Just wondering if it is completely safe to mix a 5w20 and 5w30 oil?? as in, 3.5 quarts of 5w20 and 1 quart of 5w30 to give my car a little extra protection...all this reading up on how thin 5w20 is and cam lobe wear issues has got me a little concerned. Is the 5w20 the 2.4 recommends enough to protect my car in the Florida summer heat?
can you mix a 5w20 and 5w30???
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I wouldn't. The sky might start falling,the sun might quit burning and your engine may dissolve.
K. All joking aside. 5w-20 is what your engine calls for. The engineers who designed it considered everything from the summer Florida heat to the arctic Canadian winters and 5w-20 oils are more than durable enough for all of it.
Now as far as mixing oil its safe and many here,myself included do it all the time. No harm will come to your vehicle by doing it,so fear not.
Ambient temps have very little effect on oil temps,so consider that when making your decision.
K. All joking aside. 5w-20 is what your engine calls for. The engineers who designed it considered everything from the summer Florida heat to the arctic Canadian winters and 5w-20 oils are more than durable enough for all of it.
Now as far as mixing oil its safe and many here,myself included do it all the time. No harm will come to your vehicle by doing it,so fear not.
Ambient temps have very little effect on oil temps,so consider that when making your decision.
Why is it people are convinced that warm weather is beyond the operating conditions envisioned by carmakers?
Sure you can, as long as either viscosity is suitable for your engine. On my last change, I mixed a 5W-20 with an HDEO 5W-40 and then topped up a bit with some 5W-30. I'm using up my odds and ends. My resulting viscosity is in the range of a 5W-30. You'll have either a heavy 5W-20 or a light 5W-30.
I'd just use 5W-30 and be done with it...
That said, I seem to have more 0W-40 around than I'll use anytime soon(sold the car it was purchased for) so I just bought a jug of M1 5W-20 EP to cut it a bit... A 50/50 mix will yield a medium 30W which is exactly what I want...
That said, I seem to have more 0W-40 around than I'll use anytime soon(sold the car it was purchased for) so I just bought a jug of M1 5W-20 EP to cut it a bit... A 50/50 mix will yield a medium 30W which is exactly what I want...
If the manufacturer says to run 5W-20, that's what you have to run. One quart of 5W-30 in the mix is cheating. If those Honda people find out what you're doing, they'll hunt you down to the far corners of the earth.
Originally Posted By: AlienBug
Why is it people are convinced that warm weather is beyond the operating conditions envisioned by carmakers?
Because some car makers specify heavier oil above certain temperatures and some car makers specify heavier oil in some countries but not in others.
Why is it people are convinced that warm weather is beyond the operating conditions envisioned by carmakers?
Because some car makers specify heavier oil above certain temperatures and some car makers specify heavier oil in some countries but not in others.
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Ambient temps have very little effect on oil temps,so consider that when making your decision.
Hmm, didnt know that...I just see most other car makers say that in warm conditions to use a heavier weight, yet as far as I know Honda does not. And I live in Florida where most days of the year are 80+, and in the summer it can easily reach 95+. I just need this car to last me another 50,000-60,000. And I need to get it paid off! So I want it to last reliably with few/no problems whatsoever, i dont have the $$ to do repairs lol.
Ambient temps have very little effect on oil temps,so consider that when making your decision.
Hmm, didnt know that...I just see most other car makers say that in warm conditions to use a heavier weight, yet as far as I know Honda does not. And I live in Florida where most days of the year are 80+, and in the summer it can easily reach 95+. I just need this car to last me another 50,000-60,000. And I need to get it paid off! So I want it to last reliably with few/no problems whatsoever, i dont have the $$ to do repairs lol.
yes
Running Maxlife 5w20 + 5w30 atm in the Acura, so ................... Yes !
A higher viscosity oil runs hotter oil temperatures. Your VCT system was designed for 5W20. I saw a SuperDuty speced for 5W20 that overheated on thick oil and had to be changed back to 5W20 after one mountainous trip. If an engine series is used in another country with higher viscosity oil it was built with larger oil clearances. It is a common European practice to build an engine with larger clearances to run xW40 oil for extended oil service intervals. They want less oil to recycle for environmental reasons. Some others want to conserve resources with less fuel consumption afforded by oil that has less drag.
