5W-20, how many miles you got????

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After sensory overload on all the pros/cons/beliefs/philosophy/thoughts on the
5W-20 oils, I was wondering about ACTUAL performance. I'd like to know what kind of car and engine, and brand of oil you've been using and how many total miles driven on 5W-20 oil.
I'm just curious because there seems to be a strong power curve of individuals that simply don't trust this oil and use something thicker like a 5W-30 or 10W-30, etc. etc. Wondering if any one has noticed some problems already, for those of us that have stuck with the manufacturers recommendations.
Me: 2002 Accord, V6, Quaker State, 36K. No noticable problems so far.
 
I have read a lot of Ford posts about oil usage with 5W20 in spite of decent UOA. I am still waiting for all these vechiles run on 5W20 to hit 300,000 with no major power train issues. I have a low opion of 20W20,0W20, and 5W20.
 
Im using pennzoil 5W-20 in my 02 Accord no problems that I know of so far. I will be doing a UOA in about a month or so then i will know for sure.

Kevin
 
Have read some bad things about using 5W-20 oil (from the Amsoil website). Basically, it's so the mfg. can improve gas mileage for the C.A.F.E. Personally, I would feel more comfortable going the other extreme and using 15W-40 truck oil. But we'll find out later when these engines get some miles on them. My best advise is to go with something you know will work, like 10W-30. Then you don't have to worry about it.
cheers.gif
 
Now we're up to 300,000 miles before you'll use an oil in spite of good UOA for the 5W-20's. Good lord, what oil are you using that you have proof for that it works to 300,000 miles? Between good engine assembly, faithful and reasonable oil changes, depending upon the oil used, chances are you can reach a high mileage number practically with any quality oil used. But what's with the magic 300,000 miles mark.

Whimsey
 
I'm going to be brave and try Motorcraft 5W-20 on the next oil change in my '95 Hyundai Accent. I've got baseline MPG established and want to see what improvement I will net. I've already established ~3 MPG difference between 10W-30 and 20W-50 (33 vs 30).
 
you know i have been thinking about the 20weights.

if auto makers used upgraded oil pumps in these engines which require 20 weights i would see no problem with them.

i know alot of people complain that the same engine through the years went from 30 weight oils to the new 20 weights, they assume its the same engine but no one knows if the oil pumps have been upgraded. if you can get a good psi rating out of a 20w i see no harm in running it.
 
The oil pressure is not significant to many parts of the engine...piston skirts and cylinder walls, cam lobes, etc. I do not think that increased oil pressure makes up for inadequate oil film strength, and in large measure the film strength is due to the viscosity of the oil (as well as several other factors). I do not know if 20 wt. oils will prove to be adequate in the long run.


Ken
 
There is one point we need to remember: I would guess that most people who are concerned with the 5w20 and care enough about their vehicle to do faithful maintenence will probably only use it while the vehicle is under warranty. I fully intend to switch my '02 Ranger over to 10w30 or 5w30, depending on the season, when it reaches 36,001 miles. I seriously doubt 5w20 will hurt it in that length of time.
 
DUDE, BINGO!!!!! Car just turned 36K and was wondering if I should go with a different weight oil next change and I'll be doing it myself for the first time and then I'll be able to tell first hand how thin this oil appears after 3K miles. Also that was just my point on this posting. I have heard so many theories and thoughts that this oil was specifically developed for the CAFE standards. But I want some proof.
I sure would hate to screw up my wifes Accord and shorten the life span of it. I mean we drive a lot. We bought it based on Honda's reputation of long lasting/high mileage vehicles. I had one in Guam and it ran great up to 150K, but that was a really harsh environment where as most cars call it quits around 75K.
I'd like to go to a 10W-30 based on past experience and personal testimony, but I'm confused that these newer engines "have higher tolerances and therefore you must use a thinner oil or you'll get inadequate lubrication....yada. yada. yada"
Does any one have the gospel on this????? Is CAFE the driving force behind the 5W-20, PERIOD???? I've read the posts on Pennzoil developing it for Motorcraft and all that, but I didn't get the warm fuzzy that it was strictly developed for tighter engines. I read somewhere on this site that engine tolerances have been the same over the years too.
So.....that was the purpose of this posting and I'm glad I am not alone. But I'm still lost in space about this 5W-20 stuff. God, to be young again and not worry about anything......
 
Yes, use of 5w20 oil was driven by CAFE standards, primarily. It is that simple.

Does that mean the stuff is terrible? I highly doubt it. Look at all the dino 5w30 oil reports (and 10w30 for that matter) that we see shearing down into 20 weight land withing 3-4,000 miles. Yet many people follow the regular service intervals which regularly push these oils out to 5,000 miles and more. If the engines on these types of service survive just fine, then why should using 5w20 make service life any different?

