5w-20 or 5w-30
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5w-20 or 5w-30
I been reading lots of articles about engine oil on 5w-20, and says that 5w-20 could make engine last short in the long run due to its a thin oil. I have 03 civic ex, manual and i use 5w-20 castrol gtx. Does any one have any opinion on this ? how much of a 5w-30 oil will make a difference ?
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Thinner oil shouldn't make your engine life shorter, infact I've always heard the opossite, as long as the engine doesn't eat the oil and you start running low.
I don't really suggest moving to a thicker oil, I did that once and blew the head gasket, I don't think you will blow a gasket by putting 5 w30 in, but I still would just stick with what you are doing, it what I do (same oil) and have taken many classes on this oil viscosity and stuff like this, believe me you won't hurt anything as long as you engine isn't consuming more than 1 quart per oil change
I don't really suggest moving to a thicker oil, I did that once and blew the head gasket, I don't think you will blow a gasket by putting 5 w30 in, but I still would just stick with what you are doing, it what I do (same oil) and have taken many classes on this oil viscosity and stuff like this, believe me you won't hurt anything as long as you engine isn't consuming more than 1 quart per oil change
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Rep Power: 424 Bleh, 5-20 is like ****. I've run 5-30 since the second change, the car runs smoother and cooler (the fact that its synthetic probably helps too). Synthetic tends to be a little thinner than the number suggests, so 5-30 syn is probably like 5-27 Dino Juice. Either way, it won't matter, I'll take the extra heat protection. There's guys who track K20s using 10-40. The engine doesn't care as long as its kept cool.
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Rep Power: 311 I use Honda 5w-20 with a Honda filter. Its about 15 bucks an oil change with my discount from buying my car there. Thicker oil means the engine and oil pump have to work harder.
I use 5w-20 in the winter because its a thinner oil and when the engine has to crank from a cold start its a little less stress on the engine since the oil is thin.
when its hot (summer) i use 5W-30 because its thicker and when the car is under high temperatures the oil doesnt become as thin and gives the engine a little extra protection.
both either one should be fine year around
when its hot (summer) i use 5W-30 because its thicker and when the car is under high temperatures the oil doesnt become as thin and gives the engine a little extra protection.
both either one should be fine year around
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Rep Power: 0 I've run nothing but dino 5W-20 - in fact just now finished changing the oil - my 01 LX now has 107,690 miles and is running great. I've heard the BS on various forums about 5W-20 being inferior. Never seen , heard or read any real proof based on engine oil analysis and/or engine wear studies where critical parts were measured after extended use of 5W-20. I'll continue using the conventional 5W-20 and see you at 200,000 miles.
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Rep Power: 319 I justposted this couple of days ago in a different thread, but I'll copy and paste it here too... But there where people on that thread running 10w-50, 5w-30 isn't that bad, but isn't going to be great idea...
"A turboed car should always be using a top end full synthetic oil. Reasons:
1. A turbo produces lots of heat, and the oil sokes the heat up
2. Oil breaks down when heat is exposed to it, sythetic oil last longer than organic oil when exposed to heat
Conitinue to use 5w-20,
1. 5w-20 is light and our engines are NOT designed to use a heavier oil (particually the piston rings) USing a heavier oil will not allow the oil to penatrate into all the ring section, this means your ring will not get the proper luberaction and you will have metal rings rubbing on metal cylinder walls, now this is not a fast process as only small fraction of the rings get exposed, but you WILL cause premature ware on the internals of you engine. Not to mention that if you go to thick, the pump won't pump the oil and then you won't have oil on the top end of you engine, hence a you will devlope a blown head gasket (I know all this from experience)
2. Using a heavier oil will also rob you of power. In the engine oil pan, the crank hit your oil and splashes it up on to the cylinder walls (no civic's don't have a dry sump oil injection system or any fancy stuff). This means the crank has to go through the oil, you can relate this to waving your hand in air and then putting it in water and doing the same thing, it will be harder to move your hand in the water, right? Now put your hand in the crisco do move it around, it's going to be really hard right? Well the thick the oil becomes, the hard the crank has to push to go through the oil, hence the less power that get to you tires and the worse MPG you get. I know that 5w-20 and 10w-30 don't seem to make a big difference, but remeber 1. that your crank is hitting this oil at 2,000-7,000 time a minute and 2. that the properties of oil change the harder you hit it (it called historiesis).
