Viscosity Question

Status
Not open for further replies.
Could try pyb sae 30 for summers. Could try blend of pyb sae 30 and 40. Could try blend of pp 10w30 and pyb sae 40. Have fun. Lots of choices.
 
Originally Posted By: Cristobal
My Avalon has gone about 250,000 miles on a 1MZ-FE engine, and I live in a very hot climate during the summer. My mechanic says that in hot weather with a motor this old that 5W-30 is best not used, and a 20W-50 oil is better. What are your thoughts?
I'd get to Walmart and get Mobil1 High Mileage 10w-30 in a hot climate, and use it in winters too if the winters are mild, like above 30 degrees F on most days. This oil has a relatively high HTHS=3.5, which is plenty extra. Most xw30 oils have an HTHS=3.1 or so, lower than this animal. Mobil puts in extra seal conditioners in it too for a 250k mile engine.
 
Stick with 5W-30 and 10W-30. Running straight 30 in the summer would be a better idea than 20W-50. Thickest I've ever run on my 1MZ-FE is the thin-for-a-40 Pennzoil Ultra 0W-40.
 
Originally Posted By: FordCapriDriver
Don't trust mechanics in things like motor oil choice, they think they know what they're talking about, even though in many cases they don't, i have heard some lousy advice on motor oil first hand from some mechanics. If it doesn't burn oil and has good oil pressure, there is no point in using an oil thicker than the manufacturer's spec. Short answer : NO, it will not protect it better
Yeah, but it may ... OP says he lives in a very hot climate. Same as track days then. 15W-50 for a multi, or at least a 15W-40 ... Could just run SAE 40 and skip the W altogether ... He has no Winter cold start issues to be concerned with, unless it also gets cold there ... Once an engine is in the 200,000 mile range, the bearings have opened up some. Having an extra hydrodynamic cushion will not hurt a thing. 20W-50 used to be normal oil for engines over 100,000 miles. That's why they made the stuff, big market laugh
 
Sigh....you all fail to understand the purpose of oil. If the climate is suitable as he said 20w50 will be ok with an engine of that mileage and i can bet outside the us there is a temperature graph where 20w50 is acceptable. So people on this website needs to read a bit more. You all condemn others too quick.
 
+1 for mechanic saying 5w30 is probably not good. Rest is all up to op as he got a lot of choices between 5w30 and 20w50. OP does need to give more info like oil consumption though !
 
Last edited:
I think oil_film_movies is on the right track. One doesn't necessarily need to go up to a 40 or 50 to get a thicker oil than the typical GF-5 5W-30. XW-30 can describe anything from Resource Conserving oils with a HTHS of 2.9 to ACEA A3/B3... and heavy duty engine oils with a HTHS of 3.5 and higher.
Originally Posted By: Nissan101
...i can bet outside the us there is a temperature graph where 20w50 is acceptable.
Couldn't find the 1MZ, but here's the chart from the owner's manual of the Australian Toyota Kluger (our Highlander) with the 3MZ (mostly the same as the 1MZ VVTi).
 
Originally Posted By: Cristobal
My Avalon has gone about 250,000 miles on a 1MZ-FE engine, and I live in a very hot climate during the summer. My mechanic says that in hot weather with a motor this old that 5W-30 is best not used, and a 20W-50 oil is better. What are your thoughts?
What range of temperature are we talking about? "very hot" is relative. Is it 120F and up? How long does it stay above 120F? What is temperature range? between hot and very hot and cool?
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: mooferz
I think oil_film_movies is on the right track. One doesn't necessarily need to go up to a 40 or 50 to get a thicker oil than the typical GF-5 5W-30. XW-30 can describe anything from Resource Conserving oils with a HTHS of 2.9 to ACEA A3/B3... and heavy duty engine oils with a HTHS of 3.5 and higher.
Originally Posted By: Nissan101
...i can bet outside the us there is a temperature graph where 20w50 is acceptable.
Couldn't find the 1MZ, but here's the chart from the owner's manual of the Australian Toyota Kluger (our Highlander) with the 3MZ (mostly the same as the 1MZ VVTi).
Interesting 5w30 not recommended for above 50f.
 
Originally Posted By: merconvvv
... Interesting 5w30 not recommended for above 50f.
That could be because it dates from a time when 5W-30 was more prone to shearing than today's 5W-30. 250K is not remarkably high mileage, or reason to panic.
 
Originally Posted By: FordCapriDriver
Originally Posted By: zeng
Originally Posted By: FordCapriDriver
Don't trust mechanics in things like motor oil choice,.......
..neither is Bitog.
I would say most BITOG members could give much better oil advice than most mechanics.
Here in bitog, you can and will get recommendations for every possible weight of oil, only one of which is the right one. 5W-30 is fine, but if you must run thicker oil, I would go to a 15-40 HDEO oil. 250K on modern engines with modern oil is no problem. Let us know when it gets to 350-400k. thumbsup
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Originally Posted By: FordCapriDriver
Originally Posted By: zeng
Originally Posted By: FordCapriDriver
Don't trust mechanics in things like motor oil choice,.......
..neither is Bitog.
I would say most BITOG members could give much better oil advice than most mechanics.
What if the mechanic is a BITOG member? smile
1+ He may be a BITOG. lol
 
Originally Posted By: Cristobal
My Avalon has gone about 250,000 miles on a 1MZ-FE engine, and I live in a very hot climate during the summer. My mechanic says that in hot weather with a motor this old that 5W-30 is best not used, and a 20W-50 oil is better. What are your thoughts?
I'd go with a 10w-30 dual rated (gas and diesel spec) oil like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M1Y7JXY/
 
[/quote] What range of temperature are we talking about? "very hot" is relative. Is it 120F and up? How long does it stay above 120F? What is temperature range? between hot and very hot and cool? [/quote] Over 100 degrees F. every day.
 
Originally Posted By: Cristobal
Over 100 degrees F. every day.
As long as your cooling system is in working proper order, there's no need to jump up 2 grades to a 20w-50. 0w-xx, 5w-xx, 10w-xx, 15w-xx, and 20w-xx will all still be operating at the xx viscosity. Being in a hot climate just means you don't need 0w-xx or 5w-xx, and you can benefit from the better shear stability of 10w-xx, 15w-xx, or 20w-xx oils. This is why I recommended 10w-30 above to the OP. 15w-40 probably wouldn't hurt too much, but 20w-50 is absolutely overkill for a vehicle specifying 30 grade oils. Now, if you really wanted to, you could run 15w-30 for the best possible shear stability in a hot climate that doesn't ever see temperatures below, I don't know, maybe 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Here is a dual rated API CJ-4/SM 15w-30 oil from Delo that seems promising, but costs twice as much per gallon as the (dual rated) Delo 10w-30 I linked previously: https://www.amazon.com/Delo-400-15W-30-Motor-gallon/dp/B017AX1XFA/ The only vehicles that really need a 20w-50 would be major leakers, burners, or high performance vehicles constantly revving over 5,000 RPM.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

D
Can Someone Interpret These Oil Specifications For Me ?
Replies
5
Views
312
CleanSump
N
Good quality oil for fuel dilution?
2 3
Replies
46
Views
1K
ARCOgraphite
W
20w-50 in 2010 Outback 2.5
2 3
Replies
44
Views
3K
addyguy
D
2010 impreza
Replies
3
Views
199
Vermess
P
Why does my car indicate 5W-30 is good year round oil but many viscosity charts say it's only best under 60F?
2
Replies
20
Views
2K
SC Maintenance
Top