0-20W (Good for Hot Regions?)

[elcamino]

If those of you who are so concerned about the oils viscosity maybe you should reconsider the brand of oil you are using because it sure seems that you lack confidence in it ability to provide protection. Buy the best and don't worry about it.

[FreeAmerican]

Not sure why people are scared of 0W-20.... better lubrication at the potential cost of higher oil temps. But I highly doubt that's a problem with our oil cooler and modern synthetic oils being able to handle higher temps.

 

I tow a travel trailer during the summer. I worry about shear that is tends to happen with such oils, even in the better brands. I worry about noack which could mean more carbon build up on intake valves of DI engines.

 

Things have changed in the engine world, if you plan on keeping a DI / turbo/ etc engine for and extended time, you should worry about these things.

[Bxnanaz]

 

I tow a travel trailer during the summer. I worry about shear that is tends to happen with such oils, even in the better brands. I worry about noack which could mean more carbon build up on intake valves of DI engines.

 

Things have changed in the engine world, if you plan on keeping a DI / turbo/ etc engine for and extended time, you should worry about these things.

I tow my race car regularly, and I constantly think about these things. But a high quality OW-20 like M1 or Amsoil has relatively low NOACK and pretty high shear pressures.

 

With pushing our trucks pretty hard, I believe carbon buildup won't be an issue for our trucks. But I will be doing an Intake service like CRC or Seafoam every 10k or so.

 

This is also my first new vehicle so I would like to keep my warranty and use the specified oil. I will definitely be doing UOAs though.

[djxn40]

Hey guys my truck specifies 0-20 this is my 5th oil change and my wife picked up 5-20 is that ok for me to run this time ?

2016 5.3

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Bxnanaz]

Hey guys my truck specifies 0-20 this is my 5th oil change and my wife picked up 5-20 is that ok for me to run this time ?

2016 5.3

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Yes

[FreeAmerican]

I tow my race car regularly, and I constantly think about these things. But a high quality OW-20 like M1 or Amsoil has relatively low NOACK and pretty high shear pressures.

 

With pushing our trucks pretty hard, I believe carbon buildup won't be an issue for our trucks. But I will be doing an Intake service like CRC or Seafoam every 10k or so.

 

This is also my first new vehicle so I would like to keep my warranty and use the specified oil. I will definitely be doing UOAs though.

 

The extended perf and the fuel economy Mobile 1 0w20 are both OK but not great noak. The Amsoil, specifically the signature series is pretty good at 10% but compare it to the 5w20, noack drops to 6, which is great.

 

Look at almost all the other 0w20 (excluding the Penz Ultra Platinum, which you can't find right now) and they have fair to ok noack numbers, and almost all 0w oils have shear issues.

 

More noak in a DI engine, the higher the chance you are going to carbon the valves.

 

So while I agree, I want to keep my warranty, I do not want to drop just any 0w20 in the engine.

[Cowpie]

Hey guys my truck specifies 0-20 this is my 5th oil change and my wife picked up 5-20 is that ok for me to run this time ?

2016 5.3

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

 

Indeed. No dealership or OEM on the planet can tell the difference between a 0w20 and a 5w20 via used oil sampling if they wanted to. Both are 20w oils, only the cold flow rate is different and that doesn't show in standardized testing except on virgin motor oil out of the bottle. And then, It only means something if you are starting a cold engine at -30F.

 

And there are literally dozens of 5w20 oils on the dexos1 approved list. Maybe not on the new Gen 2 list, but your engine was made with dexos1 Gen 1 in mind. Go ahead and use the 5w20 year round all the time if you have a mind to do so. A 5w20 actually has a lower NOACK (burn off rate) than a 0w20 in the same brand, and tends to be more shear stable under stress since it uses fewer viscosity improvers. A plus for any engine that calls for a 20w oil.

 

Here is the dexos1 Gen 1 list. I counted 40 5w20 oils and never got to the end of the list.

