What's new
By:
5thGenRams Forums

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

5.7 Oil temperatures while towing

Mr.Grid said:
As for the recommended oil in the 2022 Ram Hemi, it is 0w20 Synthetic that meets the MS-6395 spec.
View attachment 110633
Click to expand...

That was just a very recent change (typo?), all earlier years the manual says 5w-20 and some manuals even said "5w-30 can also be used where 5w-20 is not available" or something to that effect. I would not be putting 0w-20 in.
 
Mr.Grid said:
As for the recommended oil in the 2022 Ram Hemi, it is 0w20 Synthetic that meets the MS-6395 spec.
Click to expand...

Are you able to check your oil cap to see if it matches the manual? This is mine:

oilcap.jpg
 
Holy crap, seeing is believing I guess. Pretty soon we will be using tap water
 
Mopar still has 5w 20 listed on their webiste for the 3.6 and 5.7

Official Mopar® Site | Mopar Viewer

See how Mopar is transforming the FCA ownership experience. Explore personalized vehicle information, buy parts and accessories, get coupons and much more.
www.mopar.com www.mopar.com
 
I will note that my in-laws new Pacifica with the 3.6 has 0W 20 on the filler cap
 
Scram1500 said:
Mopar still has 5w 20 listed on their webiste for the 3.6 and 5.7

Official Mopar® Site | Mopar Viewer

See how Mopar is transforming the FCA ownership experience. Explore personalized vehicle information, buy parts and accessories, get coupons and much more.
www.mopar.com www.mopar.com
Click to expand...


Scram1500 said:
I will note that my in-laws new Pacifica with the 3.6 has 0W 20 on the filler cap
Click to expand...

That link is for a Challenger, which still uses the 3.6 Gen I that does take 5w20.

The Pacifica comes with the 3.6 Gen II that takes 0w20
 
Whether its 0w20 or 5w20, it still has the same lubricating weight value at higher engine temps, 20w.

To increase the high temp value one would need to use an Xw30 oil.

I’m going with the Factory recommended products and documenting my oil and filter purchase for replacement during the warranty period.

I believe what's on the cap is what's presently in the engine. 0w20 synthetic MS-6395
 
I was wondering when they would go 0W-20, many already have. I mean it has better cold start properties and same viscosity when hot like 5W-20.
 
Mr.Grid said:
Whether its 0w20 or 5w20, it still has the same lubricating weight value at higher engine temps, 20w.

To increase the high temp value one would need to use an Xw30 oil.

I’m going with the Factory recommended products and documenting my oil and filter purchase for replacement during the warranty period.

I believe what's on the cap is what's presently in the engine. 0w20 synthetic MS-6395
Click to expand...

It's never that simple. It depends on the base oil, and then you have to add properties to make the other side of it/weight work. Some base oils are far more stable and don't shear down as quickly over time. So if you start with a 0 weight and add "stuff" to it to make it feel like a 20 weight when hot, that is not the same thing (necessarily) as starting with a 5 weight and adding stuff to it to make it feel like a 20 weight when hot. I'm not an expert on this, but the "-20" is already a problem in itself. If you want more information on all this, check out posts by guys from "burla", "hemiman", "hemi365" etc over on ramforum. Some of these guys worked for Cummins or in oil companies etc, they know their stuff (unlike me).

Your truck your choice, but I'm less concerned about the warranty period and more concerned about what actually is the best for the engine; the entire point (for me) is to have a great engine after the warranty has expired, and if 5w-30 is the better choice giving better protection and less wear (I'm not trying to convince you it IS the better choice, just that IF it actually is...) then that's what I'm running, I'm not going to damage my engine more just for the very slight < 1% chance I might need a warranty.
 
Last edited:
silver billet said:
It's never that simple. It depends on the base oil, and then you have to add properties to make the other side of it/weight work. Some base oils are far more stable and don't shear down as quickly over time. So if you start with a 0 weight and add "stuff" to it to make it feel like a 20 weight when hot, that is not the same thing (necessarily) as starting with a 5 weight and adding stuff to it to make it feel like a 20 weight when hot. I'm not an expert on this, but the "-20" is already a problem in itself. If you want more information on all this, check out posts by guys from "burla", "hemiman", "hemi365" etc over on ramforum. Some of these guys worked for Cummins or in oil companies etc, they know their stuff (unlike me).

Your truck your choice, but I'm less concerned about the warranty period and more concerned about what actually is the best for the engine; the entire point (for me) is to have a great engine after the warranty has expired, and if 5w-30 is the better choice giving better protection and less wear (I'm not trying to convince you it IS the better choice, just that IF it actually is...) then that's what I'm running, I'm not going to damage my engine more just for the very slight < 1% chance I might need a warranty.
Click to expand...

