Just seeing if anyone's tried using this weight oil on their Fit and if there's any noticeable difference. I have a box of 5W30 Oil I purchased, but the vehicle that it was suppose to be used for is sold.

Thanks,
Gerry

 

I don't have a technical and researched answer to your question, but if you used only one quart per oil change with the rest being the recommended oil, I bet it wouldn't make any serious difference. At least, that's what I would do- I'm too cheap to throw something like that out.

 

No offense, but risking a 20k vehicle over $40 of oil doesn't seem like a risk I'd take. Sell the case on CL and don't sweat it.

After saying that, I remember a member based in Mexico said that they use 5W oil in there GKs down there but don't recall the weight of it.

 

No offense taken, you have to do what you're comfortable with. There are people who won't touch any aftermarket parts because they think there's a serious risk of damaging the car, or go to a different size wheel/tire. On the other end of the spectrum there's people who figured out the K20/24 hybrid, and that's way more risk than I'm comfortable with.

I'm somewhere in between, but I really don't see this as being dangerous. A bit of searching on the forum indicates other people have used similar spec oil and had no problems, and that's intentionally using 5w30 for the entire oil change.

 

Thanks for the response guys! I'll keep researching, but it doesn't look like it will hurt the Fit according to some oil websites. Especially with the weather climate in my area, I should hopefully be okay.

 

funny, I am staring at page 160 of my owners manual for my 2000 honda insight. it does say "a 5w-20 or 5w-30 oil may be used if 0w-20 is not avail"

I dont have the gk5 manual in front of me .... but.... one would assume, that same should hold true?

 

I'm with 2Rismo2 on this one, don't chance it.

Today's engines are designed around fairly thin full synthetic oil. I'd be concerned that with a thicker oil, you're slogging the crankshaft, making the engine harder to start, and possibly not getting oil to all parts of the engine that need it. I also wonder if running anything other than the recommended oil would void the warranty.

 

I seem to recall reading that some of the oil passages in the Fit engine are quite small and thicker oil might have a problem moving through them but if you're in a year round warm climate I don't see that as being much of an issue. I had some 5W30 left over from my previous car when I bought the Fit but I used it up in my snow thrower which takes that grade. I would never use it in the Fit because too cold here for much of the year and it wouldn't flow that well.

 

You are correct - other geographies that don't have the US EPA requirements and penalties specify oil for wear FIRST and fuel economy SECOND. I have the manuals from India and UK and a few others are they all say 5 dub 30 is a-okay in the temperature ranges specified - they are attached as proof. Really the ideal would be the low 0 weight for winter (start up wear) and high number 30 or 40 for summer time (at operating temperature metal protection) conditions. So 0W30 is ideal.

We've seen the same with the MX5 and RX-8 owners that I'm a part of - the US has consistently required reduced oil viscosity specs for the high temperature viscosity (the 30 in 5W30) and for the winter low viscosity number (0 in 0W40).

 

Honda back-specd a whole bunch of their vehicles (they have a chart on it; don't have the link) to 0w20.... meaning those cars were supposed to take 5w30 from the factory and during their lifespan ... and basically Honda said it's ok to pour 0w20. This whole thing with 0w20 is all about fuel economy and having that minuscule % fuel economy improvement take effect on a more global scale for their cars .. that's why they approved it globally and made many cars backwards compatible with the thinner stuff.

Now I really don't think Honda tightened up their tolerances in engine manufacturing to accommodate 0w20. Maybe they did. But the bottom line is that these engines can take 5w30 all day long with no issues (unless you run the fit in the arctic). I ran 5w30 in the summer with no problems ... did not notice any decrease in power delivery or other issues ... and in the winter I switch back to 0w20 when things get nice and frosty.

