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Car Engine Oil Question

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Kilgore Trout

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Oct 18, 2008
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Went to Canadian Tire today to pick up a couple of jugs of synthetic motor oil for my car since it's on sale for 14.99 for 4.4 litres this weekend and found they had no 5w30 or 10w30 in stock.
Just 5w50 and 5w20; so, I picked up 2 jugs of 5w50.
Question: I've never used anything other than 10w30 in warm weather months and 5w30 in cold weather months on my Honda and I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about 5w20 or 5w50 and whether they are okay for Toronto winter driving conditions.
I'm seeing a lot of 5w50 on shelves these days; but, don't know whether it's appropriate for my car.
Thanks for any input.
 
My wifes honda has a 2.3 L four.

5w/20 is the recommended viscosity as labeled on the oil filler cap on that motor.

Look what it says on your cap and I would stick with that.

I have put 5w/30 in it in the summer though, 50 is too thick I think.

I saw the deals at CT on synthetic oil in the flyer too.

The $29.99 to pre purchase a synthetic oil change is a good deal.

Synthetic oil changes are usually double that.
 
You do NOT want to use 50 weight oil in the winter.

It's too heavy and will congeal in the cold weather.

Basic rule of thumb, you use the lighter weight oils in the winter (30 weight) and the heavier ones in the summer (40 and 50 weight)

Though, most new cars just spec 5W30 or 10W30 for all seasons.

50 weight used to be more common with the older sports cars. There is not a lot of demand for it hence why you see so much on shelves.
 
james t kirk said:
You do NOT want to use 50 weight oil in the winter.

It's too heavy and will congeal in the cold weather.

Basic rule of thumb, you use the lighter weight oils in the winter (30 weight) and the heavier ones in the summer (40 and 50 weight)

Though, most new cars just spec 5W30 or 10W30 for all seasons.

50 weight used to be more common with the older sports cars. There is not a lot of demand for it hence why you see so much on shelves.
Click to expand...


what he said........too thick for winter
 
james t kirk said:
You do NOT want to use 50 weight oil in the winter.

It's too heavy and will congeal in the cold weather.

Basic rule of thumb, you use the lighter weight oils in the winter (30 weight) and the heavier ones in the summer (40 and 50 weight)
Click to expand...

A multi viscosity 5w/50 will not congeal when cold. (synthetic especially)

It will be 5 weight when cold and 50 only the oil's hot no?

Too thick still I agree for the majority of todays engines.
 
Its more than just too thick....I used 20w-50 in the winter...its the spread...5 to 50 is too much, even 10w-40 some claim its not good to use.

Too much to go in to...look at google if you like...but oil used to be a single weight....40,30,20...then in the 1960's muti grades came along, there is something that gets added to the oil so it gets thin cold and thicker hot, the wider the spread the more additive is needed. The additive can cause problems if used too much, like in 10w-40...5w-50 gee, I would not use it, even in the summer.

Get 5w-20

I use 10w-30 in the newer cars, even if its called for 5w-30..only reason 5w is around is for better gas mileage...now in the winter, 5w is OK, maybe even better cause it flows quicker but it only gets very cold for 4 to 6 weeks around here...up by Winnipeg its need, even -0- weight.
 
S.C. Joe said:
Its more than just too thick....I used 20w-50 in the winter...its the spread...5 to 50 is too much, even 10w-40 some claim its not good to use.

Too much to go in to...look at google if you like...but oil used to be a single weight....40,30,20...then in the 1960's muti grades came along, there is something that gets added to the oil so it gets thin cold and thicker hot, the wider the spread the more additive is needed. The additive can cause problems if used too much, like in 10w-40...5w-50 gee, I would not use it, even in the summer.

Get 5w-20
Click to expand...

Just what S.C. Joe said, but don't just buy 5W20, unless the manufacturer says it is OK.

Viscosity enhancers. Usually, the 5W50, for example, will behave like 5 grade in the winter, but like 50 grade in the summer. The viscosity will not change over a temperature variation as does simple un-enhanced oil.

Stick to what the engine manufacturer recommends. Especially with the new tight tolerance engines. Oil is suppoder to flow into and out of bearings and other parts. Some of the engines would need thicker oil, some would need thinner stuff to flow adequately and with just the right amount of oil pressure.

You don't want an oil that is too thick, to prevent it form flowing in and out of the nooks and crannies of your engine (like the bearing gaps, etc.), or too thin so that it won't cover the metal surfaces that it is supposed to protect. Oil is the buffer between two metal surfaces. You would not want, in any case, to have metal surfaces rubbing against each other. Friction is good for sex, but not too much of it. Friction, as in sex, in an engine could spell disaster, especially if there is too much of it.

Tribology, what a science!

I hope that helps.
 
Okay, thanks for all that. I'll switch it to 5w20 or 5w30.
Thanks again.
 
Nothing to do with Engine oil

- do you need to look in a mirror?

Anyone who knows who "Kilgore Trout" is will have that answer

LOL
 
shakenbake said:
Just what S.C. Joe said, but don't just buy 5W20, unless the manufacturer says it is OK.

Viscosity enhancers. Usually, the 5W50, for example, will behave like 5 grade in the winter, but like 50 grade in the summer. The viscosity will not change over a temperature variation as does simple un-enhanced oil.

...
Click to expand...

Do you guys just make this stuff up as you go along? The 5 and 50 in 5W50 have nothing to do with winter or summer and this oil definitely does change viscosity over a temparature range. How could an oil reach operating temperature in the winter yet behave like a 5 weight oil and reach a similar temperature in summer and behave like a 50 weight oil?

Any oil labelled xxWxx is a multigrade oil. A 5W50 oil will have a viscosity of 5 when the oil is cold (I don't remember the exact temperature it is measured at, but it is around freezing). It has a viscosity of 50 at an operating temperature of about 180º F. Multigrade oils are different than old fashioned oils such as SAE 30 which get thicker as they get colder. Over a certain temperature range multigrade oils get thinner as they get colder (to a point). An engine with 5Wxx oil will generally start more easily in the winter than one with 10Wxx oil because the oil is thinner when the engine is cold.

The feat is accomplished with chemicals called viscosity index enhancers (VIEs). Oils with a big viscosity range such as 5W50 used to be considered very much niche products. The large amounts of VIEs needed to creat that range were considered to cause problems in engines. This is no longer true with synthetic oils.

50 weight is thick oil and will result in some loss of fuel economy in a typical engine. Honda engines are designed to run on thinner oils than many other engines and should not be run on 50 weight oil in normal use.

Thicker oils are not just for older engines as someone else said. BMW's new M3 runs on 10W60. Use what your owners manual recommends.
 
Last edited:
200K miles later!!

Kilgore Trout said:
Okay, thanks for all that. I'll switch it to 5w20 or 5w30.
Thanks again.
Click to expand...

I have a 2003 Honda Accord EX (205K miles on it) and the manual calls for 5W-20 year round. I had just turned 200K when this picture was taken in October.

Honda200K01015.jpg
[/IMG]
 
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