Need some advice on 5w-20

Status
Not open for further replies.
H

homac

Joined
Dec 13, 2007
Messages
7
Location
Canada
Sorry if this is a dumb one folks, I could not get a straight answer anywhere I looked....

We just purchased a 2008 Jeep Patriot and the manual says to use 5w-20. As I have never used this weight before I googled it and started reading all sorts of things for/against. Most of it surrounded something called CAFE.

What is even more confusing is the Patriot in Australia and Europe are spec'd to use 5w-30.

Some basics which may help:

-Winters here can get down to -30C
-Summers can get quite warm +30C !
-City and Hwy driving
-No racing or anything, pretty boring driver
-Looking for engine protection vs fuel economy
-I used M1 5w-30 on my last car and prefer synthetic

So sorry for the long winded post, however my back is against a wall until I found this group.

Thank-you......
 
Use any SM grade 5-20, change it when your manual says to change it, and watch the rest of the car fall apart before your engine has any oil-related problems. Really. It is seriously that easy. If you want to spend a bunch of time reading on this site for your own edification, that's great. But, realize you may begin to obsess about centi-stokes and TBN and all sorts of minutiae.
 
Quote:
-Winters here can get down to -30C


That converts over to -22F.

Can a synthetic 5W-30 flow down to -22F? If not, you can always run it during the warmer months I would think.
21.gif
 
Cool little Jeep! I like the looks of them. Any 5w-20 will serve you well. They are all good IMO. I've run it where 10w or 5w-30 was recommended w/out issue. If you can't easily source 5w-20, just go with 5w-30. The engine won't know the difference. I'd be more curious about the Jatco CVT auto transaxle. Is yours 4x4? Good to have some real-world experience with a CVT on the board.

Joel
 
Last edited:
Your manufacturer is recommending an oil that will cause your car to blow up as soon as possible. This way, you have to buy another car from them real soon. Reputation be danged! /sarcasm off

Seriously, 5w20's are great oils. You can do no wrong using it. Check out the UOAs on this site and you'd be hard pressed to find one that just didnt work.
 
Originally Posted By: Triple_Se7en
Any name-brand SM 5W-20 synthetic is all the protection you need.

Agreed.

As long as oil meet OEM specification, you should have no problems.
 
So that stuff I am reading about 5w-20 not protecting as well as 5w-30 in warm weather is not accurate?

If that is the case I will likely go with a synthetic 5w-20 (M1 or Castrol).

What is an UOA?


Originally Posted By: badtlc
Your manufacturer is recommending an oil that will cause your car to blow up as soon as possible. This way, you have to buy another car from them real soon. Reputation be danged! /sarcasm off

Seriously, 5w20's are great oils. You can do no wrong using it. Check out the UOAs on this site and you'd be hard pressed to find one that just didnt work.
 
CAFE = Corporate Average Fuel Economy
Car mfrs. are required to meet gas mileage minimums for types/groups of vehicles.
Using thinner oil helps save millions of gallons of fuel a year.
But it is GOOD oil. Better for cold start flow, for sure. This means less engine wear. Thinner oil cools better, and releases power and economy.
You can use the 5-30 in the summer, but I'd go 5-20 all year long.
 
UOA = Universal Oil Analysis

We're running several autos on Motorcraft 5w20. Some sort of semi-synthetic if you believe what's written on the bottle. It was the only available (around here) 5w20 when we got the first one spec'd for it back in 2003 (I think).... and we just stayed with that particular brand.

It gets much warmer for a longer period of time here in mid-Missouri........ I would think that the 5w20 would be a better idea where you live, than here.

Have an '03 Mercury Marquis with 178,xxx miles. No oil consumption yet. 4,000 mile oil change intervals with a Motorcraft filter. Doing the same in an '05 F-150 5.4L 4x4 and in an '03 Focus 2.0L, '05 Focus 2.0L, and an '07 Focus 2.0L.

When I first saw that spec for 5w20 I was very hesitant, thinking that is was waaaaay too thin.

Sent in a few random oil samples and they came out good.

I don't worry about it anymore.
 
