5w-30

[Belo]

short: anyone run 5w-30 with good/bad experience?

2015 explorer limited. v6 (no eco). 25k miles.

story
Place an online order through autozone for 6 quarts of 5w-20 mobile one synthetic yesterday. Picked it up today to do the oil change. Running a bunch of errands to get ready for the game and not paying attention. Do the change, nice and clean and it's not until I go to dump the old oil back into the bottles that I noticed my 5 quarts was 5w-30... The single quart was the correct 5w-20. Receipt and order were both correct.

So I'm an engineer and **** about stuff (hence doing my own oil changes in upstate ny winter). Google shows mixed results stating mostly that i'll be ok. However it could reduce mileage, hp and cause extra wear. It also seems that newer cars have tighter specs. So I plan to go back to see if they'll refund me 6 new quarts. But curious if they don't what risk i'm in? I probably wouldn't care if just the single quart was off. Has anyone ran 5w-30?

 

[peterk9]

5W-30 is what is recommended for the Ecoboost engine. I can't see any issues running it in the NA 3.5L V6. My 2017 Ecoboost uses 5W-30. All the oil I've used in my 2011 Ex, 2014 MKT and current Platinum has been regular non synthetic oil.
Also, please complete your registration by adding the now 'Required' "Trim Level" (Limited) to your profile so it appears in the margin. That can be useful info to have at times. Thank you

Peter

 

[1995E]

My family has an F-150 3.5L Ecoboost, and a Ford Fusion 2.0L Ecoboost, both take 5W-30. My 3.5L naturally aspirated in the Explorer takes 5W-20, so I just buy 5W-30 oil for the family and put it in all 3. I've done this since 15,000 miles. The car is now at 90,000 miles. It's fine to run 5W-30. It might actually be better since the oil will be thicker at higher temperatures, thus lubricating/ sealing better, but you might see a very slight MPG decrease, that's all.

 

[Odrapnew]

I agree, just run the 5-30 until your next change. You might see a slight decrease in MPG, but I doubt there will be any impact to engine wear.

 

[Sixonemale]

short: anyone run 5w-30 with good/bad experience?

Do the change, nice and clean and it's not until I go to dump the old oil back into the bottles that I noticed my 5 quarts was 5w-30... The single quart was the correct 5w-20. Receipt and order were both correct.

I'm fairly confident 5W-20 requirement labeled on the oil cap is due to CAFE emission standards similar to the design of many other items on this vehicle. I'm also some what of perfectionist, but mixing one quart of 5W-20 with five quarts of 5W-30 should not harm a thing, assuming it's all the same brand. On a weighted or average basis you'll be running 5W-28.33, especially not an issue since it's winter.

 

[Belo]

Thanks all. If the wife notices any issues, sounds or degraded performance I'll change it

 

[Danny A.]

There is absolutely no problem with using what ya got! Just switch back next change. The 5 is what the oil will flow like @ 0* and the 20 or 30 is the viscosity it will hold at normal operating temps

 

[KayGee]

...mixing one quart of 5W-20 with five quarts of 5W-30 should not harm a thing, assuming it's all the same brand.

As long as it's all SAE rated oil, it can mixed regardless of brand or type (regular/synthetic/blend). If one is running extended OCIs with synthetic and adds regular oil to top off, they should probably revert to normal OCI until they can drain and refill with synthetic and get back on an extended OCI.

 

[swshawaii]

^ And what API graded oil isn't SAE rated? Don't recall ever seeing non SAE motor oil.

EDIT- I stand corrected.
PETROLEUM QUALITY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA

 

[random155]

I wouldnt even switch back. 5w20 is too thin of an oil, and, in my OPINION, is only used to boost their MPG advertisements. I dont think its good for engines. Stick with the 5w30 if you want a long lasting engine.

 

[Danny A.]

It's not a thickness, it's viscosity which means resistance to flow! Why would you want your oil In a newer tighter engine to resist flow? Short term, no issues, long term, not good on the engine. If your gonna change to a higher viscosity, do it when your motor has higher miles because your bearings have more wear

 

[random155]

It's not a thickness, it's viscosity which means resistance to flow! Why would you want your oil In a newer tighter engine to resist flow? Short term, no issues, long term, not good on the engine. If your gonna change to a higher viscosity, do it when your motor has higher miles because your bearings have more wear

Agree with newer engine lower viscosity thanks for correction. I was thinking of problems I was having with my older f150 and changing to higher viscosity solved my issues.

 

[182RG]

More flow, not more oil pressure is what is important. More flow = more heat dissipated. Using the thinnest oil spec’d is what is best for your engine. Thicker oil does not “lubricate” better. Thicker oil actually creates more heat via shearing vs a thinner oil. This is a researched, scientific fact.

Use what the engineers spec. If it’s 5W-30, use 5W-30. If it’s 5W-20, use 5W-20. The notion that 5W-20 is too thin is an uneducated old wives tale. Right behind changing your oil more often is “better” or “insurance”.

113K miles on a 2011 3.5 NA Explorer. 10K mile oil changes using Mobil 1 5W-20 full synthetic and a Motorcraft OEM Filter since new. Runs same as when new with no oil usage.

Follow the manual.