5w30 really better protection?

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Originally Posted by Pinoak
Originally Posted by zeke1985
Compared to 5w20? My car calls for 5w20 for better mpg but manual says you can use 5w30. Would 5w30 be better for the hot summers and long stop and go commutes out west? Would mpg even be a noticeable difference? I just assume use 5w20 but just curious as to what other people thought.

You could use the 5w30 all the time and your car will probably be better for it. the 1st number (5) represents how well is flows when cold at start up. The next number is how thick it will remain at operating temperatures when your car is warmed up and going.
Most of the world dosent use 0or 5w20. It's something imposed on the consumer here and in Japan etc. to try and drive down fuel usage a little bit at the expenses of proper lubrication. Ya know whenever you have the government involved in anything you can bank on it being useless and counterproductive.


Um, 5W-30 was also the result of "government interference", much like clean food and non-leaded paint and fuels...
 
Originally Posted by zeke1985
Compared to 5w20? My car calls for 5w20 for better mpg but manual says you can use 5w30. Would 5w30 be better for the hot summers and long stop and go commutes out west? Would mpg even be a noticeable difference? I just assume use 5w20 but just curious as to what other people thought.

The only way to KNOW FOR SURE is for you to run some tests and see. Run a baseline of several UOAs, and then run more tests with your challenger alternative.
I seriously doubt your engine will ever know the difference.


Originally Posted by Big_3_Only
I've got a 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis that has 210,000 miles on it. It's had Hydrotex 5w30 in it since it was new, but it calls for 5w20. Engine literally runs like it is new and the MPG is great.

And I have two MGMs running 5w-20. My wife's car has 258k miles on it; pending UOA upcoming at 260k. Mine is the 2007.
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/foru...22/5/5w-20-ford-4-6l-engines-uoa-testing
They all run fine, just like yours does. Other than a few experimental runs on syn lubes, they have had a very consistent diet of 5w-20. RK product, as a matter of fact. At $1.59/qrt; some of the least expensive conventional oil you'll ever find. And yet the UOAs show these engines could not care less. Even with 10k mile OCIs.


I see thread after thread after thread about these stupid "is thicker better?" topics.
Hey Zeke, why not go find out yourself? Go test something; learn for yourself. The come back and tell us what you found out. Don't ask us; tell us!
I'm not saying this to pick on you, but rather to encourage a sense of experimentation and self-assurance. You will be far more convinced if you see the results yourself, rather than hear all this blathering.
 
xW-30 is too thick to get through the bearings or get to the cams reliably. I wouldn't risk it even if the manual says it's okay.
 
Originally Posted by hatt
xW-30 is too thick to get through the bearings or get to the cams reliably. I wouldn't risk it even if the manual says it's okay.

A response that is at least in keeping with the significance of this thread.
 
Although sometimes I never know what constitutes blather on here, I might agree with dnewton in that you should experiment and if you're interested, get periodic UOAs and if you're not...just split the difference and go with a "thin" 5w-30 like PP and be done with it. I'm not going to put a 3.5 HTHS oil in mine, but in my experience with this engine, if you go outside the recommended grades on the "thick" side, this engine and you will probably notice the difference in a "less than good" way versus simply using a 5w-20 or 5w-30.
 
Originally Posted by hatt
xW-30 is too thick to get through the bearings or get to the cams reliably. I wouldn't risk it even if the manual says it's okay.


lol.gif
... Wow.
 
I just bought another Crown Vic. I have the receipts from every single oil change while it was in police ownership for about 10 years and 150k miles. The oil cap says 5w-20 (though my 99 with the same exact engine said 5w-30)... Anyway, it's been serviced with 5w-30 that entire time. My point, I'm sure it would have been ok with 5w-20, but 5w-30 works perfectly. As soon as I get around to changing the oil it's gonna get 0w-30.
 
Originally Posted by Vuflanovsky
It's great when i can't tell if some of these posts are supposed to be facetious or not...if so, they're well played.


Facetious on BITOG? Naaaw, lol.
 
Originally Posted by blupupher
Use 5w-20 with a quality filter changed at a reasonable interval and your engine will have no problems.
Use 5w-30 with a quality filter changed at a reasonable interval and your engine will have no problems.


^ Yep.
 
I'll ask you this, why do manufacturers spec a 5W-30 in place of a 0W-20 for towing/severe service? Perhaps it offers more protection than a 0W-20? Just a thought.
 
FWIW Used 5-20 with the same 1.6 engine on a Rio-- no problems, no burning. Started my Soul on Max Life 5-20, was short a half quart (probably cause they thought it was a 1.6 rather than a 2.0) and threw a half a quart of Harvest King synthetic 5-30 in there. Now running 5-30 VWB. Noticed no difference in oil use, performance or mileage in any of them.
 
As long as you're in the recommended temp range for 5w30 per your owner's manual, you're fine. Doubtful you'll notice a change in mpg. I went to a 5w30 from a 20 weight and noticed no change in mpg.
 
XW-30 oil is perfect for nearly any gasoline burning engine in existence. I use XW-30 in my 1947 Ford Tractor, my 2003 Mercury Marauder, my 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe, my 1992 Mercury Capri, my zero turn mower, my 4 stroke string trimmer, my Generac generator, my smaller riding mower, and my 1969 Torino GT with a 390. There is no reason to use anything else unless fuel mileage is your primary concern. It's not mine. My primary concern is engine longevity. That is all. I have nothing more to add to this subject.
 
You hit the BITOG nerve.

There just isn't that much difference in viscosity between a 20W & 30W oil. Some 20s ride up near 30W territory and some 30s ride down by the 20W so if you want to split the difference choose one of them.

That engine only takes about 3.5 qt and sludges easily so stick to a 5000mi OCI unless you do mostly Hwy miles. Also, change the air filter on a short interval (plugs too) and nothing but Top Tier fuel.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Nickdfresh
Originally Posted by Pinoak
Originally Posted by zeke1985
Compared to 5w20? My car calls for 5w20 for better mpg but manual says you can use 5w30. Would 5w30 be better for the hot summers and long stop and go commutes out west? Would mpg even be a noticeable difference? I just assume use 5w20 but just curious as to what other people thought.

You could use the 5w30 all the time and your car will probably be better for it. the 1st number (5) represents how well is flows when cold at start up. The next number is how thick it will remain at operating temperatures when your car is warmed up and going.
Most of the world dosent use 0or 5w20. It's something imposed on the consumer here and in Japan etc. to try and drive down fuel usage a little bit at the expenses of proper lubrication. Ya know whenever you have the government involved in anything you can bank on it being useless and counterproductive.


Um, 5W-30 was also the result of "government interference", much like clean food and non-leaded paint and fuels...

I guess that's good for people that can't figure out for themselves to only eat clean food and to not eat paint chips lol. Most of us could do much better with only limited government intrusion.
 
Originally Posted by Pinoak
I guess that's good for people that can't figure out for themselves to only eat clean food and to not eat paint chips lol. Most of us could do much better with only limited government intrusion.

At the risk of violating the RSP rules... What is limited government intrusion?

Let's not forget, leaded gasoline impacted everyone. One doesn't have a choice about the air they breath. Paint chips, fine, I won't eat any, but that wasn't the problem, was it? It was kids being kids. You could say bad parenting if the house was peeling paint, and I'd be ok with that--but getting rid of leaded gasoline and rudimentary emissions controls have done piles for cleaning up the air. But that required a fair amount of intrusion.
 
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