Another oil question.... I've looked through previous threads and haven't found a discussion on my question, but I'm sorry if this question has already been answered.

From my understanding, the number before the "W" is the viscosity when the oil is cold and the number after the "W" is the viscosity when the oil is warm. The engine seems to warm up pretty quickly in an HCH so would 0W20 and 5W20 have the same viscosity after a few minutes of driving?

Are Honda's claims of 0W20's increased efficiency only applicable before the oil gets up to operating temperature? If this is the case, I'm not sure I'd save enough on gasoline to offset the higher cost of finding and buying 0W20. I suppose that 0W could decrease the wear at initial startup though.

 

Ladera ~

There are many resources on the web...here's some interesting information on oil viscosity....http://www.nordicgroup.us/oil.htm#5W30%20versus%2010W30

 

Hi LaderaHCH:

___It is hard to compare 0W-20 and 5W-20 directly even though their high temp numbers are the same. An example.

Mobil1 SAE 0W-20
cSt @ 40 degrees C = 43.0
cSt @ 100 degrees C = 8.4

Mobil1 SAE 5W-20
cSt @ 40 degrees C = 48.3
cSt @ 100 degrees C = 8.8

___The Kinematic viscosity of the two oils at 100 degrees and 0 degrees C show a small fuel economy advantage of 0W-20 in both temperature environments.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net