Using 5W-20 in place of 5W-30 in 5.3L engine.

[stchman]

I have seen some studies of 5W-20 oil giving a slight increase in fuel economy.

My owners manual calls for 5W-30 engine oil. Would using 5W-20 oil be a bad thing? Would it void my warranty.

In the 2014 Silverado 5.3L engine, GM calls for a 0W-20 oil.

5W-20 and 5W-30 are the same price.

Thanks.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Unless GM back spec'ed xW20 to model year 2012, you should stay with 5W30 for warranty purpose. After warranty you can try xW20 and do an UOA to see how it works.

 

[stchman]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Unless GM back spec'ed xW20 to model year 2012, you should stay with 5W30 for warranty purpose. After warranty you can try xW20 and do an UOA to see how it works.


I'm thinking the same thing. I sent a letter to Chevrolet hoping to get someone who knows opinion.

 

[Danno]

My bet is that Chev will say "5w-30 Dexos1 rated oil".

 

[MolaKule]

It appears GM will be using 0W20 oils in their larger displacement engines for 2014.

Quote:
SAE 0W-20 is the required viscosity grade
for the 5.3L and 6.2L engines.

DO NOT use other viscosity grade oils
such as SAE 10W-30, 10W-40, or 20W-50.

The engine oil with filter capacity has
increased significantly from model year
2013 to model year 2014


GM Tech Info

 

[NateDN10]

Aren't their 2014 engines significantly different from the previous model years, despite having the same displacement?

 

[stchman]

Originally Posted By: MolaKule
It appears GM will be using 0W20 oils in their larger displacement engines for 2014.

Quote:
SAE 0W-20 is the required viscosity grade
for the 5.3L and 6.2L engines.

DO NOT use other viscosity grade oils
such as SAE 10W-30, 10W-40, or 20W-50.

The engine oil with filter capacity has
increased significantly from model year
2013 to model year 2014


GM Tech Info


From the 2014 Silverado owners manual:

Oil Capacity
Quote:

Engine Oil with Filter
4.3L V6 - 5.7 L or 6.0 qt
5.3L V8; 6.2L V8 - 8.0 L or 8.5 qt


Wow, 8.5 quarts vs. 6.0 quarts for the previous 5.3L.

The oil filter is now an AC Delco PF63 vs. a PF48.

 

[Flareside302]

The 2014 MY has much different oil requirements..

 

[BrandonT]

Originally Posted By: MolaKule
It appears GM will be using 0W20 oils in their larger displacement engines for 2014.

Quote:
SAE 0W-20 is the required viscosity grade
for the 5.3L and 6.2L engines.

DO NOT use other viscosity grade oils
such as SAE 10W-30, 10W-40, or 20W-50.

The engine oil with filter capacity has
increased significantly from model year
2013 to model year 2014


GM Tech Info


I wonder why the 4.3L is still specced for 5W30? Isn't exactly the same engine as the 5.3L/^.2, just cut down?

 

[fdcg27]

Probably the same engine, and probably just GM being conservative and not bothering to back-spec, unlike Ford, Honda, Toyota and many other makers.
I'd use a Dexos 1 5W-30 while the powertrain warranty remains in force and then go buck-wild thereafter if you want to.
The improvement in fuel economy, if any, using a twenty will be so small you'll never measure it.
A tenth of a mile per gallon matters when you need to meet CAFE and are pushing out 500K trucks each year.
It matters not at all to an individual owner.

 

[KenO]

OP, what year is your truck??

 

[BrandonT]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Probably the same engine, and probably just GM being conservative and not bothering to back-spec


No back-speccing, that article is about the new-for-2014 4.3L V6.

 

[Ram01]

GM WILL HAVE MANY WORN OUT PICKUPS TRUCKS USING 0W-20 TOO THIN TO PROTECT

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: Ram01
GM WILL HAVE MANY WORN OUT PICKUPS TRUCKS USING 0W-20 TOO THIN TO PROTECT


Ha. Someone better tell all those ford trucks that their engines are going to dissolve anytime now. All those hemi's are gonna die too right. Mine had 270k using 20 grades and it didn't consume a drop of oil between changes.
Truly absurd.
Some folks are beyond teaching

 

[Shannow]

Did the Ford engineers design the chevy engines ?

Unless they did, with the same bearing loads and surface velocities, same piston and ring designs, same cam surface areas and loads, etc. etc. etc. you can't ever state that Ford's success with 20s would correlate to any other engine manufacturer's designs.

Chev may well have tested them, and decided that the trade-offs...and no, engine's dissolving isn't one of them...aren't what they would like.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: Ram01
GM WILL HAVE MANY WORN OUT PICKUPS TRUCKS USING 0W-20 TOO THIN TO PROTECT

When? At 400K, 500K, more? Since the 2014 MY engines are designed around a 0W-20 oil how are you more educated about what oils to use than the engineers who designed it?

Honestly, this stuff is past laughable.

 

[hattaresguy]

GM is not back-specing because the new engines are new engines and designs.

The old engines are spec'd for 5w30, run it. You bought a pickup truck, no matter what you do it will burn some fuel.

 

[benjy]

1/4 to 1/2 mpg is more important to the manufacturers trying to meet mpg standards, once warranty is gone they care less. girlfriends 13 2.5 malibu, changed at 1,xxx then 5,xxx using quality semi synthetic dexos I oil, took a quart between 2nd change, looks like water coming out!!1 now using amsoil 5-30 signature series meets-exceeds dexos I spec but since they did not pay GM for the certification its not there. the same engines used in europe DO NOT spec 5-20 water-i mean oil

 

[Clevy]

I just read that gm link. Thanks for posting it Molekule. It seems only m1 AFE meets dexos.
Interesting. And they've said that 0w-20 can be used in any application that calls for 5w-20,which has been said on bitog for quite some time.

 

[spasm3]

in the 80's and 90's, did'nt most 5w 30 oils shear to a 5w 20 grade after a few thousand miles? I have read that due to that, a lot of engines were running on a 20 grade , and the owners never realized that.