0-20 Weight Oil

[want-a-be]

Our CR-V calls for 0-20 weight motor oil, is all 0-20 weight Synthetic? Don't really like Synthetic it's not worth the price, what would it hurt to use 5-20 regular oil? The car will never be where the temp. is 0.

[Blaster_Man]

allbrandauto wrote:
...they do not make a 0-20 in conventional oil only in syn...

Correct.

[YamaDooed]

I switch to synthetic and a quality filter and bump my oil change to once a year or 10,000 miles whichever is first...I spend less time and the cost is less than buying 2 dino oil changes...

[tinkerer]

Being we winter in Arizona I use 5W20 synthetic in my CRV and I don't think it knows the difference. The change oil reminder came on around 10,000 miles with Mobil 1. I used a different no-name synthetic and it appears it will go close to the 10,000 mile mark also. With dyno oil the change oil light reminder came on at around 5000 miles.;)

[want-a-be]

Tvov wrote:
Read your manual closely - yes, it "recommends" synthetic oil, but it may not require it. My wife's new Ford recommends synthetic oil, but in small print it says dino oil is fine, and will not affect warranty.

At a minimum, while under warranty I would recommend going with the manual's recommendation.

(lots of recommendations being thrown around! lol)

My manual says. You may also use synthetic motor oil if it is labeled with the API Certification Seal. It does not recommend synthetic oil, only Genuine Honda Motor Oil which may be synthetic??

[Tvov]

Read your manual closely - yes, it "recommends" synthetic oil, but it may not require it. My wife's new Ford recommends synthetic oil, but in small print it says dino oil is fine, and will not affect warranty.

At a minimum, while under warranty I would recommend going with the manual's recommendation.

(lots of recommendations being thrown around! lol)

[Dale_Traveling]

And we have a winner. It's all about fuel economy and meeting the government imposed standards for the model year. If going with a lighter oil gains a mile or two per gallon manufactures will make the switch. Same with synthetic over conventional.

lryrob9301 wrote:
It may surprise you but manufacturers went to 0w20 oil not for cold engine start lubrication but for fuel mileage. 0w20 reduces the drag imposed on the engine crankshaft running in the crankcase. This drag, called windage, reduction helps the engine produce more horsepower without increased fuel consumption, thus increasing miles per gallon. Vehicle manufacturers will do anything to reach federal mileage standards and this is one little thing that helps meet that goal. Actually 5w20 or 10w30 or 10w40 oil will run just fine in your Honda engine.

[J-Rooster]

I also own a Honda CRV and if I'm not mistaken they recommend that you use synthetic. I would check on this so it won't void your warrantee. I use Mobil 1 synthetic oil 5W-30W (Gold Cap) in my Riding lawn mower, Harley Davidson, CRV and my Winnebago. It's gives you way more protection in a engine than regular oil (it's slipperier). Good Luck using the regular oil.

[time2roll]

Go by the book, 0-20
5-20 will do nothing except reduce fuel economy. The extra gas will cost more than the synthetic oil.

[owenssailor]

When all else fails - read the manual.

In your case I'd follow it for what oil to use. As well - as stated above, use the OLM (Oil Life Monitor) to determine when to change the oil. There is no downside for your engine using synthetic. The additional cost is very minimal. if the only 0-20 you can get is synthetic.

[MerkelG]

0-20 oil is used to protect your engine during startup and for better mileage.

[jorbill2or]

Since the car only hold 4 quarts ( unlike the many gallons my DP uses) synthetic costs really isn't a a problem on a 25 grand car I would think. But then again I tend to look at things differently I guess.
The explanation given to me........... The reason Honda uses 0 w oil besides temp rating is the engine is designed around it and has been for many years!! . My 06 uses 5/20. Honda does this not primarily for cold temperatures but for mileage ratings on the engine. The oil is designed to lube properly and provide low friction in the engine designed to close tolerances.
The good news is since you own it you can do whatever you feel is right. My feeling is 5 bucks more a year on my car isn't even a measurable % on my overall operating costs. The lower mileage a higher weight oil will.get you will let you pay that 5 bucks a little at a time LOL

[lryrob9301]

It may surprise you but manufacturers went to 0w20 oil not for cold engine start lubrication but for fuel mileage. 0w20 reduces the drag imposed on the engine crankshaft running in the crankcase. This drag, called windage, reduction helps the engine produce more horsepower without increased fuel consumption, thus increasing miles per gallon. Vehicle manufacturers will do anything to reach federal mileage standards and this is one little thing that helps meet that goal. Actually 5w20 or 10w30 or 10w40 oil will run just fine in your Honda engine.

[allbrandauto]

they do not make a 0-20 in conventional oil only in syn. or you can get a 0-20 blend when Honda first came out with 0-20 the oil cap had written on it 0-20 and 5-20 so you could use ether as a shop owner when syn. is on sale I can buy it for 2.99 qt. all most as cheap as regular oil

[DrewE]

mike brez wrote:

want-a-be wrote:
We drive around 7000 miles a year. The temp. range for 0-20 is -20 to +100 degrees.

My son has been living up in Vt 10 min from the Canadian border running 0-20 and there are a lot of nights were it is way below -20 with the wind. So far so good.

You do realize that wind chill does not affect how cold a car engine gets, right? Engines do not sweat, so increased evaporation from the wind doesn't affect them the way it does affect one's skin.

At least in this part of Vermont, there are not too many times when it's below -20F. It does happen, but not all that frequently and not for too long. It's entirely possible that the local conditions could be colder where your son is than where I am.

To the OP: I would recommend using the weight of oil that Honda recommends. It will probably be synthetic, as that's basically all that is available in 0W20 oil. If you follow the maintenance minder computer, you will not need to be changing oil very frequently, especially if you do mainly highway driving. My Honda Fit generally gets around 10,000 to 12,000 miles (mostly highway-ish driving) between oil changes. At that rate, the relatively expensive oil is a negligible expense.