redm3turbo

So this weekend is turning out to look like Ill be twisting wrenches, so sorry about so many posts. I was just thinking about it, and Im about 800 miles from a oil change, however Id rather just do it and get it out of the way before it gets too cold here in NY.

I was just thinking about it, my friend (Honda Master ASE) was telling me that for 96-2000 civic's the "new" reco is actually using 5w20 conventional oil. He was saying the years after (2001 on) Honda Changed it...Ive found the idea via search as well, however I dont really know if makes any difference.

Anyone use 5w20 in a 96-2000? Any difference? or just stick with 5w30 (like the manual, which is older then 2001)? All the reasons listed aren't much a factor to me personally. Car doesnt use a drop of oil, doesnt have hard start problems, etc. Shes at 200k but she's doing fine, I had the head off 30k ago and theres no wear on the top or bottom end of the engine. I keep her maint pretty well b/c this site.

Ok, well if anyone has any thoughts please chime in. Im going to go over to Honda and buy their oil this time b/c I hardly ever use their oil and wanted to test it out. They have 5w30 and 20 in stock so any one wants to persuade me to 5w20 please do.


PS- please lets not make this a "what brand of oil you prefer" I have my preference as well, however Im strictly concerned with oil weights.

Ryan Lwin

You have to use what is specified on the engine. You can't just randomly use something entirely different because of someone told you to. You will damage the engine as it was not built to take other kinds of oil.

shipo

Using a different grade oil will not damage the engine. That said, I'd either stay with 5W-30 or go to 0W-30 in this case.

Ryan Lwin

OP is asking to use 5W-20 instead of 5W-30. You are thinking of 5W vs 0W. This is ok probably because you live in cold area too. The first number of oil is for cold start of the engine. If you live in cold winter weather, then 0W is ok. But the second number is for high temperature. If you use 5W - 20, your oil viscosity will not be the same at 5W - 30 when the engine is hot. That will lead to damaging the engine.

Former User

Thread Warning -- Keep all comments here focused entirely on the tech topic. Do not make personal comments.

shipo

No, sorry, that isn't what I was saying (or thinking). The fact is that 5W-20 oils have proven to be as good as or better than 5W-30 oils (this per the sizable UOA database over on BITOG.com); even for engines originally designed for the 5W-30 oil grade.

I will reiterate my statement; using 5W-20 will NOT harm the engine in any way, even if it was designed for 5W-30.

With the above said, if you can point to a number of verified engine failures due to 5W-20 then I'll happily retract my statement and change my tune.

ne0tas

I've had a few mechanics (including a couple of master techs) tell me that thicker oil is better (I live in california so I use 10w-40) and it runs good.
You don't /have/ to use the oil that is recommended, because it's only a recommendation. Obviously people in very cold areas whose cars recommend 10w-40 wouldn't use it

shipo

The "thicker is better" recommendation is a very old and only partially correct trueism. If you have a low number of cold starts per number of miles driven ratio then you might well be better off with a 10W-40, and even then I'd recommend 0W-40 instead. If you have a very high cold start to miles driven ratio, then 0W-20 or 5W-20 is probably better. If you're somewhere in the middle then 0W-30 or 5W-30 is probably the best compromise.

For my part, in this day and age of 0W-xx and 5W-xx oils, I cannot imagine why 10W-xx oils are still even marketed much less used; they offer no benefit when the engine is warm compared to other grades (with the same second number), that and they don't flow/protect the engine as well during a cold start.

Aaron Cayabyab

Im running 5w-30 and its been a 2 week and my oil still looks fresh =]

redm3turbo

this is along the lines with what my buddy (the ASE tech) was saying. That he has been to Honda training (by Honda/At honda facilities) where they recommend to use 20 over 30 now. We aren't talking here-say by guys on the internet (no offense) however we're talking like north american top tier techs/service advisors/etc for honda.

Im not under the impression that using 20 or 30 is going to make a noticeable difference to me, however the engine over say 100k may.

shipo

You're absolutely correct; any of the xW-20 or xW-30 offerings will do perfectly well in your engine; that said, with as many miles on it as you have, I would use 0W-30. Why? Personal preference; nothing more, nothing less.

kickadog55

for the most part this is all true. the differance between 5-20 and 5-30 is so minimal that you wont notice.

as far as using the wrong oils in your car causing damage. This is true about certain cars. hondas not so much, but euro cars and other low tolerance cars, using the wrong oils WILL cause damage and you will burn it like a son of a b****

shipo

Agreed, I would N-E-V-E-R run 5W-20 in our GTI.