Look at this link here.. http://www.synlube.com/sae5w-20.htm

it says that 5W-20 is recommanded because it gives you better milage. but then it reduces the life of the engine. Is it true ? I agree that 5W-20 is thinner than 5W-30, if you look at that way, one can say that it might put more wear on the engine by using 5w-20 since its thin oil. but cant predict anything , I am not a mechanic here. put your opinion here.

 

It sounds more like one mans opinion than actual proven facts.
I would question some of his reasoning, but would agree that running 5W-20 all the time would increase engine wear. But if you live in a warm enviroment and never rev your engine above 3,5k, sure it would work.

Also "may reduce the life of the engine" translates to "the money you saved by gaining 2 miles to the gallon can now be used to replace your 1200$ engine".

lets say you go from 30 mpg up to 35 mpg (a 5 mpg gain)
after 100K miles you saved almost 476 gallons of gas (3333 - 2857)
At an average of 1.80 per gallon you saved yourself 856$ (over 6-8 years)
A B16 runs about 1200-1500$ (or a used stock engine for about 500$)

I just don't think it's worth it. jmo.

 

Honda uses it in most every car now. I'm sure they wouldn't do something to ruin millons of vehicles on purpose, they know more than we do.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxmatt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Honda uses it in most every car now. I'm sure they wouldn't do something to ruin millons of vehicles on purpose, they know more than we do.</TD></TR></TABLE>They do on the newer cars, which I understand and it does make since given the advancements in Honda's engines. But for older cars, I'm not to sure about.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mrlegoman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">They do on the newer cars, which I understand and it does make since given the advancements in Honda's engines. But for older cars, I'm not to sure about.</TD></TR></TABLE>

But they specify what oil to use based on engine design. The new engines are tighter tolerenced, better sealing, etc, and designed to use 20 wt oil.

Use whatever oil your manual specifies; why is this so hard for people? Maintain your vehicle according to what Honda (the manual, not the dealer) says.

 

Just go off what the manual says exspecially if you own a honda you know that they easily reach 150k if you just maintain them accordingly.. And the way to look at oil is the basically the first number is how fast it moves through your engine for instance if you run 5-20 then it will protect you car alot better during cold starts or start ups period compared to a 10w or heavier andthe second as you all know is the just the weight of the oil!

 

interesting, what if i start using 5w-30 instead of 5w-20...will this make engine last longer or what

 

its for smog reasons.. if you dont like it done use it..

 

Heard from my shop that the newer hybrid cars use a 0W-20 weight. I have never seen or heard of a 0 weight oil. I do know that auto trans fluid is about 7 weight. I could never imagine running anything less than that in my engine.

 

Just change it every 2k-4k and you will be fine

 

well there is a honda tsb on it now...so i guess there is a reason

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by return_2020 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">interesting, what if i start using 5w-30 instead of 5w-20...will this make engine last longer or what </TD></TR></TABLE>

In reality, no. Use what your manual says. If it specifies 20, then use it.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RitcheyRch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Heard from my shop that the newer hybrid cars use a 0W-20 weight. I have never seen or heard of a 0 weight oil. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I run 0W-30 Castrol Syntec from Germany in my car. It's a Group IV full syn, not the Group III like American Castrol and Mobil 1 are, that derive some components from organics.

My car has 110K on the clock, I rev high, race on the weekends, and hit the rev limiter quite often, and I'm still running 210 compression. So no, I don't think running a 5W-20 or a 0W-20 will hurt your engine if that's what the manufacturer calls for.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxmatt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Honda uses it in most every car now. I'm sure they wouldn't do something to ruin millons of vehicles on purpose, they know more than we do.</TD></TR></TABLE>

. My g/f's mazda 3 uses 5-20 as well.