The Test Has Begun... 5w20 vs. 5w30.....

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Preface: There's no good way to study this as I can think of. Most of the "testimony" on this site is... "I was Using George's Ultra Super Oil" and then I switched to "Freds Magic Oil" and the car runs sooo much better..... Personally, I've found that I THINK the car runs better after changing Brand X to fresh Brand X out of the same case... As an involved subject, my opinion is clouded. If I was running a shop, there would be an ethics violation if I guinea pigged on clients... So here's what I came up with.

My Wife's daily driver... (2007 Escape) 86K... It's technically my truck. She's the only one that drives it. Like a smart lady, she lets me KNOW when it needs serviced. So.... THIS TIME, Instead of the 5w20 blend, I put the 5w30 blend in it. Same model/make filter and all. Only difference is the oil's "Grade". So not telling my wife, we'll see what happens.
 
Are you going to compare UOAs?

Are you going to compare oil pressure readings at startup, full warmed up, both at idle and at a fixed highway RPM using a reasonably accurate and stable gauge?

If its a wife nag-o-meter test, then what are we really learning that's any more controlled than ""I was Using George's Ultra Super Oil" and then I switched to "Freds Magic Oil" and the car runs sooo much better?"

My honest opinion is that even UOAs and oil pressure comparisons won't really pick up any difference between Xw30 and Xw20 on most cars. This is why I tend to trust the manufacturer recommendation- it takes a whole life-cycle test on each oil and then a teardown-and-measure test to see which is best, because the wear with EITHER is going to be vanishingly small.
 
My v-6 escape was run on 5w 30 from abut 30k to 155k not one issue,no difference in fuel economy. It will be fine.
 
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
My honest opinion is that even UOAs and oil pressure comparisons won't really pick up any difference between Xw30 and Xw20 on most cars. This is why I tend to trust the manufacturer recommendation- it takes a whole life-cycle test on each oil and then a teardown-and-measure test to see which is best, because the wear with EITHER is going to be vanishingly small.

IMO, this is a smart post.
 
usually even if the cap reccomends a 5w20 if you look inside the book it tells you ti pick an oil based on the tempurature outside...most reccomend at least 5w30 in warm climates and i have even seen 10w40 reccomended in the books for high heat tempuratures....I assure you using a 5w30 will not make a difference over the same 5w20 in fact I use them interchangably in my sonata that reccomends 20....I can get 30 FAR so thats what it has been seeing lately...however props on the test it truly will be impartial that way
 
Well, it's always nice to expand the boundaries... but this road has been travelled before.

The UOA will be a wash... unless you wife beats the mucus out of the Escape in hot weather. In normal driving the results will be similar, if not near identical considering it's the same. Also, any UOA results are not comparable unless you have some trends to average with either oil. In a scientific test, this first run would be invalid anyway because there was still 5W20 in the engine.

Overall, I predict it's going a wash. No gain. No loss. At least in the context of a daily driver. It's possible in a small engine spec'ed for a light oil one might see a small but noticeable mpg change (outside the usual margins for error found with the way people normally check mpg). I would predict a slight downtick if the Escape is driven short distances and never gets fully warmed up. If it's driven good and hot and has a short warmup, it will likely not show any downticks. That's how it usually works. A lot will depend on the actual viscometric differences between the two oils. Sometimes, despite being in different grades, one 5W20 can be pretty close to a 5W30 in actual viscosity. Also, we'll see how much the 5W30 shears over the OCI.
 
That is what we need to find out.

If it indeed is no or negligible difference, our test is a success.

If not, then our test is a success too!
 
Originally Posted By: 4x4chevydude
usually even if the cap reccomends a 5w20 if you look inside the book it tells you ti pick an oil based on the tempurature outside...


That's not the case with Ford. When they recommend 5W20, they recommend only it, point.
 
It's a nice idea but as has been pointed out the results will be a wash.
Since the vehicle is spec'd for a 5W-20 what advantage does a 5W-30 offer in theory? There is only one and that is protection of a higher viscosity when the oil is as hot as it ever gets.
So as 440Magnum pointed out you'll need at least an oil pressure and oil temp' gauge to see what maximum oil temp's were acheived and what the OP dropped to at the same time as well as the engine rpm and throttle position. Since you're running a grade heavier than spec' the test would be better if you were running a grade lighter than spec' as far as high temerature protection is concerned.