From a theoretical standpoint, it should be easier to get the 5w20 oils to stay in grade as they don't have as much ground to cover.

Conoco developed the 5w20 oils used by Ford, not Penzoil. Not sure where that story got started, but I keep seeing it repeated.

Its funny that for every new oil, the bar is raised as to what is acceptable life. Now some people are expecting 300,000 miles before it can be called good. How many people do you know who keep cars that long? Not many that I know - usually the body is shot long before that kind of mileage shows up. Ford's target is 150,000 miles on engine durability for trucks like the F-series (excluding the Powerstroke). I'm sure if 5w20 wasn't goign to get them there, they wouldn't have changed or kept different oil recomendations like they did on the 4.0 SOHC in the ranger / explorers where 5w30 is still recommended.
 
I do not do a lot of posting but I do a lot of reading here. My son has a 2001 Ranger and has so far run only the Motorcraft 5w20 in it. So far has seemingly done very well with it. It has about 37,000 miles and believe me he runs this little 3.0 V-6 hard. I know nothing about the other oils but I am going to see if he will have an analysis done and if it continues to do well and analysis confirms it I may change my 97 F-150 over as well. It is almost a 5w30 and everone seems to think the Motercraft version of 5w20 holds up well. How well do you guys think a 5.4 would fare with this oil??
 
if you guys are worried about warranty why not just run a 30 or 40 weight oil and if your engine fails, then drain the oil and fill it up with a 20weight before taking it in for warranty work?

you KNOW a 30 or 40 weight isnt going to hurt it, and you wouldnt be "cheating" them or anything realisticly.

and whats with your warranty? only 36K miles? thats horrible!
 
As far as just changing the oil, thats bad ethics regardless of whether or not it hurts anyone and too much trouble to be worth the time. Yes, we know a 30w isn't going to hurt anything, and I won't comment on a 40w since most of the engines in questions never were designed with that weight in mind, but its the principle of the thing.

36k mile warranty is the standard bill of sale on domestics. Dodge promotes their 7yr/70k warranty, but it isn't a true warranty since there are deductibles and other fun things in there. Consumers have not demanded more, so thats what you get.
 
i believe that oil pressure plays just as an important role as the oils natural ability to hold a strong film and resist shearing.

if it didnt play an important role, we wouldnt have high oil pressures. we would all run around with a max of couple psi in our engines.
 
Seldont, go into the used oil analysis forum and look around, there are several reports of the 5w20 motorcraft in V8's and V10's. From what I have read, they look pretty darn good.
 
Whimsey, A good Dino oil can get you to 200,000-300,000 with out any major power trian issues. If the vechile engine can not handle this then one of three things is going on. 1) Manufacture allowed a flawed componet to get into production. 2) Owner failed to maintain the engine. 3)Manufacture has failed to design and build a quality product with quality materials. You only have to look at most early Toyotas and Volvo's to see these types of numbers. I might add that Honda's fair pretty well as well. European cars like the I4,I6's from BMW and Daimler are also well known for some insane millage. Any OEM should be able produce an engine that makes it to 36,000-120,000 with out smoking and knocking!!! In my book 150,000 miles the engine should be in like new condition. Being a BMW and Toyota tech.'s I have seen alot of car especial Toyota and BMW's with 200,000-300,000 miles still runing strong. When I coment on oil burning I am not talking about minor usage(1 quart ever 3000 miles). I am talking about cars that throw out smoke like a smoke generator on a tank!!! I am guessing that most cars and trucks run on nothing but 5W20 especial the blended oils are going to have low compression and lots of oil consumption by 150,000 miles.
 
quote:

I am guessing that most cars and trucks run on nothing but 5W20 especial the blended oils are going to have low compression and lots of oil consumption by 150,000 miles.

John, I agree that Toyota's can rack up insane mileage. Mine has 123k and the engine feels like it's new.

I'm not ready to agree with your guess on the 20wts though. Molekule's study should say something about this. If clearances are made smaller, then it shouldn't matter. And lets not forget that M1 0w-20 is 9.0 cSt's and M1 5w/10w-30 is only 10cSt. So it might surprise you what todays engines will be able to handle. Time will tell I guess.
wink.gif
 
I guess if you're using a good 5w-20, getting the oil analyzed, and with good results what can really go wrong ?. If you are getting high wear results than just stop using it.

I was extremely impressed with the Ford Lighting UOA posted a short while ago which used 5w-20. A big high power engine like that getting extremely low UOA wear numbers is impressive. What more can you ask for out of an oil ?.

Joey
 
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