5w30 over 5w20

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If under warranty I would stick with the viscosity recommended to make a warranty claim easier! Otherwise, my answer would be no there is little difference between the two and 5w30 should be no problem.
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What brand of 5W20 were you using?

We use 5W20 in both vehicles year around without issue and we see temperatures running around 100 during the summer months here in the south.
 
been using Napa Synthetic (Valvoline)beacause it's fairly inexpensive syn oil. May go with Motorcraft or something else.
Would like to go to a good Dino. 5W20 holds up in the heat?
 
Originally Posted By: oilchangeguy
Would like to go to a good Dino. 5W20 holds up in the heat?


Warrenty issues (fears?) is EXACTLY why I stay with 5-20, even in our eternal Texas heat. I grit my teeth, use full synthetic as a hedge against thermal degradation, and look foeward to the day I can put 5-30 in my Honda freely! I urge you to use synthetic 5-20!
 
I have gone thru motorcraft blend, syntec, mobil1, PP and now GTX. GTX has by far been the quietest oil of them all in my application. From what I read here it is the thickest 5w-20 out there.
I never worry about using 5W-20 or 0W-20. It seems to me this is the only place that tries to scare guys out of using 5W-20 because it makes noise. Not because there are millions of motors having oil related failures using this grade of oil.
I have gone the way of finding a solution by changing brands not weights of oil I use and it has worked great for me.

That's my opinion and nobody has to agree with it if they don't want to.
 
Originally Posted By: oilchangeguy
been using Napa Synthetic (Valvoline)beacause it's fairly inexpensive syn oil. May go with Motorcraft or something else.
Would like to go to a good Dino. 5W20 holds up in the heat?


GTX is a very good performer in the heat. It gives up some at the lower temps to stand up to the heat better.
 
Originally Posted By: Eddie
I didn't know there was a 5w20 dino oil. I thought there only was a blend & full syn


It is marketed as a conventional, but from the word here you need grp II+ or grp III to make 5W-20.

there is a blend offering from castrol marketed in grey bottles as opposed to the white GTX and black syntec bottles.
 
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Today's engines,run what is recomended.The lifters in a GM 5.3 will rattle if 5w30 is not used.The MDS systems in the 5.7 hemi powered cars: the 300C,Charger and Magnum will not work right if 5w20 is not used
 
i am going to put in ST 5-30 next time in my focus...right now i am running M1...i can hardly see how we can hurt our engine by running 5-30 esp after reading all the " i just add oil and dont change stories" here
 
Originally Posted By: oilchangeguy
5w30 seems to quiet motor noises.

thanks


Sorry bro but I doubt that.

In your mind maybe.

I would venture to say the various 5w-20's are a higher quality oil than the same brand in 5w-30.

Use 5w-20 and live easy.
 
Originally Posted By: milwaukee
Originally Posted By: oilchangeguy
5w30 seems to quiet motor noises.

thanks


Sorry bro but I doubt that.

In your mind maybe.

I would venture to say the various 5w-20's are a higher quality oil than the same brand in 5w-30.

Use 5w-20 and live easy.


It happens all the time, thicker oils quieting noises. Once in a while a thinner oil will quiet an engine. Not sure what's so hard to believe.
 
Either one makes no real difference. They are so close together that I just split the difference and run the 30 weight. 20 weight works good too, I just don't like the volatility, less film strength. I really doubt the difference in wear at startup time is significantly different. If you're really not sure, just run a 50:50 mix, or adjust the mix so your hot cSt of the virgin oil is around 9.8 or 10. 20 weights start out at about 8.6, so the difference between using a 9.8 vs an 8.6 is negligible. Above 9.3 is by definition 30 weight, so we are all around one or the other side of the border. Even I had a 7000 mile run planned this summer, so I'm actually using a 10w30 synthetic.
 
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Originally Posted By: BuickGN
It happens all the time, thicker oils quieting noises. Once in a while a thinner oil will quiet an engine. Not sure what's so hard to believe.


It does not happen when we we are talking 5w-20 and 5w-30.
 
Originally Posted By: milwaukee
Originally Posted By: BuickGN
It happens all the time, thicker oils quieting noises. Once in a while a thinner oil will quiet an engine. Not sure what's so hard to believe.


It does not happen when we we are talking 5w-20 and 5w-30.


Ok buddy. I'll believe you over my own ears and other people's posts.
 
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I switch from dino 5w20 to synthetic 5w30 and got ~ 2 mpg improvement in my Hyundai.

Of course, this would not be a valid (anecdotal) experiment because you have tested 2 variables( weight and oil type) at the same time.

It's quite possible you could have gotten a >2 mpg improvement had you switched to a synthetic 5w20.
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To the OP, if you're out of warranty run the 5w30, it won't hurt a thing. If you're under warranty, you're on your own. I'd run the 5w20.
 
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