5W30 OK in the Pentastar?

[HotDamnGotaRam]

Previous owner said he ran 0W20 full syth since new. Didn't like the idea of running such thin oil, so my first change I used 5W20 High Mileage Synthetic Blend. Oil is on sale at NAPA and was thinking of getting some 5W30. Our other vehicles all run that grade and be nice to not have several diff jugs of oil sitting around. Is this a good idea or not?

Truck has 200k on it, sees temps below 0 in the winter and 90s in the summer. Not looking to start an oil debate, just looking for common sense opinions. I generally run Valvoline or NAPA which is actually Valvoline.

 

[Bigskyroadglide]

I run 5w30 Penzoil platinum in my 3.6 pentastar jeep wrangler in Montana, where temps range from-40 in winter to well over a 100 in summer.

I have no issues however my jeep is parked inside a heated garage when not being used. So it could be different. I plug it up, (block heater) when not garaged, if possible.

For winter you might try 0w30. 5w30 summer

 

[SitKneelBend]

Previous owner said he ran 0W20 full syth since new. Didn't like the idea of running such thin oil, so my first change I used 5W20 High Mileage Synthetic Blend. Oil is on sale at NAPA and was thinking of getting some 5W30. Our other vehicles all run that grade and be nice to not have several diff jugs of oil sitting around. Is this a good idea or not?

Truck has 200k on it, sees temps below 0 in the winter and 90s in the summer. Not looking to start an oil debate, just looking for common sense opinions. I generally run Valvoline or NAPA which is actually Valvoline.

I was thinking of doing the same thing. Just FYSA, on earlier Ram 3.6s the factory oil is 5W-20. My vote would be yes, I'm a little under 100,000 and plan on doin the switch after I run through my last jug...

 

[tap4154]

I believe it even says in the Pentastar manual that if 5w/20 isn't available just run 5w/30. Mine is at 58,000 and I switched to 5w/30, and switched my E450-based motorhome to the same, using Mobile 1. Now I do both oil changes about the same time each year, and it makes it easy. I live in a pretty temperate climate, never gets too hot or too cold.

 

[Docwagon1776]

Truck has 200k on it, sees temps below 0 in the winter and 90s in the summer. Not looking to start an oil debate, just looking for common sense opinions. I generally run Valvoline or NAPA which is actually Valvoline.

Well, I'd say common sense says if it got to 200k on the original motor than that oil wasn't hurting it any.

Full synthetic vs dino oil or a blend isn't a fair comparison even if the dino oil is "thicker".

 

[DILLIGAF]

I run Red Line 5w30 in my JKs pentcrap

 

[Different Drummer]

I purchased my truck new and for the first couple of oil changes used the recommended 5W-20. Switched over to 5W-30 pretty early on and now have 95,000 miles on the truck and have no ill effects that I can see. I have also used several different brands of oil. All full synthetic. PUP, Rotella gas truck, Recently QS full synthetic. I aim for 5,000 mile intervals. Most often I am slightly under due to an upcoming long road trip. Oil gets changed twice a year.

 

[MeatCurtains]

I'm my JK I run 5w30. Ive had to replace the oil filter housing twice, and needing a 3rd in 110k miles. I don't know if it's related but just be aware.

 

[DILLIGAF]

Im assuming your replacing it with the same OEM plastic junk ?

Might want to upgrade,

https://www.mishimoto.com/aluminum-...ef6p91vKzol8TQkGsVXnspxOvm7-I1vWdy3nkiZyIFV89

Pentastar 3.2L and 3.6L 2014 to present. MS-201-BK Cartridge to Spin-on Adapter

Pentastar Cartridge to Spin-On Oil filter adapter fits 2014 + 3.2 and 3.6-liter Pentastar engines. Cartridge Filters have no anti-drainback valve. This product provides faster oil pressure at startup by keeping the upper oil system flooded. The adapter contains full flow check valve and unique...

www.baxterperformanceusa.com

 

[barf]

This post made a lot of sense to me:

Liqui-Moly and Pentastars

Hello All, Anybody have personal experience with LM in their 3.6 Pentastars? Looking for somebody who has ran it long enough to say positive or negatives about it with a level of experience. I'm not looking to start a debate on "this is the best oil and don't use that because it sux". There...

www.ramforum.com

 

[star_deceiver]

Been using PUP 5w30 since new. Now at 165k kms.

 

[HotDamnGotaRam]

Well, I'd say common sense says if it got to 200k on the original motor than that oil wasn't hurting it any.

Full synthetic vs dino oil or a blend isn't a fair comparison even if the dino oil is "thicker".

Well I can't argue with that, was thinking the same thing. The only question is why run this weird thin oil that nothing else I own uses. To take the common sense a little farther, and again, I'm not looking to start a debatie, but ALL oil comes out of a hole in the ground. The only difference between so-called "synth" and what the detractors call dyno oil is the additive package. Which has always differed from one brand to another. So to my mind, oil is pretty much oil. I've used it all and never had issues with any of it and I still recall the days when you had two choices 20W or 30W. I put 300k on several Chevy V8s that never saw anything other than 30W or 10W30. And they started up when it was 10-15 below zero.

