Redline 0w or 5w-20 in a 5w-30 engine?

[BobsArmory]

I may be missing something really big here but bear with me and tell me if I am tracking right or way off.

I have an engine (out of warranty) that specs 5w30 oil. Specifically my 2009 Silverado with the 6.0 liter engine.

Looking at a few 5w30 oils I am seeing HTHS around 3.0 to 3.1. Looking at the redline oils, I see 0w-20 HTHS of 2.9 and 5w-20 HTHS of 3.0

I have heard that RedLine oils don't really shear much at all and should stay in grade so would it be safe to say that I could use 0w-20 or 5w-20 RedLine oil in my truck year round and base my OCI on the GM Oil Life Monitor? BTW: With my driving style I usually get 8,000 miles on the OLM.

 

[dave1251]

Red Line 5W20 in theory should be thicker in use than a 5W30 that shears more. If I where to use it I would not do anything different than what I do now.

 

[StevieBoy]

Are you sure you want to spend that much for arguably the best oil available and only run it for 8K mi.? In that motor I would probably stick with 5w30. Wait...let me get my helmet & flak vest on!

 

[dparm]

Why not use their 0w30? HTHS is 3.2 and it should be very stout.

Do you do any sort of towing or off-roading?

 

[BobsArmory]

I guess I could have worded the post differently since my question is more academic than anything else. Anyways, putting the cost of RedLine aside, could a lighter weight oil like these with at or near the same HTHS values offer the same amount of protection in an engine like this?

And yes Dparm, I do tow on occasion.

 

[05Blazer]

I too was contemplating the same thing for my Yukon with the 5.3L I already have a case of Redline 5W20 I was going to use in it. I might just use that in the Honda though. It shouldnt be a problem for these engines since these oils run on the thick side and are heavily fortified with Zinc an Moly.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: BobsArmory
I guess I could have worded the post differently since my question is more academic than anything else. Anyways, putting the cost of RedLine aside, could a lighter weight oil like these with at or near the same HTHS values offer the same amount of protection in an engine like this?

And yes Dparm, I do tow on occasion.




The only way to know for sure is to watch the oil pressure gauge. Generally speaking, Red Line oils tend to be a 1/2-grade or full-grade heavier than what's printed on the label.

That being said, plenty of motors are making the switch to 5w20 without any ill consequences, but I think any that allow 5w20 do say you should run 5w30 for towing. That's why I suggested the 0w30 -- it's fairly stout without being way too heavy (like Red Line's own 5w30 or Castrol Edge 0w30, both with HTHS > 3.5).

 

[A_Harman]

Yes, you could use Redline 5w20 in your 6.0L and change it according to the OLM. I have done OCI's up to 8000 miles in my Camaro, and the TBN was getting low enough that I wouldn't have wanted to push it any longer. Redline is not an oil for for extremely long OCI's.

 

[Doog]

RL is too expensive for the perceived benefit. I would stick to Pennzoil Platinum or Quaker State Ultimate Durability 5w30 from Walmart and a Purolator filter and 5000 OCI. You can't go wrong with that.

 

[jamesyarbrough]

Give it a shot!

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: BobsArmory
I guess I could have worded the post differently since my question is more academic than anything else. Anyways, putting the cost of RedLine aside, could a lighter weight oil like these with at or near the same HTHS values offer the same amount of protection in an engine like this?

And yes Dparm, I do tow on occasion.

Yes Bob you are correct in your thinking with one exception, you're still referring to Red Line as "lighter weight oil" which they are not.
If you know the HTHSV and VI of an oil you can totally ignore the KV100 spec' which the SAE grading system is still largely based on with no maximum for HTHSV which quite frankly makes no sense.
Red Line 0W-20 (HTHSV 2.9cP, 172 VI) might be a tad lighter in it's virgin state at operating temp's than a light 5w30 like PP (HTHSV 3.0cP, 172 VI) but since Red Line is so shear stable in service it's probably somewhat heavier at the end of an OCI.
The heavier Red Line 5W-20 (HTHSV 3.0cP, 147 VI) should be somewhat heavier than most 5w30's due to it's low VI.

As you can see Red Line doesn't offer a true 20 grade oil. Maybe when the 0W-16 grade becomes available they will formulate an oil that would be appropriate to use in a 20 grade application.

 

[BobsArmory]

Thanks for the education Caterham. I understand things a bit more clearly now!

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
As you can see RL doesn't offer a true 20 grade oil. Maybe when the 0W-16 grade becomes available they will formulate an oil that would be appropriate to use in a 20 grade application.



Sure they do, just mix some of the straight-10 with 0w20.

 

[Shannow]

How is it NOT a true 20 grade within the SAE grading system ?

It falls within the viscosity limits and minimums...yes it has a high HTHS, which is akin to oils that typically are 30s, but the metrics that are required to be stated all fall with the rating for 20 in the rating system.