I realize the manufacture-recommended viscosity is 5w-30 (2004 eco), but bear with me. This stuff caught my eye because of its green packaging and claim of increased efficiency while maintaining the protection of 5w-30/10w-30. There are quite a few different viscosities out there that are new OEM or claim to increase efficiency, such as 0w-20 and 5w-20, but this one claims to maintain factory standars of 5w-30 and 10w-30, as I mentioned above.
I change the oil and put it in the car last night - I have no doubt that is will be safe to use, but I'm curious about what others think on the efficiency gains. My current set up gets 31-32mpg very consistently. For refernce, I put 3000 mi on the car in the past month and it has not gotten outside of 30-34mpg. I'll run this stuff and see if there is any change from average and of course Im not expecting miracles. Unfortunately the weather is getting warmer, so mpg will increase a bit from winter, skewing the results. I may have to run this weight for a couple months.
Let me know what you think or if youve already tried it.
I would never use any lower viscosity than what the manufactur suggests. I would have no confidence in it to protect like 5w or 10w.
the w stand for winter in which you should be fine with 0w since the 0 only stands for the viscosity of the oil is when started up. The lower the number like 0w is reall good in the winter since it isn't as thick as 5w when cold. There for the oil will get through the block quick because not being as thick. but the 30 is the viscosity and as you can tell 5w- 30 and 0w 30 have the same viscosity. Which viscosity takes affect when up to operating temps. They are booth the same cept 0w being thinner for better oiling in cold start ups. You won't see any type of gain from a 0w-30 to 5w-30 when driving since the viscosity is the same unless going to a synthetic. Which you would since going to mobil 1.
Even though if it was me i would run 5w when temps are say above 80 85 outisde and in the winter run 0w but you will be fine either way.
the w is weight not winter. the lower the number before the w, the thinner the oil. if you got any oil leak and you use something labeled 0w its gonna go in those leaks like water. you dont want to run a thinner oil in the winter, that will cause it to freeze up,(or at least have the chance to) they mention this in drivers ed.
the oil isn't graded like that. like 5w 30 when cold is not 35 the first one number is the viscosity when could and the last is the viscosity under normal heat. The use additive and such to make it work like that if you just have say 30 weight it is the same all around.
http://www.upmpg.com/tech_articles/motoroil_viscosity/
so you're saying when 5 w 30 is cold it is only 5 weight...
i'm not trying to dis or nothing atleast you didn't argue about what the w stands for but it isn't grade like that at all is all i'm saying. It is thinner than the last number at start up.
ive always been told its thicker at startup... which is why ford and honda switched to 5w20 so that thinner oil reaches the top as quick as possible...
I got bad information and I'm sorry. Not meaning to offend
Interesting thougts - I already understood what the viscosity ratings stood for though...
My car has 40k miles and has always had mobile1 5w-30, at least according to the prevoius owner. I HAS had it since 27k when i got it.
I don't think that 0w-30 will be more prone to leak compared to 5w-30 simply on the assertion of viscosity alone... If you have a leak already at 40k miles somethings effed up.
After the first hundred miles, nothing seems different, nor did I expect it, and there are certainly no new leaks. I put it through several full throttle/redline sprints as well
sounds good... let me know how it works out ...
i was thinking about switching up to 10W30... i have nearly 40 k on the motor, but i have the LD9 2.4 DOHC and the oil pumps are known to be suckish... so imma switch that out with a melling pump first...
This time of year a "0W" oil won't be as helpful for your economy as it will in the colder months. I've used Amsoil's 0W30 a few times in the winter in my car. I didn't necessarily find a great improvement in economy at all (it always does very well anyway, and always slightly worse in colder weather of course), but it satisfies me to know that the oil is going to be flowing as quickly as possible when my engine starts. I live less than half a mile to the freeway entrance, so I want to make sure that the oil is flowing properly before getting up to highway speed.
