I use Toyota's recommended 5W-30 on my Yaris. The Yaris is rated 36 mpg highway, but I commonly average 52 through hypermiling, so unless there were a huge difference, I would be hard pressed to believe that 5W-20 versus 5W-30 would impact mpg that much, but again, I am just learning.
Using a thicker oil than is called for
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Originally Posted By: Liquid_Turbo
Originally Posted By: FrankN4
Straight 40 grade from 1960 to 1968. 20W-50 from 1968 to 1988. 5W-50 from 1988 to 1990. 15W-50 from 1990 to date. Used this in everything, even Chrysler and Ford that specked 5W-20. Many if not all since 1990 specked 5W or 10W-30. Never an engine problem of any kind, no noise, no seep, no leak, always better than EPA estimate mileage. I have 300,000+ miles on one daily use Toyota truck, 208,000+ on a daily use Chevrolet Cavalier. Average vehicle mileage since 1990 has been close to 170,000 at trade in.
Potentially better ring seal would be my guess.
Besides that, it's not hard to beat the EPA figures. My TL gets roughly 32mpg on the freeway at 65-70mph which is a few over the rating.
I don't understand how 15w50 gets you better than average gas mileage? And performance in cold weather? If it works out, then all the power to you..
Originally Posted By: FrankN4
Straight 40 grade from 1960 to 1968. 20W-50 from 1968 to 1988. 5W-50 from 1988 to 1990. 15W-50 from 1990 to date. Used this in everything, even Chrysler and Ford that specked 5W-20. Many if not all since 1990 specked 5W or 10W-30. Never an engine problem of any kind, no noise, no seep, no leak, always better than EPA estimate mileage. I have 300,000+ miles on one daily use Toyota truck, 208,000+ on a daily use Chevrolet Cavalier. Average vehicle mileage since 1990 has been close to 170,000 at trade in.
Potentially better ring seal would be my guess.
Besides that, it's not hard to beat the EPA figures. My TL gets roughly 32mpg on the freeway at 65-70mph which is a few over the rating.
I don't understand how 15w50 gets you better than average gas mileage? And performance in cold weather? If it works out, then all the power to you..
in our shop i use 5w20 in most of the ford modular engines and in a lot of other ones too 5w20 will keep the bearings a little cooler and it seems the modulars when using the 5w20 have no valve seal issues, it seems the 5w20 can get into spaces faster than 5w30 and with overhead cams you want oil pressure fast so the 5w20 is my choice for some engines recommending 5w20 bearing clearance also has to be taken into consideration.. In some cases such as high mileage over 120,000 miles a slightly thicker oil or a high mileage oil will do wonders for consumption and even engine performance in general..
What about dodge, my dad has got an '08 ram with the hemi. it calls for 5w-20, wouldn't hurt to run 5w-30 would it. just makes it easier for me to buy oil in bulk. now this truck does have the lifetime warrenty, or does that matter.
Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
in our shop i use 5w20 in most of the ford modular engines...5w20 will keep the bearings a little cooler and it seems the modulars when using the 5w20 have no valve seal issues,
Are you saying that you believe the valve seal issue can be triggered by thicker oil? I just put GC 0W-30 in my '96 Town Car for the first time. No doubt it's a lot thicker than 5W-20. Do you think I should change it out?
in our shop i use 5w20 in most of the ford modular engines...5w20 will keep the bearings a little cooler and it seems the modulars when using the 5w20 have no valve seal issues,
Are you saying that you believe the valve seal issue can be triggered by thicker oil? I just put GC 0W-30 in my '96 Town Car for the first time. No doubt it's a lot thicker than 5W-20. Do you think I should change it out?
Originally Posted By: BuickGN
Originally Posted By: Liquid_Turbo
Originally Posted By: FrankN4
Straight 40 grade from 1960 to 1968. 20W-50 from 1968 to 1988. 5W-50 from 1988 to 1990. 15W-50 from 1990 to date. Used this in everything, even Chrysler and Ford that specked 5W-20. Many if not all since 1990 specked 5W or 10W-30. Never an engine problem of any kind, no noise, no seep, no leak, always better than EPA estimate mileage. I have 300,000+ miles on one daily use Toyota truck, 208,000+ on a daily use Chevrolet Cavalier. Average vehicle mileage since 1990 has been close to 170,000 at trade in.