So how come people didn't just use 5w-20 to start with back in the '50 and '60's? the same reason we don't use a 0w-10 now. If you use to light of an oil, it will seep past the ring and into the combution chamber. This really isn't to bad for you engine, but you catalytic converter and oxygen sensors won't like, not to mention you won't pass any type of emmisions check. The type of oil you use is directly related to the tolerances with in the the engine.
"A turboed car should always be using a top end full synthetic oil. Reasons:
1. A turbo produces lots of heat, and the oil sokes the heat up
2. Oil breaks down when heat is exposed to it, sythetic oil last longer than organic oil when exposed to heat
Conitinue to use 5w-20,
1. 5w-20 is light and our engines are NOT designed to use a heavier oil (particually the piston rings) USing a heavier oil will not allow the oil to penatrate into all the ring section, this means your ring will not get the proper luberaction and you will have metal rings rubbing on metal cylinder walls, now this is not a fast process as only small fraction of the rings get exposed, but you WILL cause premature ware on the internals of you engine. Not to mention that if you go to thick, the pump won't pump the oil and then you won't have oil on the top end of you engine, hence a you will devlope a blown head gasket (I know all this from experience)
2. Using a heavier oil will also rob you of power. In the engine oil pan, the crank hit your oil and splashes it up on to the cylinder walls (no civic's don't have a dry sump oil injection system or any fancy stuff). This means the crank has to go through the oil, you can relate this to waving your hand in air and then putting it in water and doing the same thing, it will be harder to move your hand in the water, right? Now put your hand in the crisco do move it around, it's going to be really hard right? Well the thick the oil becomes, the hard the crank has to push to go through the oil, hence the less power that get to you tires and the worse MPG you get. I know that 5w-20 and 10w-30 don't seem to make a big difference, but remeber 1. that your crank is hitting this oil at 2,000-7,000 time a minute and 2. that the properties of oil change the harder you hit it (it called historiesis).
So how come people didn't just use 5w-20 to start with back in the '50 and '60's? the same reason we don't use a 0w-10 now. If you use to light of an oil, it will seep past the ring and into the combution chamber. This really isn't to bad for you engine, but you catalytic converter and oxygen sensors won't like, not to mention you won't pass any type of emmisions check. The type of oil you use is directly related to the tolerances with in the the engine.
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Originally Posted by Jrfish007
Conitinue to use 5w-20,
1. 5w-20 is light and our engines are NOT designed to use a heavier oil (particually the piston rings)
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Originally Posted by ctx66
whered you get this info, and whats so special about our rings? are they low tension?
As for where I get the inormation from, I was working on developing a frictionless piston cylinder, coatings of polymer. During that project I leanred all the ins and outs of the engine and how everything is built today and why automotive engineers do what they do.
5w-20 is the best for any civic. You want to buy Mobil 1 Fully synthetic oil. It will cost you about $4-$5 a quart, but trust me, it is definately worth the money. Your engine will last forever without any problems. Make sure you change it every 3000-4000 miles though
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Rep Power: 0 I just stick with 5W-30 because everything I hear about 20 weight says its just too thin to provide adequate protection. Even in winter using 5W30 shouldnt be a problem unless you live somewhere like western canada or Alaska where it gets really cold.
Dont fall for the canadian tire commercials. Theres no advantage to synthetic especially in our engines. Extra heat protection, hah, maybe if I was driving through the desert I would consider that.
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Rep Power: 0 The only benefit to a good synthetic oil is the ability to run extended drains. Any good dino oil should be able to go 5K in the D17 without a problem, but a good synthetic can be trusted to 10K, possibly even more. The weak link in extended drains is the filter. Synthetic run 10K miles with a filter change at 5K would provide perfectly good protection, and probably still pass a visual inspection when changed.
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Re: 5w-20 or 5w-30
Mobil 1 5W-20 here too, with Honda OEM filter.
I change it every 5,000 miles, although the oil can probably go much longer. I'm not obsessed with draining it EXACTLY at 5,000 miles though. Usually +/- 150 miles.
I've considered using Mobil 1 5W-30 for the summer, but never made the switch. Maybe next summer.
I change it every 5,000 miles, although the oil can probably go much longer. I'm not obsessed with draining it EXACTLY at 5,000 miles though. Usually +/- 150 miles.
I've considered using Mobil 1 5W-30 for the summer, but never made the switch. Maybe next summer.
