5w30 vs 5w20

[chrisbh17]

We have cold winters but warm/hot summers up here in CT. So I might split the difference: 5W-20 in the fall/winter and 5W-30 in the spring/summer.

I dont to much heavy stuff in the winter other than driving back and forth to work, so whatever FCA wants *should* be OK. I dont trust 20 weight in the hot weather, though.

 

[John-e-racer]

We have cold winters but warm/hot summers up here in CT. So I might split the difference: 5W-20 in the fall/winter and 5W-30 in the spring/summer.

I dont to much heavy stuff in the winter other than driving back and forth to work, so whatever FCA wants *should* be OK. I dont trust 20 weight in the hot weather, though.

I think that an excellent choice. Unless super cold there I don’t like running something as thin as 0w and in the hot summer I feel better running 30 weight.

 

[chrisbh17]

Ive een this image a bunch of times while searching for oil recommendations (for all of my equipment, not just vehicles):

https://media.noria.com/sites/Uploads/2015/7/22/cf028082-9c32-408b-9922-6c55c0d2dc53_SAE chart.jpeg

If its true, or even close to true, fully synthetic 5W is good to well below zero (-32F). Not really sure how many places get THAT cold, but CT aint one of them!

5-30 is also good up to 95F. While we do get temps that high occasionally, we rarely get higher than that. Plus I would think better synthetics (even PUP) would handle even higher without much issue as well.

So, 5-30 is technically OK for both extremes in my area. Ill probably still end up with 5-20 in the winter for the simple fact that I have some free oil changes left to blow...let the dealer do it when its cold out.

 

[PoMansRam]

I've been an oil geek since about 2002 being a regular over at BITOG. It's impossible to say which viscosity range is better for the average user. I do know that if you examine the results of used oil analysis, 5w20 can hold up better than 5w30. It's definitely better for cold starts. There's just too many factors at play.

IMO, with the care most of us give our trucks, it doesn't matter which viscosity range you choose to run in your Hemi or Pentastar. The engine will still outlast the truck and electronics.

 

[Burla]

Yeah but that wasn't the question, the question was 5w20 you recommended versus 0w30. Your 0w30 will operate better in cold then 5w20 and also give you a higher operating viscosity which is why we use 30 weights? Just putting that out there...

 

[Maniac]

I went with 5-30. Runs a lot better