Did I make a mistake running 5w20?

[mechtech2]

A sudden drastic change in oil consumption like that is substantial.
I had cars in the past that used virtually no oil, but after 2,000 miles would start to burn at a fast rate. Not sure why.
Maybe that 5-20 broke down and sheared thin at the end of it's life.
It can actually get below freezing where you live on occasion, and normally a 5-20 would be a good choice.

 

[Panzerman]

Ive had cars that didnt use oil, then with a certain brand,Havoline, was one of then it would use oil. We all know Havoline is a good oil, but it runs on the thin side, that may be the reason. Castrol GTX 5w20 runs on the thick side so that may be why your engine tolerated it when you only used 5w30. I dont think you harmed your engine, maybe created a little carbon, why do you feel like you even need the 5w20, if I was you Id go back to the 5w30 or Castrol 5w20, the difference in fuel milelage or cold starting is minute.

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:
I had cars in the past that used virtually no oil, but after 2,000 miles would start to burn at a fast rate. Not sure why.


My original 92 3.0 mitsubishi would do that. Zero consumption until 3k. Then it used it routinely. You ended up just waiting until you added your second quart to figure it was time for an oil change. This was from new. I think it was the 5w30 of the day more than anything else. The reman never used any oil ..even 0w-10 over longer mileage.

There may have been some substantial evolutions in Group II basestocks and whatnot since you (and I) ran into this type of "oil fatigue" type consumption. If you just consume 1/2 quart every 1000 miles right off the bat ..then it's likely a static condition with the engine that may be compensated for with viscosity ..but if you've got zero consumption to a given mileage ..then either routine or accelerated consumption ..then it's an oil fatigue issue ..or so I reason.

 

[Seth]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan

My original 92 3.0 mitsubishi would do that.


My 07 mitsu 3.0 does it too. Everytime I drain oil, it is less than what I put in.

BTW, Patman if you drive in GTA, I can guarantee you that stop n crawl traffic will make cars consume 20wts. I bet it happens to many but they just dont know. Its mostly the DIY types who tend to be more aware of it.

 

[Forest]

Has anyone else gone from consuming no oil at all with 0w30/5w30 to consuming a significant amount with 5w20? I know a quart every 5k isn't cause for alarm under normal circumstances, but having it go from consuming nothing at all (even on a 12k run I did a few years ago) to this amount, disturbs me a lot.

Patman, remember the saying "if it ain't broke don't fix it"? Just go back what you were using. No big deal the engine is good to go.
Some motors oil consume more then others. I must of tried a dozen different motor oils until I found one that didn't consume and cleaned good. My 2 cents.

 

[Curious Kid]

I think you've said it yourself - been using M1 and GC in the past, then switched to GTX 5w-20. And now one has gone bargain shopping. A gut feeling has me seconding the notion of consumption induced by chemistry changes. I remember last winter when I started to add an API spec'ed "grocery store" oil for top-up, My engine suddenly started to consume the blend of GTX HM and M1. As it continued to increase I freaked and changed out the oil and stopped with the top-up oil used before and things settled back down. Was it really the add oil? Was it the miles on the fill (+2k miles)?

I'd personally go back a step or two, perhaps to the GTX 5w-20, or to your M1, GC...till you sort yourself out.

Good luck.