1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Chosen Oil Viscosity...?

Discussion in 'Gen 5 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by GuardianGrayHalcón, Dec 6, 2023.

  1. phase

    phase Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2023
    93
    36
    0
    Location:
    Portland
    Vehicle:
    2023 Prius
    Model:
    LE AWD-e
    show a single study or example of thinner viscosity increasing engine life and reducing wear....
     
  2. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    4,634
    1,860
    0
    Location:
    Paramount CA
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    Show a single study that shows a higher viscosity does.
     
  3. phase

    phase Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2023
    93
    36
    0
    Location:
    Portland
    Vehicle:
    2023 Prius
    Model:
    LE AWD-e
    watch every wear test that '' the oil geek'' and '' project farm'' has done comparing the exact same oils but different thicknesses. its a physics fact. the downside is thicker oils hurt gas mileage and also REDUCE HORSEPOWER. double wammy! plus thicker oils have more trouble in colder weather. so you sacrifice power, fuel economy, and cold starts in favor of longevity when going to thicker oils
     
  4. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    4,634
    1,860
    0
    Location:
    Paramount CA
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    If you rely on the Oil Geek and Project Farm to obtain scientific information on tribology, which is a very complicated subject, good luck.
     
  5. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2007
    1,039
    354
    0
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    Oil drain back over time on a Prime may be different with thin oil. The rough starts after longer periods of non use are not benefits to less wear. It’s like starting after an oil change. Not sure if Toyota tested such things. I still use what cap says. I think it must drain out through the crankshaft bearings back to the pan.
    On my Ford I could hold the gas to the floor and the engine will not start, so can get oil pressure up into the engine, then start with no rough start. They sort of did away with that on newer cars I think.
     
  6. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    4,634
    1,860
    0
    Location:
    Paramount CA
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    Every oil is extremely thick at cold start—no matter what the viscosity is.
     
  7. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2007
    1,039
    354
    0
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    Are you saying 0w-16 drains out from bearings the same as a 5w-30 grade? Drain out starts from hot. You have your oil changed at a shop. I don’t, and can visually and noticeably see the 0w-16 pours thinner, and drains out thinner. Besides I wasn’t writing about the oil at cold start viscosity, but the oil drains out over long periods of non use of the engine. It does.
     
    Trollbait likes this.
  8. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    4,634
    1,860
    0
    Location:
    Paramount CA
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    These are the typical viscosities at 100 ℃ and −10 ℃, respectively:

    SAE 5W-30: 9.8 cSt, 880 cSt
    SAE 0W-16: 7.1 cSt, 520 cSt

    Operational viscosity | Widman International SRL

    What I was saying was that, in a cold engine, you are looking at a viscosity many orders of magnitude higher (tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands times higher depending on the temperature) than at the normal operating temperature.
     
  9. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2006
    22,075
    11,535
    0
    Location:
    eastern Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Does the difference lead to a difference in the amount of oil left up in the parts of the engine? That's what he is talking about.
     
  10. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2007
    1,039
    354
    0
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    When I got this car used, the new car dealer changed the oil and filter, not Toyota. I heard no sounds. After I changed it to Toyota 0w-16 oil and N1 filter, sounds. Put Fram Ultra on, stayed the same it seems. My guess is dripping down through the main bearings. May not be that. I have a couple more changes of 0w-16, otherwise I would try 5w-20 as an experiment.
    My first new Prime had the sounds from new, even more than this one. It’s just a little start up rattle. If it sits for like a week or less, not really anything.
    I may go 5-20 anyway, seeing the temp chart. I like you have no worries about being out of the ranges.
     
  11. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    4,634
    1,860
    0
    Location:
    Paramount CA
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    It does not, and I have owned two Prius Primes since 2019 and always used TGMO 0W-16 and never experienced the issue he is talking about.
     
  12. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2007
    1,039
    354
    0
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    Well I am doing my experiment anyway. I know what the conditions are. One month no use of engine or longer. A very quiet place to start the engine cold at rest. No cars driving by, no ambient noise.
    I don’t create the sound. My car has 22k miles. I am not loyal enough to my vehicle to not hear what I hear.
     
  13. ColoradoBoo

    ColoradoBoo Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2019
    958
    628
    4
    Location:
    Monument, Colorado USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I feel for those buying the 2025 Camry's.....they only take 0W-08....I haven't seen a SINGLE quart of the stuff in the stores here and heard it's only sold by Mobile One and Toyota brands.
    I just searched and, now Walmart.com does have it but only on-line, $27.97 for 5-quarts so that's good....right on time!
    People who play around with various viscosities on their vehicles scares me.....you're playing with fire....only use what's on the oil cap, period.
    When I worked in the heart of Alaska (Fairbanks and Delta Junction) where it can get down to -70, they don't recommend changing the viscosity but do only use full-synthetic oils in everything. (And put electric warmers on everything, including the 12-volt batteries.)