Safe to go from 5W30 to 5W20 in older 91 Civic?

[biodiesel]

I am curious to hear the thoughts of our members here on a position I am considering.

I bought a 1991 Honda Civic Si with the 1.6L motor a little less than a year ago. It has ~215k miles. As far as I know it has used strictly 5W30 or 10W30 prior to me obtaining it. I have since gone through two oil changes with Pennzoil 10W30. One with the old batch and the other with the newer SN formula.

After doing a bit of reading lately on 5W20s I was considering giving it a shot in the Honda. I see a lot of discussion about many manufacturers "backspecing" slightly older models, late 90's and early 2000's, for use with 5W20, however I can't seem to find any information specifically as to what year Honda models this applies to.

Would 1991 be too old to give the 5W20 a shot in? Would there be any major risk involved with doing so? What if I went with 3 qts 5W20 and 1 5W30?

I'm eager to hear your opinion on the matter as to what you would do in my shoes.

 

[kr_bitog]

xW-30 is offering better protection and with old engine it will seal better. If you want better economy or easier start on winter, 0W-30 will just do the job.
IMO moving to xW-20 is too little benefit for too much risks.

 

[qdeezie]

I'd stick with 5w-30 or 0w-30. Looking at the year of your engine, and especially the mileage, you really aren't getting any sort of benefit. The only benefit would be a very slight increase in gas mileage.

To answer the question of being in your shoes:
I'd research the valvetrain on your Honda to see if the valvetrain surface is similar to valvetrain on later model Hondas that use 5w-20. I'll be honest, I'm not exactly familiar with the internals of Honda engines, but for engines that I am familiar with, which would be domestic engines (and I know I'm comparing apples to oranges) if it has a roller camshaft, I'd have no problems at all going to a xW-20 motor oil. The valvetrain would determine my decision.

 

[demarpaint]

If the engine was in fact back spec'd to 5W20 I would try it. My Ford was back spec'd to 5W20 and with 192,000 + miles it helped slightly reduce oil use. Shell did a study, and if it is the rings are causing the oil use the 20 grade oil might help. Now after saying all of that if Honda didn't back spec your engine don't do it! In Ford's case some of the oil pumps in their older engines weren't up to par for the 20 grade oils, or they didn't use roller rockers and 30 grade oil was better suited for the older engines.

 

[CharBaby]

biodiesel,
I agree with those that say to stay with 5w30 or whatever w30 but, you can try anything you want! I wouldn't go looking to buy 5W20.

Does you Civic leak/burn any 5W30 oil??? If not, give the 5W20 a try for one OCI.

But, I did twice use 5W20 in an '88 Accord 2.0L in the heat of the summer time and is was fine but, that 5W20 oil was given to me by a friend who had gotten rid of a '00 Civic(5W20) for a '04 Camry(5W30).

This '88 Accord had 300K on the clock at the time that I used the 5W20 but saw 5W/10W30 all it's life. I didn't notice any usage with the 5W20(as compared to the 5W/10W30's) nor did I hear any rattling of any kind. But, I was going to be getting rid of the car soon and just wanted cheap oil. Ran fine but, I saw no MPG gains either.

 

[rosshimself13]

91 civic wont have a roller cam, its got rockers but no rollers kinda hard to describe in layman's terms...

i wouldn't switch, i have owned a few 4th gen civics and would run whatever 5w-30 floats your boat, and stay on top of your timing belt being that old you dont know the last time it was changed, Honda recommended a pathetic 60k interval i believe for those engines

also if you have a noisy valve train open up the valve cover and adjust the valve lash... one thing that will never go away though is a light tap shouldn't be too loud though

 

[Smoky14]

Honda says retro 5-20 back thru year 1999 if I recall

 

[Mr_Incredible]

I tried some GTX 5w-20 in my '89 CRX with the 1.5l. Reasonably good return.



http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...680#Post1759680

 

[Steve S]

What would you be expecting to gain by the switch?

 

[Mr_Incredible]

For me it was: curiosity, desire to clean, cold start aid, and curiosity. What better car to satisfy the curiosity part than an $875 old Honda? It made me feel better about my using 5w-20 in my '99 V10 SuperDuty (backspeced).

 

[kcfx4]

Simply my opinion, but id say 5w30/5w20 either or would work fine in alot of various engines, the 5w20 would benefit slightly in the mpg dept and maybe better flow on startup/winter

 

[sangyup81]

Yes since 5w20 is the same as using 75% 5w30 and 25% MMO. Your engine will outlast your tranny and probably your car's body anyways.

 

[electrolover]

i would think with that many miles you will have oil consumtion with a lighter oil. most go the otherway with a hm engine.
if you have to go thinner get some m1 0/30
better start up protection and still 30w at running temp
just my opinion

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: Steve S
What would you be expecting to gain by the switch?


Exactly the right question.
I don't think you'd hurt anything, but would you help anything?
If you came across a bunch or XW-20 dirt cheap or free, why not?
Otherwise, why?

 

[CATERHAM]

I'd say a 20wt oil should be fine particularly in the cooler winter months.
Honda only ever spec'd a dino oil for the car and the typical 5W-30 oil of 20 years ago was anything but shear stable. So in reality you car has always been spec'd for a 20wt oil.

 

[oggb]

Do a google search for "cam galling".

I wouldn't run Xw-20 in that car. Especially if you plan to keep it for a while.

 

[CATERHAM]

There's no difference in the minimum ZDDP levels between 20wt and most energy conserving 30wt oils today. The limiting factor on how light an oil's viscosity you can use is the bearings not the valve train.

 

[HangerHarley]

Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
I'd say a 20wt oil should be fine particularly in the cooler winter months.
Honda only ever spec'd a dino oil for the car and the typical 5W-30 oil of 20 years ago was anything but shear stable. So in reality you car has always been spec'd for a 20wt oil.


It still started out as a 30-wt. though!!!

Hondas run fine on 5W-30 year-round. This has been my experience. And i had one...

OP, you want a 20-wt. why?

 

[CharBaby]

Originally Posted By: Mr_Incredible
For me it was: curiosity, desire to clean, cold start aid, and curiosity. What better car to satisfy the curiosity part than an $875 old Honda? It made me feel better about my using 5w-20 in my '99 V10 SuperDuty (backspeced)


Same here! I got the 5W20 for free and the Honda was old(17-18 yrs old/ & over 300K). 2 OCI and it ran well.

 

[Eddie]

I would stick with what is working and can see no reason to switch to a 20w unless you feel 0.2 mpg increase is the goal.