20w 50

[daddyrav]

Hey guys, i need a question answer please.I got a 98 camry 4 auto that I drive daily and put 81 miles per day all hwy miles.Mycar has 239.656 miles on it. last week i changed the oil from 10w30 castrol HM to 20w50 castrol HM.Is it to heavy for the Georgia winter weather?

[Pvt-Public]

My only question is WHY? Was it burning the 10W-30? Low oil pressure? If you had either of these and the gooey thick stuff helps, your just putting off the inevitable. Major engine work.

[daddyrav]

It does not leak or smoke but it will use about 1qrt of oil per 1000 miles or so.

[Pvt-Public]

Most car manufacturers will say that even for a new car 1qt per 1000 miles is acceptable, to me it isn't. But a car with almost 250,000 on it I would say yours is doing very well. I would go to 10W-40 and see how that works before going all the way to 20W-50. My personal opinion is that 20W-50 is just too thick at start up when temps are anything below 65*F. Although this is just my opinion.

[Mike Gerber]

^ What Pvt-Public said. You may have difficulty starting the car in cold weather with 20W-50. I would try the 10W-40 weight instead.

Mike

[daddyrav]

Thank you, I will try 10w40 HM

[TRD95]

I agree with the the above statements. I live in California and I only use 20w50 oil in extreme summer months (July, August, September). I'm currently using 10w30 weight since it's abnormally cold right now for southern california and I'm consuming about 1qt every 1,200 miles. And that's to say that my car has 332,000 miles on it. I would use 10w40 or 10w30 weight if you're worried about consumption during winter months and use 20w50 during peak summer months where the ambient temp wont go below 60F.

[LynchburgCSI]

I've never understood why people feel the need to mess with the oil grade they run when they're car is perfectly fine.

[TRD95]

Originally Posted by LynchburgCSI

I've never understood why people feel the need to mess with the oil grade they run when they're car is perfectly fine.

In normal weather you don't really have to. But in very severe cold weather it's basically a must. All oil graded with a "W" is ok to use in the winter (the W means it's "winterized" for winter use).

For those who worry that their oil will either gel in cold weather or not provide proper lubrication at startup will adjust their grade to whatever they feel comfortable with. It's super cold right now here by california standards, so I choose to run 10w30 oil for better startup protection, otherwise I'll stick to 20w50 oil since my valve seals love to leak at startup.

In the end, none of it really matters since all motor oil with the W designation means it's ok for winter use. It's just what you feel comfortable with for initial cold start protection.

Diesel fuel will gel easily below 32F, therefore anti gel must be used in freezing temperatures. Diesel fuel is hygroscopic, so if water in the fuel crystallizes, the fuel will begin to gel.

Here's a link to explain this further http://www.aa1car.com/library/oil_viscosity.htm

[LynchburgCSI]

I already understand how oil viscosity ratings work. The W next to the number just shows you what the viscosity is for the winter (cold) rating. Some oil's don't have a W because they don't change viscosity with change in temperature.

[TRD95]

Originally Posted by LynchburgCSI

I already understand how oil viscosity ratings work. The W next to the number just shows you what the viscosity is for the winter (cold) rating. Some oil's don't have a W because they don't change viscosity with change in temperature.

That's correct Lynchburg! I'm sure you knew that by now but just wanted to clarify, especially for those who don't know much about modern engine oil.

But that's the reason why this is such a big deal. I began to get a ticking noise at startup last month with 20w50 oil, so I switched to 10w40 weight and it went away. I did lab work and blackstone suggested I use 10w30 weight and run a 2,000 OCI. Haven't had the tick come back ever since .

[LynchburgCSI]

Maybe because the engine wasn't supposed to be run on 20w50...?

[TRD95]

[QUOTE=LynchburgCSI;3399317]Maybe because the engine wasn't supposed to be run on 20w50...? [/QUOTE

Not exactly the case with a 300,000+ mile engine

If I don't want to keep checking my oil every other day I have to run a thicker oil. And I'm not about to replace Valve Seals at 600 bucks. Call me cheap but I'd rather save that money towards another engine.

It's just a startup issue. Nothing more. Drivability is great and it doesn't smoke after startup. The ticking noise was of course because of the oil being too thick, but when it's 110 degrees and your engine is in stop and go traffic, I need that higher grade. Now that it's almost winter, I can run the engine with normal oil.

Newer model BMW M series engines are "designed" for 15,000 OCI with 5w30 synthetic weight oil. I run Lubro Moly 10w60 weight and 7500 OCI on my E92 M3 like the older model E30 M3s were designed to run. Independent testing proved that the latter causes more harm than good. Just an example to not always follow manufacture recommendations.

I've gone this far with my engine, so I must be doing something right

[N/A Camry Sleeper]

Originally Posted by LynchburgCSI

I've never understood why people feel the need to mess with the oil grade they run when they're car is perfectly fine.

I use 5W 30 in mine since it's a little thinner and easier to pump - should take a little less energy to move it through the engine and theoretically translate into a fraction of a MPG - but that just may be in my head!

[TRD95]

Originally Posted by N/A Camry Sleeper

I use 5W 30 in mine since it's a little thinner and easier to pump - should take a little less energy to move it through the engine and theoretically translate into a fraction of a MPG - but that just may be in my head!

That's actually true you know...