Where some get confused is on a worn engine that has opened the bearing clearances naturally and a thicker oil helps the engine last longer. Before variable cam timing you could build an engine to the clearance you want and use the appropriate viscosity. The small passages in VCT systems do not allow us as many variables today. HTH
Where some get confused is on a worn engine that has opened the bearing clearances naturally and a thicker oil helps the engine last longer. Before variable cam timing you could build an engine to the clearance you want and use the appropriate viscosity. The small passages in VCT systems do not allow us as many variables today. HTH
While I can't speak to diesels I own and or service many VCT/VVT vehicles. The manufacturers always design in great tolerance for oil viscosity, and the systems are relatively unaffected by it.
Note that the actual clearances do not vary from country to country at all.
Note that the actual clearances do not vary from country to country at all.
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Note that the actual clearances do not vary from country to country at all.
+1
Note that the actual clearances do not vary from country to country at all.
+1
Originally Posted By: bourne
Running Maxlife 5w20 + 5w30 atm in the Acura, so ................... Yes !
Why?
Running Maxlife 5w20 + 5w30 atm in the Acura, so ................... Yes !
Why?
It won't hurt a thing, I would just use 0w30 in the Castrol.
I mixed 5w-20 and 5w-30 in my Jeep 4.0.
Someone will shoot me, but it sounds quieter than it did on the RT6 ... And, I can't tell a difference in hot oil pressure. Granted I've only been doing light highway driving.
Someone will shoot me, but it sounds quieter than it did on the RT6 ... And, I can't tell a difference in hot oil pressure. Granted I've only been doing light highway driving.
Originally Posted By: TechnoLoGs
Originally Posted By: bourne
Running Maxlife 5w20 + 5w30 atm in the Acura, so ................... Yes !
Why?
Don't you know? This is BITOG! Just by virtue of being a member one possesses great knowledge and wisdom about everything oil related. Hence people feel they can come up with a better "brew" than oil manufacturers, they can solicit "expert" advice in Walmart's oil isle to the "clueless" even when not asked and they can look at an UOA and tell you exactly how the engine is wearing.
Originally Posted By: bourne
Running Maxlife 5w20 + 5w30 atm in the Acura, so ................... Yes !
Why?
Don't you know? This is BITOG! Just by virtue of being a member one possesses great knowledge and wisdom about everything oil related. Hence people feel they can come up with a better "brew" than oil manufacturers, they can solicit "expert" advice in Walmart's oil isle to the "clueless" even when not asked and they can look at an UOA and tell you exactly how the engine is wearing.
Originally Posted By: gregk24
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Ambient temps have very little effect on oil temps,so consider that when making your decision.
Hmm, didnt know that...I just see most other car makers say that in warm conditions to use a heavier weight, yet as far as I know Honda does not. And I live in Florida where most days of the year are 80+, and in the summer it can easily reach 95+. I just need this car to last me another 50,000-60,000. And I need to get it paid off! So I want it to last reliably with few/no problems whatsoever, i dont have the $$ to do repairs lol.
If that engine won't last another 50-60K miles on 5w20, then there's no helping it no matter what oil you put in it. If adding some 5w30 makes you feel better, that's fine. Go ahead and add it, it won't hurt anything. However, you're fooling yourself if you think it's going to magically extend the life of your engine. In reality, the rest of the car will likely be falling apart long before the engine gives up, even if all you ran in it was a cheap conventional 5w20.
Personally, I would be much more worried about the transmission than the engine.
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Ambient temps have very little effect on oil temps,so consider that when making your decision.
Hmm, didnt know that...I just see most other car makers say that in warm conditions to use a heavier weight, yet as far as I know Honda does not. And I live in Florida where most days of the year are 80+, and in the summer it can easily reach 95+. I just need this car to last me another 50,000-60,000. And I need to get it paid off! So I want it to last reliably with few/no problems whatsoever, i dont have the $$ to do repairs lol.
If that engine won't last another 50-60K miles on 5w20, then there's no helping it no matter what oil you put in it. If adding some 5w30 makes you feel better, that's fine. Go ahead and add it, it won't hurt anything. However, you're fooling yourself if you think it's going to magically extend the life of your engine. In reality, the rest of the car will likely be falling apart long before the engine gives up, even if all you ran in it was a cheap conventional 5w20.
Personally, I would be much more worried about the transmission than the engine.
Originally Posted By: KD0AXS
Personally, I would be much more worried about the transmission than the engine.
not worried about it, already had it replaced with a new unit =) so the rest of the car better hold up to justify the cost of replacing the trans at 100k miles! lol
Personally, I would be much more worried about the transmission than the engine.
not worried about it, already had it replaced with a new unit =) so the rest of the car better hold up to justify the cost of replacing the trans at 100k miles! lol
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