Many modern cars require very thin (low viscosity) motor oil to operate more efficiently. Newer engines typically have tighter tolerances between engine parts. Let’s see if lower viscosity motor oil offers the same level of protection against engine wear. We’ll also see of the thinner oil experiences greater thermal breakdown and evaporation.
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➡ Products Tested In This Video (in no particular order):
Pennzoil 0W-16:
Pennzoil 0W-20:
Pennzoil 5W-20:
Pennzoil 5W-30:
Videography Equipment:
Sony DSC-RX10 III Cyber-shot Digital Still Camera:
Canon 70D Camera:
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New motor oils are becoming thinner and Thinner so the question is does that 0w-16 engine oil provide just as much Protection as that 5W30 well let's find Out we'll see which viscosity of oil Flows best when it's extremely cold We'll see which oil offers the best Protection against engine wear we'll Also compare oils to see which is best At resisting thermal breakdown and Evaporation I paid an independent oil Testing Lab to provide us with a Detailed report on all four motor oils Let's send off the oil to an oil Testing Lab to avoid a mix-up I'll label each of The plastic sample bottles I always Shake oil containers before sending off Samples just in case part of the Additive package has fallen out of Suspension and settled at the bottom of The container the oil Testing Lab will Provide us with a lot of great Information on the oils anti-wear out of The package detergent dispersant content As well as a total Base number this is The first time I've tested Pennzoil 0w16 And 0w20 motor oil at a price of around 26 dollars for a 5 quart container is This Pennzoil Platinum full synthetic 0w16 all four of the oils that we'll be Testing are made from natural gas pencil Claims that their oil is carbon neutral All four oils will be testing or apisp At a price of 24 dollars or about two
Dollars less than the zero w16 is this Platinum full synthetic SAE 5W30 both Oils are Platinum full synthetic also Both oils are API SP the 5W30 has the Dexos one certification and the zero w16 Does not the high temperature viscosity Is the number after the dash in any case The oil's flow characteristics in a Warmed up engine we won't test the oils At full operating temperature but we'll See how they perform at around 70 Degrees Fahrenheit the oils are arranged In numerical order with 0w16 on the left And 5W30 all the way to the right and All four oils are highly motivated and This is a very close race with 0w-16 Leading Zero w20 by about two molecules And the zero w20 and 5W20 oils are in a Very tight race with 5W30 trailing the Leaders by about an inch and a 0w-16 First across the finish line and 0w-20 Barely edges out 5W20 but it's very Close and it's a fourth place finish for 5W30 well first compare the Pennzoil Synthetic 0w-16 against the 5W30 motor Oil definitely needs to be able to Handle High engine temperature so let's See how the oils stack up in the next Test each of the coffee pots weighs a Different amount so measure up precisely 200 grams of oil for each coffee pot Then I'll crank up the heat to around 410 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours and Both oils look to be about the same
Color at the start of the test and we're Only 20 minutes into this test and a 0w-16 is becoming really dark quickly While the 5W30 seems unaffected by the Heat I'll rotate the oil containers Every 10 minutes just in case one burner Is hotter than the other and both oils Seem to be performing very well but There seems to be more Vapor coming out Of the zero w16 oil container high Quality oil resist evaporation and Thermal breakdown the test for this is Called the noac volatility test it's an ASTM test which exposes oil to a lot More heat than this test to simulate Engine operating conditions around the Upper piston ring area of an engine at The end of this test we'll find out how Much evaporation has occurred with each Brand then we'll use the cooked oil for Additional testing to see which oil is The best it's been right at two hours Once the oil is cooled off we'll wait Each of the containers to see how much Evaporative loss has occurred the zrw16 Started off at 412.12 grams and it now Weighs 405.76 a loss of 4.36 grams and The 5W30 were oil started off at 404.67 And it now weighs 401.08 a loss of 3.59 Grams so it's a win for the 5W30 let's Go ahead and test the lubricity or the Film strength of the 0w-16 against the 5W30 next we'll Begin by adding 40 Milliliters of oil that's been exposed
To heat into the test cups I'll coat the Test wheel in the test pin with motor Oil to avoid damage from a dry start the Lubricity test will provide us with some Great information on how the oils Perform at anti-wear properties after The test we'll compare the size of the Wear scars of each of the bearings to Determine which oil provides the best Film strength while this test doesn't Simulate engine operating conditions Perfectly it'll provide us with some Great information between each test I'll Use brake parts cleaner to clean the Test equipment and then I'll use Sandpaper to resurface the test wheel And there definitely seems to be less Friction with the 5W-30 oil the watt Meter is showing less energy usage and The number is dropping quickly and oil Performance on the tester is a Combination of anti-wear additives base Oil quality into a lesser extent Viscosity I always label test pins to Avoid a mix-up and I use a microscope With calipers to get an accurate Measurement and a 0w-16 test pin is on The left and the 5W30 is on the right And there's a huge difference between The two with the 5W30 having an 8 Smaller wear scar before we kick off the Zero w20 and 5W20 oil comparison let's Refill the oil flow tester let's place The tester in the freezer that set the
Minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit and will Allow this oil to stay in the freezer Overnight up next let's compare the zero W20 against the 5W-20 oil both oils are Platinum full synthetic and both oils Have the dexos one certification both The oils also have the API SP Certification let's put that 200 grams Of oil to both of the test containers Once again we'll cook the oils for right At two hours and we'll rotate the pots Every 10 minutes and it's been run at 20 Minutes and both oils are still looking As good as new at 30 minutes the zero W20 is a little bit darker than the 5W-20 and both oils seem to be putting Off about the same amount of oil vapor And this one's going to be very close And the two hour test is over and the Oil has had a couple of hours to cool The zero w20 started off at 394.64 grams And now weighs 390.67 a loss of 3.97 Grams and the 5W20 started off at 429.83 Grams and it now weighs 425.91 a loss of 3.92 grams so the 5W30 came out on top With the least amount of evaporative Loss followed by the 5W-20 however awful Oils did perform very well since all the Oils have cooled off let's compare the Oil float of the cooked oils to see if The heat exposure has had an impact once Again this is going to be a very fast And close race with three of the four Oils out of the gate almost at the same
Time and this time the zero w20 is out Running the 5W-20 by a greater distance And a 0w-16 for the wind followed by 0w 20 in a close second and 5W20 finished In third and five w30 finished in fourth Let's refill the tester with cooked oil And then place the oil in the freezer Test the cold oil flow performance the Question remains can the 0w-20 or 5W-20 Oils match the wear resistance of the 5W30 Let's test the zero w20 first According to the energy use meter the 0w-20 is performing almost the same as a 0w-16 at the start of the test there Definitely seems to be more wear taking Place compared to the 5W30 and the test With the zerw20 is finished so let's go Ahead and test the 5W20 and the 5W20 Seem to be performing a little bit Better than the zero w20 but this is Going to be close and the amount of Noise coming from the bearing seems About the same as the zero w20 and the Test is finished so let's take a closer Look at each of the test pins under a Microscope and the zero w20 is on the Left and the 5W20 is on the right and The 5W20 oil has about a seven percent Smaller wear scar compared to the zero W20 oil so the 5W30 oil performed the Best but the 5W20 oil performed just About as well it's very common for People to refer to W and motor oil as Weight but the W and motor oil actually
Stands for winter it shows the viscosity Level of oil when the oil is very cold So let's see if the zero W oils flow Faster than the 5w oils next both the New as well as the cooked oils have been In the freezer for over 12 hours so Let's kick off the test with the Uncooked oil first and the zero w16 oil Seems unfazed by the negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit temperature and is out of the Gate in a hurry and both 0w oil should Be flowing about the same Pace but the 0w-20 seems like it's unaware that the Race is underway and the race is pretty Much over with the 0w-16 oil crossing The Finish Line before any of the other Oils are out of the gate and the zero W20 and 5W20 oils are finally out of the Gate after about a 45 second warm-up and The 5W30 oil is really lagging behind The other three oils and the 0w 20 oil Is barely holding a lead over the 5W20 Oil and just cross a Finish Line in a Minute and 54 seconds and a 5W20 oil Finished in a minute and 57 seconds and The 5W30 oil just crossed the finish Line and close to two and a half minutes And heat exposure can really have a Negative impact on oil performance so Let's see how the oils perform after an Intense two hour heat exposure and once Again the 0w-16 is out of the gate fast And the other oils are frozen stiff and The zero w16 oil lost quite a bit of
Speed after heat exposure but is still Very fast and 43.6 seconds and a 0w-20 And 5W20 oils are once again out of the Gate at about the same time in just over A minute this time the 0w-20 oil is off To a much faster lead and is holding a Much stronger lead throughout the entire Race and the zero w20 oil just crossed The Finish Line in 2 minutes and 22 Seconds or almost 30 seconds slower After heat exposure and the 5W20 oil Just finished the race in almost 40 Seconds slower than the uncooked oil and The 5W30 oil needed almost 43 seconds Longer so that he definitely had an Impact on performance of all the oils so Low viscosity oil flows faster which is Supposed to help with fuel efficiency However low viscosity oil doesn't seem To offer quite as much wear protection As oil with higher viscosity if you'd Like to see the original oil analysis Results I'll leave a link in the video Description to all four reports to Compare the oils I've Consolidated the Results onto a single chart aluminum Iron and 10 are considered impurities or Wear metals and the oil samples look Really good with only Trace levels of Impurities barium Boron calcium and Magnesium are detergents or dispersants They play a very important role for Keeping the inside of an engine clean And the zero w16 has a pretty big
Advantage over the other viscosities With a total of just over 1800 parts per Million the other three viscosities are Pretty evenly matched at around 1 300 Parts per million anti-wear additives Are incredibly important for engine life And performance and all the oils are Pretty similar with the 0w-16 having a Small advantage over the others the TBN Or total Base number is the ability of The oil to neutralize acids once again The 0w-16 has the highest TBN of 7.1 so Only taking into count the additive Package the 0w16 came out on top however It is a very thin oil this 2020 Chevrolet uses 0w-20 oil instead of 5W30 And the oil pressure at idle is just Above 20 psi according to the dealership This is considered normal oil pressure Due to the low viscosity of the oil on The other hand this 2003 Chevrolet with Over 300 000 miles and 9 000 hours of Use has higher oil pressure at idle with 5W30 oil with lower oil pressure I'll be Very curious to see if this 2020 engine Will last 300 000 miles there's a lot of Debate online as to whether or not it's Safe to use 5W30 instead of 0w16 or 20. My suggestion is to just use the oil That's called for by the manufacturer Just to be safe all the videos in this Channel including this one our viewers Suggested so if you have a video idea Hope you take time to leave a comment
Thanks so much for watching please take Care and look forward to next time