Would you use 0W30 instead of 0W20?

If you're concerned run a high quality 0w20, like M1 0w20 EP. This is not a high performance engine, and where you're located you will benefit from the thinner oil, regardless if the 30 weight is 0w30, its still much thicker than an 0w20. I used kirkland dexos1g2 0w20 and the car runs fine here in SoCal. 0w20 is pretty standard now and full syn. It's not like 5w20 was born yesterday. I'm pretty sure the oiling system was changed with the switch to 0w20.
 
Last edited:
In what car? Both our vehicles have coolant/oil heat exchangers (common on most modern vehicles) and the oil gets up to temp right along with the coolant, which happens extremely quickly on the RAM and within about 10-15 minutes in the weather we have presently (cold) in the Jeep.
It's the same with my Chevy vehicles -- a maximum 15 minutes till full or nominal engine operating temperature in Alaska or Wisconsin in freezing or below freezing temps.

30 minutes? Maybe at -30 or -35 below zero...

Wow!
 
0w20 is pretty standard now and full syn. It's not like 5w20 was born yesterday. I'm pretty sure the oiling system was changed with the switch to 0w20.
The oiling system was changed when the oil spec was switched from 5W-20 to 0W-20 ? I doubt that, why would it have to be changed ?
 
The oiling system was changed when the oil spec was switched from 5W-20 to 0W-20 ? I doubt that, why would it have to be changed ?
I got mixed up with the other gm 1.5. LFV. That one changed to 0w20 from 5w30 in 2018. I thought I read something about changes to the oil system or oil cooling.
 
I'm going through an internal debate with myself about this subject. I have a 2021 Jeep Gladiator in which 0w-20 is recommended for the 3.6L engine. If this was just a street driven car I would just use the 0w-20 and not worry about it.

But, this Jeep does go off-road in the Nevada desert and also hauls a small travel trailer. Oil temps can get pretty warm. I can't help but think the extra protection of a 0w-30 or 5w-30 synthetic would not be a bad thing.

I ran 5w-30 in my JLU Wrangler which had the same engine. I never noticed a down side to using it.
 
I'm going through an internal debate with myself about this subject. I have a 2021 Jeep Gladiator in which 0w-20 is recommended for the 3.6L engine. If this was just a street driven car I would just use the 0w-20 and not worry about it.

But, this Jeep does go off-road in the Nevada desert and also hauls a small travel trailer. Oil temps can get pretty warm. I can't help but think the extra protection of a 0w-30 or 5w-30 synthetic would not be a bad thing.

I ran 5w-30 in my JLU Wrangler which had the same engine. I never noticed a down side to using it.
I wouldn't debate it too long. I'd run a good synthetic 0w30 or 5w30 and sleep well at night.
 
I'm going through an internal debate with myself about this subject. I have a 2021 Jeep Gladiator in which 0w-20 is recommended for the 3.6L engine. If this was just a street driven car I would just use the 0w-20 and not worry about it.

But, this Jeep does go off-road in the Nevada desert and also hauls a small travel trailer. Oil temps can get pretty warm. I can't help but think the extra protection of a 0w-30 or 5w-30 synthetic would not be a bad thing.

I ran 5w-30 in my JLU Wrangler which had the same engine. I never noticed a down side to using it.
I just purchased a 2021 Gladiator and at the 1500 mile oil change 5w-30 went in it and will remain I’m it till I get rid of it. It rarely gets below freezing where I am.
 
I would absolutely use a 0W-30 instead of a 0W-20. The problem is that good 0W-30 oils are hard to find, and they will become even harder to find. SOPUS just pulled Pennzoil/Quaker State LX 0W-30 from the US market. Other 0W-30 are either expensive, hard to find, or expensive and don't have any certifications. Why torture yourself? There are plenty of decent 5W-30 options out there.
 
Okay Folks, I have searched all over, and I didn't see this specific question addressed. (and forgive me for having already sort of explored this question in another person's posted question regarding mixing of the two grades.)

