Thinner oil = Increased wear?

[djb383]

I recently purchased a Saturn Vue with the Honda 3.5 V6. The manual says 5w20 which does seem a little thin, especially in triple digit outside temps. Anyhow, at the Saturn forum someone posted this article regarding 5w20.

http://www.synlube.com/sae5w-20.htm

Advice wanted about the article and what do you think about using Rotella 5w40 synthetic in the Saturn (Honda) V6? Thanks.

 

[bruce381]

synlube is an industry joke do not try it, like "a sucker born every minute" deal other than that 5/20 is Ok to use. tho I perfer a 5 or 10/30 myself but I'm a old timer.
bruce

 

[buster]

I agree with bruce... an old timer that knows a lot more than we do.

 

[dave1251]

You can use Shell Rotella if you like. But I would want a couple of hunderd thousand miles of wear before I did that. 5w-20's have been so rigorously tested that you should not worry.

 

[Mr Nice]

The topic of 5w20 comes up every week.

Look at all the UOA's of 5w20 and you will see that its a great oil for a Honda, but if you feel uncomfortable using 5w20 in a V-6 in hot weather, take Bruce's advice and use 5w30 or 10w30.

I tried 5w40 Truck & SUV Mobil 1 in my wife's Honda and it killed the gas mileage.

 

[androbot2084]

If you want to use a thicker oil that gets great gas milege try 0w30.

 

[Gary Allan]

quote:

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Thinner oil = Increased wear?

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In an engine spec'd for it ...not by any way that I can measure.

That includes Texas with Texas "Big" heat. It can be dry or heavy ..but it's all BIG

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

I've used GC 0w-30, Syntec Blend 10w-40 (which is thick stuff!), PZ 5w-20, M1 0w-20 and so on in our V6 Vue. This engine runs great on anything I've thrown at it.

Pick an oil and use it. Seriously.

Keep in mind that Rotella T 5w-40 may reduce MPG a notch, just like LT4 Vette was mentioning. Syntec 0w-30 or 10w-40 are my choices for a "thick" oil in this application.

 

[427Z06]

Here are some of the tests a SAE 5w20 must pass. If there was any significant increase in wear using 5w20, they'd find it in these tests.

http://www.swri.org/4org/d08/GasTests/IIIGtest/default.htm
http://www.swri.org/4org/d08/GasTests/IVAtest/default.htm
http://www.swri.org/4org/d08/GasTests/VGtest/default.htm
http://www.swri.org/4org/d08/GasTests/VIIItest/default.htm

Further, 5w20 has to demonstrate it gets better fuel economy than SAE 0W-30, 5W-30 and ALL other SAE viscosity grades.

http://www.swri.org/4org/d08/GasTests/VIBtest/default.htm

Use what is specified in your owner's manual with confidence.

 

[427Z06]

quote:

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bruce... an old timer that knows a lot more than we do.

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Golly-gee bruce, just how old are you?

 

[Clyde65]

quote:

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Originally posted by djb383:
Advice wanted about the article and what do you think about using Rotella 5w40 synthetic in the Saturn (Honda) V6? Thanks.

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Rotella 5W-40 synthetic being 15.0 cSt @ 100C is WAY too thick for a Honda engine. You will be losing power due to parasitic drag with that oil.

 

[TooSlick]

A 5w-20 or 0w-30 synthetic will be fine, even in 100F+ weather.

Honda engines lose a fair amount of power and fuel efficiency with thicker oils, since the pumping and frictional losses increase at higher rpms.

The Mobil 1, 5w-20 with a 6000-10,000 mile change interval - depending on type of service - would be fine here.

TS

 

[pbm]

I have used 5/30 (synthetic) in my wifes 5/20 spec'd Accord with no problems. I would think twice before going as thick as a 5/40 for all the reasons mentioned (mpg loss, friction and pumping loss etc..) If I lived in the hottest part of the country I'd have a good 5/20 or synthetic 5/30 in my Honda crankcase (nothing thicker). There is plenty of evidence that well formulated thinner oils protect engines well, especially those that are spec'd for them.

 

[TallPaul]

Well, I am inclined to juice up the zddp in a 5w20, but simpler is to just use Redline 5w20 as it already has juiced up zddp and moly.

 

[Gary Allan]

Try it and record your fuel economy. I wouldn't worry too much about other factors. Someone, somewhere, encounters your higher visc w/ lighter oils in some climate and lives to tell about it. They may never get outside the viscosities that you attain if their service is short enough.

Then switch to a recommended oil and realize the difference.


You'll find out that your short trip economy will be substantially effected ..and your long trip economy will probably be effected to the point of being consistantly measurable.

Then you too will know why some attempt to hammer home the advantages of recommended weights. You'll become one of them

 

[badtlc]

There is no reason not to use 5w20 in your car. Like it has been stated in this thread and many others, there is a ton of empirical evidence on this board that shows 5w20 will make your engine last as long as ANY oil, including 0w30. Plus, you'd get slightly better gas mileage than even a 0w30.

 

[BlueWorld]

quote:

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Originally posted by TooSlick:
Honda engines lose a fair amount of power and fuel efficiency with thicker oils, since the pumping and frictional losses increase at higher rpms.

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I don't think you can throw the V6 in with all the other Honda engines. The V6 in our Odyssey cruises @ 65mph/1800rpm. I can run a whole day and never get above 2300rpm if I don't need to race away from a stop.

I think this is why I can run GC and Motul 0w-40 without any MPG hit.

In a 4 that doesn't even wake up until 3k, I could understand seeing a more noticeable effect.

 

[milwaukee]

Use the 5w-20.

 

[427Z06]

quote:

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Originally posted by BlueWorld:

quote:

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Originally posted by TooSlick:
Honda engines lose a fair amount of power and fuel efficiency with thicker oils, since the pumping and frictional losses increase at higher rpms.

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I don't think you can throw the V6 in with all the other Honda engines.

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Sure can. I tested my Honda V6 with GC and 10w40. Definitely took a fuel economy hit. Big time with the 10w40.

 

[BlueWorld]

quote:

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Originally posted by 427Z06:
Sure can. I tested my Honda V6 with GC and 10w40. Definitely took a fuel economy hit. Big time with the 10w40.

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What's you're average rpm when you're driving?

With a 2K rpm average I get 23mpg in the Odyssey in mixed suburban use, AC permanently on.