Say you live in the PNW and your air temps have a limited winter range (20 degrees F. to 45 degrees F ) for suburban driving conditions. For a Kia Seltos 2.0L non - turbo MPI engine - do you just stay with a D1/Gen 3 5W30 or drop down to the same in a 5W20 (or even a 0W20 ?) for 6 months / 4K mile OCI ?
5W20 Under 45 Degrees F. ?
- Thread starter ChrisD46
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0w20 seems easier on start up in cold weather. .02
In the Seattle/Portland area, there's no reason at all to go thinner than 5w-30 if that's what your car calls for. It just doesn't get that cold here. 5w-30 is pump-able well below zero degrees Fahrenheit
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The first number before the W is the winter rating (aka low temp outside.) The second number after the W is viscosity at operating temp.
Run whatever is posted on your fill cap or allowed in the manual if worried or aren’t sure what to do. If both 5W20 and 5W30 are allowed then go 5W30, which is what I do in the Hyundai. And that is in Texas where 0F to 100F is possible. PNW weather is a layup for either oil.
Run whatever is posted on your fill cap or allowed in the manual if worried or aren’t sure what to do. If both 5W20 and 5W30 are allowed then go 5W30, which is what I do in the Hyundai. And that is in Texas where 0F to 100F is possible. PNW weather is a layup for either oil.
dnewton3
Staff member
Given the conditions the OP states:
- non turbo, MPI engine
- temps between 20F to 45F
- OCIs at 4k miles
And he wants to know if there's going to be some discernible difference (inferred as wear control? or start-up ease?) between a 5w-20 and a 5w-30?
Uh, in a word, "NO"; there's no reason to switch, other than one's own self-imposed, BITOG-backed, hyper-sensitive sense of over-maintaining something.
- non turbo, MPI engine
- temps between 20F to 45F
- OCIs at 4k miles
And he wants to know if there's going to be some discernible difference (inferred as wear control? or start-up ease?) between a 5w-20 and a 5w-30?
Uh, in a word, "NO"; there's no reason to switch, other than one's own self-imposed, BITOG-backed, hyper-sensitive sense of over-maintaining something.
I'd find a 3W-30 with a very low pour point, and excellent HTHS.
I've read about an available, shear proof, 5W-30 oil that has a pour point of -76°F and HTHS of about 3.6. Now there is an oil that will work in all conditions.
I've read about an available, shear proof, 5W-30 oil that has a pour point of -76°F and HTHS of about 3.6. Now there is an oil that will work in all conditions.
wow.... lowest expected temp is 20F, and you're considering dropping down a grade for pump/flowablity issues...
REALLY overthinking oil choices......
you really do belong here...
personally, I'd stick with the 5w30... but if I was going to change for the winter, I'd go with 0w30.
My previous Mercury Sable, called for 5w20...which preformed flawlessly in my conditions ( I bought it in the middle of the "POLAR VORTEX" of 2014, coldest stretch we've had in a LONG time...low single digit air temps with subzero wind chills middle of January to mid Feb... the 5w20 the dealer had in it had no issues..)
after the first year or so, I would run 5w20 in the summer, and 0w20 in the winter.. by the time i sold it, i was just running 0w20 year round....
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Regardless of the pour point, no oil with a 5W winter rating will have better pumpability and cranking performance at very low temperatures than an oil with a 0W winter rating.
But here with 20F given as the lowest starting temperature there will be zero significant difference between either winter rating.
Triple_Se7en
$50 Site Donor 2024
Why not just tell us the nearest big city and state?
Stay far away from any 5w20 with your Hyunkia four cylinder. Even in the colder Michigan winter, I run a blend of 10w30 and 0w40 in my 2.4 GDI.
Our Kia uses Amsoil Euro 0w30. It's thick.... right around 12.3 cst@100.
Thicker is better for these engines. Look what member Accent Abuser is doing with his.... and he runs 10w40 or 5w50 in cold Boston winters. Last I read, he was entering around 210,000 on his odometer and the engine hasn't been replaced.
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IIRC Its port injection atkinson cycle. not even a relative to your 2.4GDI.
That being said either is fine but no advantage to 5w20 except
I run 5w20 in the elantra (same engine) during the winter simply because I have 4 jugs of 5w30 left and 7 jugs of 5w20.
I use 5w30 in the spring to fall oci.... because I want to.
What is pumpability a function of? I'm assuming viscosity is definitely a variable. When we look at say
M1 5W-20:
Pour Point: -45 °C
KV@ 40 °C: 46.3
M1 ESP 5W-30:
Pour Point: -42 °C
KV@ 40 °C: 67.1
M1 0W-40 FS:
Pour Point: -42 °C
KV@ 40 °C: 78.3
So here we see that 5W-20 has the lowest pour point, even though it is a 5W. The latter two have the same pour point, but different winter ratings. They're also both thicker at 40C compared to the 5W-20.
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At those temps you could run 10W-30. No reason to make a change based on those ambient temps.
Pumpability is ultimately a binary. Either it pumps or it does not.
The reason SAE J300 got revised back in the 90s was because there were some engine failures where the oil gelled under pumping shear around the pickup screen. The pump cavitated as a cavity formed around the pickup, the engine starved for oil and then failed. This behavior was seen during a very cold snap with rapid temperature changes and it was discovered that the dependence on pour point was deficient for determining the winter rating of an oil.
My point above was that an oil must be labeled with the best winter rating it can achieve. The winter rating addresses cranking and pumpability and therefore even if an oil with a 5W winter rating has a very low pour point it also means the oil did not meet the performance requirements of an oil with a 0W rating.
Of course all this only applies to very cold temperatures. At the temperatures the OP is noting it makes zero difference whatsoever.
How cold is "very cold"? Below -20C?
No, below the test temperatures for the two ratings.
If you short trip a lot, go with 5w30 so fuel dilution won't put oil weight under 20. Same with long road trip in summer.
In other condition 0w/5w-20/30 is all ok.
In other condition 0w/5w-20/30 is all ok.
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