My 2019 Equinox (1.5L turbo engine) specs 0W20 oil. I really believe that 0W30 would be a better choice.
After way too many days of researching all over the 'ole interweb, I have concluded that 0W30 will afford better engine wear protection at normal engine operating temperatures.

Both of them have a "Winter" rating of "0", so until the engine reaches it's normal operating temperature both oil grades are essentially identical. However after the engine reaches normal operating temperature the pictures is quite different. The hot viscosity (100 degrees C) for the 0W20 is between 5.6 and 9.3 centistokes, and the 0W30 is between 9.3 and 12.5. And from all the research I've done, it appears that from a mechanical engineering standpoint, motor oil viscosity of about 10 or 11 cSt is ideal for the vast majority of automotive engines. -for at least the last 40 or 50 years.

For the American auto engines, 10W30 was pretty much the standard from about the 1970's through the 1990's, and then around 2000 5W30 became the norm. But now with the government fuel economy standards squeezing blood out of the industry and engine displacements getting very much smaller (and hopefully with more precisely controlled tolerances) the 0Wxx oils are apparently the new normal.

I find this fact quite interesting: When GM starting using these 1.5L turbo engines in 2016 the oil spec was 5W30. It seems to have magically changed to 0W20 in 2018. I have researched OEM GM part numbers for many of the internal engine parts used in these engines, especially the parts where oil clearances are critical. And from 2016 through at least 2019 the part numbers are identical. Looks to me like the popular reason/excuse given for switching from 30 weight hot to 20 weight being because of so-called tighter tolerances is -V--E--R--Y- questionable. How about this reason: C.A.F.E standards. -all striving for potential fractional increases in mpg.

Until I am shown differently, I am convinced that use of 0W20 is risking long-term engine wear protection.

Certainly, the cold temperature qualities of the the 0Wxx is no doubt a very good thing . On "cold start" the less viscous oil should reach the critical lubricated parts faster, and certainly have much better lubricating qualities than an oil that is way too thick. And granted, it is common knowledge that the majority of engine wear occurs at startup. But the actual wear protection value due to the very low viscosity value of a 20 weight oil when hot,,,, very questionable I'd say.
Maybe more wear hot, but less wear cold will balance out?? I suspect with 0W30 we can have less wear in total.

So, back to my opening question, given the facts before us, would you consider using 0W30 instead of 0W20?

Thanks to everyone reading this !! Looking forward to your comments.
Use what the engine tells you to use.
 
I've made several posts about my wife's 2011 Equinox, which drank oil until I concocted my own franken -brew. My reason for doing that was it using 1 qt every 750 miles, of the recommended 5-30 wt. If the OP's car isn't using oil like my wife's car was, I'd use what was originally called for by the factory.,,
 
No, I will not gamble on it. If it says on the owner's manual or the oil cap says 0W-20 that's what will I use.
 
No, I will not gamble on it. If it says on the owner's manual or the oil cap says 0W-20 that's what will I use.
Where's the "gamble" it's well established that the difference between 20 grade and resource conserving 30 grade is next to nill, the only way you'll damage an engine running oil thicker than specified is if you do something blatantly stupid like put straight SAE50 or 25W60 in a car in the dead of the northern winter and floor it hard while it's cold.
 
No, I will not gamble on it. If it says on the owner's manual or the oil cap says 0W-20 that's what will I use.
You will get a much wider swing in viscosity between morning and afternoon starting temps. I honestly don't think many people comprehend how much oil viscosity (even of multigrade) changes with variation in temp. The difference between a 20 and 30 Grade is miniscule in comparison.

As as long as the oil has the required pumpability for minimum temps and the required minimum HTHS for the engine design and oil temps I don't see it as a gamble at all.

Putting 40 Grade in your car in a Death Valley Summer or a 0W-20 in a car in a Wiseman AK winter is unlikely to be an issue just because a car has a 5W-20 or 5W-30 oil cap. My car says SJ on the oil cap and I don't use that either.
 
Back
Top