Question About 0W Oils

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Were 0w-xx oils marketed before oem's started to reecommend them in select applications or were they developed for oem's as part of an engine r&d program? I don't delve into 0w oils much simply because i don't use them,not that i wouldn't but,i don't see the uber cold temps where they are most needed and am just asking for the sake of being curious and informed.
 
In general, 0Wxx oils are synthetic with better base stock than 5Wxx or 10Wxx oils. If the price of 0Wxx is the same as 5Wxx or 10Wxx, I would buy and use 0Wxx.
 
The Euro spec oils are designed and intended to meet a set of manufacturer's requirements, and a couple of them, GC and M1 0W-40 happen to qualify as 0Ws. There are other oils that meet the same BMW/Mercedes/VW specs that are not 0Ws.
M1 0w30 was offered well before any US maker recommended a 0W-30, AFAIK. I know that I was using this oil as early as 1997 in our then new Aerostar, although Ford then recommended a 5w30 for the 3.0 Vulcan the van had.
I would welcome correction, but I think that 0W-XX oils were available well before any manufacturer recommended that a 0W-XX be used.
 
To my knowledge, there are no cars that require the 0w30 viscosity. 0W-20 was around before Toyota and Honda started recommending it.

Very few people actually need 0W oils, but no matter what, if an oil has a lower viscosity at your current startup temperature, it will flow better. In other words, they can be helpful even if you don't live in the arctic.
 
Yes, they were developed first for use in the high arctic in HDEO applications. This was back in the early 80's at least. Then they slowly worked their way into the European automotive market.
The big advantage of the 0w30 and 0W-40 oils was that it allowed the European OEM's to stop recommending oil grades that couldn't be used year round.

It is the Japanese OEM's that have recently adopted and further developed the 0W-20 grade for their own purposes which has nothing to do with extreme cold temp' performance. These ultra high VI oils are very light at more typical start-up temp's which minimizes start-up wear and aids in fuel economy. These oils have KV40 of less than 40cSt which was previously unheard in a PCMO.
 
This is the information i am looking for i didn't know 0w oils had been around as long as they have.I wouldn't mind trying some 0-20 in my 4.6 modular to see how well it does.I have just in the last two oci's used the recommended by TSB 5-20 in my GMQ and am impressed with the way it runs in my application as well as the 300C in our fleet.I was a 30wt/40wt fan in the past and am gravitating to the thinner oils with open arms.
 
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The first time I saw a 0w oil was Polaris, In 1996, they came out with it when they introduced their four stroke atvs. The Polaris 4 oil was 0w40. I thought that was wierd and just thought typical of a snowmobile maker worried about cold temperatures. I didnt see again until Mobil introduced it with thei economy oil flavors. Did I miss it somewhere in between. I dont believe any car makers or oil makers were making a 0 grade oil before 1996.
 
Originally Posted By: Panzerman
The first time I saw a 0w oil was Polaris, In 1996, they came out with it when they introduced their four stroke atvs. The Polaris 4 oil was 0w40. I thought that was wierd and just thought typical of a snowmobile maker worried about cold temperatures. I didnt see again until Mobil introduced it with thei economy oil flavors. Did I miss it somewhere in between. I dont believe any car makers or oil makers were making a 0 grade oil before 1996.

Caterham brought to light that 0w's were developed in the 80's.I like you didn't see them until much later.Personally i am neither informed nor educated on 0w oils and is why i asked about them.
 
Although I also live in North Carolina, 0W-20 is all I use now. My Toyota recommends that grade only, and my Acura calls for 5W-20, though runs fantastic on the 0W-20 I have in the sump now. I never did run 0W-20 in my Chrysler, which called for 5W-20. The only reason is it had that lifetime powertrain warranty, so I felt the urge to stick to the recommended grade, which was 5W-20 year-round, with no other options. But the Chrysler's gone and I'm selling my Dodge Dakota this week (hopefully the buyer will come through), so I'll be a 0W-20 only fleet here shortly.
 
Originally Posted By: NateDN10
0W-20 was around before Toyota and Honda started recommending it.

It would be pretty weird if they started recommending it before it existed! (Just kidding around.
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Hyundai recommends 5W-20 in my car, and maybe I'm an idiot, but I think they should know what they're talking about. They list 5w30 as the next best choice, but don't mention 0W-20 anywhere.
 
It still doesn't make sense to me. You'd think they'd list them as acceptable alternatives, if nothing else. They list only 5W-20, 5w30, and 10w30 for my vehicle.

I'm sure 0W-20 would be fine, but not worth it for me to worry about one way or the other.
 
Originally Posted By: glum
Originally Posted By: NateDN10
0W-20 was around before Toyota and Honda started recommending it.

It would be pretty weird if they started recommending it before it existed! (Just kidding around.
smile.gif
)

Hyundai recommends 5W-20 in my car, and maybe I'm an idiot, but I think they should know what they're talking about. They list 5w30 as the next best choice, but don't mention 0W-20 anywhere.


very simple, 5W-20 is good enough for them.

Therefore, its good enough for you.

so go get some edge 5W-20
smile.gif


or Syntec
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At least in the Tacoma there's no difference between 0W5W30's. Prefer 0W30 just for the quicker flow at startup. That's it.
 
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