 2011 Honda Odyssey since day one and it currently has 152K miles without any problem (and doesn’t consume any oil between changes).

One reason manufacturers recommend such a light oil is for fuel mileage.

[KFC911]

With no disrespect to anyone posting .... I know who I would ask .... Lubey .

Earl is earl ....

signed...

Olive Earl

[afterburn 549]

D.Injection engines are esp hard on oils because at times the fuel can go past the rings so much that the oil level will be raised up !
Be careful about long oil change intervals!
Using the best oil you can buy helps a lot.'We have a 2017 honda turbo civic as our main land cruiser and grocery getter which is now over 220000 K on it .
No repairs, other than oil changes.

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

I have studied this carefully and will tell you my take on it.
Looking at the oil ratings for temps thought to be operated in, is one answer.
Maybe is the biggest one.
Next- in my case, in other countries the 0W 20 oils are not used, same engine.
Here, the EPA has mandated a percentage better fuel economy and this has made auto stop /start engines appear.
The engine will automatically shut off at stop lights and restart. The thinner oils and auto start-stop engines deliver their 1.5% more required.
As for me ?
Yes I got rid of the 0W20 crap after the first 4000 miles and went full synthetic 5W30
Also, the Oil pour viscosity rating between 0W and 5W is almost negligible.
If you look at the brand of oil Called "Driven" they also list viscosity used for bearing application clearance.
The EPA does not give a rip about how long your engine might last, and the manufacturer is caught in the middle of the hoop jumping.
I for sure am NOT telling what to do, but what I did.
If I was living in the Desert I would be running 10W40 or maybe 50 In my B58

You make a great point. 0w-20 is used to meet CAFE mpg regulations and the exact same vehicle sold in other regions of the world are recommended to use the 5w-30

[berettafan]

I've seen that very comment relating to the EA888 motor in my VW.

I'm sticking with the 0w20 that meets mfr specs.

[cockerpunk]

LowestWwhatever the factory recommends is always the correct the oil rating.

5w20 compared to 0w20, the 0w20 will wear the engine less.

oil is very misunderstood, the notion that thicker oil is better is wrong. oil must be thin to work properly. the issue isnt that oil gets thin when its hot, the problem is that its thick when its cold. thus, the thinnest oil while cold and the proper thickness while hot. thus, lowestW whatever the factory recommends.

[red-beard]

Thicker oil is good for older Porsche 911/914 transmissions (901) especially when the sync bands are getting worn. A short term fix at best...

[masraum]

I have to think that oils like almost everything else, have various compromises. So even manufacturer's recommendations may NOT specifically be to create maximum engine life/minimum wear. They could be specified for other reasons (like fuel economy).

Some manufacturers may recommend different ranges for different regions/countries. Some manufacturers may also have multiple recommendations for one location.

For instance, this is a screen shot of the 987 owners manual.

[David]

My Tundra calls for 0W-20 so that's what I run. Mobil 1 makes a truck 0W-20 and I suspect it's not really 0W-20 because when I changed my oil for the first time from the factory fill to the Mobil 1. There was a noticeable increase in the oil pressure gauge reading.

[Superman]

I wish I had a dollar for every time I see someone who thinks they can outsmart automotive design engineers. They can get more power and better gas mileage just by switching to a K&N air filter.

CP is right. Oil is greatly misunderstood. Greatly.

Today's cars are highly persnickety about parts and fluids and other specs. MUCH more intolerant than yesterday's cars. Case in point: Machine clearances in today's motors are FAR different than they were just 20 years ago. Some of those tolerances almost don't exist. Because of this, CP correctly reports that thinner is better. Thinner oil gets into those tight tolerance spaces better than thicker oil does. Oil is thought to be very important these days, unlike the olden days.

The Mazdas in Europe have 2.5L engines. So does mine. I have little reason to suspect those engine are the same as each other and every reason to believe they are different. Euro markets are not the same as the USA market. Heck....auto manufacturers sometimes make changes DURING a model year. Misinformation is easy to find on social media, including this thread.

0w20 has been working great in my engine for 140K miles. As I say, a little 5w30 is not likely to grenade your motor. *probably* But if my car had 5w30 in it right now, I'd plan on an oil change soon.

[afterburn 549]

You all do as you wish.
However, I have more days studying the arguments, oil specs, and charts them most of you do in minutes.
Even the Porsche people over at L&N are saying to switch to 5W30 with Lake Jr. on a YouTube video.
Lake Jr- is supposedly an Oil engineer of some sorts?
Which outshines any of us here.

[cockerpunk]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

You all do as you wish.
However, I have more days studying the arguments, oil specs, and charts them most of you do in minutes.
Even the Porsche people over at L&N are saying to switch to 5W30 with Lake Jr. on a YouTube video.
Lake Jr- is supposedly an Oil engineer of some sorts?
Which outshines any of us here.

switch to 5w30? from what? on what car? in what driving conditions?

like you post just nonsense. and your relentless campaign for thicker oil will only hurt your engines faster.

[Dantilla]

Just happened to read this on an aviation forum I'm on. Offered without comment, since none of my vehicles call for 0w-20:

"Pulling my camper home from Osh, the 0w-20 got so thin that it would not maintain oil pressure at idle. Low oil pressure shuts down the fuel rail, and that left sweetie sitting a truck-stop while I was flying home from OSH... She was not a happy camper."

[afterburn 549]

Punk-If you could keep up, pay atn, the same exact engines in other countries does not come with 0W 20 oils!
Why?
Why not, if they are so good?.
Here in the USA, It is goberment mandated for the fleet.
What do I mean?
The 1 to 1.5 % more fuel economy is measured as a whole .
Not individually.
Your assertion and propagation of the word "probably" is NOT a scientific test.
It is your opinion.
As for me looking at the whole picture-
As I stated if you are looking for authority to dispute it , go read up On Lake Speed jr, L&N and others.
Spend a few days on oil analysis reports.
As I stated- our little turbo Honda 1.5 turbo with way over 200K is some kind of proof that 5W30 is at least not bad for it, when, most of these engines die at 50K and for sure at 100K blown injectors, and other parts like pistons.
So, the 5W30 is not very scary and it works in other countries, savvy?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

Punk-If you could keep up, pay atn, the same exact enginee in other countries does not come with 0W 20 oils!
Why?
Why not, if they are so good?.
Here in the USA, It is gobermnandated mandated for the fleet.
What do I mean?
The 1 to 1.5 % more fuel economy is measured as a whole . no individually.
Your assertion and propagation of the word "probably" is NOT a scientific test.
It is your opinion.
As for me looking at the whole picture-
As I stated if you are looking for authority to dispute it , go read up On Lake Speed jr, L&N and others.
Spend a few days on oil analysis reports.
As I stated- our little turbo Honda 1.5 turbo with way over 200K is some kind of proof that 5W30 is at least not bad for it, when, most of these engines die at 50K and for sure at 100K blown injectors, and other parts like pistons.
So, the 5W30 is not very scary and it works in other countries, savvy?

But what if I live in the Arctic circle or Phoenix or Tucson? I just just always run the same oil, right?