is 0-30w synthetic oil sufficient?

I'm running 0w30 in my truck now. It is listed in the manual as OK to use. As for the comments on only using it in severe cold. I say look at the operating range of the oil. It will run colder, but also runs just as high as 5w30 in the heat. 0w30 is thinner when cold, so it will flow through the system a bit faster. My mileage actually went down, after the changeover, but I ended up needing to turn on the A/C pretty much nonstop immediately after doing the oil change. As such, I have no idea how much if any change there is to my mileage by the oil.

 

Toyota Canada sent me a letter last year saying I could switch to 0-w30!
They want me to pay more for my oil changes, as it’s a semi-synthetic oil, which cost more.
I may run it next winter.

 

That would be the deal breaker for me right there. It would have to be full synthetic for me to use it.

 

What's a full synthetic in your estimation?

I don't mean make/grade, I mean your definition of full synthetic...

 

Did you read the article linked above? I did...it was really interesting...I think I'll be using M1 0w30 in the future in all my vehicles that specify a 30 weight!

 

You can put the sand in yours, I will keep the Mobil1 in mine.

 

i honestly do not believe it will help mileage in the summer. I normally get between 17-18 in the summer with the occasional 19-20. The winter however my mileage SUCKS, so I may give it try when it starts getting cold.

 

I live in the "Cold, Cold, Southwest Desert" and I run 0w~30 Mobil 1.
After reading that Ferrari chat I switched all of my cars and trucks to 0 weight something.
0 weight helps even in 75 degree temps....
Also regular dino and semi synthetic oils can not go down to 0 weight at this time... (at least from what I have read).

Yuma Taco,

 

In few years thats what all cars will be using. better fuel economy standards will force cars to use it. We went from 10w-30 to be most common to 5w-30 be most common next one is 0w-30 to be most common.
I did not switch it yet although thinking about going for 0w-40
One thing to remember about going for 0W oils is that they flow better when engine is cold which means they tend to sip through any space they find. So
valve seals, gaskets, even rings tend to be looking leaky. Most people freak out after that
EDIT: lastly your engine may burn more oil then before and you goign to have to add oil in between the oil changes.

 

One that does not turn black like tar in the heat.

 

Any good oil SHOULD turn dark...that shows the detergents are doing their job of keeping microscopic contaminants in suspension and not sludging up the bottom of the sump (or worse places).

Not a good test

 

That may be the bad idea. Going to higher viscosity means the oil is thicker at temp, and that (all else being equal) reduces flow from what the engine designer intended.

Reduce flow, reduce lubrication. Reduce lubrication, increase wear. It's NOT the oil pressure...it's the oil FLOW.

Also, your comments about leaking and burning oil doesn't make sense: the 0w-30 is the same viscosity at operating temp as the 5w-30 'stock' oil. All is equal: why should it make the engine burn oil or leak?

 

Cause when it's 0 weight it will fit even places it normally would not like down the valve stems into the cylinder.

As for the 30 weight when warm not only does that make it thicker and harder to pump if you want to call it that but it also is the number where it will stick to metal surfaces and resist flowing off said surfaces. That actually is a good thing.

If I was doing such brutal cold weather starts that I actually need 0 weight I would rather just get a oil pan heater and a circulating pump instead. I already have a block heater. Why? Starting cold is not the problem, any engine pretty much will start up and run in the cold eventually provided the battery is in good shape. The problem becomes the amount of damage those cold weather starts do.

You see this up north all the time. People insisting there car or truck will start up in any weather so they don't plug it in. Come spring the damage shows it ugly head as in main bearing failures and other problems. Every seal on the engine will leak. No thanks I'll just plug it in instead.

 

But with a 0w30 oil: when cold the oil thickness, while much less than a straight 30 weight when cold, is still thicker than, or at most as thick as, it is at operating temperature. It makes no sense it would want to creep cold when it is no more likely to when hot.

 

that's why we run synthetic up here on everything we own

 

Obviously you may want to read up on oil viscosity then. When it gets cold 0 weight has ZERO viscosity, meaning it pours like water and is penetrating oil thin. Get it now ?

No this is BS buy a quart and stick it in your freezer. Notice it get incredibly thin when it gets cold? Not even close to 30 weight.

As for all oils get black when there being used that is more BS, my truck is about a week away for the mileage oil change. I feel like going out there and take a picture of the dip stick. The Synthetic oil is pretty much the same color and transparency as the day they stuck it in. None synthetic oils and blends do this ( turn black ). Or if it happens on synthetic machines it could be from the synthetic washing the tar out for previous none synthetic use. It's burnt oil and additives mixed with moisture. Or your running 20 weight and you live in the desert in Nevada. If you are using the wrong weight it could still burn.

Yes that true but synthetic still will not save you at -50 without the truck plugged in. Yes it will still start but remember all your seals are -50 below. They will still crack and leak eventually. Steel can shatter at that temperature. To me it's not worth the damage, I'll plug it in.

 

You are serious?

OK...I'll explain this one time...if you don't buy it then we have no discussion...

in a 0w30 grading, put simply the 0w means the oil is as 'thick' at low temperature as a straight 0 weight oil, i.e., one with no VI improvers added, would be at that temperature, yet also as 'thick' at the high temperature as a straight 30 weight oil would be at that temperature. Now...we go to the kinematic viscosity charts, conveniently located here:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=55

To understand what that means specific to a 0w30...ok, a 5w30 since '0' isn't rated on that chart...

at 40c, an SAE 5w oil is ~ 20 cSt viscosity
at 100c, an SAE 30 oil is ~ 11 cSt viscosity

At cold temp, it is THICKER; a 0w oil would be thinner than a 5w, but not a whole lot. Certainly not thinner than the 30 oil is at 100!

To contrast, and see what using a multi-grade oil gets you:

the 5W oil is something below 4 cSt at 100c
the straight 30 oil is an arm twisting 100+ cSt at 40c!!

No where does this EVER suggest an oil can get THINNER as it gets colder! Like I said: if you can't grasp this, then there is no discussion...

 

Maybe thin is not a good choice of words then.

Like I said before do you live in Minot ND? Why would you even be considering that kind of oil in the summer?

 

An easy way to put it. A 0w30 thickens less as it cools than a 5w30, but at operating temps, they are basically the same. The viscosity difference between the two weights is so minimal, I doubt you would notice a difference.