I've currently got 213,000km on my 2002 with no oil consumption issues, so I wouldn't worry about the thinner cold weight causing any problems. Definitely stay with a 30 though - GM hasn't made that jump to 20 weight yet, and there are probably reasons. From what I've read, using a XW20 would
probably be okay, but I think that your route using the 0W is the way to go if you're trying to squeeze a little more economy out of it.
Somebody else mentioned that Mobil, Amsoil, etc. are the only
true synthetic products out there now. Even those companies are using different blends of class 4 (that
real stuff and class 3 (oil based) base stocks in some of their oils. This may only be important if you're trying to go for extra long drain intervals, so don't worry yourself too much over it. Many of the "not really synthetic" synthetic oils do very well in wear tests, as do many of the current regular "dino" oils. Although I'm sure that synthetic products still can outperform conventional ones, I think that the performance gap has narrowed over the last few years with the improvements that have been made to the everyday stuff.
In general, if your engine "likes" it, then stick with it. I've found with mine that it seems to be fussier about what brand of gas I put in more than what color the oil bottle is. I just use the synthetic in the winter because I know that it
should be better for it. With the exception of the very first oil change, I've never cleaned anything off of the magnetic drain plug that began to resemble metallic filings. A light blackish residue is about all I ever see, so I don't expect that wear is an issue yet. We'll have to see what another 100,000 or so km does to it... maybe even 200,000 if I'm lucky!
There is much incorrect information in some of the above posts. A 5W30 oil is 'thin' like a 5 weight oil but 'thickens' to 30 weight as the engine reaches operating temperature. See
BobIsTheOilGuy forum for more than you ever wanted to know about oils and lubricants.
Oh for christs sakes...... the W does NOT stand for winter. it stands for weight.
SAE 5w30 breaks down like this (its a variable viscosity oil)
SAE stands for Society of Automotive Engineers
5 stands for the viscosity of the oil (above freezing or room temp) which means that it's 5 times as thick as water... it's the base weight for the oil
W stands for weight
30 = the hotter the oil gets from being in a running engine... the higher the viscosity needs to be.... so the viscosity changes the warmer it gets (sort of) basically 5w30 oil is still 5 weight... but it will act like 30 weight when warm enough...... obviously its not 30 times thicker then water @ 200+ degrees.... but it will be roughly as thick as straight 30 weight oil would be at those temps..... basically.... the higher the 2nd number.... the less the oil thins out from heat.
0w30 oil isn't any thicker than water at room temperatures.... or in the engine when running... I'de be afraid of it.
hmm i guess i should be calling mobil and ask them why their training manual says WINTER instead of Weight...
after re-reading it (for the first time in 4 years)... i was wrong with the addition thing... it is cold to warm viscosity measure (5 cold to 30 warm)
but it does say WINTER... this is coming from MOBIL, the oil company... i'd give them the highest amount of credit on the subject
All this confusion about engine oil weight, the truth is that lubrication engineers still need to
do more of what Mobil is doing....
Make that oil more fluid during extremely cold weather...
Mobil gets a great big thanks for what they've aleady done....
OK.... Mobil can say the W stands for whatever they want..... but at one time... the W did stand for weight.... and in my mind... it still does.
Thickness and viscosity are not the same thing.. buy are related. To be honest.... it's freaking confusing.
As far as Mobil making oil stay more fluid at cold temps.... thats interesting... I didn't know that.
I put a cup of Castrol full synthetic and a cup of regular Castrol Oil (10w30) in the freezer overnight and when I took them out they where the same thickness. (about the same as STP oil treatment at room temp) and that was only about 30 degrees farenheight. Just think of how thick your oil gets when you live someplace that gets below zero in the winter. So as far as castrol goes anyway.... they are lying about the cold weather durability thing (although it might thin out faster IDK)
I should buy a quart of Mobil 1 and see what it does. If there telling the truth... I might start running it in the winter.
