Revisiting an old topic...oil choice.
 

I'm pulling up on an oil change interval. I'm not obsessed with mileage, so for me, price of the oil change matters.
According to Firestone, they'll charge $20 extra for 0W as opposed to 5W. Assuming a 2 MPG differential (who knows?) between the different grades, over 5000 miles, it's under 10 gallons difference, so the cost of the oil cover the cost of the gas...so there's not much of a difference.
That being said, there's no reason to run around looking for 0W, is there? (no, I'm a DIY-er)
Suburban NJ has a few sub freezing days, but not many during the summer.
Other than possible mileage improvement, there's no difference, right?

Re: Revisiting an old topic...oil choice.
 

0W20 will not give you 2 MPG better fuel economy. It will flow faster in freezing starts, but the benefit is very marginal. Both weights will have about the same cSt value at operating temps (212 Degrees F.)

Re: Revisiting an old topic...oil choice.
 

Well, I see this has generated alot of activity! ;) I use 5w, and don't care if it is synthetic or not. I change every 5,000 miles. I realy doubt there is even a 2mpg diff. between 0w and 5w. It is my understanding that the first number is the cold viscosity and the second number the warm viscosity, so the 0w vs 5w is only a factor at start up.

I would go with the cheaper oil change.

EDIT: Red beat me to it by 2 minutes!

Re: Revisiting an old topic...oil choice.
 

That's what I thought
2 MPG is 38 versus 40 MPH, so over 5000 miles that's 6 gallons of roughly $18.
Chances are you'll spend more than that in oil price differential. so this one's a no-brainer.
Dumb question...are all 5W20 fully synthetic? Does it matter if it's not?

Re: Revisiting an old topic...oil choice.
 

There are full synthetic and synthetic blend 5W20 oils out there. I use Motorcraft 5W20 that I get a WallyWorld for $11.50 or so for a 5 quart jug. If you were at the Atric Circle, or further North, a full synthetic 0W20 might be called for. But for 5,000 to 7,500 mile changes, a synthetic blend is appropriate and the best value.

Again ,you would not get a 2 MPG improvement from a 0W20 - maybe 0.5 at best.

Re: Revisiting an old topic...oil choice.
 

I run 5W-20 Mobil One that I buy at WalMart for $23.50 for a 5 qt jug. So far, in 60,000 miles, you can tell from the sig line that I am not hurting for mileage....

Re: Revisiting an old topic...oil choice.
 

IME, these engines don't generate high (212F/100C) oil temps because they turn on and off at will. Even at highway speeds on 100F days, they don't get up to the oil's rated temp viscosity and stay there. Meaning it rarely gets to its rated '20' grade and remains somewhere between its "W" rating and "20" almost all the time.

So the advantage lies in using an oil that has high pump-ability at less than full operating temperatures. Since the ICE starts and stops many times in a drive cycle... best to go with very pump-able oil grades. A 'zero W' would ace a 'five W' by a slight amount.

If used 5W-20 MC Blend and now using 0W-20 Penz Plat .... not much, if any, difference in MPG.

Re: Revisiting an old topic...oil choice.
 

I had no idea that the Toyota's could run 70 miles per hour on electric only . My FFH will only go to 47 MPH on electric mode. The FFH ICE runs all the time over that.

Re: Revisiting an old topic...oil choice.
 

At (or around) 40MPH, the internal combustion engine (ICE) starts to spin (not sure of what's really happening), but you're not using gas. At this time, you might notice the needle leaves the "E" (mode) or blue area. You aren't using the engine for power. The law of physics and other factors (angle of slope, weight, rate of acceleration, etc.) will determine when the ICE kicks in and at what speed.

Re: Revisiting an old topic...oil choice.
 

Went to Firestone today. Apparently, I'm now a 'gold' customer, which entitles me to free rotations, so that saves ~$25 from the dealer (or $5 from the typical Firestone coupon).
They had part synthetic for $30 ($20 with coupon) or $50 for full synthetic for 5W20. They don't carry 0W and it's not a big deal for me.
I assume the full synthetic is better for the car, right? I'm not a mileage fanatic, but do care about the long term health of the engine.