Designed for 0w-20 but 5w-30 is recommended?

[cb4017]

I recently bought a 23 Colorado ZR2 which has the 2.7L Turbo engine and did a bit of research on the engine before purchase. So far I'm impressed with the engine.

I was watching a YT video of an interview with one of the GM engineers that developed the engine. One of the comments he made was that the engine was designed to run on 0w-20 oil but they recommend 5w-30 for increased protection and longevity. I thought that was interesting and it goes along with my general thoughts on oil viscosity.

 

[Rand]

There is not that much difference. 8.5cst vs 10.5cst.

esp with fuel dilution etc that can cause some viscosity loss.
in a turbo motor I wouldnt think twice about using 5w30 over 0w20.

If the motor is used in other countries try to find an owners manual and see what it specs for there.

 

[joekingcorvette]

Another thick vs thin discussion. I like to run what is recommended however this is a little misleading.

 

[Jetronic]

There is not that much difference. 8.5cst vs 10.5cst.

esp with fuel dilution etc that can cause some viscosity loss.
in a turbo motor I wouldnt think twice about using 5w30 over 0w20.

If the motor is used in other countries try to find an owners manual and see what it specs for there.

nearly 20% difference... turbo engines have run on 20W50 without issues

 

[edyvw]

nearly 20% difference... turbo engines have run on 20W50 without issues

Any engine will run on 20W50 without issues.

 

[Jetronic]

Any engine will run on 20W50 without issues.

exactly.

 

[Rand]

nearly 20% difference... turbo engines have run on 20W50 without issues

I am missing the point or you agreeing with me?
Yes 20% in viscosity at 100c is nothing when the oil itself thins "thousands" of percent as it warms.

 

[Jetronic]

I am missing the point or you agreeing with me?
Yes 20% in viscosity at 100c is nothing when the oil itself thins "thousands" of percent as it warms.

20% more minimum oil film thickness can matter. it's a binary proposition: enough or not enough.

 

[kschachn]

No engine is designed “for“ a particular grade of oil. You can incorporate design features that permit the use of thinner oils without excessive wear but that in no way precludes the use of a higher grade.

 

[hemioiler]

I recently bought a 23 Colorado ZR2 which has the 2.7L Turbo engine and did a bit of research on the engine before purchase. So far I'm impressed with the engine.

I was watching a YT video of an interview with one of the GM engineers that developed the engine. One of the comments he made was that the engine was designed to run on 0w-20 oil but they recommend 5w-30 for increased protection and longevity. I thought that was interesting and it goes along with my general thoughts on oil viscosity.

View attachment 195752

My guess is this engine is stronger than their 2 v8's in the half tons, possibly not the turbo itself but everything else was engineered like a diesel. Watched a few of those designer interviews, it's a good motor and so far has no known flaws. Been on the market for 5 years now.

 

[Rand]

20% more minimum oil film thickness can matter. it's a binary proposition: enough or not enough.

So you are agreeing with me. Got it.

 

[ATex7239]

The difference between viscosity at 40c and 100c in a particular grade is far more significant than the differences between it and its neighboring grade.

Use either one.

 

[Jetronic]

So you are agreeing with me. Got it.

Maybe. There's not enough data to go either way with conviction. But going to 5W-30 from a 20 never hurts longevity of the engine. Going the other way can...

 

[Rand]

Maybe. There's not enough data to go either way with conviction. But going to 5W-30 from a 20 never hurts longevity of the engine. Going the other way can...

That was my basic premise of saying "I wouldnt think twice about going to 5w30 in a turbo engine calling for 0w20"

There is not enough difference to have any negatives.. and you get an additional 20% viscosity cushion for it to lose through Fuel dilution/shearing etc.


Possible negatives...
20w50 You cant run that in every engine every location.. 0w20 vs 5w30 not much difference if its -40c out you are block heater at the least.
if its -20f in duluth MN good luck with 20w50.

IMO designed for "0w20" doesnt mean it was designed to only run on 0w20.. It means it was designed/verified to not take damage or excessive wear when using 0w20.

 

[Jetronic]

That was my basic premise of saying "I wouldnt think twice about going to 5w30 in a turbo engine calling for 0w20"

There is not enough difference to have any negatives.. and you get an additional 20% viscosity cushion for it to lose through Fuel dilution/shearing etc.


Possible negatives...
20w50 You cant run that in every engine every location.. 0w20 vs 5w30 not much difference if its -40c out you are block heater at the least.
if its -20f in duluth MN good luck with 20w50.

IMO designed for "0w20" doesnt mean it was designed to only run on 0w20.. It means it was designed/verified to not take damage or excessive wear when using 0w20.

I took it you didn't want to run 5W30, never mind then, I did agree with you

 

[dubber09]

To me it's like they print in manuals - 87 octane minimum... Engines run better on 89 thou.
CAFE just be twisting car manufacturers arms and mandates thinner oils so they have to design engines to not fail with thin oils, some manuals say to use one grade thicker if towing or so. Make your own conclusions.

 

[Rand]

I took it you didn't want to run 5W30, never mind then, I did agree with you

Sometimes english needs translation The way I wrote it could be taken wrong.
Had a guy once from uk I didnt realize the accent could be so heavy it was a foreign language.

 

[twX]

No engine is designed “for“ a particular grade of oil. You can incorporate design features that permit the use of thinner oils without excessive wear but that in no way precludes the use of a higher grade.

An engine isn't necessarily designed for a particular grade, but development testing would largely be done with a particular grade. Developing the engine with 0W-20 will allow them to just change the recommended grade for this engine to the thinner grade without any further validation testing. They might want to do this if they're struggling to hit the CAFE targets in future years.

 

[v4forever]

Everything I owned before 2000 took 10W-30.
So for years I continued using it on my new to me 2000 Honda in 2000 even thou the oil cap said 5W-30.
Now at 265,000 miles, I just did the valve cover gaskets and the camshaft lobes all look brand new.
A lot of newer Honda V 6’s have cams all chewed up.
Now I’m buying 5W-30 like the oil cap say’s, but wouldn’t hesitate to go back to a thicker oil.

 

[CKN]

Any engine will run on 20W50 without issues.

That's a broad brush when the GM oils are 0w/20 with AFM/DFM.


Thick vs. Thin redux-get a shovel to dig up the horse............