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0-30 weight vs 05-30 weight engine oil
I live in PR, hot all year long! is it feasible to use 05-30 vs the recommended 0-30 engine oil?
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Answers
Engine oils are tested in Yuma Arizona where it can go over 120f. When a manufacturer selects a viscosity range they take a lot of different factors into consideration. High ambient temperatures do not have a significant impact on the engine oil, but high engine loads do. Cold ambient temperatures are far more important when it comes to start-up requirements.
It's unlikely you can substitute a 0W30, for a 5W30 in North America unless you are very specific about additional approvals for a given product. The typical 0W30 that you are going to find will be the European specification ACEA A3/B3, A3/B4 and would be "too thick" for a Toyota. The majority of the 5W30s that you will find in North America are going to meet the majority of Toyota's vehicle line by viscosity, but might not otherwise provide the best protection.
BTW a 0W30 that is ACEA A3/B4 approved would be much thicker than a 10W30, and no that is NOT a misprint.
Why not just use the oil type/weight recommended in the manual? That's all I've ever done and I've lived in AK and NM - there's a 130 degree temp swing there, easy.
Hmmmmmmm ?????
0W - 30 is a thinner oil then 10W - 30.
The "W" stands for winter grade, thus, an engine with a certain operating temperature range has a specific viscosity range requirement also. If you are operating in a very low temp (cold) surroundings, you need a very low viscosity grade, such that you require a 0W-30 than a 10W-30. On the other hand, if you are operating at a "hotter" environment, you require a 10W-30 or higher to maintain sufficient viscosty to lubricate your engine.
An XW30 weight oil that meets the N.A. (North American) standard has to be between 9.3 and 12.5 low shear kinematic (cST) at 100C and simply needs to be greater than 2.9 cP at 150C. By adding the ACEA approval A3/B3, A3/B4 it will have the same low shear kinematic 9.3 to 12.5 cST at 100C but must be greater then 3.5cP at 150C, which is higher than an SAE 40W which has the same greater than 2.9cP as an SAE 30 weight.(N.A.)
The 0W, 5W, and 10W designations are based on cranking and pumping requirements at sub 0 temperatures and are completely separate form the straight weight requirements. That's why GM and Ford approvals make for an engine oil that would meet an SAE 5W30 standard be as thin as if not thinner than a 5W20.
What this means is that some 5W30s are thinner than some 5W20s while some are thicker than 10W40.
But not so in CA, AZ, TX, FL, PR
consumerreports.org/cro/news/2015/07/when-should-you-consider-synthetic-oil/index.htm
And the one in EU is a engineered artificial oil ?
Oil is a good example of one of those subjects where the more you know, the less you know. The tribologists don't agree with each other, much less motorheads.
All the more reason to use the recommended oil in your manual, especially during the warranty.
Steve has seen this discussion more times than he wants to remember already, the problem is for every one person that has studied this and is beginning to understand it there are tens of thousands who believe they know all about it but have had no formal training.
There is something that I tell shops and techs when I present the engine oil class. When everyone knows how to choose the correct products for the car they are working on, and only buys those they will easily find the correct products on the parts store shelves. Until that time, the oil companies will continue to sell people what ever they will buy. That is something that is reflected by Valvoline's stance of not having heir products getting the GM dexos approval back in 2011 when it became the requirement, but they have gone back on their position and now have approved products. That BTW puts the emphasis on what Steve wrote "All the more reason to use the recommended oil in your manual, especially during the warranty" and that doesn't mean just the SAE viscosity.
Don't know, but my guess is that most all synthetics on the shelves are based on "crude oil" as their base stock. You crack the crude, and send some of the ethylene or whatever downstream for further refining or manipulation.
I do try to buy the right "weight".
Like very thin oils like 0W- 20 even in hot states when actually that oil is too thin for high tempretures unless it is synthetic.
Most new engines have very tight tolerances so thicker oil will reduce the MPG due to more friction.
I don't bother about warranty. I do oil changes with thinner oils like 0W-20 in PA winters and 5W-30 in summer.
For summer : amazon.com/gp/product/B003FMGSZQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
For winter : http://www.amazon.com/Liqui-Moly-2208-Special-0W-20/dp/B013JMM0BM/ref=pd_sbs_263_22?ie=UTF8&dpID=51XgSEqnHOL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR129,160_&refRID=1NGXET3AY0SX533ZJA45
Those in hot states would do better using 5W-30 all year round.
I use 0W-20 in Pennsylvania winter and 5W-30 in summer. Oil changes done in November and June.
BTW I'm based in Pa. and my career has me traveling all over the eastern US. By simply choosing the correct 5W20 I'm good to go whether I'm headed to Maine or Florida. There is no reason to switch to any other grade.