0W-20 vs. 0W-30

[BigLar]

I recently bought a Nissan Altima Hybrid and was surprised to find that the recommended oil was 0W-20. I understand that the thinner oil would help gas mileage a bit, but it can be difficult to find.

On the other hand, 0W-30 is fairly common. I called Mobil and they said I should use the 0W-20, but when I called Nissan they said the 0W-30 would be OK.

Seems to me that both should be fine at cold temperatures, but that the 0W-30 would be better at high temperatures.

Anybody got any thoughts?



P.S. Nissan recommends oil changes at 3500 miles for level 1 (city driving) use and 7000 for level 2 (open road). I'm thinking that a good synthetic every 5000 sounds about right. Opinions?

 

[Vette73]

The 0w30 Syn every 7000miles sounds like it would work fine as long as you don;t tow and/or overload the car.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Mobil told you to stay with 0w20 because that's what your owner's manual recommended for the majority of conditions and they won't contradict an owner's manual due to potential liability on their part. Mobil also only keeps information on the "general" oil for a type of car, while the owner's manual will list several types of oil for different operating conditions.

The advice you got from Nissan is the correct advice, though if you use the 0w30 your gas mileage will decrease.

Every 5,000 miles should be just fine for an oil change interval.

ZV

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Mobil told you to stay with 0w20 because that's what your owner's manual recommended for the majority of conditions and they won't contradict an owner's manual due to potential liability on their part. Mobil also only keeps information on the "general" oil for a type of car, while the owner's manual will list several types of oil for different operating conditions.

The advice you got from Nissan is the correct advice, though if you use the 0w30 your gas mileage will decrease.

Every 5,000 miles should be just fine for an oil change interval.

ZV

Wouldn't the mileage decrease be extremely small???

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Mobil told you to stay with 0w20 because that's what your owner's manual recommended for the majority of conditions and they won't contradict an owner's manual due to potential liability on their part. Mobil also only keeps information on the "general" oil for a type of car, while the owner's manual will list several types of oil for different operating conditions.

The advice you got from Nissan is the correct advice, though if you use the 0w30 your gas mileage will decrease.

Every 5,000 miles should be just fine for an oil change interval.

ZV

Wouldn't the mileage decrease be extremely small???

Exxon Mobil claim a 2% fuel economy improvement of 0w20 over 0w30.

Consumers who use Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy can realize a potential 2 percent improvement in fuel economy, which can translate to more than $400 in savings during the life of a typical vehicle, based on a comparison with those grades most commonly used. Actual savings depend upon vehicle/engine type, outside temperature, driving conditions and your current engine-oil viscosity.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Mobil told you to stay with 0w20 because that's what your owner's manual recommended for the majority of conditions and they won't contradict an owner's manual due to potential liability on their part. Mobil also only keeps information on the "general" oil for a type of car, while the owner's manual will list several types of oil for different operating conditions.

The advice you got from Nissan is the correct advice, though if you use the 0w30 your gas mileage will decrease.

Every 5,000 miles should be just fine for an oil change interval.

ZV

Wouldn't the mileage decrease be extremely small???

This is true.

ZV

 

[lurk3r]

Originally posted by: PlasmaBomb

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Mobil told you to stay with 0w20 because that's what your owner's manual recommended for the majority of conditions and they won't contradict an owner's manual due to potential liability on their part. Mobil also only keeps information on the "general" oil for a type of car, while the owner's manual will list several types of oil for different operating conditions.

The advice you got from Nissan is the correct advice, though if you use the 0w30 your gas mileage will decrease.

Every 5,000 miles should be just fine for an oil change interval.

ZV

Wouldn't the mileage decrease be extremely small???

Exxon Mobil claim a 2% fuel economy improvement of 0w20 over 0w30.

Consumers who use Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy can realize a potential 2 percent improvement in fuel economy, which can translate to more than $400 in savings during the life of a typical vehicle, based on a comparison with those grades most commonly used. Actual savings depend upon vehicle/engine type, outside temperature, driving conditions and your current engine-oil viscosity.

2% is not measurable, do to the math. it should be getting ~40 mpg, 2% is 0.8 mpg, you'll get more variance than that just based off traffic change.

 

[Apex]

Originally posted by: lurk3r

Originally posted by: PlasmaBomb

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Mobil told you to stay with 0w20 because that's what your owner's manual recommended for the majority of conditions and they won't contradict an owner's manual due to potential liability on their part. Mobil also only keeps information on the "general" oil for a type of car, while the owner's manual will list several types of oil for different operating conditions.

The advice you got from Nissan is the correct advice, though if you use the 0w30 your gas mileage will decrease.

Every 5,000 miles should be just fine for an oil change interval.

ZV

Wouldn't the mileage decrease be extremely small???

Exxon Mobil claim a 2% fuel economy improvement of 0w20 over 0w30.

Consumers who use Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy can realize a potential 2 percent improvement in fuel economy, which can translate to more than $400 in savings during the life of a typical vehicle, based on a comparison with those grades most commonly used. Actual savings depend upon vehicle/engine type, outside temperature, driving conditions and your current engine-oil viscosity.

2% is not measurable, do to the math. it should be getting ~40 mpg, 2% is 0.8 mpg, you'll get more variance than that just based off traffic change.

Also of note:

Mobil 1's 0w20 is on the thick end of the 20 weight scale. Their 0w30 is on the thin end of the 30 weight scale. The functional difference between the two is actually tiny.

Other brands may be different (ie. Redline's one of the thicker 30w oils).

 

[BigLar]

Originally posted by: PlasmaBomb

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Mobil told you to stay with 0w20 because that's what your owner's manual recommended for the majority of conditions and they won't contradict an owner's manual due to potential liability on their part. Mobil also only keeps information on the "general" oil for a type of car, while the owner's manual will list several types of oil for different operating conditions.

The advice you got from Nissan is the correct advice, though if you use the 0w30 your gas mileage will decrease.

Every 5,000 miles should be just fine for an oil change interval.

ZV

Wouldn't the mileage decrease be extremely small???

Exxon Mobil claim a 2% fuel economy improvement of 0w20 over 0w30.

Consumers who use Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy can realize a potential 2 percent improvement in fuel economy, which can translate to more than $400 in savings during the life of a typical vehicle, based on a comparison with those grades most commonly used. Actual savings depend upon vehicle/engine type, outside temperature, driving conditions and your current engine-oil viscosity.

The blurb on the 0W-30 jug claims the same 2% as the 0W-20.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: BigLar

Originally posted by: PlasmaBomb

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Mobil told you to stay with 0w20 because that's what your owner's manual recommended for the majority of conditions and they won't contradict an owner's manual due to potential liability on their part. Mobil also only keeps information on the "general" oil for a type of car, while the owner's manual will list several types of oil for different operating conditions.

The advice you got from Nissan is the correct advice, though if you use the 0w30 your gas mileage will decrease.

Every 5,000 miles should be just fine for an oil change interval.

ZV

Wouldn't the mileage decrease be extremely small???

Exxon Mobil claim a 2% fuel economy improvement of 0w20 over 0w30.

Consumers who use Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy can realize a potential 2 percent improvement in fuel economy, which can translate to more than $400 in savings during the life of a typical vehicle, based on a comparison with those grades most commonly used. Actual savings depend upon vehicle/engine type, outside temperature, driving conditions and your current engine-oil viscosity.

The blurb on the 0W-30 jug claims the same 2% as the 0W-20.

So then there you have it. Go for the more widely available weight.