Using 5w-30 instead of 5w-20

Also just switched my LR4 from 0w20 (spec was "updated" from 5w20) to 5w30. Motor seems 100% the same, I feel happier knowing it's got a better additive pack to help the timing chain guides.
I doubt there is anything better about the additive pack from just a viscosity change unless you went from a cheap product to a better one.
 
My Gen Coupe turbo came with 5w20 in it and that's what's on the oil cap but Hyundai quickly changed that after a year and complaints from the desert areas.

Been running 0w40 most of the time. Hyundai says if it's hot enough you can go up to a 50w.
 
My Gen Coupe turbo came with 5w20 in it and that's what's on the oil cap but Hyundai quickly changed that after a year and complaints from the desert areas.

Been running 0w40 most of the time. Hyundai says if it's hot enough you can go up to a 50w.
What did the desert areas have issues with w/r to 20 vs. 30 grade oils?
 
I doubt there is anything better about the additive pack from just a viscosity change unless you went from a cheap product to a better one.

0w20 LiquiMoly 6600 to Motul eco energy 5w30. Two totally different types of oil. Before that was using PUP 5w20.
 
Good evening. I have been reading about motor oil on here for over a decade, but finally created an account. I think I know the answer, but would like the opinions the crowd, and see if any of you do this. I'd like to run 5w-30 in my wife's 2013 Chrysler 200 2.4, instead of the 5w-20 Chrysler calls for.

I have three vehicles. An old jeep that calls for 10w-30, an old chevy S10 that calls for 5w-30, and my wife's Chrysler that calls for 5w-20. I have been using 5w-30 in the jeep and S10 for years, because I used to live in New England and didn't want to use 10w-30 because it gets below zero quite a bit. Now I live in Tennessee but still run the 5w-30 in the jeep for convenience. Would it hurt anything to move the Chrysler to 5w-30 as well so I can run the same oil on all three vehicles? That way when I top it off, I have ample supply. It's funny because the chrysler is the newest and lowest mileage vehicle I have, but it uses a quart in 5,000 miles and I change the oil at 7,500. My older vehicles don't need anything added between changes. Perhaps if I went from 5w-20 to 5w-30 the Chrysler will stop burning the oil. I realize 1 quart in 5k miles isn't very much.

Your thoughts are appreciated. My thought is that 5w-30 would probably be fine, and the manufacturer probably went to 5w-20 to get 0.002 percent increased fuel economy by using a lighter oil

Hello fellow 615 resident (I'm in Franklin)! My Acura specs 5W20 and I switched to 5W30 at the recommendation of some forum members here and sheer convenience along with hedging my bets in staving off future consumption issues the J37 V6 is known for. I'm about to reach my next OCI and HPL PPCO 5W30 is going in and I will be using that, well, indefinitely. My wife's car ('21 Mazda CX-9) specs 5W30 already so in one more OCI when she reaches the end of the prepaid Mazda maintenance package we will be switching to the same HPL 5W30 my Acura will use. I like the idea of keeping both cars on the same oil out of convenience even though the engine tech in both is pretty different - high revving naturally aspirated V6 vs large bore four cylinder direct injection turbo.
 
The EPA highway MPG rating on my truck is 17. That’s with 0W20.

I’ve been using 5W30.

Snapped this picture yesterday at the end of 200 mile road trip just to show the impact of that higher viscosity on my MPG. View attachment 163756
Of course the MPG rating the EPA gives is based on a typical driver. In most cases it isn't too hard to beat EPA by a couple MPG.
 
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Hello fellow 615 resident (I'm in Franklin)! My Acura specs 5W20 and I switched to 5W30 at the recommendation of some forum members here and sheer convenience along with hedging my bets in staving off future consumption issues the J37 V6 is known for. I'm about to reach my next OCI and HPL PPCO 5W30 is going in and I will be using that, well, indefinitely. My wife's car ('21 Mazda CX-9) specs 5W30 already so in one more OCI when she reaches the end of the prepaid Mazda maintenance package we will be switching to the same HPL 5W30 my Acura will use. I like the idea of keeping both cars on the same oil out of convenience even though the engine tech in both is pretty different - high revving naturally aspirated V6 vs large bore four cylinder direct injection turbo.
I live in Maury County but commute to Franklin daily for work. Only been in TN since 2021. I'm one of those **** Yankees who are bidding up the home prices.
 
My Geneiai Coupe turbo I git a tune and the mileage went up immediately about 4 mpg. Then years later changed the slacking timing chain and got it up another 3 mpg on top of that. Getting 33-36 mpg now depending. I took it out on the track for a day after the tune and got ~27 mpg for the day.
 
Of course the MPG rating the EPA gives is based on a typical driver. In most cases it isn't too hard to beat EPA by a couple MPG.
Really? Learn something new here every day. I was under the impression that EPA testing was still done on a dyno with highly trained analysts controlling the accelerator.
 
