Quickie: 0w20 vs 5w20 / 5w30
 

Hey guys, I have a quick one here and searching isn't really giving anything concrete.

Other than less efficiency is there any issue in running a 5wXX? - especially in a climate like mine where it gets very cold. (I use a block heater / properly warm up the car in the winter)

The other thing too - I change my oil and filter more frequently than most people and it gets extremely expensive when using premium 0wXX oils as they are typically 30-40 % more expensive than a comparable 5wXX of otherwise equal specification.

I think the only real negative you will see is slightly less mileage per gallon.

I'm running Pennzoil Ultra 5w-30.. no problems for me.

Shouldn't be an issue. Here's a article I found that's sorta related.
http://www.smartsynthetics.com/articles/5w20oil.htm

Thanks kindly for the link. Very interesting.

edit: as much as it is another brutal Amsoil marketing session .. the info is good.

But what if you drive somewhere and park for a few hours? Do you take your block heater with you? :D I would rather be using a 0W-20 than a 5W-20 in the middle of winter. Does Canada allow 7,500 mile oil intervals?

Check bobistheoilguy for oil sales. They have a forum just for oil sales and there are a lot of Canucks there.

-Dennis

You know what a block heater is right?

Anyways, this is the first vehicle I have owned that has ever wanted 0w20 oil. My previous daily driver was a Mazda 3 (2004 2.3L) and it behaved well all winter long even in some more of what you would consider extreme temperatures. I used 5w30 or Castrol 0w30 in it .. however the 0w30 led to some SEVERE oiling issues later on and I went back to a better oil.

Also, I don't allow a 7,500 mile interval myself. I typically change between 3,500 and 5,000 (max) miles and am very anal about using a good oil filter - which usually gets changed more frequently than the oil.

Isn't the difference usually that 0w oils are synthetic and 5w-20 and 30 tend to be non-synthetic? If you get synthetic supposedly you don't need to change your oil as much :iono:

I agree, Amsoil vendors can't be pretty mercenary. With that said, I've always loved their products. I used to use Red Line, then went to Amsoil for most of our vehicles. But, on the motorcycles I used Motul too. Still can't beat the Redline Water Wetter either. So, I'm pretty flexible on brands as long as they're reputable.

For the BRZ I'm thinking I'll go with the Motul Package and maybe add Water Wetter if it looks like I'll need it.

I was going to run water wetter but I can't get my FR-S to over-heat anyways haha.

All I'm running is a Blitz rad-cap which isn't much

Yes. :D

Maybe the 0W-30 German Castrol was too thick. It has a High Temp High Shear similar to 40 weights and the viscosity is on the upper range of a 30 weight (almost a 40 weight). It's a very good oil made from PAO base stocks, unlike the rest of the N. American Castrol range.

A 5W-20 and 5W-30 can be made conventional or synthetic. A 0W-20 is only synthetic and is usually made with better synthetic base stocks than the same brand 5W-20. The 0W-20 will be thinner at start-up and have a lower cold cranking viscosity while having a similar viscosity at operating temp.

One way to get an idea of differences in actual oil viscosity is go to the oil company web site and get the 100C and 40C kinematic viscosites, and plug those numbers into a viscosity chart. http://www.widman.biz/English/Calculators/Graph.html
Changing the temp to -18C, which is close to 0F, you can see the viscosity difference for that temp.

As an example, Mobil 1 0W-20 is 1,740 cst's at -18C/0F and the 5W-20 is around 1,231 cst's. At 57C/135F the viscosity is within to centistokes of each other. Of course, this all changes if you're using a block heater. And your battery also plays a huge part in how easily your car starts in winter. Probably more than 0W20 vs 5W20.

-Dennis

For the first oil change at 2300 miles, I used 5w20 penzoil platinum.

For my second oil change at 3800 miles, I used 5w30 Quaker State ultimate durability 100% synthetic.

No problem so far.

I store my car for the winter season so no big deal for the thicker viscosity when cold.

Because we often drive our car harder then a straight car I prefer to use a thicker viscosity oil when the engine is hot.

A W30 oil over a W20 cannot hurt the engine but will help protect it better against high heat stress.

I was thinking to run 5w50 full-syn oil. as over here the weather is all year 30degC & high humid ~70%. a 0w20 oil may not be good for heat stress. also once I run in & familiar w/ the car will bring it to track too.

PS: Do need oil temp & press, water temp gauge to monitor it.

I changed from 0w-20 to 5w-40 and noticed a quite dramatic increase in fuel consumption. Dropped it after a week and tried 5w-30 which is still in there and better but still almost 10% higher fuel consumption. These are fully synthetic oils at the higher end of the viscosity range.
When it goes in for the first service it will get 0w-20 fully synthetic again and hopefully get back to the earlier figures.

That loss of economy must also translate to a loss in power.

It needs fully synthetic because mineral oil cant handle the high oil temperatures this engine generates.

A 5W-50 is way too thick and 30C isn't that hot. If you want something good for the street and track, I would use a robust 0W-20 like Motul 300V.

-Dennis