Should I run 5w30 in my ram hemi for towing

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: dawgn86
Ram

What do you think caused the ticking / knocking. I have a slight ticking in my 2012 Hemi. Goes away after about 20 seconds. Not sure if its in the valvetrain or exhaust manifold bolts loose.


Originally Posted By: RamAir5
Congrats on the new RAM! I also bought a 2019 RAM Limited. I too was kicking around the idea of running 5w30 Synthetic. I read on several RAM forums those advocating for and those against 5w30. I just performed my first oil change and I used Kendall GT-1 full syn 5w30. I figured I'd give it a try and if there were issues I'd just switch back to 5w20. No issues whatsoever. The MDS is working without issue, no codes and the hemi runs smoother than with 5w20. The oil temp was 212 degrees with 5w20 and is 216 degrees with the 5w30 due to hydrodynamic friction from the "thicker" oil. Oil pressure is identical. The RAM dealer service manager is a friend of mine and he runs 5w30 in his 2018 RAM hemi.

I was experiencing a brief clicking/knocking in the engine upon startup with the 5w20. It's not there with the 5w30.

I'll run 5w30 in the hemi from now on.


Likely the exhaust. That has been my experience, particularly if it goes away as things heat up.

 

[RamAir5]

Originally Posted By: dawgn86
Ram

What do you think caused the ticking / knocking. I have a slight ticking in my 2012 Hemi. Goes away after about 20 seconds. Not sure if its in the valvetrain or exhaust manifold bolts loose.


Originally Posted By: RamAir5
Congrats on the new RAM! I also bought a 2019 RAM Limited. I too was kicking around the idea of running 5w30 Synthetic. I read on several RAM forums those advocating for and those against 5w30. I just performed my first oil change and I used Kendall GT-1 full syn 5w30. I figured I'd give it a try and if there were issues I'd just switch back to 5w20. No issues whatsoever. The MDS is working without issue, no codes and the hemi runs smoother than with 5w20. The oil temp was 212 degrees with 5w20 and is 216 degrees with the 5w30 due to hydrodynamic friction from the "thicker" oil. Oil pressure is identical. The RAM dealer service manager is a friend of mine and he runs 5w30 in his 2018 RAM hemi.

I was experiencing a brief clicking/knocking in the engine upon startup with the 5w20. It's not there with the 5w30.

I'll run 5w30 in the hemi from now on.


Not sure. I suspect it was a valve train tick upon start up. Only ticked for about 3 to 5 seconds then would go away. Maybe more prone to tick with the 20w oil. Not there with the 30w oil.

 

[AVB]

Originally Posted By: dawgn86
Ram

What do you think caused the ticking / knocking. I have a slight ticking in my 2012 Hemi. Goes away after about 20 seconds. Not sure if its in the valvetrain or exhaust manifold bolts loose.


Originally Posted By: RamAir5
Congrats on the new RAM! I also bought a 2019 RAM Limited. I too was kicking around the idea of running 5w30 Synthetic. I read on several RAM forums those advocating for and those against 5w30. I just performed my first oil change and I used Kendall GT-1 full syn 5w30. I figured I'd give it a try and if there were issues I'd just switch back to 5w20. No issues whatsoever. The MDS is working without issue, no codes and the hemi runs smoother than with 5w20. The oil temp was 212 degrees with 5w20 and is 216 degrees with the 5w30 due to hydrodynamic friction from the "thicker" oil. Oil pressure is identical. The RAM dealer service manager is a friend of mine and he runs 5w30 in his 2018 RAM hemi.

I was experiencing a brief clicking/knocking in the engine upon startup with the 5w20. It's not there with the 5w30.

I'll run 5w30 in the hemi from now on.
On your 2012 there is a real high chance that it is broken exhaust manifold bolts. On RamAir5's new truck it is the lifters leaking down. Every new Hemi on our lot does that.

 

[JLTD]

Originally Posted By: OilUzer
Originally Posted By: Gokhan
...
There are at least two contributions to friction here. The first is the boundary friction, which is the friction that happens when the two surfaces directly make contact. This happens in the boundary-lubrication region. The second is the the viscous friction, which is the oil's internal friction. This happens in the hydrodynamic-lubrication region. Boundary friction causes wear but the viscous friction does not. In the hydrodynamic-lubrication region, there is a thick oil film separating the surfaces. Viscous friction increases with the thickness of the oil film but does not cause wear as long as the minimum oil-film thickness (MOFT) is greater than the surface roughness and/or contaminant-particle size. So, fuel economy drops as you move further right on the Stribeck curve but the oil-film thickness increases and the margin of safety against oil-film collapse or against abrasive wear by surface roughness or contaminant particles in the bearings increases.


Very informative post!

