When did 5W30 first come out?
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I don't know for sure, but early to mid 80s if I had to take a guess. I tried doing a google search to no avail
The 5W grade first appeared in the SAE J300 specification revision of 1950. The limits have been redefined several times since in subsequent revisions.
5W-30 oils began seriously entering the market in the 1980s when the car manufacturers, needing to comply with the government CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) requirements or pay heavy fines, had to squeeze every drop of fuel savings from every car component possible. In addition to lighter vehicles with more plastic, they targeted thinner oils as a means of saving another couple percent MPG.
One of the manufacturers (I believe Honda) used a Mobil 1 5W-20 synthetic oil in their CAFE qualification test and was disqualified by the EPA on the grounds that this oil was not sufficiently available or reasonably priced to be considered in general use. That set the car manufacturers off on a crusade to get thinner 5W-X oils properly defined, reasonably priced, and readily available on retail shelves. But there was a technical and a marketing problem.
The technical problem was that the light base oils needed to make the 5W-X oils were in tight supply. They quickly and cleverly fixed that by changing the specifications for 5W to allow slightly heavier base oils to be used.
The marketing problem was bigger. Consumers were thoroughly sold for many years that 10W-40 was the ultimate universal grade of oil for all cars, and retailers stocked what consumers bought. So when the oil companies introduced the new 5W-30 oils, they were not well received and not given the retail shelf space needed to be considered "readily available". Even though the new car manuals recommended 5W-30s, they still had to allow 10W-40s, and the manual recommendations just did not have the reach and power to dislodge the entrenched 10W-40 concept from consumer’s minds. The car manufacturers needed to get more creative.
Seizing on some studies that showed that VI improvers contributed to ring sticking in some engines, and adding to the mix the fact that 10W-40s had a high level of VI improver and GM was having ring sticking problems, GM took the bold move of outright banning 10W-40 oils. Other manufacturers followed and the word got spread around enough to reduce the sales of 10W-40 and increase the sales of 5W-30. This change in demand patterns caused more retailers to carry 5W-30 oils, and the EPA became satisfied enough that the new grade was now readily available and reasonably priced to allow its use in CAFE qualification tests. Through these bold and clever manipulations, the auto industry was able to avoid government fines and a new grade of oil was born.
Other problems existed, especially wear, but cooperative efforts with oil companies and engine design changes were eventually able to overcome this. It took another decade for 5W-30 sales to overtake 10W-40, but the consumer finally began accepting thinner oils.
One lesson from all this is that the car manufacturers and oil companies often have their own secret agenda, and it does not necessarily align with what is best for the consumer. Fortunately, in this case all's well that ends well and today we are all saving more gasoline with thinner oils.
5W-30 oils began seriously entering the market in the 1980s when the car manufacturers, needing to comply with the government CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) requirements or pay heavy fines, had to squeeze every drop of fuel savings from every car component possible. In addition to lighter vehicles with more plastic, they targeted thinner oils as a means of saving another couple percent MPG.
One of the manufacturers (I believe Honda) used a Mobil 1 5W-20 synthetic oil in their CAFE qualification test and was disqualified by the EPA on the grounds that this oil was not sufficiently available or reasonably priced to be considered in general use. That set the car manufacturers off on a crusade to get thinner 5W-X oils properly defined, reasonably priced, and readily available on retail shelves. But there was a technical and a marketing problem.
The technical problem was that the light base oils needed to make the 5W-X oils were in tight supply. They quickly and cleverly fixed that by changing the specifications for 5W to allow slightly heavier base oils to be used.
The marketing problem was bigger. Consumers were thoroughly sold for many years that 10W-40 was the ultimate universal grade of oil for all cars, and retailers stocked what consumers bought. So when the oil companies introduced the new 5W-30 oils, they were not well received and not given the retail shelf space needed to be considered "readily available". Even though the new car manuals recommended 5W-30s, they still had to allow 10W-40s, and the manual recommendations just did not have the reach and power to dislodge the entrenched 10W-40 concept from consumer’s minds. The car manufacturers needed to get more creative.
Seizing on some studies that showed that VI improvers contributed to ring sticking in some engines, and adding to the mix the fact that 10W-40s had a high level of VI improver and GM was having ring sticking problems, GM took the bold move of outright banning 10W-40 oils. Other manufacturers followed and the word got spread around enough to reduce the sales of 10W-40 and increase the sales of 5W-30. This change in demand patterns caused more retailers to carry 5W-30 oils, and the EPA became satisfied enough that the new grade was now readily available and reasonably priced to allow its use in CAFE qualification tests. Through these bold and clever manipulations, the auto industry was able to avoid government fines and a new grade of oil was born.
