Oil: 5W-30 Rather Than 5W-20 ?

Hello,

My son has a 2005 Honda Accord, 6 Cyl.

The Manual says to use 5W-20 Oil.

He's having a rough time finding it around where he lives.

Would 5W-30 be O.K. and safe ?

Any ramifications if used, caveats, etc. ?
He lives in New England; cold winters.

Thanks,
Bob

On Friday, September 6, 2013 2:21:11 PM UTC-4, Bob wrote:
> Hello,
>
>
>
> My son has a 2005 Honda Accord, 6 Cyl.
>
>
>
> The Manual says to use 5W-20 Oil.
>
>
>
> He's having a rough time finding it around where he lives.
>
>
>
> Would 5W-30 be O.K. and safe ?
>
>
>
> Any ramifications if used, caveats, etc. ?
>
> He lives in New England; cold winters.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Bob


Amsoil & Amilie websites both say 5w20. Some listing will list heavier oils depending on the outside temps., but your vehicle only gives one listing. I'd try to find some 5w20.. the thinner oil is needed for the tighter tolerances.

Chas

On 09/06/2013 11:21 AM, Bob wrote:
> Hello,
>
> My son has a 2005 Honda Accord, 6 Cyl.
>
> The Manual says to use 5W-20 Oil.
>
> He's having a rough time finding it around where he lives.
>
> Would 5W-30 be O.K. and safe ?
>
> Any ramifications if used, caveats, etc. ?
> He lives in New England; cold winters.
>
> Thanks,
> Bob

you could run 0w-40 too. [it's the first number of the two that you
need for cold weather.]

bottom line, don't stress this too much. the same car, same motor, sold
in europe has a much different oil spec, no problems. look up details
on one of the british websites.


--
fact check required

On 09/06/2013 11:44 AM, m6onz5a wrote:
<snip for clarity>

> the thinner oil is
> needed for the tighter tolerances.

not necessarily true. thinner oil is primarily to meet usa emissions
regs. exact same vehicles, exact same motors are sold in europe and
have a heavier oil spec from factory.


--
fact check required

Bob > wrote in :

> Hello,
>
> My son has a 2005 Honda Accord, 6 Cyl.
>
> The Manual says to use 5W-20 Oil.
>
> He's having a rough time finding it around where he lives.
>
> Would 5W-30 be O.K. and safe ?
>
> Any ramifications if used, caveats, etc. ?
> He lives in New England; cold winters.
>



5W-30 will do just fine. No need to worry about damage of any kind.

the 20-weight part is only intended to help conform to certain government
regulations that automakers were required to meet when the car was
certified for sale in the US.


--
Tegger

Bob wrote:
> Hello,
>
> My son has a 2005 Honda Accord, 6 Cyl.
> The Manual says to use 5W-20 Oil.
> He's having a rough time finding it around where he lives.
> Would 5W-30 be O.K. and safe ?
> Any ramifications if used, caveats, etc. ?
> He lives in New England; cold winters.
>
> Thanks,
> Bob

How long is he going to have the car? 10 yrs, 20 yrs, longer?

I always just dump in what ever oil is handy.
I never had an ordinary car go less than 225k miles.
None of them ever used more than 1 qt oil in about 2500 miles.

On Friday, September 6, 2013 11:21:11 AM UTC-7, Bob wrote:
>
> My son has a 2005 Honda Accord, 6 Cyl.
>
> The Manual says to use 5W-20 Oil.
>
> He's having a rough time finding it around where he lives.
>
> Would 5W-30 be O.K. and safe ?
>
> Any ramifications if used, caveats, etc. ?
>
> He lives in New England; cold winters.

www.BobIsTheOilGuy.com for the definitive answer?

For the last couple of years I've seen 5W-20 even at Walmart and Pep
Boys, so I can't imagine it being hard to find anywhere, including
where there aren't any of those stores.

I can understand a company like Ford specifying 5W-20 to boost their
CAFE a trifle so they can sell more higher priced vehicles that consume
morefuel, but why would companies like Honda and Hyundai, which
have no trouble with meeting CAFE standards, do the same? I don't
understand the use of lighter oil for emissions because don't they
evaporate more easily and increase hydrocarbons?

I wouldn't trust Amsoil's advice because that company has claimed
that some of its synthetics would improve fuel economy 4% over
conventional oil. OTOH Exxon/Mobil told me its synthetics
increased fuel economy "not one bit."

On 09/10/2013 02:23 AM, wrote:
> On Friday, September 6, 2013 11:21:11 AM UTC-7, Bob wrote:
>>
>> My son has a 2005 Honda Accord, 6 Cyl.
>>
>> The Manual says to use 5W-20 Oil.
>>
>> He's having a rough time finding it around where he lives.
>>
>> Would 5W-30 be O.K. and safe ?
>>
>> Any ramifications if used, caveats, etc. ?
>>
>> He lives in New England; cold winters.
>
> www.BobIsTheOilGuy.com for the definitive answer?
>
> For the last couple of years I've seen 5W-20 even at Walmart and Pep
> Boys, so I can't imagine it being hard to find anywhere, including
> where there aren't any of those stores.
>
> I can understand a company like Ford specifying 5W-20 to boost their
> CAFE a trifle so they can sell more higher priced vehicles that consume
> morefuel, but why would companies like Honda and Hyundai, which
> have no trouble with meeting CAFE standards, do the same? I don't
> understand the use of lighter oil for emissions because don't they
> evaporate more easily and increase hydrocarbons?
>
> I wouldn't trust Amsoil's advice because that company has claimed
> that some of its synthetics would improve fuel economy 4% over
> conventional oil. OTOH Exxon/Mobil told me its synthetics
> increased fuel economy "not one bit."

you do indeed get better fuel consumption with synthetics because the
friction characteristics of the oil are better. not as a function of
viscosity so much, but as a function of the way the oil film behaves at
high shear rates inside the thin bearing films. think of it as branched
twigs vs smooth logs. one rolls much better than the other. that's
what you have with the straight chain isomers vs. the branched chains of
the conventional oils.


--
fact check required