When I bought my truck and it specified 0W-20 i wasn't very comfortable with that spec but it was just based on my intuition and didn't have any proof of scientific data ... That was the main reason I ran into BITOG. Later found out that OM also states that higher viscosity can be used under extreme speed or load or something like that but kind of hidden imo and nothing like CAUTION/NOTE or bold letters given the fact that most people may tow or carry heavy load with their trucks ... However 0Wx20 is listed and stamped everywhere!

Back to my question, assuming "surface roughness and/or contaminant-particle size" does not change by much from day 1 (going to grocery store) to day 2 (towing a heavy load), the heat is what's reducing the oil-film thickness and can cause problems by lowering MOFT. Basically 20 weight oil is more susceptible to oil-film reduction than 30 weight oil. Is that correct?

Not my intention to open Pandora's box but how would that compare to conventional oil in general? Would 20 weight synthetic retain (under more heat) the oil-film or the MOFT better than 30 weight conventional oil?
Thanks!



I recall reading a linked article where they did a comparison based on temperature if the oil. The basic estimate they suggested was that when a 30 is about 20 degrees hotter, it is the same thickness as a 20. Similar situation with a 40 over a 30, etc. Not exact but close enough for example. There was also a poster who lives in the middle east; he had an oil temp gauge and said at 130F his oil temps got in the upper 200s and no way would he run a 20 in that situation. I will try to find the posts and links for reference.

 

[dawgn86]

Thanks AVB! what part of GA are you in?

how can I check the manifold bolts to be sure?

Originally Posted By: AVB
Originally Posted By: dawgn86
Ram

What do you think caused the ticking / knocking. I have a slight ticking in my 2012 Hemi. Goes away after about 20 seconds. Not sure if its in the valvetrain or exhaust manifold bolts loose.


Originally Posted By: RamAir5
Congrats on the new RAM! I also bought a 2019 RAM Limited. I too was kicking around the idea of running 5w30 Synthetic. I read on several RAM forums those advocating for and those against 5w30. I just performed my first oil change and I used Kendall GT-1 full syn 5w30. I figured I'd give it a try and if there were issues I'd just switch back to 5w20. No issues whatsoever. The MDS is working without issue, no codes and the hemi runs smoother than with 5w20. The oil temp was 212 degrees with 5w20 and is 216 degrees with the 5w30 due to hydrodynamic friction from the "thicker" oil. Oil pressure is identical. The RAM dealer service manager is a friend of mine and he runs 5w30 in his 2018 RAM hemi.

I was experiencing a brief clicking/knocking in the engine upon startup with the 5w20. It's not there with the 5w30.

I'll run 5w30 in the hemi from now on.
On your 2012 there is a real high chance that it is broken exhaust manifold bolts. On RamAir5's new truck it is the lifters leaking down. Every new Hemi on our lot does that.

 

[irv]

Originally Posted By: dawgn86
Thanks AVB! what part of GA are you in?

how can I check the manifold bolts to be sure?

Originally Posted By: AVB
Originally Posted By: dawgn86
Ram

What do you think caused the ticking / knocking. I have a slight ticking in my 2012 Hemi. Goes away after about 20 seconds. Not sure if its in the valvetrain or exhaust manifold bolts loose.


Originally Posted By: RamAir5
Congrats on the new RAM! I also bought a 2019 RAM Limited. I too was kicking around the idea of running 5w30 Synthetic. I read on several RAM forums those advocating for and those against 5w30. I just performed my first oil change and I used Kendall GT-1 full syn 5w30. I figured I'd give it a try and if there were issues I'd just switch back to 5w20. No issues whatsoever. The MDS is working without issue, no codes and the hemi runs smoother than with 5w20. The oil temp was 212 degrees with 5w20 and is 216 degrees with the 5w30 due to hydrodynamic friction from the "thicker" oil. Oil pressure is identical. The RAM dealer service manager is a friend of mine and he runs 5w30 in his 2018 RAM hemi.

I was experiencing a brief clicking/knocking in the engine upon startup with the 5w20. It's not there with the 5w30.

I'll run 5w30 in the hemi from now on.
On your 2012 there is a real high chance that it is broken exhaust manifold bolts. On RamAir5's new truck it is the lifters leaking down. Every new Hemi on our lot does that.


Lots of Youtube vids regarding this issue.
Here's two.

Good luck.

 

[AVB]

I am about an hour north of Tallahassee Florida, down in the south west corner, in Mitchell county. Normally you can pull on the heat shields to see if the bolts are broke. It is almost always one of the rear most bolts. The factory uses stainless bolts to mount the heat shields, we always replace them with non stainless bolts. The bolts will break between the manifold and the head, but you can't tell just looking at it because there is a nut holding the broken part to the heat shield. Being stainless they are a pain if you have to drill them out. The driver's side is the worst because of the steering and dip stick tube.

 

[dawgn86]

good info!

Thanks