I don't understand how 15w50 gets you better than average gas mileage? And performance in cold weather? If it works out, then all the power to you..
Corrected:
Potentially better ring seal would be my guess.
Besides that, it's not hard to beat the EPA figures. My TL gets roughly 32mpg on the freeway at 65-70mph which is a few over the rating.
Originally Posted By: Liquid_Turbo
Originally Posted By: FrankN4
Straight 40 grade from 1960 to 1968. 20W-50 from 1968 to 1988. 5W-50 from 1988 to 1990. 15W-50 from 1990 to date. Used this in everything, even Chrysler and Ford that specked 5W-20. Many if not all since 1990 specked 5W or 10W-30. Never an engine problem of any kind, no noise, no seep, no leak, always better than EPA estimate mileage. I have 300,000+ miles on one daily use Toyota truck, 208,000+ on a daily use Chevrolet Cavalier. Average vehicle mileage since 1990 has been close to 170,000 at trade in.
I don't understand how 15w50 gets you better than average gas mileage? And performance in cold weather? If it works out, then all the power to you..
Corrected:
Potentially better ring seal would be my guess.
Besides that, it's not hard to beat the EPA figures. My TL gets roughly 32mpg on the freeway at 65-70mph which is a few over the rating.
Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
in our shop i use 5w20 in most of the ford modular engines and in a lot of other ones too 5w20 will keep the bearings a little cooler and it seems the modulars when using the 5w20 have no valve seal issues, it seems the 5w20 can get into spaces faster than 5w30 and with overhead cams you want oil pressure fast so the 5w20 is my choice for some engines recommending 5w20 bearing clearance also has to be taken into consideration.. In some cases such as high mileage over 120,000 miles a slightly thicker oil or a high mileage oil will do wonders for consumption and even engine performance in general..
What are these spaces that very slightly heavier oils can not get into? There is no such thing and you won't be able to measure a real time difference that it takes to buld pressure and flow up to the heads.
in our shop i use 5w20 in most of the ford modular engines and in a lot of other ones too 5w20 will keep the bearings a little cooler and it seems the modulars when using the 5w20 have no valve seal issues, it seems the 5w20 can get into spaces faster than 5w30 and with overhead cams you want oil pressure fast so the 5w20 is my choice for some engines recommending 5w20 bearing clearance also has to be taken into consideration.. In some cases such as high mileage over 120,000 miles a slightly thicker oil or a high mileage oil will do wonders for consumption and even engine performance in general..
What are these spaces that very slightly heavier oils can not get into? There is no such thing and you won't be able to measure a real time difference that it takes to buld pressure and flow up to the heads.
We had some fleet 5 cyl chevys that had too thick issue with their variable valve timing mechanisms. Not sure of the deatils but it was well documented and traced to the shops that were servicing with the wrong oil.
Reading SAE papers about piston ring function, you'll find that there is a ideal viscosity. Too thick or too thin for the application isn't helping.
Reading SAE papers about piston ring function, you'll find that there is a ideal viscosity. Too thick or too thin for the application isn't helping.
With 54,400 miles on my '06 Ford 6.8L V10, I just switched from either Mobil1 5w20 or Motorcraft SemiSyn 5W20 to Castrol Edge 5w30. The engine is noticably quieter. I only put the Castrol in because I couldn't find Mobil1 at either Walmart or PEP Boys and I wanted the oil changed this weekend.
When the 5000 mile OCI is reached, I'll get a UOA done, and switch to Mobil1 5w30. I'm hoping that with either 5w30 brand I'll get far less oil consumption. There isn't a snowballs chance that I'd ever continue to use an oil that costs $7.99 a quart.
I've never in the past 30 years owned a car, truck or motorcycle that consumes as much oil as my current truck does. It's absolutely rediculous.
Enjoy,
RustyFuryIII
When the 5000 mile OCI is reached, I'll get a UOA done, and switch to Mobil1 5w30. I'm hoping that with either 5w30 brand I'll get far less oil consumption. There isn't a snowballs chance that I'd ever continue to use an oil that costs $7.99 a quart.
I've never in the past 30 years owned a car, truck or motorcycle that consumes as much oil as my current truck does. It's absolutely rediculous.
