- Joined
- Nov 19, 2020
- Messages
- 53
Sorry to bring this up if its already been spoken about. So what I have read is that a 5w20 is usually just oem fill for most vehicles because apparently they can save about 1% of fuel economy compared to a 5w30 oil and that big difference across there entire fleet results in meeting the requirements of CAFE/EPA or whatever. However tons of people seem to think that a 5w20 is too thin and that a 5w30 would provide better protection and that most engines need thicker oil. I am a man of following owners manuals and what engineers and manufacturers say, and if a vehicle says 5w20 then I use that and if a diff vehicle says 5w30 then i use that. I assume the vehicles that have 5w20 have tighter tolerances compared to a vehicle that is prescribed to take 5W30.
So what I wanted to ask is that is there actual proof or evidence or is it just hearsay that 5w20 is "too thin" and that a 5w30 would provide more protection and that any vehicle that has 5w20 would prefer a "thicker oil"?
In my uneducated opinion which could be totally wrong is that people tend to overthink stuff too much and that we shouldn't be changing our oil weights from what the manufacturer says unless for example we live in a climate very very cold or very very hot because i assume the manufactuer assumes normal temperature conditions. I feel like a 5w20 probably provides enough protection and I don't think a manufacturer or engineering team would prescribe our vehicles with a thinner oil if they would not be protected by that certain oil weight etc. Unless there is proven evidence from maybe labs or UOA's or something else to prove it, I don't think my opinion would change. For example if a UOA shows that the vehicle has more wear metals with a 5w20 compared to a 5w30 then that makes sense to me and I would believe that a 5w30 protects better or whatever other test to provide evidence
even with older vehicles for examples, like do tolerances change that much in an engine in which they need a thicker oil for more protection? i dont seem to be convinced considering i know tons of vehicles that are at like 250,000 miles on the original engine using the original oil weight, so I still don't understand why so many people see the need to get a thicker oil after x amount of miles on the engine
thanks!
So what I wanted to ask is that is there actual proof or evidence or is it just hearsay that 5w20 is "too thin" and that a 5w30 would provide more protection and that any vehicle that has 5w20 would prefer a "thicker oil"?
In my uneducated opinion which could be totally wrong is that people tend to overthink stuff too much and that we shouldn't be changing our oil weights from what the manufacturer says unless for example we live in a climate very very cold or very very hot because i assume the manufactuer assumes normal temperature conditions. I feel like a 5w20 probably provides enough protection and I don't think a manufacturer or engineering team would prescribe our vehicles with a thinner oil if they would not be protected by that certain oil weight etc. Unless there is proven evidence from maybe labs or UOA's or something else to prove it, I don't think my opinion would change. For example if a UOA shows that the vehicle has more wear metals with a 5w20 compared to a 5w30 then that makes sense to me and I would believe that a 5w30 protects better or whatever other test to provide evidence
even with older vehicles for examples, like do tolerances change that much in an engine in which they need a thicker oil for more protection? i dont seem to be convinced considering i know tons of vehicles that are at like 250,000 miles on the original engine using the original oil weight, so I still don't understand why so many people see the need to get a thicker oil after x amount of miles on the engine
thanks!