Ow-20 in Kia 2.0 mpfi...why the change?

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as a new Kia Soul owner I've been doing research on previous power plants and noticed that until recently Kia recommended multiple oil weights based on climate...now it's 0w-20 only; my curiosity is WHY Hyundai/Kia decided on this change for their 2.0 mpfi engine (my '23 Soul LX has this motor)?
 
as a new Kia Soul owner I've been doing research on previous power plants and noticed that until recently Kia recommended multiple oil weights based on climate...now it's 0w-20 only; my curiosity is WHY Hyundai/Kia decided on this change for their 2.0 mpfi engine (my '23 Soul LX has this motor)?
The only reason I can come up with is CAFE. If you look at the owners manual from other countries, it still shows a wide range of oil grades you can use.
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A 20-grade oil provides adequate protection against wear under most circumstances.

In regards to warranty have you ever seen an owner's manual or warranty booklet that states the new car warranty is predicated on a specific grade of oil? People keep promulgating this fear yet as far as I've seen here it does not exist. A higher HT/HS oil isn't going to cause failure.
 
The only reason I can come up with is CAFE. If you look at the owners manual from other countries, it still shows a wide range of oil grades you can use.
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What Engine and year of manufactures is this excerpt from? I read ILSAC GF-4 in the footnotes. That spec was superseded over a decade ago.

-Ken
 
What Engine and year of manufactures is this excerpt from? I read ILSAC GF-4 in the footnotes. That spec was superseded over a decade ago.

-Ken
Yes, but even my 2019 Soul manual still refers to GF-4

Pretty sure that excerpt is from a 2021 or 2022 Soul. I looked it up earlier this year.

EDIT. I was mistaken. It’s also from a 2019 Soul. My apologies 🤦‍♂️.

I can’t seem to find a 2022+ manual for the Soul outside of North America, but I would bet it still has a range of oil you can use, unlike the US manual that just has 0w20.
 
well...ok; thanks for responses; guessing it's for fuel economy...

"You really had no idea?" as stated above...no, no I didn't; prior to dealing with a few previous mopar vehicles I never ventured into Xw-20 territory; before getting into the used subie I never ventured into 0w-XX territory let alone 0w-20 so I never considered why ultra thin oil would be used...
 
well...ok; thanks for responses; guessing it's for fuel economy...

"You really had no idea?" as stated above...no, no I didn't; prior to dealing with a few previous mopar vehicles I never ventured into Xw-20 territory; before getting into the used subie I never ventured into 0w-XX territory let alone 0w-20 so I never considered why ultra thin oil would be used...


Does the 0 worry you?
 
I’d just use 5w30 and call it a day if it was mine.

It’s the same engine as the previous year when the owners manual showed a few different grades you could use. The only thing that changed (that I’m aware of) is the name. It’s called “Smartstream G2.0” now instead of Nu 2.0L.
 
ok...thanks; just forget I asked...I'll just use whatever water thin oil they say to use & hope I don't end up with a prematurely worn or blown up powerplant
Most 5w-30 shear down to a 20 weight in little time.
Most 20w oils do not.
 
Most 5w-30 shear down to a 20 weight in little time.
Most 20w oils do not.
No, they don’t that’s absolute nonsense. I challenge you to show me conclusive evidence that that is the case.

In fact, on here we see very few incidences of mechanical shear in oil. The vast majority of viscosity deviations that are observed are due to fuel dilution. And that is agnostic to the grade that is being used.
 
No, they don’t that’s absolute nonsense. I challenge you to show me conclusive evidence that that is the case.

In fact, on here we see very few incidences of mechanical shear in oil. The vast majority of viscosity deviations that are observed are due to fuel dilution. And that is agnostic to the grade that is being used.
Seriously....... go to the UOA section here.
Don't know what more you need..

The first 7 I opened all the 5w-30 were down to 20 weights at 100c.
All had little fuel dilution.
 
Seriously....... go to the UOA section here.
Don't know what more you need..

The first 7 I opened all the 5w-30 were down to 20 weights at 100c.
All had little fuel dilution.
If all or most of the UOAs were from Blackstone then they aren’t accurate. If BS reports ANY fuel dilution there’s typically 3-5% fuel dilution.
 
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