Enjoy,
RustyFuryIII
Originally Posted By: rustyfuryiii
With 54,400 miles on my '06 Ford 6.8L V10, I just switched from either Mobil1 5w20 or Motorcraft SemiSyn 5W20 to Castrol Edge 5w30. The engine is noticably quieter. I only put the Castrol in because I couldn't find Mobil1 at either Walmart or PEP Boys and I wanted the oil changed this weekend.
When the 5000 mile OCI is reached, I'll get a UOA done, and switch to Mobil1 5w30. I'm hoping that with either 5w30 brand I'll get far less oil consumption. There isn't a snowballs chance that I'd ever continue to use an oil that costs $7.99 a quart.
I've never in the past 30 years owned a car, truck or motorcycle that consumes as much oil as my current truck does. It's absolutely rediculous.
Enjoy,
RustyFuryIII
Perhaps get it checked out for the oil consumption. My 6.8 never used oil. Perhaps it has a leak???
With 54,400 miles on my '06 Ford 6.8L V10, I just switched from either Mobil1 5w20 or Motorcraft SemiSyn 5W20 to Castrol Edge 5w30. The engine is noticably quieter. I only put the Castrol in because I couldn't find Mobil1 at either Walmart or PEP Boys and I wanted the oil changed this weekend.
When the 5000 mile OCI is reached, I'll get a UOA done, and switch to Mobil1 5w30. I'm hoping that with either 5w30 brand I'll get far less oil consumption. There isn't a snowballs chance that I'd ever continue to use an oil that costs $7.99 a quart.
I've never in the past 30 years owned a car, truck or motorcycle that consumes as much oil as my current truck does. It's absolutely rediculous.
Enjoy,
RustyFuryIII
Perhaps get it checked out for the oil consumption. My 6.8 never used oil. Perhaps it has a leak???
Originally Posted By: wileyE
We had some fleet 5 cyl chevys that had too thick issue with their variable valve timing mechanisms. Not sure of the deatils but it was well documented and traced to the shops that were servicing with the wrong oil.
Reading SAE papers about piston ring function, you'll find that there is a ideal viscosity. Too thick or too thin for the application isn't helping.
Agreed with the ring seal though I think you are safer going too thick than too thin. I noticed a difference at WOT after going to the straight 30wt. It could be in my head but I was expecting the opposite effect so who knows.
As for the variable valve timing mechanisms not working due to too thick of oil, that's surprising. That would mean the variable timing wouldn't work even with the factory stuff until the engine is completely warm and the oil has fully thinned.
I had to go WOT on cold engine oil (30wt, water temp was nearly fully warm, 2min of run time) when I accidentally pulled out in front of someone in the TL and it hit VTEC the same as it always does.
We had some fleet 5 cyl chevys that had too thick issue with their variable valve timing mechanisms. Not sure of the deatils but it was well documented and traced to the shops that were servicing with the wrong oil.
Reading SAE papers about piston ring function, you'll find that there is a ideal viscosity. Too thick or too thin for the application isn't helping.
Agreed with the ring seal though I think you are safer going too thick than too thin. I noticed a difference at WOT after going to the straight 30wt. It could be in my head but I was expecting the opposite effect so who knows.
As for the variable valve timing mechanisms not working due to too thick of oil, that's surprising. That would mean the variable timing wouldn't work even with the factory stuff until the engine is completely warm and the oil has fully thinned.
I had to go WOT on cold engine oil (30wt, water temp was nearly fully warm, 2min of run time) when I accidentally pulled out in front of someone in the TL and it hit VTEC the same as it always does.
My 99 civic SI would not "hit VTEC" until the engine reached 160*
Originally Posted By: TurboLuver
My 99 civic SI would not "hit VTEC" until the engine reached 160*
It's probably the same for my TL. But the water temp was up there already. Run time was only a minute or two so the oil had very, very little heat in it.
My 99 civic SI would not "hit VTEC" until the engine reached 160*
It's probably the same for my TL. But the water temp was up there already. Run time was only a minute or two so the oil had very, very little heat in it.
So would Rotella T 5w-40 syn. be way to thick for a engine spec'd for 5w-30? The higher levels of ZDDP are apealing, but wouldn't wanna do more damage than good by running it if its to thick. I realize it ofcourse probably wouldn't be the best oil for this time of the year around here.
