Switch from 5-20 to 5-30?

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Two of the cars in my signature use 5-20, the other two 5-30. The two Hondas call for the 20 and both have over 100K miles. I am considering switching them to 30 so all the vehicles use the same weight oil (for my convenience.) From searching BITOG I'm confident my Honda engines will not explode and I may lose some MPG's, but is there anything else I should consider or watch out for?
 
Given the 50-quart stash of G-OIL 5W-30 that I've accumulated, I too will be switching two Honda engines over from 5W-30. One is the 3.5-liter V6 that's in our Saturn VUE. (It's what GM called the L66; Honda called it the J35A3.) The other is a 2002 Civic with a 1.7-liter I4. Many folks have said not to worry about it. It's likely that the 5W-30 will shear down to a 5W-20 anyway.
 
Originally Posted By: barlowc
the 5W-30 will shear down to a 5W-20 anyway.
yep, I've heard this a lot.....I'd go for it, with the 5W-30....though, what does the owner's manual say? I'm willing to bet that the manual states a 5W-30 is "acceptable" based on some sort of "ambient temperature chart" graphic
smile.gif
Check into it.

But yes, they will plaster 5W-20 on the cap, since it's "easy" per se.....my 2 Kia's were the same way, spec'd 5W-20 but ran 5W-30 no problem.
 
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Originally Posted By: barlowc
Given the 50-quart stash of G-OIL 5W-30 that I've accumulated, I too will be switching two Honda engines over from 5W-30. One is the 3.5-liter V6 that's in our Saturn VUE. (It's what GM called the L66; Honda called it the J35A3.) The other is a 2002 Civic with a 1.7-liter I4. Many folks have said not to worry about it. It's likely that the 5W-30 will shear down to a 5W-20 anyway.


HOLY!! Jeez you got a lot of that stuff. Good shopper
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Did you see my paranoia UOA on the M1 blend I was using? Came out good, dumped it wayyyy to early though.


To the OP, I have never had a problem running 5w30 in a vehicle spec'd for 5w20. You will be fine and I bet you won't even notice much MPG loss if any.
 
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Originally Posted By: chubbs1
Originally Posted By: barlowc
Given the 50-quart stash of G-OIL 5W-30 that I've accumulated, I too will be switching two Honda engines over from 5W-30. One is the 3.5-liter V6 that's in our Saturn VUE. (It's what GM called the L66; Honda called it the J35A3.) The other is a 2002 Civic with a 1.7-liter I4. Many folks have said not to worry about it. It's likely that the 5W-30 will shear down to a 5W-20 anyway.

. . .

To the OP, I have never had a problem running 5w30 in a vehicle spec'd for 5w20. You will be fine and I bet you won't even notice much MPG loss if any.


x2. FWIW, I, too, am one of the Luddites running 5W-30 in an '05 Civic Si and an '09 Accord. Did the same with an '02 Civic Si for eight years.
 
Our daughters '06 Mazda 3 2.0L requires 5W20 per the owners manual and mentions no other alternatives. I frequently use 5W30 and we notice no penality in MPG(even in the cold of winter) and the engine always seems/sounds smoother/quieter. So, I'd say that the engine and I both like the 5W30 better
smile.gif


Yes the winter MPG is down compared to summer MPG but no different using either 5W30 or 5W20
 
Originally Posted By: Josh48065
50 quarts? That's 260$ in rebates.. sure hope you get all of it back

Only one rebate is outstanding and it's the one that I just sent in a couple weeks ago. So far, GET has paid out on all the others.
 
at 101K miles, I switched my 05 Accord K24 from 5-20 to 5-30 because I didn't like the wear pattern on the cam. Wear pattern hasn't changed, but it is a lot quieter now at 156 K miles. No problems to report
 
Originally Posted By: steve20
at 101K miles, I switched my 05 Accord K24 from 5-20 to 5-30 because I didn't like the wear pattern on the cam. Wear pattern hasn't changed, but it is a lot quieter now at 156 K miles. No problems to report


I'm having a difficult time seeing how a splash-fed component is going to benefit from a thicker oil?
 
The oil's film strength and HTHS viscosity are not dependent on how the the oil is delivered to the lubricated parts.

Ed
 
There isn't all that much of a difference in viscosity between the average 5W30 and 5W20. Plus the average 5W30 often shears down into grade 20, or near it, over the last third of their OCI anyway, so what's the diff. You will be fine.
 
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