Lastly ... one thing to keep in mind if you look at the viscosity charts for 0w20: The tolerance in viscosity for 0w20 is quite loose compared to 5w30. This means that if you are used to getting major brand synthetic on sale and dumping it in the fit ... you could be actually putting in something that is much closer to 0w16... or in other cases something closer to 0w30. So the question is which one will you be getting? Or is it going to be something closer to 0w25? But another question is where is your local honda dealer sourcing their oil from ... and what specs do they use?

That's why I say this whole debate on what weight oil to use all boils down to one thing ... how you drive your fit (application) and what is the average ambient temperature? For the average commuter ... 0w20 in the winter and 5w30 in the summer seems like a good compromise.

 

Our fellow member with 500K miles on his Fit uses 5W-40.

 

I can tell you a Mazda dealers source their transmission and motor oil grades from the local oil depot in 55 gallon and tote setups. I use a lot of oil in my RX7 and RX 8! I’ve been in several times to get MT fluid and it’s always Mobil GL4 in 55 gallons and right next to it has been Mobil and Valvoline. Not Mazda MT in quarts. I have them fill up a Reused MT container and they charge me what they bill customers for fluid fills from the central system. Since I moved The new to me Mazda dealer uses 5W20 and 0W20 from Warren Oil - the same supplier to Wally World.

They are are focused on cost not brand name.

 

The GK manual says no such thing. It states 0W16 or 0W20 for the entire temperature range. No exceptions - no other oil grade is mentioned at all. In fact reading this now, I would switch gears and change my opinion to now state that the 5W30 should not be used at all. Sell it off.

 

Here's the manual I typically use for the GK: GK5 Manual

It makes no mention of other oil types, only 0W-20 on page 364 and 434. It's your car, do what you want

 

interesting, how the insight is okay with it, but not the fit. woof is right, the manual does not mention 5w30 is recommended




Julian Nachos has good luck with a 40 weight oil. I personally think the 5w30 is fine (will prob tank fuel economy).

My wrx and sti both call for 5w-30 but all the subaru "bro's" all run 5w40 shell brotella (I sure as heck did too) with fantastic uoa's and lots of praise on the forums.

In conclusion, do what you want, as rismo said. At some point, I plan to give mobil 1's new 0w-16 a try ..... I'll report back if I blow up my car

 

While its true Honda did adjust the specs, it wasn't from 5w30, it was from 5w20. At least, in the 2010 Honda Fit that I have.

 

The US manual will never suggest anything other than what Honda (was forced to comply with from a US EPA certification and CARB certification standpoint) certified the car for that Model year. If you look on other boards, pull other geograhies manuals for your car, AND look on other reputable car forums - the oil viscosity recommendation in the US is usually the lowest high temp number (the 20 in 0W20). In other areas (India and UK) they will specify other high temp weights as high as 30. The best go-to geography is an owner's manual for the Australia region).

I'll vent - it's sad that that fuel economy is weighed more heavily than engine wear.

I have access to the original design specifications for the Mazda RX-8 (out of production in 2012 in JP and 2011 in NA). In it Mazda specifies the HT weight to be no lower than 30 (for cold weather regions) and 40 for higher temperature climates. What did Mazda do for the US - specified only 5W20. There was/is a higher than normal preponderance of the shaft bearings to fail earlier due to excessive wear and only US cars are having the issue.

Once my warranty is out, I'm going with 0W30 or 0W40 (I live in New England, USA so I have to balance the Winter startup wear (the 0 weight number in the SAE designation 0W30) with at temperature wear (the 30-40 in the 0W30 designation). I've done the same for my 1992 Integra GS-R using 10W40 above 20 °F [specified only 5W30 in manual] (304833 miles before I sold her) and my other car - a 2002 CRV (uses 5W30 [specified only 5W20 in manual] with current 169702 miles).

 

You are correct - the previous was 5W20. Although - a someone else mentioned - the 0W20 SAE viscosity specifications are more lax (wider) allowing for a lower lower specification range for the high temperature viscosity (the 20 in 0W20).

 

I stand corrected: 5w20 back specd to 0w20.