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On Friday, February 5th, 2010, My wife and I finally replaced my beat-up, fuel-sucking, everything-leaking 1993 Chevy Lumina with this:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4046/4334838228_91a195cf01.jpg


2004 Hyundai Elantra GLS
2.0L DOHC Inline 4-cylinder with CVVT (Continuously Variable Valve Timing)
4-speed automatic transmission

We received it with 94913 miles on it, for $3500.

New tires on the front, timing belt replaced at 55k, brakes looked good what I could see. Was told that it had an exhaust leak - I could see it at the resonator joint; no big deal.

This is the story of me, the car, and everything in between. :Banane37:

Took it out to the Eagle Arms Gun Show with a friend this morning. Was a little concerned about all the unknowns with having an unfamiliar vehicle in the snow, but wanted to find out.

Taking it VERY easy everywhere, and the back end broke loose TWICE without warning. Took closer look at rear tires - Boy, do they need replaced ASAP!:eek:

On the way home, stopped to pump up the tires, I knew they were low but didn't care to do it first thing on the way out. 22 PSI front, 24 PSI rear. :mad::eyebrow: I didn't think they were THAT low...

Pumped up to 46/44. Re-start car, and my face dropped:
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.
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CEL.

Oh no, Amanda is going to KILL me! My buddy with me points out that we just DOUBLED the tire pressure. Oh, that could be it...wait, no, they didn't get TPMS until 2007 MY. "Either that, or after a good highway burn your exhaust leak is making the O2 sensor go crazy." AHH, that's not SO bad. I can work with that.

We keep heading for home. I thought it handled nicely before, WOW was it even better! Now worried about rear tires even more.

Thinking about everything that needs done or that I want to do; I have quite a laundry list!


Oil Change
Fuel Injector Cleaner
ATF Change
Air Filter Change
Cabin Air Filter change
Spark Plug and wire change
Rear tire replacement
Headlight aiming check/new bulbs
Fix exhaust leak
Convince wife to let me get SGII :p


Guess I'll start with the easy ones. Stopped at AutoZone on the way home to get CEL read. Turn on key, plug in reader, LINK ERROR. Uh-Oh...not more trouble! Turn off and unplug. 2nd verse, same as the first: Turn on key, plug in reader, LINK ERROR.

That's it, I'm going home. Return reader, drop off friend, head home. Wife not happy, but understanding. Made sure to tell her that AZ doesn't clear codes; if we want that done we'll need to go to dealer :eek: or get our own - AKA SGII. :p

I remember reading on this one really cool site ( cleanmpg.com ) that Hyundai's do weird things with their OBD-II ports. Research, and find out that to connect scanners, do it BACKWARDS! Connect scanner, THEN turn key.


Take family to Wilkes-Barre for shopping. I can tell that the car is getting horrible MPG (~20), but don't care at the moment; still riding the "new car high." Headlights are AWESOME at night - I'd love to put Silverstars or some other blue-white bulb in it, but really don't need to because they are soooo good.

Get CEL cleared at Advance Auto - told the guy that Hyundai's are backwards. He was surprised, but said thanks - glad to know for next time. Cleared code for me, but came back shortly after - then again, exhaust leak still not fixed.

Get ready for church nice and early, gotta put gas in car and want to pick up some things at AutoZone for oil change; plan is to work on it Tuesday evening during Women's Bible Study at my house. Will also be working on exhaust leak at that time.

Bought:

Gumout High Mileage Fuel Injector Cleaner w/Regane
FRAM Air Filter CA9392 - $2 off w/oil change supplies!
Valvoline MaxLife 5W-30 Semi-Synth (for high mileage cars)
FRAM ToughGuard Oil Filter

Do yourself a favor, and fix that exhaust leak as soon as possible... take it from experience ;). You'll also want to replace that first O2 sensor. What are the consequences of ignoring it?

* O2 sensor will foul
* Engine is currently running WAY rich, and the MPGs show it
* Cat #1 will disintegrate
* Cat #2 will get clogged with remains of cat #1
* If out of warranty (and you might be, the power train one is halved for the second owner)... but I THINK the cats are warrantied to 8 years/100k by the FEDs. Anyway, those cats are big time expensive, 2200 I was told when mine were replaced under warranty. Just in parts

It WILL be getting fixed asap. I need to call Hyndai about the warranty. Not that there's much left anyway; 95,000 miles out of a possible 100,000.

If that's the way warranty repairs are, then no WAY would I go that route. The cat's are about $179 to replace; O2's are just shy of $80 if I buy them myself.

Office is close today due to snow; so maybe I'll go out to the garage with an electric heater and take care of it at some point today.

