How long until something goes wrong with my car?

[z1ggy]

1) Put 5w-20 in the engine yesterday. Apparently it takes 0w-20, although the model year before took 5w-20 and I read online nothing really changed between the 2 engines.

2)TPMS light going off. Looked at tires, noticed front left tire has a bubble protruding out of the sidewall. Doesn't look punctured, but I'm afraid to put air in the tire.

Who wants my stuff when my car explodes and/or runs off the road?

 

[96Firebird]

5w-20 vs 0w-20 makes little difference, that won't matter.

Sidewall bubble, get that tire replaced.

 

[z1ggy]

That's what I figured. 0w probably does slightly better on emissions or something.

How long do I have? I planned on doing it this weekend, but if the tire could rupture at any moment, I'll take care of it sooner.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

I'd do it ASAP, it could be a pretty big deal. Pictures of the bubble?

 

[z1ggy]

I'll take one and upload it later, am at work right now. It's not huge, but obviously it was noticeable.

 

[tweakmonkey]

Definitely change the tire asap. You'll feel pretty dumb if it leaves you stranded or worse, causes a crash, when TPMS warned you and you see a bubble.

0w20 won't protect as much as 5w20, it's probably just thinner to help get better mpg from the factory. You won't hurt anything running that oil.

 

[freeskier93]

The first number of an oil weight is the cold viscosity while the second number is the hot viscosity. The only difference between a 0w-20 oil and 5w-20 oil is that the 0w-20 oil will have a lower viscosity at a lower temperature. This is a good thing, especially if you live in a colder climate.

 

[z1ggy]

Definitely change the tire asap. You'll feel pretty dumb if it leaves you stranded or worse, causes a crash, when TPMS warned you and you see a bubble.

0w20 won't protect as much as 5w20, it's probably just thinner to help get better mpg from the factory. You won't hurt anything running that oil.

Yeah I think I'm going to replace both front tires. Just did the rears about 15k miles ago, but the fronts have 80k on them, they look pretty beat. Any suggestions for a good all season? Live in the northeast.

The first number of an oil weight is the cold viscosity while the second number is the hot viscosity. The only difference between a 0w-20 oil and 5w-20 oil is that the 0w-20 oil will have a lower viscosity at a lower temperature. This is a good thing, especially if you live in a colder climate.

Thanks, that's really cool. I'll probably put the 0w next time.

 

[Billb2]

5W oil will be a little harder to crank over on extremely cold (below zero) mornings.
0W oils are used to increase gas mileage. If that or cold isn't an issue 5W will protect your engine a little better.

 

[PottedMeat]

lets see that bubble

ITS NOT A TUMAH

 

[z1ggy]

holy crap haha

 

[freeskier93]

5W oil will be a little harder to crank over on extremely cold (below zero) mornings.
0W oils are used to increase gas mileage. If that or cold isn't an issue 5W will protect your engine a little better.

Actually it won't, a 5w is quite a bit thicker than it should be for least amount of engine wear during startup. The viscosity of the oil at operating temperature (which is 100*C for vast majority of vehicles) is the ideal viscosity in which the least amount of wear on the engine will occur. So in the case of the OP that's a 20w oil, which is going to be about 6-9 cSt. A 5w at 40*C is still about 25-30 cSt! 0w isn't on the chart but you could guess it's probably about 15-25 cSt at 40*C.

Realistically, I don't know how much of a difference it makes long term though. Probably not much, but I would still go back to the 0w-20 the next go around.

 

[Billb2]

Actually it won't, a 5w is quite a bit thicker than it should be for least amount of engine wear during startup. The viscosity of the oil at operating temperature (which is 100*C for vast majority of vehicles) is the ideal viscosity in which the least amount of wear on the engine will occur. So in the case of the OP that's a 20w oil, which is going to be about 6-9 cSt. A 5w at 40*C is still about 25-30 cSt! 0w isn't on the chart but you could guess it's probably about 15-25 cSt at 40*C.

Realistically, I don't know how much of a difference it makes long term though. Probably not much, but I would still go back to the 0w-20 the next go around.

I was under the impression that thicker oil provided better protection and less drain back for starting. Thicker up to the point where the oil pump has problems moving enough oil.

 

[Midwayman]

It's also worth mentioning that if you look in your owners manual there is a range of reccomended oils depending on temp and usage.

 

[NutBucket]

lets see that bubble

ITS NOT A TUMAH

Looks like 90's Buick. Amy guesses on the age of the driver? LOL

 

[z1ggy]

Photo of tire. Looks dry rotted, too.

 

[freeskier93]

I was under the impression that thicker oil provided better protection and less drain back for starting. Thicker up to the point where the oil pump has problems moving enough oil.

