20w50 oil in 5vz-fe?

[Seanz0rz]

so my family has always run 20w50 in our vehicles, never any problems. we ran it exclusively in our 3.0 and never had any problems

wanted to pass it by you guys before i run it in the 4runner. the reason for me running it in the 4runner is because of the properities of this heavier oil.

especially here in the summer, when temps are frequently above 110, i feel its necessary to have oil that is a bit more robust than the 10w30 that is used often.

[BruceTS]

Do you understand how multi viscosity oil works? In all my vehicles in the past, I've used 20w50, but not in my yota. I run what the specs call for, simply because of different technologies. Thicker oil causes more drag on the engine, thus you'll get a loss in mileage. BTW I'm running 5w30 syn, never had any issues.

[96 Runner]

Me too. Here in the Sonoran Desert I have always used what the manufacturer recommends; 5W-30 Mobil Synthetic. Never had an oil-related issue. I run this in my 4Runner (97K miles) and our Accord (151K miles). I've done this for years.

[Texas Jim]

If you want to go with a little heavier oil for the heat I would suggest 10-40 Mobile one synthetic. I use 5W-30 in Iowa year around and it gets hotter than heck here. In the summer time after a rain and the humidly runs high and the sun is cookin you can go out at night and set on a gravel road next to a corn field and if it's quiet out you can hear the corn growing. It's kind of creepy! The corn stocks are popping and snapping..... You never know if there are children of the corn out there or what...Used to be fun to take a date out to listen to the noise and spook them out... I am digressing here, but a lot of the time Iowas heat index is over 110 degrees Fahrenheit. TJ

[emptypockets]

Another Iowan here TJ! I agree with the 5W 30 theory completely. Recently, I switched from 10W 30 regular to 5W 30 Quaker State syn and my 3.4 is a much happier camper. It runs much smoother and my mpg went up ~1+.

[BennyTRD]

I run 0W-30 in thw winter and 5W-30 in the summer. I'd rarely gets above 35 C here in the summer but its still nice to have a thicker oil for a little more protection. The 0W-30 works great in the cold months because it is a bit thinner and flows nicer at start up.

[p nut]

Me too. Here in the Sonoran Desert I have always used what the manufacturer recommends; 5W-30 Mobil Synthetic.


Just so people don't get confused when reading this, the manufacturer recommends 5W-30 SAE, not synthetic only.

I've used 5w-30 in my 4Runner, Acura Integra Type R, and the S2000. It gets above 100 here, too, and I've not had issues.

[xcmountain80]

Do you live on or near a volcano? where the ambient temp is usually high.


Aaron 10w30 AmsOil

[surf4runner]

In all my vehicles in the past, I've used 20w50, but not in my yota.
same here, except i swithched to it in the high mileage 22re ~150K, made it to 230k before the HG went.
10w30 syn for the last 30K, changed to syn at 100K.

[mastacox]

20W-50 is way too heavy for a smooth-running fuel injected V-6 like the 3.4l. 5W-30 or 10W-30 is probably the way to go.

I run Amsoil Series 2000 0W-30 Full Synthetic year round, but that's kind of a "bling" option. Annual/15,000 mile oil changes are nice...

[MTL_4runner]

I run 5W-30 year round up here and never had an issue. I ran both 5W-30 (winter) and 10W-30 (summer) in the 4runner while I was living out in AZ. There should be no reason why you should be running anything heavier than 10W-30 in your 3.4L motor and in fact running a heavier oil may be doing you more harm than good. If it's hot where you live (ie over 100 degrees for weeks at a time), use 10W-30 otherwise, stick with 5W-30 for the best gas mileage.

[oly884]

the passages within the engine for the oil to flow through require you to run 5w-30. Granted, your engine will still run, but it will be much harder on the oil pump.

Think of trying to push water out of a syringe vs honey.