UOA = Used Oil Analysis. You send it off to a lab and for around $20 you can get an "idea" if your car is liking the oil or not. You can also get a heads up if your car is leaking antifreeze or has a fuel dilution problem.
 
Sorry if this is a dumb one folks, I could not get a straight answer anywhere I looked....

No such thing...

We just purchased a 2008 Jeep Patriot and the manual says to use 5w-20. As I have never used this weight before I googled it and started reading all sorts of things for/against. Most of it surrounded something called CAFE.

Use 5w-20 as the manual says. Maybe use a 5w-30 in the summer.

-No racing or anything, pretty boring driver

That tells me use 5w-20 year 'round. Or if you want use 5w-30 in the summer. But your driving tells me use as the manual says.

-I used M1 5w-30 on my last car and prefer synthetic

Pan through the conventional oil stories and use a 5w-20 synthetic. It can handle the heat and the thinner oils are great for cold winters and hot summers because of flow rate. Most of your oil sits in the pan during driving and synthetic flows excellent during hot summer months keeping your engine cooler.

M1, PP, AMSOIL, all good oils. PP, Schaeffer, and AMSOIL have the better UOA's.
 
Royal Purple makes one of the most robust 5w20 oils out there if you really want a grp IV synthetic.
 
Originally Posted By: homac
So that stuff I am reading about 5w-20 not protecting as well as 5w-30 in warm weather is not accurate?


10w30 protects better than either 5w30 or 5w20 in hot weather (>40c). But 10w30 doesnt do well below -20c. In the outback, they use 10w40 for same engines recommended for 5w20 in NA.

0w20, 5w20 and 5w30 are excellent below 40c.
 
Thank-you Forest.....


Originally Posted By: Forest
Sorry if this is a dumb one folks, I could not get a straight answer anywhere I looked....

No such thing...

We just purchased a 2008 Jeep Patriot and the manual says to use 5w-20. As I have never used this weight before I googled it and started reading all sorts of things for/against. Most of it surrounded something called CAFE.

Use 5w-20 as the manual says. Maybe use a 5w-30 in the summer.

-No racing or anything, pretty boring driver

That tells me use 5w-20 year 'round. Or if you want use 5w-30 in the summer. But your driving tells me use as the manual says.

-I used M1 5w-30 on my last car and prefer synthetic

Pan through the conventional oil stories and use a 5w-20 synthetic. It can handle the heat and the thinner oils are great for cold winters and hot summers because of flow rate. Most of your oil sits in the pan during driving and synthetic flows excellent during hot summer months keeping your engine cooler.

M1, PP, AMSOIL, all good oils. PP, Schaeffer, and AMSOIL have the better UOA's.
 
Originally Posted By: Seth
Originally Posted By: homac
So that stuff I am reading about 5w-20 not protecting as well as 5w-30 in warm weather is not accurate?


10w30 protects better than either 5w30 or 5w20 in hot weather (>40c). But 10w30 doesnt do well below -20c. In the outback, they use 10w40 for same engines recommended for 5w20 in NA.

0w20, 5w20 and 5w30 are excellent below 40c.


I may be thick headed, but how exactly does 10W-30 protect better than 5W-30 in the warm weather when both have warm weather rating of 30?

Are you also saying that thicker oil (SAE 30) protects better than thinner oil (SAE 20)?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

N
Euro xxW-30/0W-20 or ILSAC 5W-30 in TGDI Subaru?
Replies
18
Views
920
buster
P
Long Term 5w-30 use in Honda 1.5t
2 3 4
Replies
77
Views
4K
Nessism1
G
2020 Subaru STi 21k miles. Need help selecting 5w-30 oil (extended SoA 8 year 80k warranty)
2
Replies
25
Views
1K
Fa24wrx
R
Motul 8100 0w-20: Eco-Lite vs Eco-Clean (or anything else)? For Citroen C1 (Toyota Aygo)
Replies
11
Views
1K
vinu_neuro
K
Using 5w-30 instead of 5w-20
2 3 4
Replies
66
Views
11K
nwjones18
Back
Top