0W-20 Engine Oil

[JazzyB]

Eurocarparts are doing 0W-20 oil for £21.41 after discount for 5 Litres.

https://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/p/car-parts/engine-parts/engine-parts1/engine-oils/?521773331&&ce5_113

remember to use discount code 'crazy75'

[culzean]

I may use 0W-20 oil if I lived in Lapland or if my postcode covered north or south pole, but in the UK? Nah, don't think so.

Also using ultra thin oil in an engine with a few miles on the clock is not normally recommended as the gaps in bearings are larger than on low mileage cars, my ( 2016 model) highly stressed motorbike engine recommends 10W40 and no lower.

[JazzyB]

I normally use 0W-30 Castrol brand at about £33 for 4 litres, but saw this offer and seeing as the GD1 Jazz engine can use the 0W-20 viscosity oil why not?

[culzean]

I normally use 0W-30 Castrol brand at about £33 for 4 litres, but saw this offer and seeing as the GD1 Jazz engine can use the 0W-20 viscosity oil why not?

The youngest GD engine is now getting on for 9 years old which means worn seals and larger bearing gaps,  but I would not use 0W20 even in my wife's GE, or my Civic. Ultra thin oils make water look like syrup. Motor makers use ultra thin oils to achieve the extra 0.5 mile per gallon under lab conditions,  just one of their tricks, other tricks are disconnecting aircon and alternator, blowing tyres up to 60psi and heating test building to 40degC.

[Jocko]

My son-in-law was speaking to an oil company rep about suitable oil for my Volvo. The first thing he asked was the mileage, and when my son-in-law told him it was 90K he said 5W-30. He then explained, as culzean has, about rings, bearings etc. he even suggested Semi Synthetic.

[culzean]

My son-in-law was speaking to an oil company rep about suitable oil for my Volvo. The first thing he asked was the mileage, and when my son-in-law told him it was 90K he said 5W-30. He then explained, as culzean has, about rings, bearings etc. he even suggested Semi Synthetic.

I have seen posts on car and motorbike forums about people with high mileage engines who used flushing oil during oil change and soon after had engine failures, seems that the build up of carbon etc around main and big end bearings was helping to keep oil pressure up and oil in the bearings, by using flushing oil it cleaned out too much of this 'seal' and allowed oil to escape from bearings too easily (especially when hot and thin).

[sparky Paul]

Fully synthetic oil is perfect for modern, low mileage engines, but put it in an older high mileage engine and you are asking for trouble... particularly if it has never run synthetic before. 5W-30 is fine in the UK, and in high mileage engines, even that's on the thin side.

At the end of the day, engine oil viscosity is a trade off between lubrication and fuel economy, and any mpg gains are minimal.

[JazzyB]

I have been running 0W-30 for many years now and having had the car from new with oil changes twice a year 50k on the clock and not a single drop being used I see no reason not to use 0W-20 especially when it's cheaper than 0W-30 at the moment.

If my engine was worn and used oil then yes those comments are applicable.

[culzean]

My first Civic (Rover used it as basis for its 400 model) did around 190,000 miles and never a spanner on the engine and never used a drop of oil, mainly run on Castrol 10W40. My GD 1.4 Jazz did over 120,000 miles mainly 10W40 and 5W30 magnatec never a spanner on engine and used no oil, also used castrol gearbox oil with molyslip and gearbox input bearing never got noisy. My present Civic only done a mere 70,000 so far but would not be tempted to put 0W20 no matter what the price. As SparkyPaul says, any gain in fuel consumption will be marginal and with so many long established well known oil brands around for a few quid more than Petronus, the potential risks outweigh any gain.

[madasafish]

From October 2012 - when I bought my Jazz - till March 2017, the car was given 0w-20 Castrol Edge fully synthetic. It averaged 42.9mpg in that period.
From March 2017 until now, it uses Shell Helix Ultra fully synthetic 5w-30. It averaged 42.7mpg in that period.

(the comparison is skewed in that first stats include winter fuel consumption which is often 5-10% than summer -.

But is shows the small differences likely.

(Travle patterns are near identical)

[MartinJG]

I recently acquired my Jazz with 61,150 on the clock. It was serviced by the local Honda dealer and they used 0W-20 or 0W-30 (in the last service at least) simply because it was recommended by Honda head office. However, I believe the recommended oil in the handbook (2005) is 10W-40.  I was going to go with 5W-30. Question now is which is the best oil to use?

[culzean]

You are spot on, in UK I would go with 5W30 as 0W20 too thin for engine with as bit of wear and in any case any potential gains in mpg will be tiny and not worth the risk.  If  you go on Opie oils site they often have offers and also offer Mahle filters (made in Austria) for oil, air and cabin filters.  I have pretty much always used Castrol Magnatec and it is often on offer at Halfords for less than £30 for 4 litres.

[MartinJG]

Thanks. Seems to me 5W-30 is the way forward. MPG is an interesting subject but maybe a red herring when you consider Honda's reputation for good engineering and the reason I got a Jazz. We all fall into the MPG trap but in truth, hopefully, the potential savings from reliability should outweigh the fuel consumption shortfall. That said, it seems to me Jocko is sqeezing out every last drop.

[Jocko]

That said, it seems to me Jocko is sqeezing out every last drop.

I am certainly trying. Not for reasons of hard cash, if I am honest. It has just become a bit of a game. My first ever tank top up with the car, when I didn't really know it, was driving a manual for the first time in 25 years, and was scooting about every chance I got, returned 48 mpg. I would be perfectly happy from the money side if I got that regularly. That and the cheap road tax was my main reason for getting the Jazz.

[guest5079]

Back in June, I put our Jazz into our local garage for servicing. I left the choice of oil up to him but stipulated Synthetic.
The previous 2 services have been freebies by the dealer that sold me the car so I have no idea what oil was used. Allegedly semi synthetic. Between services was about 5,000 miles and the oil level never changed. Each time I went to the dealer I was offered fully synthetic at around £25 extra.
My local garage on checking the invoice used 0-30 synthetic.Which cost me £37.50.   Some 2000 miles on, no change on the dipstick readings. As a matter of habit I check oil level usually weekly.
The mileage of the car is a tad over 55,000 miles.