Another Interesting 5w-20 Observation - Wow!

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For almost the last two years, my wife has been driving an 07 Toyota Avalon, which to date, has been virtually flawless. After a couple short fills of conventional oils, at ~5k miles, I added the first fill of GC 0w-30. The car’s 3.5L 2GR-FE seemed to like the stuff just fine (runs very nicely, no consumption). At ~10k miles, I changed oil, again using GC. Last weekend, with my wife about to take a big road trip, and having reached 14,500 miles, I changed the oil, this time using Pennzoil Platinum 5w-20. This is a pretty hefty change, going from a 12+ cSt oil, all the way to one that is 8.5 cSt hot.

Yesterday afternoon, she got back from the trip to Atlanta (about 350 miles each way). I eagerly checked the mileage figure on the computer, and almost fell over. It was showing 29.9 mpgs.

This is MUCH better than we’ve ever done on a consistent basis with this car while it was being fed the 12+ cSt GC. On previous long highway runs, 27-ish was about the best we could do (though I’ve tricked the car into higher readings for short runs using some Prius “magic” driving techniques...). GC gives great UOA, no doubt about it, but perhaps it’s just too thick for this car. BTW, the 2GR seems to love the 20 wt PP – it still sounds just as velvety and smooth as it did before. It may be revving a tad more freely, but that’s so subtle it may just be what I’m wanting to hear.

Well, this might just be a happy anomaly, but OTOH, it also looks like a pretty substantial indicator that 5w-20 is the cat’s meow for this car.

Let the debate re-ignite!
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NOTES:
1. Yes, the figures quoted above are all from the car’s mpg computer. I realize that they may be off from the absolute values, but it’s still a valid comparison. I presume that the “actual” numbers would vary in approximately the same proportions.

2. Of course, these observations do NOT count as scientific evidence, and no hard conclusions can be drawn from such limited observations. Still, these numbers are tantalizing, and will motivate to watch this car more closely to see of the apparent gains on 20 wt oil are real or an illusion. I might even consider sharing some of my new stash of PP 0w-20 and see if that makes any additional difference (doubt it, but hey, who knows).
 
I've got this same engine in my 08 Sienna and have been running 5W-20 in it since it was new. The engine in this van has a definite mileage "sweet spot" between 55-58mph. On our summer vacation this year, I used the first tank to try for maximum MPG. I got 32mpg and 500 miles out of that tank. Since gas at the time was close to $4.00, I was very pleased with this performance.

I'm now an official "thin oil" fan boy.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Are you going to do a UOA and see how it stacks up wear-wise to the GC?


Yes. I drew a sample of the last GC before I dumped it. That will be off to the lab shortly. I will sample the PP, though I haven't decided whether to do the first fill, or wait for the second (presumably more valuable as it would be less diluted with the quart or so of GC left in the engine with the first fill).
 
Quote:
Well, this might just be a happy anomaly, but OTOH, it also looks like a pretty substantial indicator that 5w-20 is the cat’s meow for this car.


obi-wan-mind-trick.jpg


You need to try 0w-10 if you're going to learn the true meaning of the power of the light(er) side of the Force.
 
I observed similar MPG increase using PP 5W20 instead of M1 0W40 in '00 MB E430. According to the car computer, the average MPG for trips from Orange County to Vegas in previous 7 summers was 24-25 MPG at speed of 85 MPH, last summer it got 26.5 MPG with PP 5W20 with cruise control set at 85 MPH. This improvement included 2 hours stop and go in death valley because of constructions, if not then the MPG could be in the 27 MPG range. It is clearly the thinner oil improve MPG quite a bit.

Not only better MPG, PP 5W20 improved engine noise too. It was much quieter than M1 0W40 and coolant went to operating temperature about 10-15% faster in term of miles and times.
 
Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Quote:
Well, this might just be a happy anomaly, but OTOH, it also looks like a pretty substantial indicator that 5w-20 is the cat’s meow for this car.


obi-wan-mind-trick.jpg


You need to try 0w-10 if you're going to learn the true meaning of the power of the light(er) side of the Force.


Yeah, sure, if I could have Obi-Wan accompany me to court to assist in vanquishing the lawyers from Toyota, then sure, I'll try 0w-10. . . Seriously though, once the wty is up, I might get more adventurous about my oil selections. For now, I'm going to stay "legal"...
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My car is 9 years old and 100k miles so that I can try anything without worrying about warranty, your van still is under warranty so that you should stay within Toyota recommendation.
 
I use Amsoil 0W20. I drove our 2007 Mustang GT 5sp manual on a 1,200 mile round trip and I got 29 miles to the gallon. Cruise control on 65 mph, with the tach on about 1,850 rpms. It has the 3:31 ratio rear end.
 
Originally Posted By: Hethaerto
I've learned that all data is invalid on BITOG.



That only applies to Amsoil users. EKPolk is exempt. His claims are golden.
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see I remembered to use smileys
 
Originally Posted By: doubleclutch
I use Amsoil 0W20. I drove our 2007 Mustang GT 5sp manual on a 1,200 mile round trip and I got 29 miles to the gallon. Cruise control on 65 mph, with the tach on about 1,850 rpms. It has the 3:31 ratio rear end.


Oh yeah, I did leave out one detail -- speed. She does 80-85 easy. I'd love to see how this would have come out had she been sticking to 65 mph...
 
Originally Posted By: sunfire
Out of curiosity what weight does the owners manual say?

The owner's manual, and the oil fill cap both say 5w-30. However, around the time we got this car, Toyota came out with a TSB that announced that for cars of the 06 and 07 model years (and presumably forward), either 5w-20 or 0w-20 was to be the "preferred" oil. The table in the TSB lists numerous engine families, and the Avalon's 2GR falls within the TSB. Accordingly, 5w-20, though not in our manual, is presently the "preferred" oil for this car. Interestingly (to me anyway), the one vehicle that Toyota went out of its way to exclude from the scope of the TSB is, of all things, the Prius. It remains explicitly a 5w-30 car...
 
Originally Posted By: Pablo
Originally Posted By: Hethaerto
I've learned that all data is invalid on BITOG.



That only applies to Amsoil users. EKPolk is exempt. His claims are golden.
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see I remembered to use smileys
Thankyou Pabs!!!!!
 
Originally Posted By: Steve S
Did Mrs.ekpolk know there was a different oil in the toy?
Did Mrs.ekpolk notice ant thing other than mpgs?


As to the first, yes, I spoiled things a tad by telling her what I'd done. She reported driving as usual (i.e. fast...), and that the car exhibited nothing unusual to her perception. Of course, I doubt she'd notice anything short of huge orange flames erupting from under the hood, but that's another issue...
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