Can You Put 0w20 in a 5w30 Engine? (Answered)

The right type of engine oil is always an essential part of maintaining your car. It enhances the performance of your car as well as makes the engine fuel-efficient. In this article, we will discuss the results of putting different types of engine oil in a 5W30 engine. 

Can you put 0W20 in a 5W30 engine? 

Although the performance of your vehicle will not be affected if you add 0W20 in a 5W30 because both of them are the best in their class. Since the viscosity grade of 0W20 is lower than 5W30, you can use it during the winter because of its better engine protection functionality.

Engine oil for your car is an important part of keeping your engine in good condition. If you use engine oil that maintains the proper viscosity, it will help protect and maintain the performance of the engine.

In addition to that, when putting engine oil to your engine, you must follow the owner’s manual. It will be mentioned which engine oil is most suitable for your engine. Putting 0W20 engine oil in 5W30 is okay but may not work perfectly every time.

Because both of these engine oil does not have the same properties when used in fair weather conditions. The 0W20 oil is fully synthetic whereas the 5W30 can be partially or fully synthetic.

So, you cannot just call them the same type of oil. As a result, using 5W30 instead of 0W20 will somehow hurt your engine. 0W20 oil works great in cool weather conditions.

So, if you’re living in an area where the temperature is pretty low, using 0W20 engine oil will eventually do not harm your engine. 0W20 and 5W30 are considered the best engine oils among the other ones.

But all the engines do not support the same type of engine oil. That is why you should check the manual before putting oil into it.

The functionality of the fully synthetic 0W20 engine oil is, it has a low viscosity and will increase the engine efficiency as well as fuel economy. That is why 0W20 is chosen among most of the drivers.

So, if you use 5W30 instead of 0W20 you should keep some factors in mind such as the operating weather and the viscosity.

Is it ok to put 0w20 in a 5w30 engine? Will 0w20 hurt a 5w30 engine? 

Nowadays there are multigrade motor oil available which can be used on almost every type of engine. Considering that you can put 0W20 in a 5W30 engine.

However, it is not supposed to affect the performance of your car and provide with a smooth and efficient driving experience. But in different weather conditions, 0W20 may provide better performance than the 5W30.

You need to check the manual before putting the oil in your engine. 

0W20 and 5W30 are considered as one of the best motor oils and have the almost same type of characteristics. That is why 0W20 is not supposed to hurt the 5W30 engine.

Rather, in a highly cold region, the 0W20 oil will do less damage than the 5W30. Since the 5W30 is designed to use a specific type of oil for the engine, so it is better not to make any exceptions to avoid losing the warranty of the engine.

That is why we can say putting 0W20 instead of 5W30 won’t hurt your engine.

What if I use 0w20 instead of 5w30? What will happen? 

Since the 0W20 and 5W30 are almost the same types of engine oil, there will be no significant changes or occurrences when you put them in the engine. 0W20 is a synthetic oil whereas the 5W30 is semi-synthetic oil.

So, this slightest change in the texture of oil will not bring any significant changes to the performance. But in colder climate regions, the 0W20 May work better than the 5W30.

However, it is always recommended to use what the manufacturer has recommended for getting the best results. In addition to that, using 0W20 in your engine, which is designed to use 5W30 can be a bad idea.

The correct type of engine oil helps to maintain the mileage and efficiency of your engine. Below is a brief discussion on what happens when you use 0W20 instead of 5W30: 

You may lose warranty:

You need to check the user manual before using a different type of engine oil in your car. Sometimes, you might lose your warranty for using 0W20 which is designed to use 5W30 in it.

Some companies do not provide service for the engine which uses different engine oil than recommended.

The engine may not run properly: 

If you use any other engine oil in your car then it is very normal for your car to perform worse than usual. That’s why you should use the company’s recommended engine oil so that the performance of the car is not lost. 

It may behave differently due to weather conditions: 

Every engine oil has its behavior depending on the weather. 0W20 engine oil will provide better performance in a colder area. On the other hand, the 5W30 engine oil is the most suitable for hot climate areas. 

Is it ok to mix 5w30 with 0w20? 

The 0W20 is fully synthetic oil, whereas the 5W30 is a semi-synthetic oil. The texture is completely fine to mix the oils. But it is highly recommended that you use 0W20 synthetic oil rather than mixing it with another type of oil.

In addition to that, it may affect the warranty if you use a different type of engine oil mixed. However, it may reduce the efficiency of your engine. 5W30 has higher viscosity compared to the 0W20 and that may also affect the engine.

The different index of viscosity will cause the engine to behave abnormally when running. Depending on your engine type, you may require either thinner or thicker engine oil.

So, mixing them will cause an imbalance in the thickness of the engine oil and cause your engine serious damage. 

What is the difference between 0w20 and 5w30? 

There are plenty of differences between the 0W20 and 5W30 engine oils although both of them are considered multi-grade engine oils. Based on different criteria, you can differentiate them.

First of all, the 0W20 is a full synthetic type of engine oil, whereas the 5W30 is a semi-synthetic type of engine oil. Considering the viscosity index, the 0W20 has a higher viscosity index than 5W30.

The best thing that helps to differentiate between the 0W20 and the 5W30 is the 0W20 can be operated in lower temperatures. Although the 0W20 is a little bit costlier than the 5W30, it is still considered the best for its fuel economy.

It consumes low fuel. The reason why manufacturers throughout the world recommend using 0W20.The 5W30 is considered as efficient for higher temperature areas. The differences between 0W20 and 5W30 are shown below: 

Preferable weather: 

One of the significant differences between the 0W20 and 5W30 is the preferable weather for the engine oils. The 0W20 is preferable for colder weather, whereas the 5W30 is considered most suitable for warmer weather.

Performance: 

The performance varies on different types of engine oils. The characteristics of 0W20 are to provide engine protection by eliminating wear and heat the engine. The 5W30 provides better protection against friction.

Suitable vehicle: 

The difference between 0W20 and 5W30 can easily be noticed by the suitable vehicle for the engine oils.

0W20 is suitable for gasoline and hybrid engine, which are mostly used in compact cars. The 5W30 is dedicated to use in SUVs, trucks, etc. 

Which oil is better 0w20 or 5w30? 

For smooth driving experience, you need to change the engine oil regularly as a part of your engine maintenance.

To provide you with the best service from your engine, most of the manufacturer’s recommend using multigrade engine oil such as the 0W20 or 5W30. Both of these oils are considered as popular engine oil among the other ones.

If you still want to figure out which one is the best for the engine, you can rely on 0W20. This engine oil is known as popular for delivering the best performance. It can easily be operated in adverse temperatures which the 5W30 cannot deliver.

Considering the overall performance, the 0W20 will still be ahead of 5W30. Due to its lower viscosity, the 0W20 provides a better efficiency of around 10 to 12% compared to the 5W30.

Although the 0W20 has the drawback of being a little bit expensive, it does not impact your fuel economy. That’s why you would like to keep this on top of your choice list.

Final thoughts

Although the 0W20 and 5W30 both are considered as multigrade oil, using 0W20 instead of 5W30 will not cause any significant damage or change of performance in your car. It is recommended that you refrain from using a different type of oil in your engine to prevent any damage in long run.