Choosing between 0W40 and 5W40

[volodymyr]

Hello to everyone, My car Nissan Qashqai 2010 with MR20DE engine is coming to an end in it's warranty period and I am starting to think about changing the oil myself and not using the official dealership services. It looks like official Nissan dealers in Switzerland are mostly using ELF oils since Nissan is a partner of Renault. The exact oil used in my car is ELF Evolution 900 NF 5W40. I am not a huge fun of french oils and I would like to switch to Castrol or GC (as it is called in this forum) since I am living near Germany and I can order GC for the same price as ELF or cheaper (at dealership they charge for ELF much more it would cost to buy GC directly from Germany). I am inspired to buy from Germany mostly by reading this post: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/2721206/1 So I took a look at different oils I can buy and I can see that most of the 5W40 offered by Castrol are actually not "VOLLSYNTHESE" (fully syntetic) but "HC SYNTHESE" (hydrocracking syntentic). I can see that most of the VOLLSYNTHESE oils are 0W40, for example: 1) Castrol EDGE FST 0W-40 A3/B4 http://www.autoteile-meile.ch/%C3%96le/Castrol/EDGE-FST-0W-40-A3-B4/p-OIL-182 2) Castrol EDGE Titanium FST 0W-40 A3/B4 http://www.autoteile-meile.ch/%C3%96le/Castrol/EDGE-Titanium-FST-0W-40-A3-B4/p-OIL-475 My question is: will there be any significant disadvantage for me to switch to 0W40 from 5W40? I went through many pages of this forum I can see that people discussing this topic here are forming mainly two opposite opinions: 1) 0W40 is better than 5W40 since it offers more protection in cold start and is more chemically stable 2) 0W40 is worse than 5W40 since it has more drain and during the cold start the parts of engine are not covered with enough oil It is important to note that in the area where I live the winters are warm and it is rare to have lower temperature than -10 C (14 F) during the winter. The usual temperature at winter is from 2 to 5 degrees C (35 to 41 degrees F). So, will using 0W in such warm conditions do any harm to engine? Thanks for any advise or opinion on this matter!

 

[Shannow]

Your two points in the second part of your post are eroneous. provided that you are not approaching the cold pumping ratings of either the 0W, or the 5W 40s, there's little difference in cold protection...if you were playing around the -25/30 temperatures for starting, then choose the 0W preferentially. Both are similar viscosities hot, so neither will really "drain off" more than the other...I've never pulled apart a dry engine, particularly things like bearings, cam/lifter interface, piston rings etc. where surface tension holds small globs of stuff there. Manufacturer's specs are the same for either, so choose which makes you more comfortable...or cheaper.

 

[volodymyr]

Shannow,

Originally Posted By: Shannow

provided that you are not approaching the cold pumping ratings of either the 0W, or the 5W 40s, there's little difference in cold protection...if you were playing around the -25/30 temperatures for starting, then choose the 0W preferentially. [...] Manufacturer's specs are the same for either, so choose which makes you more comfortable...or cheaper.

Thanks a lot for your input on this. So, if the price of 0W40 is slightly different (a few dollars difference per liter) and 0W40 is guaranteed to be VOLLSYNTHESE it is a better deal, right?

 

[Apollo14]

What does Nissan specify? That's far more important than 0w or 5w.

 

[volodymyr]

Apollo14,

Originally Posted By: Apollo14

What does Nissan specify? That's far more important than 0w or 5w.

In owner manual Nissan recommends: Viscosity: "5W30 and if it is not possible to obtain, determine viscosity by looking at temperature diagram" Oil specification: "ACEA A1/B1 A3/B3, A3/B4, A5/B5, C2 or C3" As you can see, our Nissan dealers violated the recommended 5W30 viscosity rule and put 5w40

 

[Apollo14]

Pick the cheapest major brand 5w30 oil that meets the most stringent of those ACEA specs. If the oil meets additional specs for Mercedes, BMW, VW, then even better. Do not worry too much about full syn vs HC syn.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: volodymyr

Oil specification: "ACEA A1/B1 A3/B3, A3/B4, A5/B5, C2 or C3"

Another mfg recommendation that just creates confusion, in my opinion. A1 and A5 are completely different specs from A3, for example. I guess they are saying that just about any oil meeting some kind of an ACEA spec will do.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: volodymyr

My question is: will there be any significant disadvantage for me to switch to 0W40 from 5W40?

