5w20 vs 5w30

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jlsalani

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I just put Redline 5w20 in my 2015 Hemi with 142K miles on it... was getting a pretty significant tick and it has really quieted it down, but still seems to be there at startup... probably takes that long for the oil to get where it needs to, but here is my question. If 5w20 is the recommended weight but many here put 5w30 in Hemi what is the difference to the engine?
 

Hookedup87

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If I have read and interpreted the countless oil threads that guys like Burla and others have put together, the general consensus is that the 5w20 is too light for these engines. That the manufacturer uses 5w20 to get the best possible fuel economy out of them, but doesn’t really care if it offers the best long term protection. But. Some guys who have switched to 5w30 have also reported cold piston slap, in some cases, as well as a slight reduction in power and fuel economy. Me personally, I had switched to 5w30, did get slight cold piston slap, and have now gone to Amsoil 5w20 with a 15oz bottle of Biotech Lubeguard additive and an SRT oil filter. Truck is super quiet, super smooth and should hopefully be well protected as I plan on keeping it a long time.

Hopefully Burla chimes in. He is the oil ‘guru’ on this site. Really knows his stuff and has done some cool research.


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Wild one

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I just put Redline 5w20 in my 2015 Hemi with 142K miles on it... was getting a pretty significant tick and it has really quieted it down, but still seems to be there at startup... probably takes that long for the oil to get where it needs to, but here is my question. If 5w20 is the recommended weight but many here put 5w30 in Hemi what is the difference to the engine?

Read the note at the bottom.This is from the 700 page printed owners manual for my 14.You don't have this manual.

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Octane

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Read the note at the bottom.This is from the 700 page printed owners manual for my 14.You don't have this manual.

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I had a Chevrolet S10 with a 4.3 l engine 2 wheel drive back in late 80's and 1990s.Had four of them.Owners manual on the 2wd trucks with 4.3 engine said to use 5w30.The 4wd trucks with same engine those manuals said to use 10w30. Since I'm in the south anyway I always used all 10w30.Never a problem but a lot of folks then and even now think it was a terrible risky "gonna ruin your engine" thing.lol Some were people that would dilute their oil with trans fluid.But what I was doing was all wrong. Folks are nutty.lol
 

gdawg55

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I've been using Redline 5w30 for almost two years now. I live in GA so I don't worry too much about the added weight. No problems...truck runs smooth and quiet. I keep thinking of trying something else just to see, but I never seem to pull the trigger. If I did try something else I would still choose 5w30.
 

Burla

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Internals of an oil pump are like wagon wheels. it takes a little oil in the wheel and spits it out, so it's a fact at most the psi difference between 5w20 and 5w30 is 2, as in an engine that is running at 55 psi common for the hemi, might see a psi as high as 57 with the switch to 5w30, in other words, the gain to lubrication is slight because the oil pump is an equalizer and there is not much viscosity difference between the two oil weights. So don't go dumping that oil. In general yes I use 5w30 because I will take whatever gains I can, but 5w20 killed my tick the same, but it took 500 miles to do so. Noted, some guys 5w20 redline doesn't work as good, and 5w30 does, so just going off that no reason why not run 5w30 next time.

The science of moly, it has to survive the heat and it takes time and pressure to "plate". Moly is what they use to combat dry starts. Now, some people believe that the poe and possible pao base oils also contribute to the silencing of hemi's, but there is no real data. Bottom line maybe as many as half of the hemi's on redline take at least 500 miles to go quiet, all the way up to 1700 miles and even 2300 miles. After 2300 miles I would call it as it lays, but unless you a it have 1500 miles on the current change, don't do anything, as in nada. I would however run the rpm's to 2500 and leaving it at that for a minute prior to shut down.

I like RP filters, my truck ticks on some filters but not these.

oddly my truck had a slight tick on my entire 10w30 redline run, but never in 10 years on 5w30 except that first 500 miles. occasionally if the truck sits or after a change it ticks for a second, but in general pick up use 10 years my hemi is silent.
 

canadiankodiak700

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I had a Chevrolet S10 with a 4.3 l engine 2 wheel drive back in late 80's and 1990s.Had four of them.Owners manual on the 2wd trucks with 4.3 engine said to use 5w30.The 4wd trucks with same engine those manuals said to use 10w30. Since I'm in the south anyway I always used all 10w30.Never a problem but a lot of folks then and even now think it was a terrible risky "gonna ruin your engine" thing.lol Some were people that would dilute their oil with trans fluid.But what I was doing was all wrong. Folks are nutty.lol
In the case of your old chevy, it would matter, both engines called for a 30 weight oil, the only difference was winner viscosity, and at your climate, it would never make a difference. No way it could ever hurt the engine, only difference would have been slightly easier starting in freexing weather with the 5w

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HEMIMANN

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Burla will appreciate I did my first changeover to Red Line 5W-30 yesterday! I've been using PUP 0W-40 since new, but am pleased to upgrade to better valvetrain wear protection @ 38k miles. I'm still sticking with Fram synthetic oil filter for low flow resistance - due to a member report of higher line pressure with RP filters.

