Piston Slap: Sonata Salad Oil, Thoughts on Lubrication

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

TTAC reader Chris writes:

Regarding my 2007 Sonata 2.4L, 5-speed: can I use 0W-20 in place of 5W-20 and keep the warranty intact?

Sajeev responds:

Why? Most engines can handle a small step up/down in viscosity without catastrophic failure, but doing this does not compute. 5W-20 is already lightweight stuff. If fuel economy is your concern, switch to synthetic: its molecules are smaller than dino oil and offer more protection to boot.

Odds are a cost-engineered Hyundai mill doesn’t have the tolerances and lubrication needs (at 7500 rpm) of exotic engines that demand 0-grade oil. And if you live in warmer climates, you are likely to cause more engine wear for no good reason, causing problems after that 100,000 mile warranty runs out.

Don’t do it. Unless our B&B has something to the contrary for Hyundais in particular, of course.

JG writes:

Remember those E46 M3 BMW tachometers that had a variable redline that moved up as the engine and oil came up to temperature? Those were cool. I think when you first started the car, the maximum suggested revolutions were around 5000.

For people who don’t have this sort of feature, we can look in our owner’s manual and find no information whatsoever with regards to how long to let the engine run before we can really boot the long pedal through the carpet.

I always let the engine idle for a few moments after a cold start before moving off, and then drive gently, even keeping the revs below 2500-3000, until the needle on my temperature gauge indicates the coolant is fully warmed. I believe the engine oil takes longer to warm up than the coolant; before I realized this I would give ’er nails as soon as the temp needle entered the bottom end of the normal range. At this time I also consider the temperature of the gearbox and even the heavy grease in the diff.

Question is, does any of this matter? Should I just be running it hard only a minute or so after start up? Maybe getting the engine up to temperature quickly by loading it more heavily is the best idea.

Sajeev responds:

Oh, yes! BMW really nailed it: too bad all the wannabes (they know who they are) chose Bangle styling and i-drive dysfunctionalism over the intelligent tachometer. But I digress . . .

To answer your first question: does it really matter? With the advent of man-made additives called “Viscosity Index Improvers,” today’s oils are great at minimizing wear at start up. So minimize idle time and hit the road, JG! Unless it’s cold enough to freeze the balls off a polar bear (and you roll sans engine block heater) do not sit and idle! The oil’s additives mean you can quickly drive in a conservative, heat-generating manner.

There is nothing worse than circulating cold oil under no load. The active ingredient to building heat is keeping the engine under load. A mild load, that is. Staying below 3000 rpm is a fair measuring stick for (gasoline powered) passenger cars. You are on the right track: oil takes longer to reach operating temperature than coolant, so don’t go messin’ around just because your temp gauge says it’s cool (so to speak). But don’t sit around lollygagging either.

Piston Slap bonus thought:

Let’s give a round of applause for synthetic oils and high quality oil filters. Synthetic’s viscosity at start up is superior to conventional oils, and has a modest(?) advantage over today’s synthetic blend oils. Most OEM-spec filters have an anti-drainback valve that keeps oil in the filter media and fills the filter body quicker at startup. Never cheap out on oil filters and never accept the off brand junk at many oil change shops. When in doubt, bring your own filter to the shop.

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • Tosh Tosh on Mar 19, 2009

    "...I spend the extra money for M1s on some of my cars." That is also an endorsement. (An 'endorsement' doesn't need to be "an iron-clad recommendation": Depending on who you are, it can be as simple as 'I use X,' or 'My friend heard something nice about X,' or 'X doesn't melt in my hand.') And since you haven't given a specific technical, filter performance-related reason (except mention the Knize survey, which summarizes M1 filters: "However, as with all Mobil 1 products, expect to pay 2 - 3 times as much for this filter. I have seen this filter sold at Auto Zone and K-mart and used them a few times, but I feel they are not worth the money in the end."), my conclusion based on everything said here by you so far is that you can be tricked into spending 2-3 times more than you need to based on a parlor trick (that being the oil disappearing into the multitude of filter pleats). My conclusion might be silly, but it IS logical, based on what you've said. I'm not trying to be a troll (No, really!), just asking you to follow reason and recognize a hollow endorsement.

  • Sajeev Mehta Sajeev Mehta on Mar 19, 2009

    Well, since you mentioned it, I do think your conclusion is silly. Because by your logic I "recommend" these filters far, far more often than the M1: 1. WIX 2. Purolator Pure One 3. Motorcraft (which are supposedly re-skinned Purolators) I've used all of these for longer than I have the M1. I mention them most any time there's a detailed discussion on filters (not a passing discussion originally presented here) so endlessly harping on my love of M1s makes absolutely no sense to me. And now everyone knows what oil filters are in my garage and therefore indirectly recommend to everyone given my position of influence. :-)

  • TCowner We've had a 64.5 Mustang in the family for the past 40 years. It is all original, Rangoon Red coupe with 289 (one of the first instead of the 260), Rally Pac, 4-speed, factory air, every option. Always gets smiles and thumbs ups.
  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
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