Other problems existed, especially wear, but cooperative efforts with oil companies and engine design changes were eventually able to overcome this. It took another decade for 5W-30 sales to overtake 10W-40, but the consumer finally began accepting thinner oils.
One lesson from all this is that the car manufacturers and oil companies often have their own secret agenda, and it does not necessarily align with what is best for the consumer. Fortunately, in this case all's well that ends well and today we are all saving more gasoline with thinner oils.
Thanks so much for all the info, Tom! I didn't realize how much 'manipulation' went into promoting 5W-30 oils....
I think its unfortunate how this manipulation has made '10W-40' a general 'bad thing' in oils. Modern 10W-40's don't do what old ones did, and there are some engines that do better on thicker oils. What I think is funny is one of the engines that seems to do better on thicker oils are GM OHV engines. If you look at UOA's they tend to show somewhat better numbers on this weight. But GM has banned them, this has now stuck with people, so they miss out on the benefits of it....
Its the ultimate irony - GM sticks to an ancient engine design (OHV) that does better on 'old school' lubricants, but bans the use of what may work the best on it. I'm sure some engines that suffering coolant leaks could have survived a bit longer if they'd had a thicker oil in them.....
I think its unfortunate how this manipulation has made '10W-40' a general 'bad thing' in oils. Modern 10W-40's don't do what old ones did, and there are some engines that do better on thicker oils. What I think is funny is one of the engines that seems to do better on thicker oils are GM OHV engines. If you look at UOA's they tend to show somewhat better numbers on this weight. But GM has banned them, this has now stuck with people, so they miss out on the benefits of it....
Its the ultimate irony - GM sticks to an ancient engine design (OHV) that does better on 'old school' lubricants, but bans the use of what may work the best on it. I'm sure some engines that suffering coolant leaks could have survived a bit longer if they'd had a thicker oil in them.....
Quote:
"...I'm sure some engines that suffering coolant leaks could have survived a bit longer if they'd had a thicker oil in them....."
LOL! and I'm sure that GM's headgasket problem has nothing to do with this...
So much for consipracy theory as the world marches on...
My 2c's worth
"...I'm sure some engines that suffering coolant leaks could have survived a bit longer if they'd had a thicker oil in them....."
LOL! and I'm sure that GM's headgasket problem has nothing to do with this...
So much for consipracy theory as the world marches on...
My 2c's worth
Thanks for the great post Tom NJ! You were able to put into words what many of us have been trying to say for a long time. I remember those events clearly now.
Last Tuesday.
The first time I saw the 5W30 designation was on the oil fill cap of a new Chevy Sprint. What a fine automobile that was.
The only modern GM OHV engines that do better on '10W-40' are the ones with manufacturing/design defects.
Excellent dissertation, however, I recall the struggle to be more between 5w-XX and 10w-XX oils, as opposed to a struggle between 5w-30s and 10w-40s.
One can get some insight by reading letters between the EPA and the manufacturers made public by the EPA here:
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/cert/dearmfr/mfrltrs1.htm#1980
See the Manufacturer Guidance Letters CD-81-02, CD-84-05, CD-84-11, CD-86-15, CD-88-20 for a start.
You are correct 427, but they specifically attacked the 10W-40 because it was the most popular oil and commanded the most shelf space at retail. And 5W-30 was the grade they pushed because they knew the public was not ready for a 5W-20 oil - too radical of a change and the M1 5W-20 problems were fresh in their minds.
Tom
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I'm not a mechanic. Is the head gasket and intake gasket the same thing? I've hear of GM's intake problems - but I never seen it worded as "head gasket".
Excellent link! Don't know how you find these gems but they are quite interesting. Thanks
Yes, it's hard to change perceptions of the public. Here we are 30 years later and some bring forth points as if it's still 1980.
As far as M1 5W-20 back then, other than manufacturers using it to cheat the EPA tests, the only problems I recall is people putting it in neglected vehicles, and once the crude was cleaned out of the seals, they begain to leak, or better stated, leak a lot more. Many engines weren't using the best sealing material or design back then too...two piece gaskets, two piece main seals, poorly machined surfaces, too few fasteners poorly positioned, etc, etc.
which currently available oil blend has the least amount of VII? 10w30 or 5w20??
Quote:
I had a 3800V6 with 180,000 miles on it when I donated it to charity. I used mostly 10W-30 in it, but the last fill was 10W-40, and I can tell you I noticed little difference, and if I were forced say which oil seemed to be more agreeable to the engine, I'd definitely say it was the 10W-30. I hate to say something that is really unverifiable such as the engine "ran sluggish" with the 10W-40, but...
I will say that the 10W-40 cut down the oil usage from a whopping .5 a quart in 5000 miles to maybe .33 a quart in 5000 miles, but that may also have been the cool early fall here...
Cheers
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