0W20 vs 5W20

[RuffleCopterz]

My car recommends 0W20 but would 5W20 be ok/no difference?

[fliptuner]

5w20 would be ok but why go thicker when the temps are dropping?

[RuffleCopterz]

Good deal at Canadian Tire LOL

[Geoc]

I think for mild Vancouver winter it's fine, if you're in Alberta or up north that where the thinner oil comes in handy.

[xjc11]

0w20 is better but since temps here usually dont last below 0 degrees, 5w is ok. If anything just more wear on your engine during cold starts.

[dared3vil0]

...How about use what the company who spent tens of millions of dollars engineering the motor recommend you use? Just an idea.

I mean, from what I understand it likely won't damage anything, but as I said there's a good reason they recommend what they do.

[MG1]

Honda is now recommending that their cars that used to require 5W20 use 0W20.

I saw the chart at a Honda dealer earlier this week. Recommended oil for older cars have been changed, as well.

I wAnder what brought this about..........


EDIT:

Found out why........... their 0W20 is full synthetic and is double the price. I've been using Royal Purple full synthetic 5W20 since the first oil change on both vehicles.

[Traum]

If you really want the in-depth, be-all, end-all answer, you need to do some reading over at BITOG.

Unless you are an engine oil fanatic, I would say that either grade is perfectly fine, especially given Vancouver's mild weather. 0W20 is only available with synthetic oils, but 5W20 is available as both regular dino oil and synthetic. I am a huge proponent of synthetic oil myself since I find its benefits far outweigh its costs.

One interesting tidbit is, at certain relatively cool temperature range (I forgot the exact temperatures, but I think it was a few °C below 0 at the low end), 5W20 synthetic is actually slightly less viscous than 0W20, meaning that it will actually flow better than 0W20.

Also, there is at least a lot of circumstantial evidence suggesting that the recent adoption of generally less viscous oil is not entirely based upon pure engineering rationale, but instead of a need to drive factory fuel efficiency ratings to the max. At least some engines gets a 5W20 or 0W20 oil recommendation in N.America, but the same engine in Australia and/or Europe gets a 5W30 recommendation.