0w-20 vs. 5w-20

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I am currently running 5w-20 in my 08 Civic and purchased 0w-20 this past weekend in anticipation of the next change. Both oils are Mobil 1 Extended Performance. From what I know about oils the two oils are functionally identical at operating temperatures but the 0w will be thinner at startup compared to the 5w though still much thicker than at operating temperature. Also, I think 0w-20 requires a high percentage of synthetic (Group IV) base oils so should be at least the equal if not better than the 5w-20 all other things being equal. Same Mobil EP and the same price at Walmart. It seems that the only functional difference is a thinner oil at startup. Make sense?
 
What's your question? You're right, BTW. Both are excellent oils and I've pushed the 5w20 to a confirmed 12k analysis report that said it was fine.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
What's your question? You're right, BTW. Both are excellent oils and I've pushed the 5w20 to a confirmed 12k analysis report that said it was fine.


I guess I am asking if my thought process is solid and also making sure that I am not missing anything that could unexpectedly bite me in the butt.
 
Yeah, makes sense to me! But, at start up in extremely cold temperatures. At 20 deg's F for example, there may be no advantage of the "0" but, at -20 deg's F the "0" will have a much greater advantage. That is if, in fact all things about both oils being equal.

What are the actual differences between the two oils in their chemistries, additives, base stock oils etc.?...IDK!
 
I had the 0w in my Civic and the 5w in my CR-V. More than 200k on each, no engine issues. Perfectly clean inside. 0 will definitely flow just slightly faster.
 
Originally Posted By: blackdiamond
Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
What's your question? You're right, BTW. Both are excellent oils and I've pushed the 5w20 to a confirmed 12k analysis report that said it was fine.


I guess I am asking if my thought process is solid and also making sure that I am not missing anything that could unexpectedly bite me in the butt.

Since you engine may spec for 0-20 what is the problem?
 
Originally Posted By: tig1
Originally Posted By: blackdiamond
Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
What's your question? You're right, BTW. Both are excellent oils and I've pushed the 5w20 to a confirmed 12k analysis report that said it was fine.


I guess I am asking if my thought process is solid and also making sure that I am not missing anything that could unexpectedly bite me in the butt.

Since you engine may spec for 0-20 what is the problem?


+1
 
Specific 0w20 are super light grade high VI for improved warmup mileage. Ive foud the Subaru Idemitsu 0w20 too thin for the Honda Fit. If you've gone too think just dump a 1/2 litre and replace with a similar 0w5w30. Ive had loud big end knocks with some light oils the car was spec'd for - so go carefully.
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Specific 0w20 are super light grade high VI for improved warmup mileage. Ive foud the Subaru Idemitsu 0w20 too thin for the Honda Fit. If you've gone too think just dump a 1/2 litre and replace with a similar 0w5w30. Ive had loud big end knocks with some light oils the car was spec'd for - so go carefully.


I've never obtained a knock going too thin. What I have obtained are a buildup of metal shavings on my magnetic drain plug.
 
Originally Posted By: blackdiamond
I am currently running 5w-20 in my 08 Civic and purchased 0w-20 this past weekend in anticipation of the next change. Both oils are Mobil 1 Extended Performance. From what I know about oils the two oils are functionally identical at operating temperatures but the 0w will be thinner at startup compared to the 5w though still much thicker than at operating temperature. Also, I think 0w-20 requires a high percentage of synthetic (Group IV) base oils so should be at least the equal if not better than the 5w-20 all other things being equal. Same Mobil EP and the same price at Walmart. It seems that the only functional difference is a thinner oil at startup. Make sense?


0W oils can be 100% grp III (from what I was told here).
 