I'd highly recommend reading through this:

https://bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-108/

If you have the time and are interested I'd highly recommend reading through the rest of his articles.

Also, to make a correction to what I said above, 0w oil might not be any thinner in viscosity, in fact if you do some digging you might find for some manufacturers the 0w is thicker "cold" then it's 5w counter part. However, the pump ability and pour point of the 0w is much better at very cold temperatures. Point is viscosity isn't exactly the only important metric.

It's also worth mentioning that if you look in your owners manual there is a range of reccomended oils depending on temp and usage.

That was pretty common for older vehicles, most newer vehicles only specify one, which is probably going to be 0w-XX or 5w-XX. A number of manufacturers have even amended older manuals to only use one oil year round regardless of climate.

 

[OverVolt]

My observation is that my nissan sentra runs like shit on 0w20 and runs much smoother on 5w30. Confirmed the same thing with an altima driver.

My suspicion is that 0w20 is great for gas mileage, and beating the gas mileage test, but 5w30 actually protects the engine better, going by how smooth it runs.

 

[OverVolt]

Yep, that asphalt looks like it reflects UV like a mother $%^#'er. You ever park your car outside for a long time in the same spot in the summer without ever moving it?

 

[z1ggy]

Yep, that asphalt looks like it reflects UV like a mother $%^#'er. You ever park your car outside for a long time in the same spot in the summer without ever moving it?

No.. I move it everyday, whether it be to work or to go various places on the weekend.

 

[razel]

It's looks like your tire was very low at one point and then hit the curb too hard. Definitely take it to a tire shop and have them inspect it. It will cost you since they'll remount, rebalance, but that's really the only definitive way you'll find out if anything structural is wrong. As for your oil there is VERY little difference between 0w and 5w. I've tried different oil types from 0w to 10w in my car to see MPG and wear metals based on oil analysis and at least in the mild southern Cali weather, there was no difference. In fact the 10w did better at longer oil intervals mainly because there's less shear. Less change in their viscosity. However that was probably beause it's just a different oil brand rather than xw number. It could even be because it's a different year and car computers change car engine timings over time.

Regardless don't worry about it. It's going with a lighter last number on your oil where you MIGHT start to get concerned.

 

[z1ggy]

It's looks like your tire was very low at one point and then hit the curb too hard. Definitely take it to a tire shop and have them inspect it. It will cost you since they'll remount, rebalance, but that's really the only definitive way you'll find out if anything structural is wrong. As for your oil there is VERY little difference between 0w and 5w. I've tried different oil types from 0w to 10w in my car to see MPG and wear metals based on oil analysis and at least in the mild southern Cali weather, there was no difference. In fact the 10w did better at longer oil intervals mainly because there's less shear. Less change in their viscosity. However that was probably beause it's just a different oil brand rather than xw number. It could even be because it's a different year and car computers change car engine timings over time.

Regardless don't worry about it. It's going with a lighter last number on your oil where you MIGHT start to get concerned.

Okay, I try see if I can get to a tire place this weekend. Odds are they'll tell me I need new tires anyway, because... that's how they make $$.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Yuriman]

My observation is that my nissan sentra runs like shit on 0w20 and runs much smoother on 5w30. Confirmed the same thing with an altima driver.

My suspicion is that 0w20 is great for gas mileage, and beating the gas mileage test, but 5w30 actually protects the engine better, going by how smooth it runs.

Not sure about protecting better. My car calls for 0w20 and there are examples of engines with 5-700,000 miles that still have fine compression. Ditto with the Prius, pretty sure it calls for 0w20 and they're often used as taxis. You see Prius taxis with more than half a million miles and a healthy engine, so clearly 0w20 isn't destroying them.

EDIT: Honda was selling their "Green Oil" for a while and recommending that their hybrids use only that oil, for what it's worth. Independent tests showed it to effectively be somewhere between 0w5 and 0w16.

 

[jlee]

I wouldn't bother having the tire inspected - a sidewall bubble indicates structural failure, so I'd have it replaced.

 

[OverVolt]

Not sure about protecting better. My car calls for 0w20 and there are examples of engines with 5-700,000 miles that still have fine compression. Ditto with the Prius, pretty sure it calls for 0w20 and they're often used as taxis. You see Prius taxis with more than half a million miles and a healthy engine, so clearly 0w20 isn't destroying them.

EDIT: Honda was selling their "Green Oil" for a while and recommending that their hybrids use only that oil, for what it's worth. Independent tests showed it to effectively be somewhere between 0w5 and 0w16.

Not the same engine cycle though on hybrids.