2021 Odyssey oil spec

[MrStamper]

The insane 0w-20 to 0w-40 GM jump got me thinking.. about my personal 21’ Honda odyssey. Normal US spec is 0w-20. So I dug around thinking, huh what’s it in…Mexico…

If I hear another word about “tighter tolerances” lmao

 

[MuzzleFlash40]

All this talk has me thinking as well. My 21 Ram with the Hemi and the Wife’s 21 Jeep GC 3.6 both spec 20 weights. I bought the 100k extended warranty on both. When that expires I’m highly considering switching to 5w30 on both. I really don’t see a downside. Maybe it won’t make a difference but to me there has to be something to this. Especially when the same engine in a different country specs a thicker oil in many engines.

 

[Navi]

Since 2015 when GM started specing 0W20 everyone has been questioning the logic behind using such a thin oil. There are many threads on here and elsewhere discussing it. During that time there have been issues like lifter problems and now burning oil and bearing problems.

The simple fact is a 400+ horsepower 6.2 liter V8 should not be using a thin oil speced for a Toyota or Honda 4 cylinder engine. The Dodge Hemi V8 with cylinder deactivation should not have it in there either.

 

[zfasts03]

Yep, I will be bumping up a grade in many of my applications. Probably be running a x-30 in pretty much everything, especially in the warmer months of the year.

 

[Delta]

And here I thought I was being a rebel using 0w20 in the Camry where it specs 0w16

 

[shortyb]

Show of hands, how many "Thickies" are feeling kinda smug about now?

 

[dnewton3]

Show of hands ...
How many "thickies" think oil viscosity will overcome design shortcomings and manufacturing flaws such as:
- Chrysler MDS
- Honda VCM
- Kia Theta 2 cranks
- Toyota 3.4L TT machining debris
- Saturn SL2 engines with no oil drain back holes in the rings
- etc ...

 

[shortyb]

Show of hands ...
How many "thickies" think oil viscosity will overcome design shortcomings and manufacturing flaws such as:
- Chrysler MDS
- Honda VCM
- Kia Theta 2 cranks
- Toyota 3.4L TT machining debris
- Saturn SL2 engines with no oil drain back holes in the rings
- etc ...

Buzzkill .

 

[Mainia]

Do nothing OR Hail Mary, with hope.

 

[SC Maintenance]

The simple fact is a 400+ horsepower 6.2 liter V8 should not be using a thin oil speced for a Toyota or Honda 4 cylinder engine.

My dog slow Toyota Dynamic force 2.5 liter engine has 203 HP. Comparative to a 6.2l that would be 500+ HP. So engine size has nothing to do with it.

This GM thing is an engine issue not an oil issue. Plenty of engines run hundreds of thousands of miles on 0W-20 and now we have at least one 200K on 0W-16 on this board. All the GM thing proves is that you can run thicker in these engines without issue and its most likely a benefit.

I run 5W-30 in my dynamic force and am definitely a thicker is better believer, but its not going to solve actual issues. It might help it get through warranty.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Here I am with 0w-20 in my 145,000 2v Ford modular ...

The other one would have it too but the whole corroded head leaking thing ...

 

[kballowe]

I remember being very hesitant about Ford's recommendation of 5W-20 in my then brand new 2003 4.6L Mercury Grand Marquis. The only 5W-20 on the Walmart shelves at that time was Motorcraft semi-syn, and so that's what it got for its 270,xxx mile life. It was still going strong, but went off to the salvage yard after the 2nd large deer strike.

 

[Hohn]

This GM thing is an engine issue not an oil issue. Plenty of engines run hundreds of thousands of miles on 0W-20 and now we have at least one 200K on 0W-16 on this board. All the GM thing proves is that you can run thicker in these engines without issue and its most likely a benefit.

It's not purely an engine thing nor purely an oil thing. It's possible to have an engine condition no oil can lubricate. (Crank grinder burn perhaps), yes. But it's also true that there are oils that will fail were other oils succeed. It's really about making the two work together.

GM made an engine that doesn't work well on 0w20. Their public statements suggest they think it will work on 0w40. Yes, we're skeptical, but it's quite clear that GM seems to think the thicker oil is sufficient to remedy whatever condition made the 0w20 insufficient.


Viscosity is one of those classic "price-is-right" kind of things-- as long as you don't go too far, you're still in the game. Here, as long as you don't go too thin for the load, you're OK. But go just a tiny bit too far and it's game over.

Thicker oils have more margin but at the penalty of efficiency.

 

[SC Maintenance]

GM made an engine that doesn't work well on 0w20.

Disagree completely. I understand and agree with thick film is better than thin film - but in that case your talking 200K vs 250K performance comparator. Like I said, I run thicker grade where feasible.

Even if I were to agree with you - GM designed an engine to run on 0W-20, and so if it does not - then thats a huge engineering failure either way. But we will likely never know if it was a design or manufacturing problem - or maybe some of both?

I know lots of Nissan dealers started pouring 0w-20 in the 5w-30 spec'd Nissan VQ40 just because all the other Nissan engines - including the 5.6L VK went to 0w-20 spec and the dealers didn't want to stock 2 grades. I have not heard of a single VQ40 failure because of it - although there are lots of complaints on the Nissan boards about it - and rightly so.

 

[BrendanC]

i’ve been putting HPL 5w-30 in LT based engines and running them to 12k in industrial service. zero engine failures in 100’s of thousands of miles.

 

[hemioiler]

Show of hands ...
How many "thickies" think oil viscosity will overcome design shortcomings and manufacturing flaws such as:
- Chrysler MDS
- Honda VCM
- Kia Theta 2 cranks
- Toyota 3.4L TT machining debris
- Saturn SL2 engines with no oil drain back holes in the rings
- etc ...

The Chrylser MDS is not a flaw. Lifter and cam failures on the hemi are not due to MDS as hemis without the MDS system can also experience lifter failure.

But yes we see cams with rough surfaces on the hemi, no reason to think that higher viscosity wouldn't help there just like it helps in GM's 6.2 case with the rougher surfaces.

 

[hemioiler]

All this talk has me thinking as well. My 21 Ram with the Hemi and the Wife’s 21 Jeep GC 3.6 both spec 20 weights. I bought the 100k extended warranty on both. When that expires I’m highly considering switching to 5w30 on both. I really don’t see a downside. Maybe it won’t make a difference but to me there has to be something to this. Especially when the same engine in a different country specs a thicker oil in many engines.

Guys have run Mobil 1 Euro 0w-40 in the hemi 5.7. You'll be more than fine with 5w-30.

 

[CarlB]

@MrStamper the manual shows -20C and above is fine with 10W-30. In Oregon what ambient temperatures are you seeing? What type of driving and oil temps do you hit?

 

[JavierH19]

I did the same for Toyota engines outside of the US. Here we can only use 0w-20 with an exception for 5w-30. 0w-16 with an exception for 0w-20 and 0w-8 with an exception for 0w-16. But outside of the US you can put 20w-50 in your European and Australian 2015 prius, camry or whatever else instead of 0w-20.

 

[oil pan 4]

About my personal 21’ Honda odyssey. Normal US spec is 0w-20. So I dug around thinking, huh what’s it in…Mexico…

If I hear another word about “tighter tolerances” lmao

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View attachment 277668

There is no such thing as "tighter tolerance" from a factory engine. I've built engines that were plastigauged or tee micrometered them to the book minimum on all the rod and crank bearings and still ran 30 and 40wt oils in them.