Redline 0w20 major mpg increase over RL 5w30

[iunderpressure]

In our 2010 Toyota Sienna using winter gas we went from a 19 mpg average using Red Line 5w30, to a 22 mpg average with Red Line 0w20. Our last tank was 22.7 mpg using Country Mark gas. We have got better mileage out of the Country Mark ( 22+ mpg) over Shell (21+ mpg) and BP (21+ mpg). Country Mark is a top tier fuel, just added info.

My wife drives about 66 miles to work one way with lots of interstate and around 75 mph. She does have some city stop lights and traffic but not too
much.

I just found all this interesting because it is posted all the time that the weight of oil won't change mileage that much. Using the 20 wt now pays for my Red Line oil changes.

 

[Robenstein]

Three miles a gallon to some is not a major change, its a very subjective decision.

Im glad you are pleased with your results. I may be old fashioned but I dont like the idea of a 20wt oil.

 

[Shannow]

I'd not be scared using redline 0W-20, as it's got a 30(ish) weight HTHS, while the 5w30 has more of a 40(ish) HTHS.

15% improvement in economy is a bit on the high side.

I saw 10% drop going from straight 30 to 25W-70 in winter.

 

[iunderpressure]

Those are the numbers over several tanks. Part of it could be the engine is breaking in too. I don't know. Wife says she is driving the same as she always has, but I agree a 15 percent gain is crazy talk. Dave at redline told me he would expect about a 5 percent gain.

I don't know how the mileage improved that much, but I like it.

 

[gathermewool]

break-in only...

 

[dnewton3]

I, too, live in Indiana; our weather here over this year likely has something to do with your percieved "success". All the snow has caused slower traffic. Slower speeds results in less fuel consumption. I'm not convinced that you're wrong, but I am also not convinced that you're right. If nothing else, people drive more conservatively due to concerns for the slippery roads. Hence, lesser rates of acceleration and deceleration make for steady, smooth driving; the net result of that is better fuel economy. OTOH, winter also contributes to more cold idles, and longer warm ups. Fuel consumption goes up when the "enrichment" cycle is longer. But since your wife has such long drives, the ratio of that start-up cycle to drive-time cycle is still fairly low.

I certainly do believe that there is potential for a lighter vis fluid to contribute to better fuel economy; it's part of the reason I use them. But I would say for the sake of the experiment, you wait until late spring and see what happens. If fact, you could (at some expense, admittedly) do a few mid-year swaps for confirmation. After all, to go from 19mpg to 22 mpg is (roughly) a 15% increase; that's significant. It's often hard to quantify because there are so many variables. Weather is certainly a contributor to be considered here; the effects of which are not proven at this point.

Overall, I believe that some of the success you see from the lighter vis fluid is real, yet some is actually due to more conservative, weather related driving. You'll know when summer comes back around, and the potential for more aggressive driving returns.

 

[bepperb]

Even if only some of that is attributed to the oil, say 1mpg, that still an improvement.

I don't see why people don't like thin oil. More fuel efficiency and more power, and the only downside is what? More wear? Certainly doesn't show up in the used oil analysis here, and there are plenty of 99/00/01... etc Ford's and Honda's who have run this for a decade.

I guess some engines are loud on it, I dunno. The Honda is quiet and the Toy loud on anything.

 

[mechtech2]

3 MPG is HUGE!
I wish we knew ALL the contributing factors.

 

[Hethaerto]

3 mpg gain is nothing.

 

[sangyup81]

I'd say that 1 maybe 2 of those MPGs came from the oil.

If it's a new car, the excitement of driving it dies down after a while and you naturally stop mashing the gas as much

 

[iunderpressure]

That van has about 25 to 26,000 miles on it now.

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: iunderpressure
Those are the numbers over several tanks. Part of it could be the engine is breaking in too. I don't know. Wife says she is driving the same as she always has, but I agree a 15 percent gain is crazy talk. Dave at redline told me he would expect about a 5 percent gain.

I don't know how the mileage improved that much, but I like it.


Of course your testing method is unscientific as it contains multiple variables.
Dave at RL is usually pretty good, but I think 5% is optimistic. M1 has a calculator you can use to estimate your fuel savings in switching to their 0W-20 and 0w30 oils and it is in the 0.5% to 2.0% range at most.

 

[buster]

Well, you do know one thing: HT/HS relates to fuel efficiency. You're comparing Red Line 0w20 with a HT/HS of 2.6 to that of their 5w30 with a HT/HS of 3.8. Big difference. In fact, that is most likely the difference, if there is any at all.

 

[stenerson]

I dish out the bucks for redline in a heartbeat if I believed I'd get 5% increased mpg. It would pay for itself.