0W-20 for Texas winters/summers good?

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: Snagglefoot
Those old school charts still show up in Russia and Easter Europe but not much in new car owners manuals in the USA.


CAFE requires that the manufacturers do everything that they can to ensure that the owners comply with the lubricant that the car was tested with...their words...and that they have to reduce "ambiguity" int heir recommendation. AKA one line fits all.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
Coolers definitely control operational viscosity.
I like the coolant ones that heat the oil on the way up as well.

My L67 (Supercharged 3.8) Caprice (no cooler), I could pull over with the engine cut and drop a type K thermocouple down the dipstick tube into the oil.

100km/h, and in D, about 1,800RPM it was 95C give or take. Same road, same road load, in "2" so only variable is RPM I could get over 130C


One of these days I'd like to do that. Did you just give it a lazy wrap around the dipstick?

 

[Shannow]

One of these glass wrapped ones
https://www.ebay.com.au/i/323285167364?chn=ps

It's rigid enough to do the job after I turn off, pull over and pull the dipstick.

For reference, a heat gun on the sump was around 15-25F colder than the oil in the full/add range.

edit...if I'd found a semi rigid of the right length, I would have used it instead of dipstick.

 

[GMBoy]

I live in Texas and use 5w/30 year round in everything including a Hemi Ram Limited and 3.6l Grand Cherokee Overland that spec 5w/20. Those same engines used to be specd 5w/30 in earlier years so I know it's ok. I prefer the thicker 5w/30 for my hot climate. I do not see ANY reduction in fuel economy between the 5w/30 and 5w/20.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: crazy_raccoon
Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Nothing bad will happen with 0w-20, but it's not optimal in TX. Since you are out of warranty, at least use a 5w-20, or better yet, a 5w-30. In TX the "0" will never benefit you.


I think our cars benefited a little when we used 0W-20 on long road trips. I noticed a significant improvement in gas mileage on highway runs, smoother idle and of course faster warm up/flow times in the winter season vs using 5W. I just hope it didn't shear or at least have better protection during last summer in NC before I moved back to TX.


I use M1 0-20 years round and it performs very well from -10F to 105F. I have been using it for years now and have logged about 450K in the last three Ford 2.0, 2.3, and 2.5 engines.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: tig1
Originally Posted By: crazy_raccoon

Nothing bad will happen with 0w-20, but it's not optimal in TX. Since you are out of warranty, at least use a 5w-20, or better yet, a 5w-30. In TX the "0" will never benefit you.


I think our cars benefited a little when we used 0W-20 on long road trips. I noticed a significant improvement in gas mileage on highway runs, smoother idle and of course faster warm up/flow times in the winter season vs using 5W. I just hope it didn't shear or at least have better protection during last summer in NC before I moved back to TX.


I use M1 0-20 years round and it performs very well from -10F to 105F. I have been using it for years now and have logged about 450K in the last three Ford 2.0, 2.3, and 2.5 engines. Living in Texas has nothing to do with what wt oil you use

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
One of these glass wrapped ones
https://www.ebay.com.au/i/323285167364?chn=ps

It's rigid enough to do the job after I turn off, pull over and pull the dipstick.

For reference, a heat gun on the sump was around 15-25F colder than the oil in the full/add range.

edit...if I'd found a semi rigid of the right length, I would have used it instead of dipstick.


Thanks.

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted By: Snagglefoot
Interesting things about climate. Most engines have large enough cooling systems to keep their engine at the same temp regardless of ambient temperature. At 100 F driving in Houston, my engine temp was 210 F. At -30 F up in Edmonton, it was at 210 F. Except for the cold starting issue, climate is not that big of an issue. Folks with oil temp gauges have shown the variations in oil temperature are not huge regardless of ambient temp. If you have a marginal cooling system or plugged up rad, it’s another issue. But I would go far enough to run 5w30 year round instead of 0w20.
Now for 40 weight Aussies to chime in.


Yeah … I think the cooling systems are working hard down this way … but my engine temperature is very steady …
I’m using 0w20 per OM … probably for the warranty period anyway … SUV has oil cooler, and external transmission cooler (trailer package) … piston jets probably help …
Oh, and the AFM is smooth as silk …

 

[dave1251]

I just use 5W30. It's easier to find for me at a good price.

 

[Schmoe]

I only use 5W-30 in all my vehicles here and have been for 20 plus years.

 

[racin4ds]

Yep, use a 5W30 and have no worries. Leave the 20Wt water for the guys in Canada and Minnesota!

Yes temps stabilize and read the same no matter the ambient due to the thermostat, BUT the engine is working harder and so is the cooling system when its 110* ambient especially if you work the vehicle.

 

[mrdctaylor]

I honestly don't think it matters. FWIW, I also live in Central Texas (Waco area).

I have a 2012 Toyota Highlander with the 3.5L v6. It has 88k miles now and has only had 0W20 Toyota or M1 oil so far in its life. I have enough 0W20 for 4 more oil changes which will more than get me out of my extended warranty. After that, I *might* switch to 5W30, but it would only be because that's what my other vehicles call for. I'm all about simplifying. If I can use one oil for all vehicles, that's a win for me. However, I've done enough research on here that I'm perfectly confident running 0W20 year round here in Texas.

