Why is syn 5W20 still sold if syn 0W20 is better?

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wemay

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-0W20 supposedly uses better base oils.
-In extreme cold, it flows better.
-They are equally priced.
-0W20 supposedly has better start-up protection.

The only thing i can see where 5w20 holds an edge, albeit a slight one, is in better Noack numbers.
 
Are you saying 5w20 is a bad product? If I have a car that takes x grade of oil, maybe I want to use x grade of oil.
 
Originally Posted By: Charlie2015
Are you saying 5w20 is a bad product? If I have a car that takes x grade of oil, maybe I want to use x grade of oil.


Not at all. Just thinking that because they're so close in performance, why both?

I myself use 5W20 but would have no issue using 0W either.
 
5w-20 can be conventional, 0w-20 is typically a full synthetic. Some OEMs may specify 5w-20 to give owners and dealers a cheaper option.
 
It's all about the warranty. I use M1 0-20 and it has the Ford spec, but I pay little attention to manufacturer spec anyways.
 
Originally Posted By: Danh
5w-20 can be conventional, 0w-20 is typically a full synthetic. Some OEMs may specify 5w-20 to give owners and dealers a cheaper option.


Excellent point. My assumption is this is most likely.
 
...that makes sense from the OE pov, but why would the oil mfcs offer 5W20 in synthetic then? Why not a conventional (5w20) and a synthetic (0w20)?
 
In my opinion, the two are interchangeable. If I'm running synthetic, I don't see a reason to use 5W over 0W, all things being equal. However, price and warranty considerations should be accounted for. As I said in another thread, I picked up some Mobil 1 0W-20 AFE on sale ($19.99) which I will run in my Elantra next OCI, though my manual calls for 5W-20.
 
While the car is under warranty, I always follow the Owners Manual when it comes to oil spec and grade. Not going to give the manufacturer a reason/excuse to deny a warranty claim.
 
I feel the same way about 10w30. I feel it's an obsolete viscosity now that 5w30 is well established, however 10w30 is probably the biggest selling viscosity in the history of motor oil so it may never go away. So in a similar vein we may never see 5w20 go away either.
 
Seems to me the answer is "We just aren't there yet."

Like 10w40 vs. 10w30 - how many years did the two exist before (just recently) '40 started getting harder to find and fewer different options? 0w20 is, what, 5 years old? I can see the merit of the options basically being 5w20 conventional/syn blend with 0w20 as an almost universally cross-compatible full syn, but some folks (me included, at times) are gonna hang on to their 5w.
 
Originally Posted By: wemay
The only thing i can see where 5w20 holds an edge, albeit a slight one, is in better Noack numbers.

Greg's reasoning is sound, at least behind the marketing. Most of us here know a 0w-20 works in most 5w-20 applications. Some people won't deviate, though, and some oil companies won't let their recommendations deviate outside the automakers' recommendations, either.
 
This whole oil viscosity thing is so overated. No dealership is going to void a warranty on oil weight. They would have a impossible time to even determine what grade it was in a complete failure, not that I believe it would ever be the line cause of that failure.
Change your oil, no matter what the weight and you will be fine. I ve seen 4.6 Fords which spec 5w20 run forever on everything from 20w50 to 0W20 without any issues. Use whatever is on sale.
 
It's going to be even more fun once 0W-16 gets more
widely available.

My thoughts are that the southern tier of states, especially
Arizona and Texas, see no benefit from thin oil like 0W.
the extra protection from a heavier oil is a plus to those folks.

My 2¢
 
Originally Posted By: dwendt44

My thoughts are that the southern tier of states, especially
Arizona and Texas, see no benefit from thin oil like 0W.
the extra protection from a heavier oil is a plus to those folks.

My 2¢


How is a 5w-20 a "heavier oil" than a 0w-20? Many 0w-20's actually have a slight higher visc at 100C than a 5w-20. Their benefit is that they have superior cold temperature capability; they thicken less as the temperature drops when dealing with temperatures significantly below 0C.
 
Originally Posted By: wemay
...that makes sense from the OE pov, but why would the oil mfcs offer 5W20 in synthetic then? Why not a conventional (5w20) and a synthetic (0w20)?


Because lots of owners of cars that spec 5w-20 will stick with that grade but will want a "better", i.e. synthetic, oil.
 
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