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Really? Learn something new here every day. I was under the impression that EPA testing was still done on a dyno with highly trained analysts controlling the accelerator.
Correct. They are done on a dyno, but they are simulating a "typical" driver. That's why it's not hard to beat it.
 
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The highway fuel mileage test isn't conducted at a constant speed.

"The EPA acknowledges that its lab tests aren't intended to reflect the exact real world experience of most drivers. Rather, it positions its highway fuel mileage numbers to be used as a level playing field comparator at buying time, given that all vehicles are tested using the same baseline conditions and are designed using national averages for key factors affecting fuel consumption. Drivers who encounter hilly terrain, use air conditioning regularly, drive more aggressively, or deal with colder than average temperatures will see the biggest departure from advertised highway fuel economy."



 
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Your thoughts are appreciated. My thought is that 5w-30 would probably be fine, and the manufacturer probably went to 5w-20 to get 0.002 percent increased fuel economy by using a lighter oil
Better listen to these guys ... 😂


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I too have been running 5W-30 in my engine that calls for 5W-20. Heck, I run 10W-40 in my other engine that calls for 5W-30. Slows my oil burning down some. Try it out. Worst case, it isn't going to hurt anything. Best case, you gain the convenience of a single grade for all vehicles and it slows your consumption down a little. You can always switch back.
 
The highway fuel mileage test isn't conducted at a constant speed.

"The EPA acknowledges that its lab tests aren't intended to reflect the exact real world experience of most drivers. Rather, it positions its highway fuel mileage numbers to be used as a level playing field comparator at buying time, given that all vehicles are tested using the same baseline conditions and are designed using national averages for key factors affecting fuel consumption. Drivers who encounter hilly terrain, use air conditioning regularly, drive more aggressively, or deal with colder than average temperatures will see the biggest departure from advertised highway fuel economy."


Most people have no idea that even the "highway" mileage isn't at a steady cruising speed. I didn't read the summary, but, IIRC, the average speed during the highway test is 48 mpg, with several speed-up and slow-downs involved. I don't recall the top speed they reach, but, it certainly isn't cruising at a constant speed.
 
I'm also thinking about switching to 10/5W-30 because i can use it in both vehicles, preferably 10W-30. My OCI will remain short being that i idle excessively now that my son's school is 1.5 miles away and i have to sit and wait in 90f / 75% humidity at pickup time.

But if I do, it won't be for some time unless I give away a lot of 0W-20 not to.mention a subscription for Amzn Bsc 0w20 every 3 months.
 
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I share a bias for higher viscosity and believe the push to lower viscosity is pushed by fuel economy and not engine protection. However, fwiw, a Honda mechanic who is pretty experienced and knowledgeable once told me going to a higher viscosity in a J35 (from 0w20 to 5w30) was not a terrific idea because the oil could actually “ride over” and help tear up the rings. That is one person’s view and not definitive but he has been a Honda tech for 20+ years and torn down a lot of J35s related to the VCM issues Honda has had.

The car is out of warranty anyway so it is largely your call, but my way of keeping things simple is to follow what is in the manual. The manufacturers are under pressure for fuel economy, no question, but from having worked for clients in that space I can tell you that customer reputation is very important, and they aren’t going to have cars so that the motors blow up at 100k if the service interval and lubricant requirements are met. That ruins what they call the “customer experience” and they know it will hurt their business tremendously if they do not earn repeat customers.

Good luck with it, whatever you choose.
 
I share a bias for higher viscosity and believe the push to lower viscosity is pushed by fuel economy and not engine protection.
Over and over here on the 'tog this is said. Sure, CAFE drives the lower viscosity oils but where are all the cars on the side of the road? There aren't any....because....the engineers have figured out you don't need the thicker oils to get a good service life out of a vehicle under the conditions most folks drive. So why not get some mpgs even if it's fractions of a % if you can do so with no measurable difference in service life for the majority of consumers? The small % of oil nerds here can run 50 grade to drive their 400K mile '99 Camrys to the store and feel warm/fuzzy about it or the track crew, towing crew, etc. all can run the thicker oils that make sense for those use-cases. Average Joe in his new Nissan can drive on 16 grade and have no cares in the world and as long as that 16 grade is changed regularly AND the use-case is driving the fam on vacay each year and dropping little Johnny off at his fancy private school with a Starbucks run on the way home, that Nissan will last a long time running that CAFE-conspiracy water. Also, I recently learned that while many BITOG thickies think the owner's manual is worthless w/r to oil recommendations/requirements, it is the Bible w/r to fuel ethanol content b/c those same engineers actually paid attention in the class on vehicle fueling systems....just not lubrication.

In before all of it.
 
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