Unfortunately, the warranty is great for the first owner, but not so much for the second party. It drops that 10 year, 100k miles to 6 year, 60k. And yes, dealer costs for anything are through the roof. At least in Durham. They couldn't fix my flex pipe, and wanted 350 (in just parts!) to replace everything from the exhaust header back to the intermediary pipe. I had an independent shop just weld in a new piece of flex pipe for $120. That fix has held up for about 4 years, and just recently broke.

Dealer repair/maintenance costs have been my one complaint with the Elantra (aside from the damage they apparently did to try to persuade me to purchase a new model at 60K). :(

I also recommend finding a good independent mechanic you can trust to do the work for you.

I also recommend finding a good independent mechanic you can trust to do the work for you.

I second that idea!!!!!!

good luck Nevyn,I am sure it will be a nice upgrade for you once you get the bugs worked out from the previous owner!

Changed oil today in between shoveling rounds. Blackish-GREEN in the light of my flashlight. Valvoline MaxLife Semi-Synth 5W-30 put in as replacement with FRAM ToughGuard oil filter.

Also changed air filter with a FRAM. The one I took out was Hyundai OEM, and the paper was YELLOWED - I don't know if it's supposed to be that color or not; pics to come later.

Still have the leak at the resonator to work on for exhaust. Looks like the resonator is integrated to the pipe section of catalytic converter #2. I hope I don't have to replace the whole section... :mad::eyebrow::(


Car temporarily parked. The back tires are so bad I WON'T take it out with the snow out there - gives me a chance to work on the exhaust at least.

The oil sounds normal.

Fram? I would use an oem oil filter or pur one.

As for air filter, eh, i use a washable filter, less waste, eventually it makes up as I keep my cars for a while. :)

The oil sounds normal.

Fram? I would use an oem oil filter or pur one.

As for air filter, eh, i use a washable filter, less waste, eventually it makes up as I keep my cars for a while. :)

To get an OEM filter, I'd have to go to nearest dealer - 40 miles away. Pur I'd need to order. I would have loved to put Amsoil or Royal Purple in it, but that would over double my cost - something I can't do right now.

AutoZone is nice and close (3/4 mile away), and their "rewards" program is exceptional.

I got a 5 liter ("5+quart") jug of semi-synth and the oil filter for $18.99. This gave me a $2 discount on the air filter.

Any time you spend $20 at AZ, you get a "point." At 5 points, you get a $20 store credit. As long as you can keep your trips to near 20 bucks, that's a 20% return - nothing can touch it. Then, just save up the credits until you have a BIG purchase - and boom, major discount.

General status update; it's been a while. Here's an update on the "laundry list" I created:


Oil Change DONE 2-10-10
Fuel Injector Cleaner DONE 2-10-10
Air Filter Change DONE 2-10-10
Convince wife to let me get SGII :p DONE 2-17-10
Fix exhaust leak DONE 2-21-10
ATF Change
Cabin Air Filter change
Spark Plug and wire change
Rear tire replacement
Headlight aiming check/new bulbs



Got my SGII from NervousMini last week. It has been SUCH a help! Not only for MPG monitoring while driving, but also clearing my CEL due to exhaust leak, and also cleared code for FIL as well.

Has helped me learn that the Crawler likes TPS 12 IGN 40 a LOT - reading 62 MPG if I can keep that up. Started out watching IGN LOD TPS MPG, now watching AVG MPG TPS IGN.

2-21-10: Exhaust leak FIXED! I don't mean repaired, I mean fixed for good. Total cost: $22. I took it over to a buddy's house after church seeing as weather was nice. Used sawzall to cut off old flexpipe section, and WELDED a new one in. Took about 2.5 hours, plus we ran to store for an "official" flex section instead of using the little piece of it that I had.
Soaked the O2 sensor in carb cleaner while we worked, came out nice and pretty. It was BLACK when we first removed it. Car is super-quiet now; I can't wait to hear it after new tires! Also seems to have a little more "oomph" than before. Seems to be able to maintain same speed/MPG as before at 1 tick lower on TPS readout - I can use 15 instead of 16, etc.

2-22-10: Stopped this morning and aired up a little more: 50 front, 45 rear. Between fixed exhaust/clean O2, and air in tires, seems to be 2-4 MPG better for iMPG at same TPS.

I now have $20 at AutoZone after buying parts. Not sure if I should use it on ATF or if I should use it to get a bigger/bettter/more complete set of metric tools. :)

Looking forward to your next report. Best we've done with my wife's '06 Elantra GLS (AT) is 42 mpg on a long highway trip to Las Vegas.

