5w-20 in 100 degree heat? Will it protect?

[dparm]

It is absolutely up to the challenge. If it weren't, the manufacturer would require something different. 5w20 will work in the dead of winter to the hottest summer days.

Remember, these engines are not air-cooled.

 

[Nickdfresh]

It's fine. Use a good syn like QSUD is you're worried...

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: dparm
It is absolutely up to the challenge. If it weren't, the manufacturer would require something different. 5w20 will work in the dead of winter to the hottest summer days.

Remember, these engines are not air-cooled.



Good point!

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Jeff_in_VABch
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Nope I doubt Hyundai ever thought that one of their cars would run in 100 degree temps with the AC on. Way beyond design parameters.

Actually, we have no idea what the design specifications are or what prototype testing was done.

Search for "Death Valley's car testing" you will find many articles about manufactures test their vehicles at Death Valley in summer, when the temperature can be in the 120's at around 3-4PM

 

[Hallmark]

Originally Posted By: INDYMAC
I've been wondering about using 0W-20, 5W-20, or 5W-30 in my 2012 Toyota 4Runner 1GR-FE here in Texas. Toyota recommends 0W-20 for better fuel economy and colder start capability, neither of which concerns me much. But they do suggest using a higher than 20 grade oil for extreme load conditions or high speed driving. Well, all we have here is high speed driving. Heck, even the two lane highways are 70MPH. And most of the interstates are 75MPH-85MPH now. I'm leaning towards a 5W-30 after a couple of wear in OCI's using 5W-20.


Relative to a definition of 'high speed' driving and debating the switch to higher viscosities, can highway/freeway speeds of 70-80 mph be considered 'high speed' when most modern engines are turning less than 3,500 RPM in high gear at those speeds? Not in my mind.

IMO, modern engines running at 3,000-3,500 RPM are just loafing while blasting the autobahn or the twisties at 6,000 RPM might be considered 'high speed'.

 

[Ken2]

Valvoline's Australian web site recommends 10W-30 or 5W-30 syn blend for the Accent. As someone above posted, the viscosity depends on the market.

My turbo Volvo had an oil cooler in the hot tank of the radiator. It had a thermostatic valve to send the oil to the cooler after the oil warmed. (The ATF cooler was in the cold tank of the radiator.)

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: Jeff_in_VABch
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Nope I doubt Hyundai ever thought that one of their cars would run in 100 degree temps with the AC on. Way beyond design parameters.

Actually, we have no idea what the design specifications are or what prototype testing was done.

The thing the mfgs know is that the high temps will likely not cause a catastrophic mechanical engine failure within the warranty period. They are concerned with plastic/soft parts that can fail or cause fire or safety issues.


Sure we do, its no secret where manufactures test.

Death Valley or Saudi Arabia, and South Africa in MB's case, for heat.

Most German manufactures and probably Hyundai as well since they sell a lot of cars in the middle east, design them to run at or near WOT for extended periods of time with the AC blasting on a nice cool 110 degree Saudi Arabian afternoon.

Also northern Norway for arctic winter testing.

Unless the vehicle has a cooling system failure and is run to destruction their is no way you can induce enough temperature in that oil to cause any issues.


"One of them was that the Phaeton should be capable of being driven all day at 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph) with an exterior temperature of 50 °C (122 °F) whilst maintaining the interior temperature at 22 °C (72 °F)."

So how the heck can you stress a car idling along on one of our slow US interstates?

 

[tommygunn]

By the way, 70MPH is neither hard nor fast a speed to drive at.

Changing to a thicker 5W-30 to go 70MPH is laughable.

If you have to change your tires to keep them from exploding, thats high speed operation, and thats usually at or past 110 MPH.

 

[mechtech2]

Originally Posted By: scurvy
The thermostatically-controlled engine block at 190°F doesn't much care that it's 100°F outside. Or 0°F for that matter. It generates its own heat and is equipped with cooling passages, a specific coolant mixture, a thermostat, a radiator and thermoswitched auxiliary fans specifically tested & designed to keep it around 190°F ALL THE TIME. Not to mention it has bearing clearances that were designed for 20 weight oil at 190°F. Unless the truck is overheating or underheating, the oil is fine.

This "XwYZ can't protect in my [hot | cold | humid |

pudding] ambient temps!" idea needs to go the way of the dodo.


Engine oil temp is not coolant temp. So disregard this train of misinformation.^

In Summer, oil is MUCH hotter than winter, and hard driving jacks it up more. And therefore it thins out more.

As to a 20 being insufficient:
No.
[Not in cars spec'd for it.] 20s are tough.

 

[Zako2]

I am sure Ford's engineers are aware of the summer temperature ranges experienced in the USA.

 

[j_mac]

To those with serious responses, thank you.
The reason I was asking the question is because I've seen owner's manuals to vehicles that indicate a high temperature limit for specific weights. Maybe I'm remembering Japanese and BMW motorcyle recommendations.
I just found the owner's manual to the Hyundai and the temperature chart shows xW-30 and xw-20 oils to be good up to and beyond 120 degrees F. Kinda vague, but apparently NO oil in this car will ever get hot enough to tax it. I need to look. I bet this new "Gamma" engine in this car has an oil cooler built into the system.

 

[Oil Changer]

I've wrote it here before...