Castrol isnt a true synthetic... it used to be... but when the regulations changed about 15 years ago as to what is allowed to be in synthetic oil to still be synthetic, castrol jumped on the band wagon. Their synthetic is now made from Oil Stocks.
a good test is to get a hot plate... pour a little bit of mobil 1, and a little of bit of any other synthetics (besides amsoil and purple)... now see what the mobil 1 is doing while the other oil is catching fire.... the mobil should just be chilling there... Its flash point is nearly 460 degrees Fahrenheit
another test is the degreaser test... mix a little bit of oil with degreaser (except Purple Power since its purple to begin with)... true synthetic oils will turn purple when mixed with degreaser... non synthetics will not change color.
The very best thing you can do is put what belongs, reg or syn, your choice, but really the owners manual already tells you what has been decided best for your motor.
Ok, I did have it all straight in my head, but after reading this everything is in the air.
So let's get this straight
5w30
10w30
Both oils start at different thicknesses, but once warm are the same. Now which one is better for winter, the 5 or the 10. The thinner one would be better right? ie 5w30 is better than 10w30 in subzero (Celcius) or sub 32 (farenheit).
Also, I understand the second number means it takes the viscous properties of that number. But really what is the difference. Lets use 10w30 and 10w40 as an example, why would you pick one or the other?
The truth about the W wrote:
The weights given on oils are arbitrary numbers assigned by the S.A.E. (Society of Automotive Engineers). These numbers correspond to "real" viscosity, as measured by several accepted techniques. These measurements are taken at specific temperatures. Oils that fall into a certain range are designated 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 by the S.A.E. The W means the oil meets specifications for viscosity at various low temperatures depending on weight, and is therefore suitable for Winter use. 5W is tested at -25C, 10W at -20C, 15W at -15C, and 20W at -10C.
So the W does not mean weight, and it also doesn't mean winter. It means its certified for winter use. The numbers are actually weights (more accurately viscosity). The lower the number the less viscous the oil is, the higher the number the more viscous the oil is. When oil is cold, it IS thick and it does NOT flow as well (a property of almost any fluid, as it gets closer to the "solid" state it gets thicker, the same is even true with water). The W rating is the lowest viscosity that the oil will achieve down to its lowest certified rating (see quote above), and the second number is the highest viscosity that the oil will achieve when warm (prior to the oil breaking down).
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^^^ thats a pretty good way of explaining it.... I understand how it works in my head... put when I try to put it into words I tend to have a problem.
I usually run synthetic 5w40 in my car instead of 5w30 just for the added protection incase the engine gets hotter than normal (summer time while in the city mainly)
and people give me crap for it... but going by what you said... what I'm doing makes sense.
Either way..... for the OP...... don't put anything in your car with a lower viscosity rating than your car is designed for.... run 5w30 or 5w40...... you can even get away with 10w30 (i've done it)..... put dont put 0w anything in your car.
Since where on the subject of oil.... I've always used Castrol Full Synthetic on my car.... but if what people are saying is true... maybee I should change.
Every source I've checked says Royal Purple is pretty much the best oil on the planet.... anyone know if thats true? I've been wanting to try it but nobody stocks it around here.... I might have to order it.
The NAPA and AutoZones stocks purple around here... NAPA also stocks AmsOil
Purple is EXPENSIVE though, which is why i don't run it...
5w40 is a little thick? i would think the 40 weight would eventually gum up the oil passages... (unless you're boosted... the turbo chews up the oil quicker so the higher weight is better)
10w30 is fine and recommended for higher mileage engines (that prefer 5w30) due to over time the passages become a little worn...
Also 40 weight oil is becoming obsolete (with the exceptions of diesels) almost no manufacture still uses it in new vehicles
First tank of gas through shows no dramatic improvement - 33mpg. It may be all in my head, but it seems more composed on cooler mornings, meaning it starts like its warmed up and settles into idle more quickly.
I'm probably going to be a bit more controlled about this comparison and try it again in the winter when temps do not vary so drastically. There have been +/- 20 degrees difference over the past two tanks of gas and that could easily account for milage fluctuations.
LOL, I didnt know this would turn into a debate on what viscosity ratings mean