GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

there's a new national talk show about vehicles on the am radio channels on saturday from about 10a to 12p...its called "all about cars" and these guys seem to know their stuff and are keyed in to all the latest news for gearheads ...answer techincal questions too...found out today that the reason the vibe engine takes such a thin oil is due to the tolerance levels of the engine and that by putting in a heavier oil can take out the oil pump 'cause most of them have nylon shafts in them listen to show if you catch it..they have good triva questions

the engine tech on the show conveyed the impression that ALOT of the new pumps have a nylon shaft....cost saving i guess!

First, the oil for the Vibe is no thinner than what 90% of the cars on the road today use: 5W30. My old '93 Sunbird used the same oil. Modern engines use tighter tolerances today for better emissions and effeciency. Tigher tolerences require thinner oil. Nothing new there.Nylon shafts are lighter and quieter. Same reason small block Chevys started using timing gears with nylon teeth. Again, nothing new.

Yeah, but the problem is, those quieter gears never lasted as long as the metal ones.

what i was trying to convey was what you stated...tighter engines, thinner oil...the vibe doesnt take a thinner oil than others that is true, i was comparing it to the cars i drove and worked on in the '70's to the present where oil requirements have changed from 10w40 to todays 5w30 and, in the vibe manual, 0w30 there is no need anymore to change to a "winter" or "summer" weight as used to be done in days gone by....girls didnt have the benefit of motor shop classes when i was growing up and common sense dictates that nylon isnt as strong as steel in the long run in this application...i just though the show brought out facts that not everyone knew about

Yep. Mainly because of heat and lack of proper oil changes. Engines that ran hot and overheated the oil would cause the nylon teeth to get brittle and break off.

I remember that as well...with the my own and my dads american V-8 engine always using 10w30 and 10W40 between seasons!

Actually, the invention of multi-viscosity oils did away with having "summer" and "winter" oils, even in older 70's cars.For those who don't remember "summer" and "winter" oils, people used thicker, single grade oils in the summer (when the engine ran hotter) and thinner oils in the winter when they didn't run as hot. However, multi-grade oils did away with that. A 5w30 oil means it acts like a 5-weight oil (thin) when cool (for winter driving, hence the 'w' in 5w) and acts like a 30-weight oil (thicker) when hot.

I was actually suppised when I saw that my Mazda6 takes 5w20.

quote:Yup, it is a Ford, that is why..That 5W20 is a synthetic blend and My Ranger takes it, the Taurus and such. Only place I can find that oil is the dealer..Good thing the car came with free oil changes for life.

quote:That is a heck of a deal, what dealer did you buy it from? lolWish I had something like that up here, I pay 22.00 out the door for my oil changes of 5W20 here. Just the dealer down here at King Auto Mall (Cincinnati). When we signed the contract they said something about free oil changes for life. About a month ago we received a card giving us free changes every 4k miles. That's the low end of the recommended oil change interval so that wasn't a bad deal.

i think thats the same type of oil the bmw m series takes on their engines! you're in good company then i guess as engines develop in design, the weight gets thinner and thinner.

actually with the BMW M series engine fiasco. All M3 now require 10w-60 oil. another side effect of heavier weight oil is that engine will run quiter (according to a recent Car and Driver article). as you know, one of the biggest complaint on a Vibe is engine noise. I wonder if heavier oil would quiet it down a bit.