I towed a boat (18.5 ft. Bayliner bowrider and a long weekend worth of camping gear)from Riverside, California (Temecula)to Lake Mojave routinely in the 115F heat; 5 hours each way. That included going up and down the Cajon Pass and what we called the Baker grade. Brutal. I did this in an F-150 with dino 5W-20 with the A/C cranking.

Not one hint of engine problems. The transmission was starting to do weird things when I traded it in.

Tires were a problem.

Some of these thick oil guys make me laugh.

 

[Oil Changer]

I also agree with the sustained high speed driving thing. What? You're cruising down a US highway at 75 MPH with the air and cruise on in overdrive? What? At 3000 RPM? Come on. You're barely off idle. LOL!

 

[dave1251]

This type of topic has been beaten to beyond the dead horse phase if that is possible. Just use Chevron Supreme 25W-60 you should be able to get it from a Chevron distributor. But if you have any mechanical failure or warranty issues do not ask me for advice.

 

[wolf_06]

I have a 2008 accent gls. Solid little car, very well built.
I have tried all kind of oil in my car. To me, my personal choice of oil would be castrol edge (black bottle) in the 5w20.

This oil gives good startup, good cold crank, and keep the [censored] engine quiet, a lot less valve chatting, none actually.

Quaker gb, valvoline wb, pennzoil platinum, they all are a bit noisier, valvoline the worst one, didnt like, drain it out of the pan.

Mobil 1 synthetic and castrol edge are a bit more expensive syns compared to other onesl but these two gave me the best results.
I never tried real syns like royal purple or amsoil, way too $$$.

If I had to run a dino, castrol gtx, petro canada, pennzoil yb would be my choice, in that order.

Btw, with pennzoil platinum, my emgime developpe that ticking noise, not crazy about it since, but other thant that, good oil.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: j_mac
To those with serious responses, thank you.
The reason I was asking the question is because I've seen owner's manuals to vehicles that indicate a high temperature limit for specific weights. Maybe I'm remembering Japanese and BMW motorcyle recommendations.
I just found the owner's manual to the Hyundai and the temperature chart shows xW-30 and xw-20 oils to be good up to and beyond 120 degrees F. Kinda vague, but apparently NO oil in this car will ever get hot enough to tax it. I need to look. I bet this new "Gamma" engine in this car has an oil cooler built into the system.



Sometimes I see that in modern car manuals and think the auto companies are just lazy and cut-and-paste it from the 1970s manuals.

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Engine oil temp is not coolant temp. So disregard this train of misinformation.^

In Summer, oil is MUCH hotter than winter...


Engine oil is strongly correlated to coolant temp in modern engines.

In summer, is the oil in a 2012 Hyundai Accent 100ºF hotter than in winter? I would bet a $30 bill the answer is no.

 

[chiks]

Originally Posted By: j_mac
I'm running fresh Quaker State Ultimate Durability 5w-20 full synthetic in my 2012 Hyundai Accent. I went on a long trip with the AC on all the way and then tooled around downtown Cincinnati with everything up to maximum operating temp. It was nearly 100 degrees that day.
Do you guys think the 5w-20 is up to the task? I know it will stand the heat because its a synthetic, but could it thin down to the point that it could cause trouble with wear, or possibly affect the operation of the variable valve timing mechanism?
I would say that the oil temperature reached its zenith pretty much. I don't envision any conditions where I might push it higher. Unless it gets to 110 degrees and I take this same 150 mile trip.


I have driven 100K miles on Mobil 0w-20 oil in my Mazda6 (Ford+Mazda Duratec 3.0l engine) and it gets hotter than 100K in Dallas, TX. Never any problems with engine temp or performance of engine. Engine was clean as a whistle when I sold it and never "burnt" oil. Exhaust tips were dry as a bone.

 

[tig1]

I just returned from a 3500 mile trip to Maine and back in the Fusion which is spec'd for 20wt oil. The engine ran great, very quite, with no oil use at all. From Columbus, Oh to Illinois the temps are very hot with 103 here. No problem for the M1 0-20.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Perhaps I am coming into the fray a bit late, but here is my $0.02:

My experience is the xW-20 fears are WAY overblown. I have used 5W-20 just as Ford specified in my FX4 since birth. It has seen heat in excess of 110F pulling a full load in NV, MT, and WY and the wear metals have only nudged a little higher (from 8/9 PPM to 11/13 PPM) than unloaded in normal temperatures. I have a VCT engine (which is similar in operation to your VVT) and after 80K miles, all is operating normally with no problems and I expect the same will apply at 160K and beyond.

Do I think the wear metals would have been lower than what I have experienced if I used xW-30? Doubtful, my guess is it would be the same or perhaps a bit higher. As callous as this may sound (/flame suit on), there are too many arm chair oil experts that constantly attempt to second guess the highly educated/experienced engineers that design the engines and the oils they are specified to use--and to what end?

Seriously! I have said this before--How many dead engines are on the side of the road due to use of xW-20? How many miles does an engine running xW-20 have to last to be proven? Twice as long as an engine running thicker oil? Three times? (/flame suit off)

OP - I would run xW-20 in your vehicle with no worries--hot, cold, moderate temperatures, it matters not. If the engine was specified to use xW-20, then use it without worry. I doubt you will pass any dead ones on the way due to the use of xW-20...