5w20 instead of 0w20

[BrianC]

Originally Posted By: Bloodknights
wow then please educated me on this,i never knew a motor oil designed to be a 20 grade is thinker then a 20 weight when its cold????.....whatever, use 5w20 no harm will be done to your engine ,there both 20 grade when your driving down the road at the end of the day.for those saying your going to lose your warranty for using a 5w instead of a 0w is misleading,the fact is just starting up your engine and going down the block it no longer is a 0w anymore as the temp on the oil rises, cuz common sense says from a 0w it starts going up in grade to reach its goal of a w20 ,sooo as your driving it goes from a 0w,to a 5w,to a 10w etc till it reaches w20, just use what you like and lets use common sense no harm will come to your engine with 5w20.your never going to get a straight answer cuz everyone here has there own opinion and think they are right.


0w, 5w, 20wt, 30wt, etc are classifications, not the viscosity. To be labeled say, a 5w-30, an oil's flow characteristics must fall within a specific range at certain temps. This article explains it in detail.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/putting-the-simple-back-into-viscosity/

 

[Oil Changer]

You might be "pretty sure" but I am positive you don't know how it works. It's in neon every time you type.

Originally Posted By: Bloodknights
i'm pretty sure I know what the viscosity system works...

 

[Bloodknights]

At the end of the day,u can use 5w20 or 0w20 with no problem to answer the op question.thats the end of this tread

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
I could have sworn that I read somewhere recently that Honda said it was OK to use 5w-20 in cars that require 0w-20, it just wasn't preferred?


That was posted here about a month ago, but I'm not sure that I've ever seen anything in writing from Honda that they don't mind if you use 5W-20 instead of 0W-20. As far as I'm concerned, Honda recommends 0W-20 and 0W-20 only (for their current models).

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: geeman789
Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
Originally Posted By: wemay
If 5w20 shows as an option in the OM, it is performance enough for the mfr and thus, enough for the vehicle owner not to worry about its use. More importantly, it would be in 'black & white' as opposed to suggestions from BITOGers based on insignificant, marginal performance differences seen in lab tests. Or put a different way, performance insignificant enough to still list 5w20 as another option to 0w20. We often time create chasms between product where none is proven exist in the real world of driving to get groceries or to a restaurant etc.

The difference between a 5W-20 and a 0W-20 is not "insignificant" especially if you compare an OEM 0W-20 with a 5W-20 which can be more than 50% lighter at 32F and 35% at room temperature. That's about double the viscosity difference between a 5W-20 and a 5W-30 grade at those temp's. And even your typical OTC aftermarket 0W-20 will still be a good 20% lighter at 32F and 10% lighter at room temp's and that's not mentioning the other benefits of the synthetic 0W-20 grade.


In the REAL world , you are splitting hairs.

Remember when every car ran 10w30 , and the engine lasted 2 or 300 000 miles...

And then 5w30 became the go to grade, and engines lasted 2 or 300 000 miles...

And then 5w20 stepped up, and you guessed it, engines still last hundreds of thousands of miles...

To argue that the differences between a 5w20 and a 0w20 are signifigant is purely a matter of technical data, with little real world impact on engine performance.

True, the 5w20 oil may be x % thicker than whatever 0w20 at whatever temp you care to reference, but in the grand scheme of things...both are thin oils, both work very well in the winter, and the engine doesn't care....

By "In the REAL world" you mean what your senses can detect presumably. But in a vehicle equipped with an oil pressure gauge a 50% viscosity difference on start-up is VERY noticeable.
I've mentioned this before, but the first time I fired up a car of mine after switching to TGMO 0W-20 I was startled at how low the OP was. So there is no question that the viscosity characteristics between the two grades are significant although you can't sense from the seat of your pants, assuming you've even tried a high VI 0W-20.

Of course by your same logic there is also no significant difference between a dino and a synthetic of the same grade. You certainly can't sense any difference and in most cases there isn't any measurable viscosity difference and yes an engine can last just as long operating under none extreme conditions, again in your "REAL world".

I understand your perspective which is not uncommon, I just don't share it.

 

[wemay]

That's fair enough CATERHAM.

 

[Shannow]

Now CATERHAM can explain "the other benefits" that he referred to.

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
Now CATERHAM can explain "the other benefits" that he referred to.

No I think the definitive summation of the advantages of a synthetic over a dino was made by Tom NJ a while back; a search might uncover it.

But just for chuckles why don't you explain again why you think a straight grade dino is best track use?

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
The difference between a 5W-20 and a 0W-20 is not "insignificant" especially if you compare an OEM 0W-20 with a 5W-20 which can be more than 50% lighter at 32F and 35% at room temperature. That's about double the viscosity difference between a 5W-20 and a 5W-30 grade at those temp's. And even your typical OTC aftermarket 0W-20 will still be a good 20% lighter at 32F and 10% lighter at room temp's and that's not mentioning the other benefits of the synthetic 0W-20 grade.


Your quote, you're moment of positing what they are...off you go.