 

[HotDamnGotaRam]

I take that back. I had an oil issue once. Mobile1 when it first came out was introduced to a 63 Impala that never gave me a bit of trouble. Until I put synth in it. Soon I had to put oil in it every time I drove the thing and ended up junking it because I couldn't keep oil in it. Mobile1 was soon pulled off the market. It returned a year or two later, but the damage to the rep remained and most people I knew avoided it like the plague. I know it's a well liked brand now and think it's prob a quality oil, but it wasn't always so.

 

[Docwagon1776]

The only difference between so-called "synth" and what the detractors call dyno oil is the additive package.

Well, no. There are significant differences in the base fluid, and it's not all from crude oil. Natural gas is turned in to synthetic oil, as an example. Even those that start from oil are refined well past the point of conventional oil. Think of the fact everything from plastic toys to jet fuel to roofing tar comes from components of crude oil and the fact it starts as something that came out of a hole in the ground rapidly loses relevance.

Synthetic oil is a much more consistent product than dino oil, or conventional oil if you prefer. It's more temperature stable (note the difference in coking in hot turbos between a conventional and a synthetic oil), it doesn't acidify as easily, it has much less swing in viscosity from temperature differences, etc.

I'd suggest you research it a bit more if you think it's just an additive package difference.

*edit* None of this is to say you should keep using that weight of oil, mind you.

 

[BenchTest]

This post made a lot of sense to me:

Liqui-Moly and Pentastars

Hello All, Anybody have personal experience with LM in their 3.6 Pentastars? Looking for somebody who has ran it long enough to say positive or negatives about it with a level of experience. I'm not looking to start a debate on "this is the best oil and don't use that because it sux". There...

www.ramforum.com

I drop 100ml of LiquiMoly #2009 in my oil every oil change. Engine runs quieter with it than without it, so it's doing something. I don't have any scientific data to say what that something is. I run 2500-3000 mile OCI. Depends on how the truck is being driven. It normally doesn't see a lot of stop and go/city driving. It's normally pointed down the interstate or back roads going 2500-3000 miles on a trip with about half of that time in and out of higher RPMs pulling mountain grades.

 

[BenchTest]

Well I can't argue with that, was thinking the same thing. The only question is why run this weird thin oil that nothing else I own uses. To take the common sense a little farther, and again, I'm not looking to start a debatie, but ALL oil comes out of a hole in the ground. The only difference between so-called "synth" and what the detractors call dyno oil is the additive package. Which has always differed from one brand to another. So to my mind, oil is pretty much oil. I've used it all and never had issues with any of it and I still recall the days when you had two choices 20W or 30W. I put 300k on several Chevy V8s that never saw anything other than 30W or 10W30. And they started up when it was 10-15 below zero.

My previous fleet of +/- 70) 3.6L Pentastars ran on 5W30 synthetic "generic" bulk oil. We ran them to +/- 225K miles and then they were rotated out of the fleet. The earlier years of them had some cam/lifter/rocker failures but as the engines progressed through the years, that issue seemed to become "rare". Those vehicles usually ran 5000-7500 mile OCI with a LOT of idling time on them. Guessing the metallurgy in those components changed or the internal oiling got better, but I don't know for certain.

With prior fleet vehicles, we'd see 250K-300K on GM 6.0's or 5.3's that were ran H.A.R.D. Started in the morning, ran all day, idling for hours with the AC on in 105 degree weather, all running generic 5W30 synthetics. They'd see 7500-10,000 mile OCI pretty regularly as it was hard to get enough down time to get them in for service. Those engines were a different breed. They endured a LOT of abuse being mated up to 4L80 trans, strapped into over-weighted 3/4 ton pickups and fired down the road at 75MPH+

 

[BenchTest]

I take that back. I had an oil issue once. Mobile1 when it first came out was introduced to a 63 Impala that never gave me a bit of trouble. Until I put synth in it. Soon I had to put oil in it every time I drove the thing and ended up junking it because I couldn't keep oil in it. Mobile1 was soon pulled off the market. It returned a year or two later, but the damage to the rep remained and most people I knew avoided it like the plague. I know it's a well liked brand now and think it's prob a quality oil, but it wasn't always so.

There are a lot of good synthetic oils on the market. The generic store brand synthetics now are WAY better than what was available just a few years from the top brand oils. Some get really wound up with semantics and fractional percentages of "performs better than", but I personally don't think you'll see a performance difference in big name oils unless you are planning to run an engine 500K miles or more. Chances are, you'll have something major fail before then anyway. I'm not saying there aren't "better" oils than others, because there certainly are higher performing products, I just don't think the average vehicle owner is ever going to reap those benefits.

 

[Lee Peterson]

I run 5w30 walmart supertech SYN no problems here in my 2016 Ram! It's so cheap I change by 5000 miles.

 

[stenerson]

I've used 0w20 full synthetic year round on my 2018 Ram 1500 3.6. Whatever quality brand was on sale, Mobil 1, Valvoline and mostly ultra prem penzoil the last few years. Average 7K to 8k OCIs most of the time but now that I don't put so many miles on it (retired) I've been reducing to 5K. 176,500 miles she runs great, sounds happy.

 

[CalifPhil]

Redline 5w30 for me. Tried 0W20 this winter to see if start up noise was any less. It wasn't, will be using 5w30 Redline all the time now. I change it every 5000 miles.