No. But based on the text in your owner's manual, you could even run 0w-30 or 5w-30. Some people report that their engines feel less sluggish with Xw-30 oil, if it's not an ACEA A3 or C3 oil.

 

[volodymyr]

Apollo14,

Originally Posted By: Apollo14

[...] Do not worry too much about full syn vs HC syn.

My point is ... if price of full syn and hc syn is nearly the same, I guess I should go for full syn since it is chemically more stable.

 

[volodymyr]

Quattro Pete,

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete

Originally Posted By: volodymyr

Oil specification: "ACEA A1/B1 A3/B3, A3/B4, A5/B5, C2 or C3"

Another mfg recommendation that just creates confusion, in my opinion. A1 and A5 are completely different specs from A3, for example. I guess they are saying that just about any oil meeting some kind of an ACEA spec will do.

I agree that the specs given by Nissan are quite wide, but since I have another car which binds me to A3/B3 I would buy this oil to use it on two vehicles. I checked that the ELF oil OD is putting in my engine is only A3/B3 so I will stick to it.

 

[05LGTLtd]

Dangit, why do you get edge TI fst 0w-40, and usdm doesn't?

 

[volodymyr]

Originally Posted By: 05LGTLtd

Dangit, why do you get edge TI fst 0w-40, and usdm doesn't?

Does it mean I am heading the right direction with Castrol TI FST?

 

[Apollo14]

I have read several times that oils that are supplied by major brands that are approved all perform similarly in real world results. Experts do recommend you run the recommend viscosity. Japanese engines have run on non synthetic, basic approval 5w30 oil in the US for hundreds of thousands of miles. Any quality synthetic will work well for you. Any choices / fine tuning amongst 5w30 oils should focus on viscosity rather than full syn, hc syn, titanium, brand.

 

[abycat]

I have the mr18de in my car. Great little engines. Why don't you stick with the 5w30 oils?

 

[volodymyr]

abycat,

Originally Posted By: abycat

I have the mr18de in my car. Great little engines. Why don't you stick with the 5w30 oils?

To be completely honest with you I do not know why the official dealer decided to go with 5W-40 if 5W-30 is recommended. Since the car had 3 services with 5W-40 somehow I feel saver to go with XW-40 I did some research on differences between 5W-30 and 5W-40 and I can't seem to find a nice explanation which one is better for central Europe.

 

[RF Overlord]

Originally Posted By: volodymyr

I did some research on differences between 5W-30 and 5W-40 and I can't seem to find a nice explanation which one is better for central Europe.

I don't think you'll get a definitive answer here. There are too many variables for a one-size-fits-all answer like "THIS one is better". Many people said the internal combustion engine was doomed when Ford went to 5W-20, yet here we are 13 years later and people are STILL getting 300,000 miles out of their Crown Victorias. Use what the manufacturer recommends unless you regularly experience unusual operation conditions.

 

[Y_K]

What is the recommended oil change interval duration? If the European marketing stipulates longer duration, shear stability may be a factor. I would hazard to speculate that GC 0W-30 vollsynthese is right in the middle..

 

[tomcat27]

In the USA, Nissan specs 0W-20 oils for many of their engines. (so a 0W spec oil should be fine) and while many maintain that additives in the oil are more important than base-stocks, I would agree with your assertation that choosing a 0W-40 oil increases the likelihood of a vollsynth base stock, which, in my opinion, is better.

 

[volodymyr]

Y_K,

Originally Posted By: Y_K

What is the recommended oil change interval duration? If the European marketing stipulates longer duration, shear stability may be a factor. I would hazard to speculate that GC 0W-30 vollsynthese is right in the middle..

For us it is 15 000 km / 1 year base. Even though in manual it is written 30 000 km / 1 year.

 

[volodymyr]

RF Overlord,

Originally Posted By: RF Overlord

Originally Posted By: volodymyr

I did some research on differences between 5W-30 and 5W-40 and I can't seem to find a nice explanation which one is better for central Europe.

I don't think you'll get a definitive answer here. There are too many variables for a one-size-fits-all answer like "THIS one is better". [...]

Let's take a real world example. If I use 5W-30 and I take a ride to Italy during the summer. The fact that I am using an oil with lower viscosity during high temperature in traffic jam will probably do more damage to engine than 5W-40, correct? Or not? That is a basic answer I am trying to find.