The one thing about the M1 Ep line that stands out to me is the use of a large amount of PAO as base oil.
Due to the high percentage of PAO being used, M1 doesn't need to add a high amount of Vii to the oils. Reasoning from what I understand, is that the PAO has excellent flow-ability/shear stability at extreme temperatures and therefore doesn't require a Vii boost to accomplish it. I could be wrong but that's what I understand from what I've read here.
You really can't go wrong with the 5w or 0w20 M1 Ep. Personally I'd go with the 0w20 due to the lower weight at startup.
I'd like to give the Ep 0w20 a try but it isn't out yet in Ontario.
That being said I've not had any negative effects from the Mazda or TGMO that I've used. No metal shavings on the drain plug magnet, no knocks or excessive noise, in fact the engine is very quiet on either.
 
Originally Posted By: tig1
Since your engine (may?) spec for 0-20 what is the problem?
5w20 is specced for that engine but it is back specced by honda for 0w20.

you could put 10w40 in that engine, it won't care...my brother's 06 civic with 189k atm had walmart bulk oil for the first 170k of it's life, during valve cover gasket replacement, it looked new inside...

use whatever you want, rather conventional or synthetic, it all depends on how long your interval will be.
 
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Some Honda and Toyota engines just keep running and running with any oil type and grade.

I only use synthetic oil 0W20 in a Honda engine if it is spec'ed in Honda owner manual, otherwise just get any conventional 5W20, and change it when OLM went down to 10-15%.
 
Run whatever grade the manual says. I think that the Mobil 1 site says that an 0w-30 can be used where a 5w-30 and 10w-30 is recommended. Same should go for a 0w-20 weight oil.
 
Yes they do for the AFE:

Quote:
Mobil 1™ 0W-20 is an advanced full synthetic engine oil designed to help deliver outstanding engine protection and enhanced fuel economy. Mobil 1 0W-20 meets or exceeds the requirements of various vehicle manufacturers and industry standards and outperforms conventional oils. Mobil 1 0W-20 is recommended for SAE 0W-20 and 5W-20 applications.


They don't for the EP but that is likely because they also sell a 5W-20 EP, unlike AFE.


Originally Posted By: LX289
Run whatever grade the manual says. I think that the Mobil 1 site says that an 0w-30 can be used where a 5w-30 and 10w-30 is recommended. Same should go for a 0w-20 weight oil.
 
Originally Posted By: kschachn
Yes they do for the AFE:

Quote:
Mobil 1™ 0W-20 is an advanced full synthetic engine oil designed to help deliver outstanding engine protection and enhanced fuel economy. Mobil 1 0W-20 meets or exceeds the requirements of various vehicle manufacturers and industry standards and outperforms conventional oils. Mobil 1 0W-20 is recommended for SAE 0W-20 and 5W-20 applications.


They don't for the EP but that is likely because they also sell a 5W-20 EP, unlike AFE.


Originally Posted By: LX289
Run whatever grade the manual says. I think that the Mobil 1 site says that an 0w-30 can be used where a 5w-30 and 10w-30 is recommended. Same should go for a 0w-20 weight oil.


Yep sorry i couldn't find it at the time of writing my message.
What would be the difference in the AFE 0w-20 and the M1 EP 0w-20. I think that the AFE would work better for his application no?
 
Sounds like I can't go wrong with 0w-20 Mobil EP in my 08 Honda Civic. The OLM generally directs an oil change about 7,500 miles and it often takes me a little longer to actually get it done. I like the EP because I have done some analysis in my 04 Toyota Sequoia using 5w-30 and it was going strong at 10,000 miles. I just like knowing that I'm not pushing the oil on any level if the oil changes gets pushed back, plus it's easier to remember which oil to get if the brand and type are all the same. I just put 5w-30 EP in my 1989 4Runner to match the Sequoia. We'll see how that goes as it's been running Maxlife and it has been a while since I put full synthetic in it. The engine was rebuilt so it's really not a high mileage engine.

I figured that this was a slam dunk question, but thanks for the info anyways.
 
Since the EP 0w-20 and 5w-20 are the same price there is no downside using the lighter grade. I run EP for 2x the maintenance monitor in my Accord (reset at 10%), usually 13-14K for me.
 
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