New 2010 ET SE owner with an oil question
 

First of all my 2010 SE with a manual transmission rolled into the dealer yesterday:) Unfortunately the only one in black was 250 miles away and required a dealer exchange to get it. And apparently the other dealer has a rodent issue or is in a rural area. I was going to take delivery yesterday and saw some chewed up foam insullation around the battery and similar damage to the hood liner and firewall sound proofing. So now I have to wait a couple days for replacement pieces to get shipped and installed.:mad:

My question to other owners is what are you using for oil in your ET's? I see the manual calls for 5/20w which seemes a little different to me since other vehicles I've owned called for 5/30w. In addition to the weight do you ask for standard oil, a synth blend, or straight synthetic?

I always do my own changes (2000-3000 miles) and have never used any type of synthetic. Since I've always gotten well over 200,000 miles on just about every vehicle before I sold it, I'm kind of reluctant to change my habits.

Pros and cons are welcome.
Thanks

I always use 5w20 Mobil1 full synthetic on my cars.

Tighter tolerances on new engines permit using thinner grade oils and they improve mileage ratings. I too was reluctant when I first got my Sonata but it runs like a champ on 5W-20. If you stick your same habits, using a synthetic or synthetic blend offers no advantage, it will simply cost more. Stick to an API rated conventional.

My salesman told me that they went to a seminar on the vehicle and were told that the vehicle was built to be inexpensive to maintain. I plan on following the owners manual instructions. I figure they have a reason for offering the 10/10 warranty.

Been using Mobil 1 full synth 0w-20 since first oil change. Manual says 5w-20 can be used for increased economy, and since Mobil 1 says 0w-20 may be used for vehicles requiring 5w-20 I figured what the heck. It's the same price, and if I net a little better economy than 5w-20 all the better.

Except the manual doesn't list 0W-20 as an acceptable grade of oil for the car. You may/may not have troubles using 0W-20 oil, but if you do, using the 0w-20 oil has likely negated the warrenty.

I don't think you read my post very carefully. I said "Manual says 5w-20 can be used for increased economy, and since Mobil 1 says 0w-20 may be used for vehicles requiring 5w-20 I figured what the heck.". I never mentioned anything about not violating warranties, I just said I went with 0w-20 because Mobil1 states on their site it may be used on vehicles approved for 5w-20. Once the engine warms then neither oil will thin more than a 20 weight at operating temperature. So if one wants to be technical, I'm getting better protection at start-up than 5w, and identical protection once warmed up.

Either way, you're right I could get nailed for the warranty, but highly unlikely imo.

It is true that neither oil will thin more than a 20 weight at operating temperature when new, but Mobil 1 has a tendency to thin over time and since their 0W20 is near the bottom end of the 20W range it may thin out of spec over a normal oil lifetime. There is a very slight viscosity difference at temperatures (taken from the Mobil 1 web site)
5W20
Viscosity @40*C: 48.3
Viscosity @100*C: 8.8

0W20
Viscosity @40*C: 45.5
Viscosity @100*C: 8.6

This slight difference is likely where any fuel economy difference may come from. When compared to each other the viscosity at 100*C is virtually identical, but when compared to a 5W30 Mobil 1 oil:
Viscosity @40*C: 64.8
Viscosity @100*C: 11.3

You can see there is a marked difference from 11.3 to 8.8/8.6. For the sake of conserving the warranty and greater availability (since at least for me, 0W20 is hard to find) I'd just run the 5W20. Mobil 1 says it can be used where 5W20 is required, but in that 1/1,000,000 chance you require engine warranty replacement and they ask for oil receipts you would be hard pressed to get Mobil 1 to pay up.

If you are concerned about getting the maximum mileage by choosing the best oil for that job, I would suggest considering Castrol Edge 5W20 as it has lower viscosities than their 0W20 oil:
Viscosity @40*C: 8.34
Viscosity @100*C: 42.7
http://www.castrol.com/liveassets/bp...strol_EDGE.pdf