I must have missed it since when has has the J-35 used engine oil for the hydraulic tensioner?
How can the hydraulic belt tensioner not handle a 5w-30? Where does this info come from?
On a J series 0w-40 is my lubricant of choice coupled with a VCM Disabler.
Unless something changed dramatically with the DOHC setup on the new J35s, the hydraulic belt tensioner on SOHC J35s does not use engine oil pressure. It's spring loaded and filled with its own oil to dampen it, but has no connection to the engine oil. I assumed it did too until I did the timing belt on mine and discovered that it just bolts onto the engine and there's no oil port.
I ran 5W-30 in my CR-V's K24 for years, even though it called for 5W-20. Result? Nothing significant. Maybe a little quieter. I kept track of mileage per tank for a year with 5W-20 before switching to 5W-30 and I can say the mileage had too much variation to say mileage was any better with 5W-20. In fact, the average with 5W-30 was actually slightly higher, and I had my best-ever one tank mileage of 32 MPG with 5W-30, which I never saw with 5W-20. Too many variables coming into play.
OP, I'm sure the new J35 would be just fine with 5W-30. That said, my Pilot has had 0W-20 since it was new, and at 120,000 miles now, has had zero problems and zero oil consumption, even before I added an S-VCM controller at 100,000. Not having the VCM shudder is nice though, your motor mounts will thank you, and you probably won't even notice the the slight loss of MPG. The question of VCM disablers and warranties comes up frequently on Honda forums, and the consensus is if you're really concerned, they are easily removed if you had to take it in for a warranty repair, but you'll most likely not have any issues.