I saw another thing from a Mopar engine builder that stated the only time they had engine issues was with 5W-30 oil and that you should use 5W-20 for the best longevity due to better lubrication of the upper valvetrain.

Again I don't know, but do you have links we can look at that state 5W-30 is indeed superior to longevity of Hemi engines? I will try to find those videos and pubs saying the opposite and maybe we can see which one is actually right.

I rather do what will make my engine last longer, but when I see professional engine builders claim that 5W-30 will actually cause upper valvetrain problems due to lubrication issues, it makes me worry about going to 5W-30 in the future.
 
You and/or I won't find conclusive proof because we have different definitions of "conclusive". At best we have manuals for older years stating that 5w-30 can be used, we have the 5.7 in the 2500 actually calling for/recommending 5w-30, we have used oil analysis reports showing wear levels in the oil, and we have user reports/testing reporting valve train noise and/or hemi tick noise etc.

None of this is conclusive for many owners, for myself it's a very good indication that 5w-30 is the better choice for me, especially while towing when temperatures can climb quite high.

Edit: and I believe the SRT variants actually use 0w-40, so there's that...
 
Last edited:
silver billet said:
You and/or I won't find conclusive proof because we have different definitions of "conclusive". At best we have manuals for older years stating that 5w-30 can be used, we have the 5.7 in the 2500 actually calling for/recommending 5w-30, we have used oil analysis reports showing wear levels in the oil, and we have user reports/testing reporting valve train noise and/or hemi tick noise etc.

None of this is conclusive for many owners, for myself it's a very good indication that 5w-30 is the better choice for me, especially while towing when temperatures can climb quite high.

Edit: and I believe the SRT variants actually use 0w-40, so there's that...
Click to expand...

Hmmm, yup, that's the issue, but since there isn't conclusive evidence either way. I still have a few years with my powertrain warranty, but I was planning on going 5W-30 out of warranty, but if I can find evidence that it's beneficial before, I will as well.
 
Using a higher quality oil than the factory recommends is an excellent choice.

Looking at what oil weight the factory recommended years ago in their engines doesn’t mean the newer engines require the exact same weight.

The factory’s constantly have these engines running 1000’s of hours of endurance and reliability on in house dynos when making changes. Improvements in machining and product internals are continuously happening.

Look at the 2020 Ram Hemi manual recommended oil and it reads 5w20 MS-6359. Says nothing about Synthetic. The engine oil filler cap also shows there recommended engine oil viscosity for your engine. There is no other listing in the manual for sever use in oil as well.

Here’s the Factory Mopar engine oil that the dealer is putting in the 2020 Hemi when changing. This should also be the same oil that the engine was run on in the dyno sessions.

http://pqiadata.org/Mopar_MaxPro_5W20.html

Look at the 2022 Ram Hemi manual and it reads 0w20 “Full Synthetic” MS-6395. Big difference.


For the sake of discussion here’s the 5w20 oil I used in my 2011 Hemi Ram for the entire 179K miles (3700 hrs) with 84k of that towing a 7k# trailer. I religiously changed the oil every 3000 to 3500 miles because I have a lift and this Citgo oil with Wix Filters are inexpensive.

http://pqiadata.org/CITGO_Supergard_5W20.html

This is Semi-Synthetic which means 25% Synthetic at most. There is also no listing on the back of the Citgo oil bottle for MS-6395 compliant. Why? Because Citgo never paid for this certification. Same as Mobil1 that Does Not have this MS-6395 listed on their bottles. Does that make it the wrong oil. Heck NO. It’s API certified (exactly what the owners manual states) SN and meets the required specifics for motor oil in the 2011 Ram Hemi.

Lastly, if you want to see what’s in the oil you purchase, this website that I pulled the Mopar and Citgo samples from is an excellent resource for consumer, commercial, and industrial lubricants. They buy the product off the shelf from around the country and analyze it for content.

https://pqia.org/
 
The point is, the engine hasn't changed over these years. Same factory, same parts, same tolerances, and yet they continue the downwards trend to ditch water. If it was good to run 5w-30 10 years ago then it's good to run it now. You have better protection with the 30 weight, less with the 20, and the only reason to move towards 0w-20 is for a fractional increase in MPG. It's not worth it to me.

As for full synethetic or not; 100% full synthetic is the way to go, especially if you tow and see temps > 250. Regular oil starts breaking down at that temperature.
 
SD Rebel said:
I saw another thing from a Mopar engine builder that stated the only time they had engine issues was with 5W-30 oil and that you should use 5W-20 for the best longevity due to better lubrication of the upper valvetrain.
Click to expand...

Was the guy you're thinking of "reignited" on youtube?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

Site Vendors

https://www.jasonlewisautomotive.com/

Members online

Total: 354 (members: 28, guests: 326)
Back
Top