Has anyone run a test using 5W30 in place of water? (0W16)

Kinematic Viscosity 5W30 is 10.3 @ 100 degrees C.
Kinematic Viscosity 0W16 is 7.6 @ 100 degrees C.

So about 30% difference.

The new water oils is a conspiracy for two reasons:

Better fuel mileage required to meet the EPA standard.
Wears out your engine much faster, thus you buy a new car.

Has anyone performed an oil analysis to compare how running 5W30 turns out?

And no it will not destroy your engine. Doing 10K Mile oil changes will destroy your engine.

If there is no one brave enough to try this, my next car will be a brand new Camry (in a few years). I will take the risk for this community and run 5W30 as soon as I get home from the dealer. I will document all my oil changes and see how long the engine lasts. By the way I change my oil every 4000 Miles.

As for you keyboard warrior engineers and mechanics that seem to know everything. The smaller oil rings in modern car pistons will still pass 5W30 with ease. Oil pressure is at around 50 PSI it will go through anything.

  • Loud-Relative4038@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    I don’t think it’s that deep. 99% of the population is not going to see any difference between 0W-16 and 5W30. Neither will they notice anything changing oil at 3k, 4K, 8k or 10k. Do whatever you want. Nobody cares.

  • brsrafal@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    I would not experiment like that unless you just got money to burn if engine fails. 0w16 works great

  • koolman2@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    You need to also consider the operating temperature of the engine. Hybrids will run cooler, given that they shut the engine off more frequently. Is it possible that this engine expects a viscosity of 10.3 at its operating temperature using 0W-16?

  • Cadet_Stimpy@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    Do you bro. It’s your investment. I just use whatever the manufacturer recommends because I trust in Toyota engineering. Plus my tinfoil hat makes my head itchy.

    • Adventurous_Carl5@alien.topOPB
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      10 months ago

      Same Toyota Engineers were recommending 10-15K mile oil changes. So you do you bro. Let me know how that works out for you.

      • que_la_fuck@alien.topB
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        10 months ago

        Nope that’s the bean counters. It’s an effort to reduce waste oil. I don’t think they recommend 15k on anything. Do it every 5k. Stellantis says their trans fluid is lifetime but the engineers that built the transmission say otherwise.

        • poor_michigan@alien.topB
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          10 months ago

          Yeah, it’s not an engineer thing, it’s a sales tactic. The number one killer of any Toyota engine is extended maintenance times, and heat. Just like any other engine. The difference is Toyota will last you much longer, and fail exactly how it’s designed to if you do PROPER maintenance. In which very few people who don’t dabble in mechanics actually do.

          • que_la_fuck@alien.topB
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            10 months ago

            Sales tactics and they also get credits (or maybe just charged less idk) from the EPA for lowering the lifetime waste per vehicle. Hence the super long life coolant and long intervals for ATF, and the 10k oil changes

      • Cadet_Stimpy@alien.topB
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        10 months ago

        My FJ just rolled over 200k miles last week and my wife’s 2016 Tacoma that takes 0w-20 has somewhere around 152k miles on it. My wife bought it from my brother-in-law to help him out and I know that dumbass didn’t change the oil every 5k.

        For what it’s worth, I change my oil every time the light comes on, for me it’s 5k miles, and use whatever weight is printed on the cap. I’ll be shocked if I don’t hit 300k miles on the original engine with my FJ or the taco of my wife decided to keep it that long.

  • huf757@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    “Doing 10k mile oil changes will destroy your engine” Someone better tell my 315k mile Avalon this, that’s all she gets is one done every 10k miles runs like a champ.

    • Adventurous_Carl5@alien.topOPB
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      10 months ago

      Yeah the most reliable engine Toyota ever produced that is no longer available. You can say the same about any 90’s V6 Camry. Try that shit with any modern Toyota engine and see how far that takes you. My dad did the exact same shit on a 16 Corolla. 10K oil changes with a synthetic. After 75K car started burning 3 quarts of oil. I got him to trade the car in for a new one. Your Avalon can easily last 1 million Km if you did your oil changes every 4-5K.

    • poor_michigan@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      If that’s all she gets, I wonder how much longer she has… the 2gr is a great engine, but that trifecta seal is not cheap or quick to repair. And he’s not wrong in the regard that 10k oil changes kill engines; they do. In every regard. The longer you leave the used oil in the unit, the more debris it collects and carries through the ENTIRE system. Not only that, over time, engine oil does become acidic. So that only adds to the wear of the engine.

      If you want your vehicle to last a lifetime, watch your engine speed, and change your damn oil(& more importantly filter) every 5k to get that old, debris riddled shit out of there. If you really want to go the extra mile to protect it, buy an extra quart of oil and flush the engine after you’ve drained the old, before popping the drain plug back in to fill. It’s all about reducing loose material that can potentially get between moving parts and cause more wear than the general friction between surfaces.

      • huf757@alien.topB
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        10 months ago

        You’re gonna be upset with me when you read the trans fluid has never been changed and is still original and shifts smooth as new.

        • brsrafal@alien.topB
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          10 months ago

          Nice those v6 engines are beasts do you drive mostly city or highway do you drive soft? I also had camry over 300k orig transmission fluid so I believe in not touching it glad to hear your experience!

          • huf757@alien.topB
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            10 months ago

            Half highway half stop and go. I don’t drive it soft but I don’t beat the shit out of it either.

