Using 5w20 in motor spec'd for 5w30?

[il_signore97]

Originally Posted By: BuickGN
Originally Posted By: scoobie
i play it safe, blend 5w20 conventional with 5w30 synthetic. you get an excellent oil. my engines all love it mitsubishi 1.5l 12v,
subaru 2.5 NA, subaru 2.2 NA, dodge 3.7 v6, GM 3.4 v6.


I've always wondered what it means when people say "my engine loves it". By not blowing up, does that mean it loves it?


Well if that's the case, then my engines are hippies because they love all oils from 0w20 to 15w40. Haven't blown up on any of those grades yet!!!

 

[CharBaby]

ParI used 2qts of Castrol GTX 5W20 w/2qts of PP 5W30 and 1qt of Valvoline dino 5W30 in each of my vehicles this winter and Im glad I did.

Vehicles: 01 RX-300 and 04 Altima 2.5S

Both engines started quickly and smoothly. The RX's MPG was the best ever in the winter months and the Altima experienced less timing chain rattle than ever before with good MPG as well. Im sure that part credit goes to the 5W20 and the other part goes to the PP. This was a very long winter here in the north east as it was elsewhere. Not only a long winter but consistantly cold and windy. The history in my area shows colder winters but to most people in my circle, it sure felt as cold as we can remember.
Both vehicles oil/filter changes were in late DEC 08 and are still in the engines thus far. Next OCI's will be around late June early July 09. This will give both cars about 6mo/3500-4000mi OCI. Oil on the dipstick looks clean on the RX and brown on the Altima to date. The Altima always looks darker than the RX even though they use the same oil and OCI's

 

[demarpaint]

I see no harm in the mix, in fact I plan on doing a 5W20 5W30 mix this OC in my 93 Aerostar. I have a few orphan qts of oil I'd like to use up.

 

[thunderchild]

Originally Posted By: Durango
Originally Posted By: hal
Have seen lots of people running 5w30 in 5w20-spec'd cars, but not the opposite. Would this increase wearsurface metals in oil over time? Would it help improve gas mileage? Would the engine be more happy to rev? What would be the costs versus benefits, if any?

Just kind of curious, that's all...Thanks for your input!


hal,

I run M1 synthetic 5W-30 in my 01' Durango V-8 and want to try some 5W-20 to see if I increase my MPG. Currently I can get about 22.2MPG on a long trip. I'm even considering trying the 0W-30 weight.

Durango



Durango, what engine do you have? I have a 2003 with the 4.7. I was thinking of mixing some 5w-20 with the 5w-30 to get better mileage myself. I am using 5 quarts of 5w-30 GTX mixed with 2 quarts of 5w-30 SYNTEC. I use an oversized Amsoil SDF-15 filter.