I didn't want to start another thread, so I'll post this here. This latest oil change I did for my vehicles, I switched my Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 V-8 over from 5W-20, (Pennzoil Platinum), to 5W-40 (Mobil 1 European Car Formula).
I've been running my 2018 Camry 2.5, 4 cylinder, that is stickered for 0W-16, on 0W-40 Mobil 1 for some time now. Neither of these vehicles ever see's "cold" startup temperatures under 60 F. And are regularly driven in 115 F+ desert temperatures during the Summer.
The first thing I noticed, is the 5.7 HEMI seems to be much quieter when idling with the 5W-40 oil at 200+F.... Much like my Toyota quieted down. I was leery to switch to a higher viscosity in the HEMI, because I've read it will cause the engine to throw codes with the MDS and VVT being sensitive to oil viscosity.
But the non high performance 6.4 HEMI they put in many of the Ram trucks, specifies 0W-40. So I can't imagine it becoming problematic in the 5.7.... Especially if not being driven in extreme cold Winter climates.
If the 6.4 HEMI can handle below freezing cold starts with 0W-40, the 5.7 should easily be able to handle 60F "cold starts" with the 5W-40.... Or am I wrong? I'm starting to believe this is all nonsense, much like the Toyota oil pumps are supposedly "programmed" for ONLY 0W-16.
Anyway, so far, so good. No issues whatsoever. The only difference I'm seeing is a slight increase in oil temperature. (From an average of 212 F max with 5W-20), to about 217 F with the 5W-40. And that's not scientific. Just my monitoring the oil temp when driving around town.
So my question is, are these VVT, MDS systems that viscosity sensitive? I've only driven the vehicle a bit over 200 miles since I went with the 5W-40. And as I said, so far so good. Not a single issue.