Any andvantage of mixing 5w20 w/ 5w30............

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arh

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.....in a vehicle specd for 5w30. Vehicle is a 02 Chevy Silverado w/ a 5.3l. Thinking of trying 3qt of Motorcraft 5w20 w/ 3qt of Motorcraft 5w30. It will be getting very cold (-20 to -40sf) here soon in the north part of the country, and thinking of trying this. Using Mobil 1 right now, but can get two oc's (5k) w/ the MC for the price of one w/ the Mobil. Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated. Thanks!
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If you want to improve cold weather starts why not 0w-30?

Improve cold weather start ability but stay at the specified 30 weight at temperature.
 
No. They are both 5W when cold. The suggestion above would be the better choice, use 0W-30, and since you like Mobil 1, use their 0W-30.
 
Although i dont think it would hurt to mix them, i agree with the post above. Blenders spend a lot of money blending a product for partulicar applications. With the choices we have today there really is no need for home blending. That said, i have been running PP 5w20 in my 4.3 blazer since this october and have noticed no ill effects. Granted that isnt exactally long term useage but for winter, i dont see any issues.
 
I should add, it depends on how you use your truck. My blazer sees nothing but short trips anymore so really the oil hardly gets to temp in it. If i were driving lots of miles and the engine was hot for long periods of time, i would probably just stick with a synthetic 5w30. Im not saying 5w20 would hurt you, i just dont know enough about these engines to know if it would hurt anything. My guess would be that there is no reason you couldnt run it.
 
If you are planning to use the 5W20 in winter only, it will work well. In fact the 5W20 at winter operating temp, will still be thicker than a 5W30 at summer operating temp.
 
The only reason I would mix the two is the reason that I did.
If I had some orphan quarts of 5W-20, and I wanted to use them in a 5W-30 application over the winter, I would buy some 5W-30 of the same brand and type, and mix away.
This is exactly what I did, which is why I have a mix of M1 EP 20 and 30 in the '97 Accord at the moment.
I would not purhase oil with the express intent of mixing it, unless I already had some orphan quarts to use up.
I am guessing that the least sharp guys in the lube blending industry know a great deal more about formulating a finished product that meets specs than I ever will.
 
The mixing of the 5W20 and 5w30 would give you a small MPG gain to due the thinner oil at operating temp. I would just use straight 5W20 (winter only)

I just put 5W20 in my explorer even though Ford does not recommend it for my engine and model year. It will be replaced in the Spring with 5W30 or 10W30...
 
actually for your explorer the 4.0 OHC engine is back-spec'd for 5w20. just not he OHV 4.0

also backspec'ed is my Explorer with the 5.0 v8.

but i stick with 5w30.
 
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mixing those would result in a 5w25..I too have gone with low priced (.67 qt.) 5w20 in my Hondas run it 7,500 or longer filter every 15-20k..saves time and money.
 
Originally Posted By: Black_Thunder
actually for your explorer the 4.0 OHC engine is back-spec'd for 5w20. just not he OHV 4.0

also backspec'ed is my Explorer with the 5.0 v8.

but i stick with 5w30.




Black Thunder, when was it back specd? Acording to TSB article no. 01-4-7 The 4.0L SOHC engine is one of a few that had an exemption to the 5W20 back spec. Ford listed 5W30 unless this has changed again. I can't see it making much difference either way, but maybe they have a reason for it.
 
5W-20 cold 45.9 cSt, -30dC 4000 cP
5W-30 cold 60.0 cSt, -30dC 4250 cP

Not a "whole lot" of difference, but the 5W-20 IS thinner -- which will help with starts in cold weather.
 
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