I am all for thin oil - as long as UAO confirms that it is doing well. I don't want to knock a product and I think that knocking an oil on just grade is idiotic. But...can anyone tell me why the back of Castrol's 5W-20 bottle says that the oil should be used "ONLY" where manufactures recomend 5W-20 weight oils? Does Ford's statement that 5W-20 is "OK" with older Ford models qualify as a recommendation? I find the use of the word "only" to be interesting. Maybe there is nothing to it and repsents either a poor choice of words by Castrol or an over interpretation on my part. Any thoughts?
Why does Castrol 5W-20 have a warning?
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Kestas
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When you think about it, every grade of oil should carry this warning, so it is rather strange to see them specifically make this statement. I guess Castrol doesn't have the confidence some others may have with 5W-20 being a robust oil.
In today's civil law environment, corporations have to assume they will be successfully sued for anything they didn't warn you against, no matter how obvious it seems.
I believe mikemc hit the nail on the head. With all the fear and loathing about 5w20s on this forum of self proclaimed experts, just think how easy it would be for a slick attorney to convince a jury of laymen that oil manufacturers should of warned their client that the 5w20s on the shelves of Walmart should not of been used in his Ford PowerStroke diesel.
LOL! Not to mention all the confidence in and praise about 5W20s on this forum of self proclaimed experts...
I'm sure they put the warning there to keep idiots like me from putting the stuff in my VW 1.8T.
Jbas...the 5w20 UOA that are outstanding are the real experts...
A more correct statement would be: for engines that require substantially more viscous oils because of their design, a 5w20 may not offer the viscosity needed to protect all the engine components. Not all engines require more viscous oils to be properly protected.
The quote above sums it up nicely. It's really that simple, yet people keep having hissy fits over the subject. Unreal...
It amazes me how this 20wt debate has gone on for several years now....and still no engine failures to speak of. It also amazed me how dumb most people are when it comes to this topic.
Sounds to me like Castrol's leery about something that the EPA couldn't care less about. (When has government mandate ever been truly beneficial when it concerns technology issues? Challenger flew over the objections of the engineers.) For frequent traders off lease, the average owner won't have any trouble getting through the warranty period. "Several" years worth of UOAs mean nothing. I want to know what seven, eight, and beyond, years shows up. Japan is grudgingly accepting 5W-20 for fuel economy useage, but it's not their first choice. Europe and Australia want nothing to do with 5W-20. Are they all idiots? (apparently so...
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Asbestos worked perfectly fine for many years gentelmen, it was the technological solution to fireproofing and insulation of its time. The long term effects of exposure to it were not complettely understood until much later. That is the cynical side of technology. I am not saying that 20wts have any long term health effects or not but calling people names for being cynical about 5w20's is not productive. Just becasue it has shown good uoa's is not conclusive of anything. Many vehicles have shown great UOA's and failed soon afterwords to something that a UOA missed. The test group is also not representative since UOA's are normally done by those who take better than average care of their vehicles.
Keep arguing over 5w20 people and you look more and more foolish everyday.
Ray H--when did you start speaking for automakers in Japan, Europe, and Australia?
Moderator please step in!
Ray H--when did you start speaking for automakers in Japan, Europe, and Australia?
Moderator please step in!
That's good, safe advice. People should not generally put 20 weight oil in engines that don't call for 20 weight oils.
Jag...You comment reaks with common sense!
Havoline 5W20 has this same caution on the bottle.
Ok then, why doesn't M1 5W-20 have a warning?
Call Mobil and ask them. Seriously, a large majority of well meaning vehicle owners who are not as oil knowledgable as others are may not understand completely the dos and don'ts of oil selection and either through misguided ideas of trying to improve fuel economy or just thinking oil is oil or just not paying attention to what they are picking up, could end up using the wrong oil. This is why Castrol and others put warning labels on products and not just in the oil industry. It is basically CYA.
[ February 23, 2006, 03:02 PM: Message edited by: Frank D ]
[ February 23, 2006, 03:02 PM: Message edited by: Frank D ]
My Acura states 5w30 or higher ONLY. I'm sure 20wt would shear all to **** at 8000+ rpms. I concur with the manufacturer's recommendation. I personally would never use less wt than required, but I don't think there is anything wrong with going up a weight as long as there is a warrented reason.
i.e. Towing, racing, high temps, long hours of stop and go
FYI, I believe CAFE is crap, but until 20wt shows us something like the asbestos scenerio, I don't think there is a problem. Next thing you know, we'll be buying 5 quart jugs of WD40 for our engines.
i.e. Towing, racing, high temps, long hours of stop and go
FYI, I believe CAFE is crap, but until 20wt shows us something like the asbestos scenerio, I don't think there is a problem. Next thing you know, we'll be buying 5 quart jugs of WD40 for our engines.
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Today my wife was riding with me in my '06 Civic LX that I recently switched over to GC 0W-30. She has the same kind of car for her use. She asked me what I did to make mine smoother and quieter at cold startup. She then asked me when am I going to do that with her car.
For a long time she has driven cars for car rental companies. She has become very keen on picking up differences in how various cars operate. That helped her to notice the smoother and quiter idle on my car as we started out this morning.
The nasty remarks: They come only from a position of being weaker. That isn't needed or called for here. I'm not claiming 20s will damage an engine. I just want mine to last longer. In other countries other viscosities are approved for this car. Plus, I don't care what anyone else uses. And, I don't care what anyone thinks about what I use. I'm a big boy now and I decide for myself.
I know what is working better for me and my wife wants it for her car and it's going to get it.
For a long time she has driven cars for car rental companies. She has become very keen on picking up differences in how various cars operate. That helped her to notice the smoother and quiter idle on my car as we started out this morning.
The nasty remarks: They come only from a position of being weaker. That isn't needed or called for here. I'm not claiming 20s will damage an engine. I just want mine to last longer. In other countries other viscosities are approved for this car. Plus, I don't care what anyone else uses. And, I don't care what anyone thinks about what I use. I'm a big boy now and I decide for myself.
I know what is working better for me and my wife wants it for her car and it's going to get it.
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