charley95

I was assuming maybe he had some extra 10/30 that he might possibly use in his Lexus, who knows, post was pretty vague.

peteharvey

According to the owner's manual Page 555, you can use your choice of: 0W 20, 5W 20, 5W 30 & 10W 30 etc, but at very low temperatures, if you use 10W 30 or higher viscosities, very cold starts may be very difficult.

On Page 556, the owner's manual recommends that a higher second digit like 5W 30 or 10W 30 is better suited if the vehicle is operated at high speeds, or under extreme load conditions.

On Page 556, half way down, 0W 20 has fuel saving & environmental protection capabilities etc.

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rjm

Where in the world are you getting your information? Could you be more specific and name your sources and provide a link to them? I have been driving Lexus's since 1999 and have followed the manufacturers recommendations on oil and oil changes and have NEVER had an engine problem because their oil recommendations " spec thinner oils to increase mpg’s and meet emissions standards." And where you get your information that Lexus specs their engine life to 150,000 miles? If maintained according to the manufacturers recommendations for proper maintenance their engines are just about broke in at 150,000 miles. Many folks on this forum have exceeded 200,000 miles on their cars with no problems.

GSRockstar

GSRockstar

rjm

Transmissions are holding up fine. No transmission problems in the past 19 years driving Lexus cars and SUV's.

GSRockstar

UDel

It is true that automakers are switching to thinner oils to get a little better fuel economy because of new fuel economy standards, that is why newer models often use a W20 compared to a W30 sometimes for the same basic engine. A W30 or higher number generally offers better engine protection at higher temperatures and more abuse though the difference between a 20 or 30 is likely negligible enough for normal driving that most automakers are comfortable going with the W20 recommendation or speccing engines to it.

Knucklebus

If 0W20 was a problem it would have showed up already. If you had a turbo/supercharged model, I'd advocate for thicker oils and exclusively synthetics. If this was a tow vehicle, I'd also advocate for thicker oils and probably insist on an aux oil cooler and aux trans cooler.

bclexus

Most engine wear (from dry metal-on-metal damage) is done in the first few minutes after a cold start. A 'cold start' can be defined as any time after an engine has cooled off, regardless of the ambient temperature conditions. The faster your engine can pump lubricating engine oil throughout the engine to reduce this wear the longer your engine will last.

The first number preceding the 'W' (which stands for Winter) represents a grade (not a viscosity) of how the oil will flow when cold. This first number rates the oil's flow at 0°F (-17.8°C). The colder the ambient [climate] temperature, the more important it is to use a 0W (first number) engine oil. But, a 0W (first number) oil is not just for cold climates - it also helps tremendously to get lubrication flowing in the engine during a cold start - even on a hot summer day. The faster the engine oil can flow, the better.

The second number represents the oil's viscosity at a specific temperature - that happens to be exactly 100°C (212°F), which is the typical 'normal operating temperature' of engine oil after the engine reaches its normal operating temperature. It should be noted that during colder weather conditions an engine may never actually reach its 'normal operating temperature', and if it does it may take 20-30 minutes to do so - long after your water temperature reaches its normal operating temperature on the dash gauge.

What most people do not realize is that a 0W oil (first number) is much thicker on a hot 100°F summer day sitting in your crankcase at cold start than a 20, 30 or 40 weight oil (the second number) at 100°C (212°F), which is 'normal operating temperature'. In other words, a 0W oil will flow much slower (greater resistance to flow) at 100°F than a 40 weight oil at typical engine operating temperature of 212°F. This is why during an oil change when you drain hot engine oil from the crankcase it flows much like water, yet when you pour the new room temperature oil into the valve cover it flows more like chilled Eggnog or thick She-Crab soup.

What is interesting about all this is - your engine would probably have less wear from driving across country without stopping except for gas compared to just a handful of cold starts ... and the colder the ambient temperature of the cold starts the worse the wear...

So, what is the best 'first number' oil to use? By all means use a 0W to reduce cold start wear as much as possible. What is the best 'second number' oil to use? Use the viscosity that the car maker recommends based on engine bearing clearances, piston ring design and features such as VVTi where engine oil viscosity is used to control camshaft operation and variable valve timing where engine oil must flow through very fine mesh screens for the VVTi to operate correctly. In other words, you are doing your engine an injustice if you use anything other than what the car maker recommends, which is 0W-20 Full Synthetic engine oil.

It's worth repeating that you should not make the mistake of letting your engine water/antifreeze (cooling) temperature gauge determine whether your engine and transmission are up to their normal operating temperature - especially during colder weather. I can assure you that just because your engine cooling temperature gauge has reached it normal position does not mean that your engine or transmission are anywhere near their optimum operating temperature...and that is true even on the hottest summer day. It's a shame that car makers don't put engine oil temperature gauges in their sport class vehicles.

drgrant

It's funny, this article basically disproves the entire point you're trying to make. If you read it it basically says that 0W20 offers less wear, LOL. There's nothing in there about the BS about "because the life of the car is only 150K" etc. lol.

-Mike

GSRockstar

Knucklebus

Whoever wrote that didn't proof it OR there's a huge difference in the old days and now. A clearance of 0.0095 is HUGE in my world. I run clearances of 0.002 in my cranks and rods. If I ran a 0.0095 clearance it would last 2 minutes and sound like a diesel.