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Octane

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In the case of your old chevy, it would matter, both engines called for a 30 weight oil, the only difference was winner viscosity, and at your climate, it would never make a difference. No way it could ever hurt the engine, only difference would have been slightly easier starting in freexing weather with the 5w

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jlsalani

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Thanks all.... so I just changed to Redline 5w20 and a RP filter... the truck seems significantly quieter after it runs for a bit so I will give it some miles before I think about the next step. As mentioned I have 142K miles and want to keep the truck running as long as I can. Just swapped out the front suspension last night to the bilstein setup and plan on the trans oil change next!
 

fijicorey

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Check out the UOA thread. This will show you which type of oils perform the best with actual data to back it up. I've done 3 UOAs on 5w-20 and had great wear numbers. I'm on my second run of 5w-30 (didn't test the last batch), so I'm interested to see if it shows better wear numbers than 5w-20 over the same mileage interval (I run 5-6k between changes). Most of my use is daily commuting with the occasional haul, nothing severe.

From what I can see on the UOA thread and the info here, either 5w-20 or 5w-30 will work, but it depends on your use. Just change it frequently and don't hot idle for too long.
 

ramffml

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If I have read and interpreted the countless oil threads that guys like Burla and others have put together, the general consensus is that the 5w20 is too light for these engines. That the manufacturer uses 5w20 to get the best possible fuel economy out of them, but doesn’t really care if it offers the best long term protection. But. Some guys who have switched to 5w30 have also reported cold piston slap, in some cases, as well as a slight reduction in power and fuel economy. Me personally, I had switched to 5w30, did get slight cold piston slap, and have now gone to Amsoil 5w20 with a 15oz bottle of Biotech Lubeguard additive and an SRT oil filter. Truck is super quiet, super smooth and should hopefully be well protected as I plan on keeping it a long time.

Hopefully Burla chimes in. He is the oil ‘guru’ on this site. Really knows his stuff and has done some cool research.


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My truck is so quiet on Redline 5w-2/30. Except for the injector noise ticking which I don't think anybody has found a way to get rid of.

But I do have piston slap that I can't get rid of. Even when it's 60 degrees outside on a cold start it will still knock, but after driving and getting temps up it goes away. I believe I had that on the original oil changes as well before switching.

If anybody has any other ideas I'd love to hear them too.
 

PoMansRam

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My truck is so quiet on Redline 5w-2/30. Except for the injector noise ticking which I don't think anybody has found a way to get rid of.

But I do have piston slap that I can't get rid of. Even when it's 60 degrees outside on a cold start it will still knock, but after driving and getting temps up it goes away. I believe I had that on the original oil changes as well before switching.

If anybody has any other ideas I'd love to hear them too.

This is on a 2019 classic w/ hemi? Had it done the piston slap noise since new?

I bought my 2019 classic hemi used in 2020 w/ 15K miles. I'm at 31K today and I don't even notice injector noise with it. FWIW, I've run Supertech 5w30 in it since oil change #1 and I run MoS2 or Lubegard biotech w/ each OC. My cold start oil pressure is 59-60psig per the dash.
 

ramffml

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This is on a 2019 classic w/ hemi? Had it done the piston slap noise since new?

I bought my 2019 classic hemi used in 2020 w/ 15K miles. I'm at 31K today and I don't even notice injector noise with it. FWIW, I've run Supertech 5w30 in it since oil change #1 and I run MoS2 or Lubegard biotech w/ each OC. My cold start oil pressure is 59-60psig per the dash.

My truck is 2019 5th gen with hemi, I believe it's done it since new.

Listen here at about 8:00 where he starts the truck, and then for about 20 seconds after that point. There is a light, high pitched ticking which I have been told is injectors. It's definitely higher pitched than lifter tick or exhaust tick, but I hear it in every hemi; old ones, new ones, seems like these engines are just noisy for the most part:

 

saebobbyross

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Just changed mine 2019 warlock - upgraded to the RP 20-820 filter and PP5w-30.

Gosh that filter is in a PITA spot. Thanks to @Burla and all of the others in synthetic and oil thread that let me read for hours upon hours.

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NCRaineman

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I tried 5w-30 in my 2012 model one summer. It was fine once warmed up but when cold the oil pressure was uncomfortably high. I'll stick with the manufacturer recommended 5w-20.
 

62Blazer

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There is very, very, very, little difference between 5w-20 and 5w-30 oil and there is absolutely no reason anybody should see any differences between using either one. People make a way bigger deal over different weight oils than what is really is, the the difference between these two weights is as small as you can have. Not like we are talking the difference between 5W-30 and 15W-40...which still isn't that big of a difference....
 

NCRaineman

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There is very, very, very, little difference between 5w-20 and 5w-30 oil and there is absolutely no reason anybody should see any differences between using either one.

Why is it then that my oil pressure was reading 40-50 psi with 5w-20 and 70-80 psi with 5w-30? That's significantly different.
 

crackerjack1957

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Why is it then that my oil pressure was reading 40-50 psi with 5w-20 and 70-80 psi with 5w-30? That's significantly different.
Same oil filter both times?
 
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