Looking forward to your next report. Best we've done with my wife's '06 Elantra GLS (AT) is 42 mpg on a long highway trip to Las Vegas.

I've driven half of this tank with the exhaust leak and "poor" MPG; I'm going to be filling relatively soon even though I'm just under half.

Your '06 is the 'HD' model; my '04 is known as an 'XD2.' I have the body style of the XD, but the CVVT engine that came with the mid-XD-model refresh. I'm not sure of all the other changes besides body style, but our engine should be the same. Judging from our saturday night shopping trip, 42 MPG seems to be the upper limit for "standard" driving. Manual says NO to any activity where the drive wheels are down and car is moving; this cuts out FAS/EOC. I'm not experienced enough to P&G either. If we had those two techniques available I think we could approach 50 depending on terrain.

I'll get an entry into my log relatively soon for everyone, and thus will begin the calibration of my SGII.

Good luck with your new to you Hyundai.

When you get a chance order two or three OEM oil filters for future use.

I Googled Hyundai parts and found this site which sells OEM parts mail order.
hyundaiaccessorystorel (http://www.hyundaiaccessorystore.com/hyundai_tune_up_parts.html)

There's a reason they refer to Fram oil filters as the Orange can of death.

One oil change the Fram isn't going to matter much but over several oil changes you want a quality oil filter in your car.

Forgot about the issues with FRAM and Hyundai - Whoops! Took off an orange FRAM to put on my SILVER (ooooooo, shiny) one. The ToughGuard's are supposed to be manufactured differently than the regular ones, not that it means much. :p

I'll probably be "short-changing" this oil change anyway, simply so that I can get whatever glop may have been in there worked out, if any, and go to full synthetic at a lighter weight. Then, I guess either Pur, OEM, or Wix?

TPS 12 was a sweet spot for my 99 as well. Glad you got that leak fixed!

Argh. Some other aggravations, but all minor.

FIRST FILLUP RESULTS! :woot::woot:

02-27-10
472.4 miles
$2.739/gal

I used 15.187 gallons for a whole whopping........*drumroll*.....31.10 MPG! :eyebrow::(:mad::confused:

I thought I did way better than that! What went wrong...ah! I stuffed the tank harder this time than I did last time. If I had stopped at same point, it would have been more like 14.25 gallons; which would yield 33.1 MPG. That sounds more like what I was figuring it'd come out as. Now, however, I know where the top of the tank is as far as stuffing goes. That tank I burned out *SHOULD* have been pure gas; not sure about what I put in it for refill but I'm betting it was E10 (or worse) filth. http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt296/A18E/emotes/16.gif

Reset SGII. HOME>MORE>FILLUP, adjust to 15.2 gallons. Offset jumps to -53% (:eek:). Oh, that' probably because of it still having tank data from NervousMini's Blazer in it. Off to the hardware store!
...
...
...
*looks at SGII* WHOA! I'm driving an Insight-I! SGII reading 72.4 MPG! Hmm, guess that offset is too high. I'll fix it when I get there.

Get to HW store, start poking. What are the rules on adjusting without resetting tank? Oh, right. HOME>MORE>FILLUP>whoops! accidentally hit reset. Agh, now it'll be off by 0.5 gallons. Ah well, no MAJOR loss. HOME>MORE>FILLUP---crank down offset, do NOT push done, just go back to HOME. There we go, crank it from -53% down to -25%, let's try that.

2-28-10 Took the family up to Muncy to the mall. SGII still seemed a little high; cranked offset up to +5% so that the gallons are closer to estimated correct. We'll try again next fillup...

Car is MUCH quieter with exhaust repaired. Now, to get rid of those singing rear tires...

Short-filled the tank today. I had cash on me, it was half-empty, and I knew they had just dropped the price a couple cents.

Went to the same station, same pump as last time. And the price was back up already compared to when I saw it lowered. :mad: Such is life.

3-4-10
253.1 miles
7.817 gallons
$2.739/gal
32.38 MPG

Enh. Marginally better. SGII offset jumped from -12% to +25%; I set it to +9% and we'll see how that goes.

Spilled a little stuffing the tank, so we went for a bath too. The shmuck on it was relatively nasty, so I didn't feel it was a waste.

Wife took it last night to go out with a friend...SGII shows 71 MPH max and 3283 RPM. :eek::mad::mad: Went to look at Trip A, which I've been using to track total miles since we bought it, and it said 42.6 :eek::mad::mad::mad::mad: What did she DO????? :eyebrow:

Not a happycat this morning. :(

Sounds like she did a little, "Let's see what this puppy can do!" driving. :(

Nay, I think it was a MAJOR P&G I did coming home Sunday. I knew I pulsed up, but didn't realize I went THAT high. I coasted in neutral down to 55, was about a mile and a half of N-ICE-On coasting. :) No idea what happened to Trip A; not anything major, I know the mileage from when we bought it. Now I just have to do the math. :p I gotta get new tires on it come payday.