If you look at what the engine is spec'd to take in different countries of the world, its a safe bet you can use it with no issues.
Eg: 2009 Corolla North America spec is 0w/5w-20, everywhere else in the world the same engine is spec'd to take 20, 30, 40 and even 50wts.
Eg: 2009 Corolla North America spec is 0w/5w-20, everywhere else in the world the same engine is spec'd to take 20, 30, 40 and even 50wts.
If you are not using 40W70 you need to question your manhood
The base oil visc of 5w20 and 5w30 is almost the same about 4cst., except for some more vii's it's the exact same stuff really, so little wonder the engine does fine with either one, and after some miles the vii's shear back enough to become a 5w20 anyway. I think some/many here would agree that if warm enough the you could use straight 30wt. year round with little trouble, and the base oil visc of 20w50 is about 10cst. without the vii's, and as it shears down it approaches that 30wt. base. In this line of thinking even the 20w50 is not to thick really.
Originally Posted By: sprintman
If you are not using 40W70 you need to question your manhood
Quite the opposite is true. If you aren't using 0W-5 you need to question your manhood.
Using super thick oils means you're a scared little girl
If you are not using 40W70 you need to question your manhood
Quite the opposite is true. If you aren't using 0W-5 you need to question your manhood.
Using super thick oils means you're a scared little girl
Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
Originally Posted By: sprintman
If you are not using 40W70 you need to question your manhood
Quite the opposite is true. If you aren't using 0W-5 you need to question your manhood.
Using super thick oils means you're a scared little girl
Lmao, this stuff is getting too funny. I thought the first one was funny, but that's a hilarious comeback.
If you use 20W-50 or thicker, you might be a redneck.
If you use 0W-20 or thinner, you might be a yankee.
In reality, I think a little thicker oil will never do any harm. Manufacturers in America spec lower viscosity oils due to, and ONLY due to the EPA. There's a UOA right now in the UOA section that has a car spec'd for 5W-20, but a 5W-30 oil showed less than half the wear.
You can't argue with people getting 300,000 miles with no leaks or ticking with a 20W-50, but at the same time, people have went that many on 30 and 40 weights, BUT a thicker weight does, naturally, provide a thicker film for better protection. You have to think, even with a 0W-20, when you first crank your engine up, it's going to be thicker than a 20W-50 HOT for 10 - 20 minutes.
UOA's will tell a lot about each specific engine, as all engines won't do best with a 20W-50, I'm sure. I wouldn't put 20W-50 in a 4.6, because it's widely known they actually do have tight tolerances, but other engines may actually do better with a 20W-50 than anything else. A hard working engine does benefit from a thicker oil, while a highway cruiser or especially a short trip only vehicle will be fine, or do better, with a thinner oil.
Originally Posted By: sprintman
If you are not using 40W70 you need to question your manhood
Quite the opposite is true. If you aren't using 0W-5 you need to question your manhood.
Using super thick oils means you're a scared little girl
Lmao, this stuff is getting too funny. I thought the first one was funny, but that's a hilarious comeback.
If you use 20W-50 or thicker, you might be a redneck.
If you use 0W-20 or thinner, you might be a yankee.
In reality, I think a little thicker oil will never do any harm. Manufacturers in America spec lower viscosity oils due to, and ONLY due to the EPA. There's a UOA right now in the UOA section that has a car spec'd for 5W-20, but a 5W-30 oil showed less than half the wear.
You can't argue with people getting 300,000 miles with no leaks or ticking with a 20W-50, but at the same time, people have went that many on 30 and 40 weights, BUT a thicker weight does, naturally, provide a thicker film for better protection. You have to think, even with a 0W-20, when you first crank your engine up, it's going to be thicker than a 20W-50 HOT for 10 - 20 minutes.
UOA's will tell a lot about each specific engine, as all engines won't do best with a 20W-50, I'm sure. I wouldn't put 20W-50 in a 4.6, because it's widely known they actually do have tight tolerances, but other engines may actually do better with a 20W-50 than anything else. A hard working engine does benefit from a thicker oil, while a highway cruiser or especially a short trip only vehicle will be fine, or do better, with a thinner oil.
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