 

http://www.centerforqa.com/dexos-brand1/

[Black02Silverado]

I would think GM put these engines through the worst environments running the specified weight of 0w-20 to make sure they hold up. GM isn't in the business of replacing engines that break in short time just because they want to meet CAFE numbers.

 

Search the web and look at other manufactures that have used this weight in their vehicles for years now with no issues. Search specifically in Phoenix AZ for those that want extreme heat real word results.

 

Run an oil that meets dexos 1 and all will be well.

[Chris]

I would think GM put these engines through the worst environments running the specified weight of 0w-20 to make sure they hold up. GM isn't in the business of replacing engines that break in short time just because they want to meet CAFE numbers.

 

Search the web and look at other manufactures that have used this weight in their vehicles for years now with no issues. Search specifically in Phoenix AZ for those that want extreme heat real word results.

 

Run an oil that meets dexos 1 and all will be well.

But Amsoil doesn't say Dexos on the bottle

[Bxnanaz]

But Amsoil doesn't say Dexos on the bottle

Signature series does

[Chris]

Signature series does

It meets the requirements, but they didn't pay GM for the license to use the DEXOS logo like Mobil and others did. The OE and XL meet the requirement too

 

Was also giving Nick hell

[Chris]

Signature 0W-30 and XL 0W-20

[Cowpie]

And folks have to be reminded sometimes, that one of the reasons 20w oil is spec'd by the OEM is because of CAFE fuel economy. It does provide a slight edge in fuel economy in the testing since it takes a little less energy to move it thru the engine, and the government requires the OEM recommend the viscosity of oil by the end user be the same as they used for the CAFE testing. A 30w oil would work fine in these engines. Many fleets fill their Ecotec engine equipped pickups with the same 5w30 they use for their other fleet vehicles with no problems. And GM doesn't have a fit with these fleets for doing so. There is only a 2 pt spread in viscosity at operating temperature between a 20w oil and a 30w oil. May seem like something until you realize that there is a 6500 pt spread between a extremely cold 0w20 and a 0w20 at operating temperature. Even at room temperature, the pt spread between a 20w and a 30w is only about 12-14 pts. And I think some still have some illusion that viscosity is thickness, which it is not. Viscosity is resistance to flow. The tightest clearances in a modern Ecotec engine is, at the minimum, 4-5 microns, including all the AFM and various little ports, bearings, and stuff. Even a 40w oil will flow thru a 2 micron filter comfortably. If it didn't, then the 15w40 oil I use in one of my diesels, the oil would never get thru the 2 micron bypass oil filter on that engine and the engine would have grenaded a long time ago. It just turned over 690,000 miles and still uses no more than 1 qt of oil in 11,000 miles.

 

You need a certain level of resistance to flow so that oil is not pressed out of bearings and such too quickly. Yet, you need to maintain a level of oil flow so that cooling and such is also occurring properly. And one also needs to look outside of their little world of Silverado and look at Corvette. While the manual recommends a 5w30 for the engine, if one is doing track events, then 15w50 is recommended. The engine in the Corvette has the same tight machining clearances as the Ecotec in a pickup. But even GM has to concede that when an engine is highly stressed, it needs a higher viscosity oil to provide the best protection. A lower viscosity oil is pressed out of critical component areas too quickly under high stress. And what really is the difference between a track event with a Corvette and pulling a 6000 # trailer on steep grades in 100F heat with a pickup?

 

And what of the newer turbo direct injection engines that GM is using? I looked at several 2017 manuals regarding these and they all specify 30w oils. But how can that be so if 20w oils are so good? Are the newer TDI engines so much "looser" than the Ecotec in the Silverado? Hardly. The additional stress on the engines require a little more viscosity, so 30w oils are recommended.

[Black02Silverado]

It meets the requirements, but they didn't pay GM for the license to use the DEXOS logo like Mobil and others did. The OE and XL meet the requirement too

 

Was also giving Nick hell

I hear ya.

[elcamino]

Cheap synthetic oil, BEWARE