What is the lowest temp you all would use 20w50

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When I was a teenager, I ran 20W50 in my car year round. Winter days (in Florida) could see a 32 degree day every now and then. Oil pressure was pegged at over 100 psi until the car warmed up. Had a high volume/hi pressure oil pump on that engine as well, which was overkill. Never did blow anything up.
 
As long as the weather isn't below freezing regularly, there wouldn't be much issue with using it. From what I understand, a lot of the Californian BMW E30 owners run the stuff year-round.

Here in Australia, it has been a reasonably popular oil to use as well, along with 15w40.
 
I ran an 82 Toyota 22r back in the 80's I only used 20w-50 as that was what we always used when I lived in the UK.
The coldest days were about -15c. I had no problems. Only the grear selection was stiff.

That engine ran for 500k without a major rebuild before I gave the truck away.
 
I ran 20W-50 year round in a few different cars when I lived in Rothenburg: '98 Rover Mini, '92 750i, '86 Cabriolet, and E220D all got 20W-50. They started year round everywhere from the Austrian Alps to Berlin and Warsaw. Never had what I would consider a lubrication issue.
 
Hundreds of thousands of Australians (including myself) have used it with no issues whatsoever down to around -10C.

My Caprice (L67 3.8) specs 20W50, with 15W40 for "prolonged use in cold conditions"...I don't use either, sticking to 10W30 or 5W30 A3/B4.

In my Camira (J Car), not long after joining BITOG, I ran a winter on 25W70, just to prove that sub freezing, things still don't blow up with 20W
 
20W-50 is recommended for a lot of vehicles here, available everywhere, you can pick some up when you get some milk. BMW recommend 20W-50 for my motorcycle down to minus 10 C, I've run it in -4C, easy to start and runs as per normal.
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Hundreds of thousands of Australians (including myself) have used it with no issues whatsoever down to around -10C.

My Caprice (L67 3.8) specs 20W50, with 15W40 for "prolonged use in cold conditions"...I don't use either, sticking to 10W30 or 5W30 A3/B4.

In my Camira (J Car), not long after joining BITOG, I ran a winter on 25W70, just to prove that sub freezing, things still don't blow up with 20W


That is wild. Same engine here would be running 5w30.
 
I've used 20W-50 from about -5C to +45C without problems. To be honest, I didn't know there was any other grade of oil for years.
 
I had Valvoline conventional in my car one winter morning at -7F. Started right up as soon as I turned the key. Purring smooth as a happy kitty,smooth as silk.
 
The grade is far from obsolete as most would have it deemed. Petro-Canada just rolled out a new 20W50 Duron HDEO last summer.
I have a hankerin' to try it out in my now obsolete Duramax LML.
I might as well face it.... I'm addicted to oil pressure.
 
I used it in a 1988 Caprice Estate wagon with the 307 Olds V-8 in Buffalo winters. Always fired up no issues and it did slow consumption after the engine was torched by a poor quick-lube job.
 
People think 20W-50 Turns solid at anything below freezing , it's not THAT thick.... i'd be comfortable down to around -5 or -10c , ( around 15 or 20 degrees Farenheit ) , this is assuming you mean a Dino 20w50 , a full syn 20w50 could go a bit lower probably.
I was at a friend's house in the mountains last winter and during a cold snap we had a couple of nights where temps went as low as -12c which is very odd here , i had 20W50 dino in the sump and after pumping the gas a few times it fired up ok.
 
Considering your title says you live in the Caribbean who cares haha. Kidding of course. 20w-50 you don't see around too much anymore. At least not in New England. I just changed my oil yesterday and used 15w-40. That is a little easier to find. It was around 42 this morning and it started like a champ. I know Rotella 15w-40 goes down to -4F which is fine for me. Gets any colder and I wont be going into work anyways
 
Originally Posted By: FordCapriDriver
People think 20W-50 Turns solid at anything below freezing , it's not THAT thick.... i'd be comfortable down to around -5 or -10c , ( around 15 or 20 degrees Farenheit ) , this is assuming you mean a Dino 20w50 , a full syn 20w50 could go a bit lower probably.
I was at a friend's house in the mountains last winter and during a cold snap we had a couple of nights where temps went as low as -12c which is very odd here , i had 20W50 dino in the sump and after pumping the gas a few times it fired up ok.


Depends on many things and the engine in which I am running it.

I wouldn't run it in anything but extreme (100+ air temps) in my Jeep 4.0, for example. Those engines are known for having weak oil pumps as it is - combine heavy oil with something around 0F and I'm not sure it would lubricate properly.
 
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