using higher viscosity oil?

Question

Ive read somewhere that using a higher viscosity oil will give me a longer engine life. My 04 civic runs on 5w20 and i was thinking of goin to maybe 5w40. Anybody know anything about this?

Answer 1

Lubricity is the name of the game.....more oil flowing past your bearing will carry off more heat and actually provide you with the more lubricity you desire.... a higher viscosity/thicker
oil will decrease the amount of flow for the design of the engine in your car...the tolerances will be much tighter than in a race engine and a heavier oil will actualy decrease oil flow to the bearings in your honda...

Answer 2

No...don't go to the higher viscosity oil. The 5/20 works just fine during normal everyday use. Unless you consistently operate your car at very high duty cycles (and I mean like driving the BAJA 1000 every day 24/7) you will end up doing MORE damage to your car by using the higher visc oil. MOST of the damage is done to your engine at startup and during the first 5 minutes or so of operation. The oil is cold, hard to pump and not sticking to surfaces very well. Even hot summer days in stop and go traffic won't cause as much wear as having too THICK an oil. It gets technical from here.
Multi viscosity oils work like this: Polymers are added to a light base(5W, 10W, 20W), which prevent the oil from thinning as much as it warms up. At cold temperatures the polymers are coiled up and allow the oil to flow as their low numbers indicate. As the oil warms up the polymers begin to unwind into long chains that prevent the oil from thinning as much as it normally would. The result is that at 100 degrees C ( 212 F) the oil has thinned only as much as the higher viscosity number indicates. Another way of looking at multi-vis oils is to think of a 20W-50 as a 20 weight oil that will not thin more than a 50 weight would when hot.

Multi viscosity oils are one of the great improvements in oils, but they should be chosen wisely. Always use a multi grade with the narrowest span of viscosity that is appropriate for the temperatures you are going to encounter. In the winter base your decision on the lowest temperature you will encounter, in the summer, the highest temperature you expect. The polymers can shear and burn forming deposits that can cause ring sticking and other problems. 10W-40 and 5W-30 require a lot of polymers(synthetics excluded) to achieve that range. This has caused problems in diesel engines (Note: 18 wheeler trucks use 15w40 oil in thier engines and those are mostly 14liter 500 HP powerplants that run nearly 24/7 coast to coast thru all kinds of weather and terrain weighing 80,000 pounds), but fewer polymers are better for all engines. The wide viscosity range oils, in general, are more prone to viscosity and thermal breakdown due to the high polymer content. It is the oil that lubricates, not the additives. Oils that can do their job with the fewest additives are the best.

So...if your car manufacturer sez use 5w20 then use it.

Answer 3

the only reason to go with a higher viscosity is to maintain oil pressure if the bearing clearances are too large. otherwise, use what the manufacturer recommends because your engine has been engineered to use that oil. thicker oil will reduce your gas mileage at the least and damage your engine at worst, especially during cold weather starts

Answer 4

if an engine has over 100,000 miles then yes you need to use a slightly thicker oil to lube all moving parts. you can also use a good heavy duty oil such as shell rotella-t , chevron delo, or chevron delvac 15w40. all 3 oils mentioned come in 15w40 and 20w50. these have more anti-wear additives than normal oil you would use in your car.i use 15w40 shell rotella-t in all my vehicles. i has a 1988 lincoln MKVII LSC H.O. 5.0 with 187000 miles, a 1983 AMC eagle4x4 I-6 258 with 230000 miles, and a 1988 GMC V-2500 suburban 4x4 v-8 350 with 40000 miles on a new crate 350 engine. oils like rotella-t and delo are for commercial semi's and are excellent in high loads and temps. my father also uses rotella-t in a 1988 olds 98 regency with 300,000 miles on it and has no problems.

Answer 5

ill bet in the back window, you see the symbol ULEV, right? as soom as you go to a thicker oil, you increase the amount of work that the engine has to do, and the amount of gas that it is going to use. those engines are built pretty well. the 520 is your best bet, and i would stick with that until you start consuming to much oil more than a quart in 3000 miles.

Answer 6

i own a repair shop and and i wouldn't go that high with it right now, i tell you the one thing that will make it last real good is change it to a synthetic oil like 5-w-30 Mobil one ,its probably the best oil right now on the market ,they invented synthetic oil ,and i use it in everything i own as do my customers ,and i highly recommend it to anyone who wants their car to last a real long time,you can stay with 5-w-30 year round in it also,and that makes it easy to remember,but you can run like 7-10 thousand miles on this stuff,i go around 9-10 thousand on change myself,and it does really good,but it might be something to think about,its probably the best thing you,ll ever do for your car,good luck hope this helps.

Answer 7

its ok to run it.it will be better in the hot weather,it wont break down as easy,but when winter comes,switch over to a lighter oil.

Answer 8

under warranty stay with the 5/20 - thinner it is the easier it is to pump -better gas milage etc i have run 3w50 in my racecars in qualifying -but not in a race