From 5w30 to 5w20 tp 0w20?

Joined
Dec 19, 2004
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353
Location
New Orleans La
Originally my 2006 Tacoma was spec'd for 5w30 than back spec'd for 5w20. Anything wrong using a 0w20 oil?

Mileage is 108k on the clock and I've been using 5w30 since new. It burns no oil.

Would it be possible to pick up a 1/2 MPG using a 0w20? I'm just thinking if I get a 1/2 MPG using a 0w20 it would just about save enough in fuel to pay for the oil change. Is this crazy?
 
0w20 would be perfectly fine in your application. You won't see any fuel economy savings as it's still a 20 weight oil at operating temperature.
 
And at any temperature besides an extremely cold one the 0W-20 may be thicker than a 5W-20.

If you're careful to read fuel economy improvements that are out there it's always against a much higher grade in order to accentuate the benefit.
 
The snarky response is if you are concerned about fuel economy, driving habits and tire pressure (and not having a tacoma) are the best places to start.

I would just stay with 5W-30 in LA.

I use 5W-20 in my prius (is a 5W-30 car) but around town the engine rarely gets up to temp.
 
Despite many claims to the contrary, sufficient oil viscosity is required for proper lubrication. The rash of timing chain wear related issues is directly correlated with low viscosity oils. Chains last longest with a 30 viscosity oil. The rash of Toyota sticking piston rings is directly attributable to low quality oils. The good news is that Toyota engines are amazingly reliable. The joke is that they will operate perfectly with half the spark plugs missing, wesson vegetable oil in the sump and no coolant what so ever.

My suggestion remains always the same, choose a quality synthetic oil of sufficient viscosity for your location, change it regularly and enjoy many years of trouble free operation. No sticking piston rings, no worn timing chains, etc. The oil change is the only way many of those wear causing contaminates are removed from the engine.

Furthermore, the HTHS (viscosity at 150c) (a good indicator of an oils performance under high temperatures) of a 0W-20 is often lower (at 2.5) than the 5W-20 (at 2.7) Whereas 5W-30 HTHS is always over 3.0
 
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Id stick with 5w30. You live in a warmer state so no real reason to switch. And no you would not see any difference in gas mileage.
Just use a good 5w30 synthetic or semi-syn HM oil and it will not have any oil issues.
 
I ran 5w20 on our 2006 TSX for awhile, based on the Acura dealer service's recommendation.
Other K24s of that year were Honda spec'ed for 5w20, I believe.

I went back to M1 5w30 High Mileage. I would do the same in your Toyota.
 
Originally Posted by Bullet
Originally my 2006 Tacoma was spec'd for 5w30 than back spec'd for 5w20. Anything wrong using a 0w20 oil?

Mileage is 108k on the clock and I've been using 5w30 since new. It burns no oil.


Look at my Signature and notice my Colorado now has 0w20 and was run 5w30 for 130k.
So far - So Quiet. But this a test and only a test. It will also only be a one-time thing, for I got the 0w20 oil for free. My next test OCI will be Euro 0w40.
Am I expecting more oil consumption and a slight MPG gain?....... yes I am - on both counts.
 
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Waste of time and effort to even think you'll see a MPG improvement. Both are 20WT oils when at operating temp. You definitely don't need a 0W anything living in LA.
 
Originally Posted by Bullet
Originally my 2006 Tacoma was spec'd for 5w30 than back spec'd for 5w20. Anything wrong using a 0w20 oil?

Mileage is 108k on the clock and I've been using 5w30 since new. It burns no oil.

Would it be possible to pick up a 1/2 MPG using a 0w20? I'm just thinking if I get a 1/2 MPG using a 0w20 it would just about save enough in fuel to pay for the oil change. Is this crazy?


You would be better off managing your tire pressure, than relying on oil to save you gas. A single trip with 20 miles of headwinds will wipe out any benefit of the lower viscosity.
 
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