 

[The_Nuke]

Originally Posted By: crazy_raccoon
I'm currently located in central Texas and been trying to figure which oils are good for our vehicles (read signature) year round or if I should switch due to the seasons. Most of the topics just talk about using a particular oil year round due to their climate but I'm Texas it can be bipolar [censored]. Some winters it can get in the single digits (rarely) and easily triple digits in the summer. I'm currently deployed and plan on doing UOAs for our vehicles when I get back to get a better feel.


Are you running the synthetic because 0w-20 only comes in synthetic? If you want to run synthetic no matter which grade, I would switch to 5W-30 since it's easily found just about anywhere and anytime, e.g. if you're on a long trip and it's the middle of the night at a small c-store in Podunk, USA, and you find yourself a quart low on the dipstick for whatever reason.

If you don't mind switching to conventional if synthetic is unnecessary for the chosen oil weight, I would switch to 10W-30 for most of the year except the 3-5 weeks during December-January when nighttime temps stay close to freezing.

I know, I know, 32F is technically within the range of temps that 10w-30 can safely handle at startup, but the last 2 engine's I've had (Dodge 3.6L & 3.5L) before my current one (5.7L Hemi) were unnervingly loud at startup with 10w-30 on cold mornings (< 45F). Briefly switching to 5W-30 when cold outside would always quiet them down.

Some will scoff at my approach to all that, I know. They'll declare that running 2 different weights like that and switching briefly when cold out is too much hassle for what amounts to peace of mind basically. I would say to those folks, "Scoff all you want! Scoff until you're blue in the face for all I care. I know what weight oils my engines would tend to go through more quickly during a typical OCI and which oil weights they would not go through as quickly. And I'm here to tell you that in my case, in this climate, and operating under the conditions in which I operated them, my 3.xL engines would go through multiple quarts of 5w-30 oil during an OCI and only 1 quart (at most) of 10w-30 during the same."

So 10w-30 was always the choice, except for when it was not (during cold weather).

Nuke

 

[Snagglefoot]

Originally Posted By: racin4ds
Yep, use a 5W30 and have no worries. Leave the 20Wt water for the guys in Canada and Minnesota!

Yes temps stabilize and read the same no matter the ambient due to the thermostat, BUT the engine is working harder and so is the cooling system when its 110* ambient especially if you work the vehicle.


Haha. Not so fast! The record temperature ever recorded for Florida was 109 F, Aug 20, 1931 in Monticellow. Even 100 F is rare in Florida. You guys ain't so hot! Drop by Houston in August if you want to get warm.

 

[The_Nuke]

Originally Posted By: Snagglefoot

... Drop by Houston in August if you want to get warm.

I would rather eat TWO handfuls of West Texas dirt and wash them down with some Odessa well water than I would take a trip to Houston in August!

 

[Bud]

Originally Posted By: The_Nuke
Originally Posted By: Snagglefoot

... Drop by Houston in August if you want to get warm.

I would rather eat TWO handfuls of West Texas dirt and wash them down with some Odessa well water than I would take a trip to Houston in August!


That is exactly why I go from one air conditioned place to the next here during the summer.

 

[JMJNet]

IMO, we should worry more about Air Condition in TX summer than oil weight????

 

[Tahoe4Life]

Originally Posted By: Bud
Originally Posted By: The_Nuke
Originally Posted By: Snagglefoot

... Drop by Houston in August if you want to get warm.

I would rather eat TWO handfuls of West Texas dirt and wash them down with some Odessa well water than I would take a trip to Houston in August!


That is exactly why I go from one air conditioned place to the next here during the summer.

All this sounds like Miami from May-November. BTW I ONLY use 0W20 in jungle Miami heat where traffic is gridlocked most of the time.

 

[Eddie]

I live in hot, humid FL and Mazda specs 0w20 oil in the USA 7 CAN and 5w30 elsewhere. I found the data for the newer 5w30 PP D1G2 oil and the G2 version has a viscosity very close to the 0w20 at temperature. I am now using PP Dex1G2 version in 5w30. ED

 

[Bryanccfshr]

I go from 0w20 to 5w30or 0w40.

Think of a truck with a six speed transmission that expects you to cruise at 55-60 most of the time. It is a truck so air speed effects it, due to headwinds or large hill climbs. @75-80 mph my transmission prefers 4thgear and won’t even try to stay in sixth ( I have to stay 62or less on level ground to stay in sixth gear which is easy driving but not really plausible on highways and interstate). So I end up running 3200-3400rpms for most of my 9 hour commutes I take every two weeks.

Then it also gets the dust and dirt and rough off-road work for more than half of my mileage, , but that effects service interval more than viscosity.
On the way to west Texas or on the way back home I Set the cruise on 77 relax and listen to satellite radio and try not to focus on the tach. Which spends most of the time north of 3k, but will up Shift going down hill. Lol it’s not loud so radio it will be easier to ignore with a little higher HTHS . My mileage drops from 21-22 mpg to 18.5on these trips just due to speed and drag.

I was an early adopter of 0w20 and 5w20’s using them almost exclusively. But my needs have changed.