Ditching 0W20?

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The car in question is my 2013 Acura TL 3.5L, which now has 54,000 miles and is outside of my factory warranty. I have changed the oil every 5,000 miles with M1 0W20 and a Honda A01 oil filter. I've owned since new and I'm the only person to service the car. It has been a great sports sedan and plan to keep it for another 10 years.

The oil question...would you make the switch to 0W30 and/or 5W30 or would you keep running the factory recommended oil? I live in Southern California where the temps range from 50-105 annually and the car is garaged 100% of the time.

I'm aware there are a number of Honda vehicles that run a similar motor, the variant in the TL is a high compression motor and requires premium fuel. My primary concern is a long healthy life and less concerned about fuel economy, it doesn't get good MPG to begin with but the speed and power it has is worth it.

Thanks for all the hot tips in advance.

-George
 
I would stick with what you have been using. But if you stumble upon a deal for 0/5w30 I would definitely run that without worry (and personally, not rationally, I would feel like I was giving the car added protection).
 
You could lean towards oils that run on the "thicker" side of the 0W-20 viscosity range .... or run "lighter/thinner" types of 5W-20 or 5W-30 - - you would be looking at a lot of data.

Honestly.... in Southern California, you will NEVER see the "cold weather" benefit of oW-20... because it never gets that cold.

Theoretically, a 5W-20 could/would operate EXACTLY the same, 100% of the time.
 
Given the location and mileage, and around 10k miles per year, I'd change.

to M1 5W20 (2.75HTHS), the regular 5W20, and do annual oil changes, or every 10-11k miles, whichever comes first.
 
you mentioned that you are out of warranty but if you prefer to follow the book and/or need an excuse ... typically you should be able to find a line or two in the owner's manual allowing you to ditch the 20 ... If not, you may find foreign OM's of the same car with no 20 grade spec.
You can then comfortably join the the thickies club (relatively speaking) of 5Wx30
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Or you can buy vr1 20w50 just for topping off...and then use 0w20 + 20w50...

Why not implement some fun and chemistry into your hobby
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Originally Posted by Georgiey22
The oil question...would you make the switch to 0W30 and/or 5W30 or would you keep running the factory recommended oil? I live in Southern California where the temps range from 50-105 annually and the car is garaged 100% of the time.


I'd run 5W-30 year round in that climate. About every xW-30 will have a HTHS between 3.0 and 3.2 which will give an added protection factor above a xW- 20 weight.
 
SAme base engine in outboard engines requires a 10W30 with an after shear performance of 3.2
 
Originally Posted by ZeeOSix
Originally Posted by Georgiey22
The oil question...would you make the switch to 0W30 and/or 5W30 or would you keep running the factory recommended oil? I live in Southern California where the temps range from 50-105 annually and the car is garaged 100% of the time.


I'd run 5W-30 year round in that climate. About every xW-30 will have a HTHS between 3.0 and 3.2 which will give an added protection factor above a xW- 20 weight.


That's what I'd do too.
 
Your Acura has a radiator and thermostat. It will run at the same operating temperature in southern CA as it would in Maine. Is there some reason you think the 0w20 is not doing the job? You are running an outstanding synthetic oil within an OCI that it can easily handle. I'd bet you'll get as many miles out of that engine doing what the manufacterer recommends as you would with 5w30, and possibly more. Do a UOA and then run a 5w20 or 5w30 for the same interval and do another UOA, then compare. Even in a warm climate, that 0w20 will get flowing quicker than a thicker oil. People used to believe most engine wear comes at startup. Unless you are running the car at the track, I doubt you'll stress that Mobil 1 0w20, or even come close to it.
 
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Originally Posted by IndyFan
Even in a warm climate, that 0w20 will get flowing quicker than a thicker oil. People used to believe most engine wear comes at startup..


sigh...for a long timer, you keep re-iterating the same wrong stuff.

It's "warmup" wear...first 20 minutes is about equivalent to the next few hours.

"getting flowing" in Ca is meaningless...
 
Originally Posted by Shannow
Originally Posted by IndyFan
Even in a warm climate, that 0w20 will get flowing quicker than a thicker oil. People used to believe most engine wear comes at startup..


sigh...for a long timer, you keep re-iterating the same wrong stuff.

It's "warmup" wear...first 20 minutes is about equivalent to the next few hours.

"getting flowing" in Ca is meaningless...



I disagree. Also, you misquoted me. "Get flowing" is what I said. SIgh....eyes rolling, fingers tapping...bowels irritated....
 
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With your temps, a 5w-30 would be my choice and I wouldn't be afraid of using a 10w-30. Higher shear and lower evaporation vs most 0w-20's.
 
Well I think if it this way. And I'm an engineer.

If you switch to 5w30 or 10W30 and there is any type of mechanical failure of the engine (timing chain, variable valve timer, valve stems, whatever) you will suspect the change in oil did it.
Most likely the engine is fine with a wide range but you will suspect in the back of your mind that if you stuck with 0w20 this might not have happened. Maybe some subtle feature of the thinner oil was necessary....


While I agree switching to a thicker oil wont hurt a thing, I dont think you will gain much either. 0w20 has been around for a long time and many engine have passes the 200K mile mark on it.

0w16 is showing up now. If 0W20 was a problem I dont think the car companies would risk going lighter.

Since 0w20 is only available in synthetic you can close your eyes at grab just about any jug and assure yourself that it will be a good oil. You can get 5w20 and 5w30 in conventional so you could move to those thicker oil and get a lower quality oil in the process. a downgrade instead of upgrade.

long story short. I would jstu stick with 0w20 and not overthink it. You can get just as good of deals on 0w20 as any other weight.
 
Originally Posted by Linctex
You could lean towards oils that run on the "thicker" side of the 0W-20 viscosity range .... or run "lighter/thinner" types of 5W-20 or 5W-30 - - you would be looking at a lot of data.

Honestly.... in Southern California, you will NEVER see the "cold weather" benefit of oW-20... because it never gets that cold.

Theoretically, a 5W-20 could/would operate EXACTLY the same, 100% of the time.

^This Here^ Where you live 5w30 would be my choice.
 
I have been using Mobil 1 0w40 and 5w30 in these J35 engines for over a decade in a much colder climate than yours, every engine has done great on both. Put all of them I have serviced regularly and there is well over a million miles with no lube related failure. Cant say the same for xw20 in J35 i-VTEC engines.
 
Originally Posted by IndyFan
Your Acura has a radiator and thermostat. It will run at the same operating temperature in southern CA as it would in Maine.


The engine may operate at much the same temperature, but the oil temperature is unregulated.

An oil temperature of 160 degrees or lower is normal after a long winter drive and 250+ degrees after a run in death valley.

I would choose a quality 5W-30 synthetic, similar to the oil Honda used to require in that family of engines, and go on your way.

Many of these 3.5L engines start to consume oil early in life, due to various issues that result in worn piston rings. You be the judge.
 
When I first discovered BITOG, I read all the educational BITOG had attached to the site. I remember one in particular paper all about engine wear and start up. It stated that cold starts (and not necessarily Minnesota cold) is where almost all engine wear occurred. I have not been able to find this area of BITOG since. What I do have to ask though is why do BITOG members ignore cold start engine wear but recommend heavier oils? Studies are at least not based on "feelings"....lol
 
Originally Posted by Shannow
SAme base engine in outboard engines requires a 10W30 with an after shear performance of 3.2



Yes and in California that would be a great choice in my mind. You don't need those 0w oils unless you going skiing or taking a winter vacation to a cold State. 0W MPG savings is a total croak anyway!
 
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