At the other temperature extreme, during cold start-up and running, your climate is not that extreme. There are tons of UOAs of members running heavier than spec' oil in the winter with no increased wear numbers. Again we're not talking extreme cold temp's and we're likely talking about normal engine operation; i.e., no full throttle racing of the engine when cold.

The only thing with your experiment that you'll possibly notice is a slight drop in fuel economy.
 
I don't think I've used the same grade in consecutive oil changes on any of my cars in at least the past 2 years.
 
I'm not going to spend any money on a UOA. I'm not out to "prove" anything.

I usually hear things like "so much quieter", "more power", "Better acceleration"....

I don't think any of this is going to happen... I don't think the vehicle is going to show any sort of difference. I have plenty of 5w20 on the shelf.. since I own 3 Fords.. so I figured I'd use the 5w30 to see if she "feels" any difference. I've not said anything except, "Oil Change Done".... so I'll wait for any feedback. If I get NONE, I'll ask for some in a week or so... and admit to using the oil from the "Big Buy" I made at the Bargain Warehouse. She was with me when I bought it.. over 100 bottles.

I'm suspecting there will not be a difference in the driver's opinion.

I used to run my 01 Ford on 5w30 before 5w20 was easy to get... never got any ill effects from it, and I didn't "feel" anything different when moving over to 5w20 that I recall.

This isn't science... just having a little fun.
 
I had a Mazda6 which required 5w-20.
Once after a Mobil1 full synthetic oil change at the Mobil1 station, the car did not quite have that "pep" as I drove out. So I turned around and asked the Mobil1 guy what oil he put in. He replied "Mobil1 5w-30".

nuf said about the difference about 5w-20 and 5w-30.

By the way, engine in the Mazda6 is a Mazda tuned version of the Ford Duratec
 
Sorry, but some of the replies to these type of discussions make me laugh. Done mechanic work most of my life and have NEVER been able to use a but-o-meter to tell ANY difference. Also even if you keep tabs on fuel economy, there will be no repeatable results that show differences between 20 and 30wt. The only recordable difference is the driver.

Could be it's just that I live down on the gulf coast(no winter to speak of). If you guys up north notice a bigger difference in COLD temps, then I might understand a bit. The same goes for dino /syn, done it enough times.
 
That a bunch Bull!!!!
crazy.gif
 
chiks said:
I had a Mazda6 which required 5w-20.
Once after a Mobil1 full synthetic oil change at the Mobil1 station, the car did not quite have that "pep" as I drove out. So I turned around and asked the Mobil1 guy what oil he put in. He replied "Mobil1 5w-30".

nuf said about the difference about 5w-20 and 5w-30.

That a bunch of Bull!!!!!!!!!!! maybe 40 or 50 weight oil, My wife say the car seen to be faster after i wash it
crazy.gif
 
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Originally Posted By: SwampDweller
Sorry, but some of the replies to these type of discussions make me laugh. Done mechanic work most of my life and have NEVER been able to use a but-o-meter to tell ANY difference. Also even if you keep tabs on fuel economy, there will be no repeatable results that show differences between 20 and 30wt. The only recordable difference is the driver.

Could be it's just that I live down on the gulf coast(no winter to speak of). If you guys up north notice a bigger difference in COLD temps, then I might understand a bit. The same goes for dino /syn, done it enough times.


I would tend to agree with this... THUS, I wanted to try the different oil on someone who didn't know there was a change. I think most of these "Miracle Cures" are placebo. I.E. My car runs sooo much better with MoS2 but only the German kind.... Umm.. Ok... whatever. I wanted to know if someone who isn't thinking about their motors every time they start them would even notice a thing.

My wife is mindful of her vehicle, and will ask me to check it if there's anything irregular... so she's a good test subject.

No report today of any Truck issues....
 
Hmm... Interesting.

Today while putting the lawn mower away, I was talking to my wife about what work I need to do MY car.... and......she says

"After you did the oil change on my truck, it runs kind of different"... the way she worded it, sounded like a less zealous acceleration. On the flip side, I thought it was running awesome when I drove it today, since she got the junk gas out of it, and put in some high test.

This proves a whole lot of nothing, but it's interesting that she "felt a change"... I really didn't think I'd hear any comments at all... hmm

Well, next go round, I'll go back to 5w20, and see if there's a new report of anything.

I have no concerns about that oil in the engine, but I suppose it is plausible the the truck feels a little different with the different oil in it.
 
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