What's your viscosity change threshold?

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Some folks here are thickies and some prefer thin but what specific circumstances would cause you to change your oil viscosity from the standard or most common for your vehicle? For me I take a lot of summer trips so my 5 speed tiburon gets its share of hours sitting at about 3.5-4k rpm so I step to a Xw40 for peace of mind. I can imagine that a thinner 0w20 or 0w16 would be beneficial for long idling and low rpm applications.
 
I am comfortable going up or down one grade, with special consideration to ACEA standards.

I ran 0w-20 in a 4.6l Trailblazer (30 grade spec), and I've used a 30 in a Mazda SkyActiv and Honda K24(20 grade).

I always look at international standards for the same engine and consider the usage. The internet makes it easy to find. For example Mazda SkyActiv normally aspirated engines use 0w-20 in the US and Canada but allow pretty much anything under the sun elsewhere.

If I were a short-tripper I would consider a thinner oil. I drive 2-300 miles/day so I'm a thickie.
 
I'm comfortable using going from 0w-20 to 5w-30 if a car called for 0w-20. I used to use 5w-50 Castrol Edge a long time ago, but 30 weight is my max for the cars in my signature.

Up here in Canada 10w-40 isn't easy to get and I don't have any cars that call for 0w-40 or 5w-40.
 
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Originally Posted by HyundaiAbuser
For me I take a lot of summer trips so my 5 speed tiburon gets its share of hours sitting at about 3.5-4k rpm so I step to a Xw40 for peace of mind. I can imagine that a thinner 0w20 or 0w16 would be beneficial for long idling and low rpm applications.

3~4k rpm on the highway is gonna be what, somewhere in the 80's mph?..I can't go that fast for too long here in WA before Trooper Joe tags me. And tickets get real expensive here once you're over 70.. trust me, I know.
coffee2.gif


Anywho...

I use a 5w30 or 10w even though the OM says to run a Xw20, but it's (5w30/10w30) working for me. I do have 10qts of Valvoline ML 10w40 I scored on the cheap that I plan to run this summer.
 
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Originally Posted by Mad_Hatter
Originally Posted by HyundaiAbuser
For me I take a lot of summer trips so my 5 speed tiburon gets its share of hours sitting at about 3.5-4k rpm so I step to a Xw40 for peace of mind. I can imagine that a thinner 0w20 or 0w16 would be beneficial for long idling and low rpm applications.

3~4k rpm on the highway is gonna be what, somewhere in the 80's mph?..I can't go that fast for too long here in WA before Trooper Joe tags me. And tickets get real expensive here once you're over 70.. trust me, I know.
coffee2.gif


Anywho...

I use a 5w30 or 10w even though the OM says to run a Xw20, but it's (5w30/10w30) working for me. I do have 10qts of Valvoline ML 10w40 I scored on the cheap that I plan to run this summer.



Yeah, that's a lot of rpms. As a comparison, my Mustang is a little over 2K at 70 mph.
 
I run a 5w30 in my Escape that calls for 5w20. If it were any cooler here in my part of the Country I'd stick with 5w20 but it's blazing hot most of the year. I have been out in 117* heat before. The 2.5 will handle just about any weight oil.
 
Thickie here, I am on 17 lbs boost at 1,400 rpm a lot. Mobil 1 5w-30 ESP a thick 5w-30 is my minimum. 5w-40 is a Hyundai approved option, I have not nailed my brand and formula down yet like I have with the 5w-30. I will never go below 11.8 @100C and min. HTHS 3.5.
 
None really. I use either 5-20 or 5-30. No real reason why except maybe I think a 30 would work better on a higher mileage engine with some wear.
 
My 01' Sable recommends 5W-20 but I'm fine going 5W-30 in summer, I would go a 0/5W-40 is it uses much. In Fall through Spring I'm running 0/5W-20...
 
Originally Posted by Jackson_Slugger
My 01' Sable recommends 5W-20 but I'm fine going 5W-30 in summer, I would go a 0/5W-40 is it uses much. In Fall through Spring I'm running 0/5W-20...

If you get a euro spec 0w40 it's more like a thick 30 anyways.
 
Originally Posted by blufeb95
Originally Posted by Jackson_Slugger
My 01' Sable recommends 5W-20 but I'm fine going 5W-30 in summer, I would go a 0/5W-40 is it uses much. In Fall through Spring I'm running 0/5W-20...

If you get a euro spec 0w40 it's more like a thick 30 anyways.


Yeah, I have a fair amount of Valvoline MST 0W-40 which is that, and mostly PAO AFAIK. And some 5W-30's that Pennzoil make really aren't far from a thicker 20W....

I should also mention that some oil sites like Valvoline and Pennzoil also recommend 5W-30 for my car whereas Mobil adheres to the OM...

At this point the older goes first this spring, which is MSS 5W-30.
 
I look at the Winter rating more. Where I live in Tucson, what's recommended in the manual has always worked. If I were to take a road trip somewhere freezing, then I'll put 0w-xx, with the xx viscosity being the same as what's in the manual.

Now, if I was towing, racing, or driving up and down mountains all the time even using engine braking, that's when I'll crank up the hot viscosity a notch. Bearings and cam lobes at higher RPM's will appreciate the extra film strength as the oil temperature shoots up.
 
Originally Posted by Silverado12
Originally Posted by Mad_Hatter
Originally Posted by HyundaiAbuser
For me I take a lot of summer trips so my 5 speed tiburon gets its share of hours sitting at about 3.5-4k rpm so I step to a Xw40 for peace of mind. I can imagine that a thinner 0w20 or 0w16 would be beneficial for long idling and low rpm applications.

3~4k rpm on the highway is gonna be what, somewhere in the 80's mph?..I can't go that fast for too long here in WA before Trooper Joe tags me. And tickets get real expensive here once you're over 70.. trust me, I know.
coffee2.gif


Anywho...

I use a 5w30 or 10w even though the OM says to run a Xw20, but it's (5w30/10w30) working for me. I do have 10qts of Valvoline ML 10w40 I scored on the cheap that I plan to run this summer.



Yeah, that's a lot of rpms. As a comparison, my Mustang is a little over 2K at 70 mph.

The speed limit on the turn pikes are 75 along with the major highways so I have to sit there just to keep up in the slow lane. Either way its just how the car is geared, I sit around 3k to go 65 whereas most autos I've driven are 4 speeds and around 2200.
 
For my two Korean models, I have enough GF5 5w30 for another year. Then I'll move into buying oil in SP GF6. I may change viscosity then and move my viscosity range down to 0w20..... a top-shelf one like Mobil-1 AP, Modern Engine or Amsoil SS.
 
I am comfortable with going up To 0w40 and 15 w40 in a an engine with 0w20 recomendation but ok up to 15w40 in other places.
I Drive a lot of long Texas highway runs some of them in heat well over the century mark. 300 miles with speed limits of 75-80( in Texas reads...minimum safe speed) I also do a bit of towing and for fun I go off-road or do up to 120 miles of sand driving in 4wheel drive.

While the wife is driving one I will run 0w20 because she is a short tripper.
 
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