        • kingofthesofas@alien.topB
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          10 months ago

          I took a 2010 Highlander to 250k miles with 10k oil changes and never changed the transmission fluid. It ran perfectly, shifted smooth as butter still. That being said it’s not going to hurt if you change it more often and do a normal change (not flush) of the transmission fluid after 80k miles. I don’t buy the “it’s all a conspiracy” stuff though. I will say there are far too many oil change shops that will lie about the oil they put in. I have caught several putting in conventional oil when I asked for full synthetic. Also if you are a low mileage driver then consider changing it more often at least every 6 months IMHO. For us we do 20k miles a year so that isn’t an issue for us.

        • poor_michigan@alien.topB
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          10 months ago

          I’m not mad, I expect that of Toyota. I rarely see any car, new or old come in for trans issues. But higher mileage cars pouring oil from this that and the other? All day long.

          I do the oil in my Corolla every 5 along with moving my tires to the best possible position. I plan to flush my trans every 60k (only because it’s straight shift), and the other major maintenance schedule items as they come. Spark plugs, coolant at 100k etc. it’s all in how much you’re willing to put in to keep your vehicle in peak condition, and how long you want to keep the vehicle. I hope to get a good decade out of this new 22, while putting a grueling 35k a year on her.

          • huf757@alien.topB
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            10 months ago

            I will admit when I get rid of my 2002 Avalon what ever newer vehicle I buy I will be doing 5k mile oil changes. I’m eyeing the Crown.

            • poor_michigan@alien.topB
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              10 months ago

              They’re pretty nice. I was disappointed to see them slap the A25 in it though, especially with a 0w-8 oil requirement. We don’t even stock 0w-8 for anything yet 😂 but would still be a good daily/family car in you maintain it.

    • brsrafal@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      That v6 is best engine ever made how about transmission ever change fluid or still original?

  • poor_michigan@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    I put 5-30 in my 2az-fe that called for 0-20. The oil pump couldn’t move it quick enough. Not even 24 hours after the change, I spun a rod bearing. Could have been previous abuse from the previous owner, though I had it 6-8months, changed the oil when I initially bought it, about a quart low next change, so thicker oil because I thought maybe the piston rings?

    Nope. She didn’t like the thicker oil. Won’t try again.

  • jmoney1119@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    You do you dude. I know people have done this before but really it’s too early to know for sure if there’s any long term downside. Since you’re calling it a conspiracy, I’m not gonna try and convince you otherwise. Nothing I’ll say will change your opinion. Do it, report back.

  • wooboost20@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    You just complained on another post that Toyota suspension systems were garbage and yet now you want to buy a brand new Camry and test some theory you have about using a different viscosity of motor oil in it because you believe people who manufacture the engines and have run numerous tests and engineering research are “wrong”? Whatever you wanna do with your money you can do, but it’s not going to be some “ground breaking discovery” like you believe it’s going to be. There’s a reason that Toyota recommends what they do. And 10K oil changes won’t ruin your engine, using the wrong viscosity of oil most definitely can, especially going that thick of an oil compared to what it’s supposed to use. But like I said, do you

  • AtomWorker@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    Independent bodies have been testing thin oils for decades and there’s no evidence of excessive wear compared to heavier oils. Chemical composition and age of the oil are the actual factors you need to worry about.

    From a practical perspective 0W-20 has been common in cars for well over a decade and 0W-16 was not too far behind. Given that owners are notoriously poor with maintenance, if these oils were causing excessive wear and actual damage we would have heard about it a long time ago. There are 0W-16 Civics and Corollas out there with hundreds of thousands of miles on them.

    Of course there are specialized use cases where it might make sense to swap out your oil for something thicker. Track use is one application that comes to mind. However, they’re doing it for thermal management during extended WOT conditions and not due to viscosity.

    Of course, the cargo cult idiots always believe that it’s a 1-to-1 analog; if something works on a track car then doing the same on a road car means it will run forever. These people ignore the fact that race cars require constant maintenance and frequent oil changes. Racing is about stable performance over the course of an event, not long term reliability. They’re not worried about potential issues from running thicker oils because they have a specific need that justifies the compromise.

  • WinthropH@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    I change the oil in my 2020 Camry every 5000 miles. BUT my gf has a 4Runner she bought new in 2016 and she has hers changed every 10000 miles and it has 205,000 miles in it now with no issues. So hell I don’t know. I just don’t know.

    • poor_michigan@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      Is it leaking oil anywhere around the engine? Check right under the bank one head, in between that, the block, and the timing cover. If not there, check around the oil cooler.

  • adreww@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    I have a 2TR-FE that originally required 5W-30 when it was released but was back-spec’d to 0W-20. I thought it sounded kind of clattery on 0W-20 so I tried a fill of 5W-30 and it is slightly – but noticeably – smoother and quieter at high RPM.

    The Camry can use up to 10W-30. You gotta remember that a lot of Camrys and Corollas end up in places where high-end synthetic oil is hard to find or cost prohibitive. These aren’t German prima donnas that can only survive on a single oil spec.

    Australian Camry Hybrid Owners Manual screenshots:
    https://i.imgur.com/ujDCTT1.png
    https://i.imgur.com/BdrGmz0.png
    https://i.imgur.com/KEKVZKg.png