Ok ive been doing a little research about oil, but i did just enough to know what i want to use. This will be short and sweet and for anyone who doesnt know anything about oil. Heres a little info.

EXAMPLE: 5w20 (most hondas should use this grade)

The w stands for winter this is the thickness at start up, your motor needs less viscosity at start up. When your motor warms up to operating temperature it has a viscosity or thickness of 20. The higher the viscosity the harder it is for the oil to circulate thru your motor. If the viscosity is too high your motor will most likely fail prematurely because the oil pump wasnt designed to pump such a thick substance and you wont get a consistant flow thru out your engine.

EXAMPLE 2: sae 20
It will stay at the same viscosity or thinckness at start up and at operating temperature.

Like i said short and sweet, i might have missed a few details but this mainly the meaning. OIL FOR DUMBIES.
This little bit of info can be applied to any oil weight or brand.

If anyone knows more or i said something wrong please add to this thread or correct me. But im really not trying to debate, if you dont believe me look it up yourself. Thanks. Below is a very long but informative article about oil...


http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2311334

 

Sounds either wrong to me or you worded it poorly.

W does stand for winter but it is not the start up viscosity as you stated. No matter what oil, it will always be thicker at start and thinner after it has been warmed up. So it's impossible to start at a thin viscosity of five and thicken up to a viscosity of 20. What it actually means is that during the winter cold temps, technology has allowed the 20 weight oil to thicken up due to the cold as if it was only a five weight oil. But ultimately it will still be thicker than a typical 20 weight only during winter. Hmm, I hope I worded it better...

 

All I know is if you read lubrication magazines there have been articles questioning if 0-20 & 5-20 provide enough lubrication. I personally have never used that thin of oil in any vehicle no mater what the manufacture says. Using that thin of oil is how they get the gas mileage ratings. But thank you very much I plan to drive my vehicles more than a few thousand miles like test vehicles are driven. If the manufacture blows an engine no big deal but it is a big deal for me.

 

"I personally have never used that thin of oil in any vehicle no mater what the manufacture says"

Give a morning at -30 F a try. That 5w makes a WORLD of difference. Then again, cars do last a hell of a lot longer in more temperate climates where thicker ones can be used.

 

if longetivity matters to you, then it's more important to have a proper break in followed with frequent oil changes with good synthetic oil than choosing a slightly thinner or thicker oil.

and the manufacturer's recommended break in procedure is incorrect.

 

yes i worded it a little wrong in the begining thanks for the correction,

 

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/cms/

Everything you will EVER want to know about oil, complete with forums.


Personally, I've never understood why people would want to run an oil against the manufacturer's recomendations. The engineers that personally designed the entire motor, recommended that viscosity for a reason: because it works best for that particular engine design. I mean, they don't just make this stuff up. They test it, test it again, and test it some more. I'm not talking about switching to a 5W-30 during the winter, in a car speced for 10W-30 either. I'm talking about the people who run 50 weight oil in a Civic that has only bolt-ons, just because the oil bottle says "for high-performance engines".

Bottom line is, stick to the recommended weight. I will generally use 0W-30 in the winter and 5W-30 in the summer.

 

Full synthetic 0w20 all day long here.

For most people, sticking to the recommended oil is the best option. There are exceptions, however, but if you're an exception you're probably not going to ask about oil lol.

And the link you provided is a great read. I read the whole thing a month or two back (copypasta on a ferrari forum that someone on a mustang forum linked to).

 

bob the oil guy is a smart man, ive always used 10w30 in all my cars without problem until i got a car with an engine this small(1.5 sohc d15b7) and put in my usual oil and it ran like **** and made noises ive never heard after an oil change, so i went back to the recomended oil 5w20 and it seems fine again tho i need a valve adjustment still feels way smoother. Now that i have some info about oil ill most likely from now on use the recomended wieght but with a 0 before the w. like the reaper, it just makes more sense.