Been a while since last update. Several things to report.

3-13-10: Put in CD player/HD radio from the Blumina. No major issues, one annoying one. Get it all put back together, and have no dash lights. Check dash fuse, is totally fine. Check Elantra forums; turns out this is normal. Replace the RH Tail Illumination Lamp fuse? :confused::confused: Check fuse, dead! Crazy Koreans. Replaced and all is well.:woot:

Sold the Blumina! :woot::woot::woot: He'll be down to get it on Friday or Saturday.


Ordered new tires (2) today. Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max. Should be in on Wed/Thur. Replace the bad ones on the rear, and move 'em to the front. Move the current fronts (Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring) to the back.

FILLUP!
3-15-10
13.591 gallons, to the tip-tippy top! (As usual; that's how I try to remove ONE variable)
Had MAJOR discount! only paid $1.559 for 87. Even if it is really, REALLY bad E10 it's more than worth it. Regular price was $2.759/gal.
450.7 miles
33.16 MPG!:flag:

ScanGauge and getting used to car really helping. Also, having warmer temps helped a bunch too. SGII is pretty well bang-on, at 9.0% offset. Reported 13.6 gallons as it's guess; pretty good compared to 13.591 actual. Mileage was off by about 3 miles or so. No big deal in my book.

Can't wait for new tires, plugs/wires, and ATF change. But, money being what it is (hard to come by), those will stretch forward a ways...

Got my tires on today! 45 mins, not bad at all. Had the AMX's put on the front, and the TPT's moved from the front to rear. Of course, only filled to 32 psi; drove a mile down the road to free air supply at Giant and set 'em to 50 (the others were already 50). The car feels smoother, and is a LOT quieter! Then again, there was about 1/32 of tread on the ones that came off.

Reset "Trip A" to measure mileage since tires put on; using Trip B for tank-to-tank mileage.

They feel sooooo good, and they put my mind at ease as well.

Only 60.7 miles on this tank of gas, so I'll have almost the whole tank to see how they do.

Quick update on new tires. They seem to be WORSE ever so slightly in cold temperatures; my drive to work has been 31-32 MPG instead of 32-33. No big deal, could just be the increase in diameter and me getting used to needing less throttle now.

The drive home, in warm temps, has seen MAJOR improvements. SGII reporting 44 MPG average for the trip, instead of the usual 35-37. Very, VERY quiet tires.

Only had to buy two, the others were fine. Looked them up, Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring seems to come in at Crr of 0.00704 - not the greatest in the world, but still LRR - thank you previous owners, and you probably didn't even know it!

When I put these on the van last year, there was a very noticeable break-in period. They took maybe 1000 miles to stabilize. They gained probably 5% mpg over that period.

Not sure what's on 'em now, a couple hundred for sure. Supposed to rain for the next several days; we'll see how they do in the wet. Didn't like the feel, so I aired 'em up "a little" more. :D:D:D They feel much more secure.

Not sure what's on 'em now, a couple hundred for sure. Supposed to rain for the next several days; we'll see how they do in the wet. Didn't like the feel, so I aired 'em up "a little" more. :D:D:D They feel much more secure.

FILLUP!

So, was time to fill up tonight. Would have been tomorrow, but we went out to a nearby mall for an Easter egg hunt for the kiddos.

522.5 miles
14.672 gallons
$2.859/gal, total cost $41.95
35.612 MPG! :woot: :woot:


Of the 522.5 miles, all but the first 60.7 of them were on the new tires. I can't wait for the next tank's numbers...

P.S. This is all on E10.

At this rate you'll be at 100 mpg in no time at all! :D

http://www.cleanmpg.com/garage/images/cha3364.png

Nope. I'm already approaching the "terminal velocity" of MPG in this car, I think. On sunny afternoon trips home from work I can get the AVG up to 44-45 MPG, which is BARELY holdable once I get into town and caught by a couple lights as I approach my house. DWL at 35 mph is between 44 ant 48 MPG - so it's REAL tough to make up for getting stuck at a red light. And the fact that they're not timed at all it seems around here...it's real easy to get down to 41 MPG and get stuck there. Morning trips in are still between 28 and 40 degrees, which makes for a real killer.

I've found an "island of stability" it would seem as well. 55 mph, TPS 12-14, gives 35-42 MPG depending on terrain. 67 MPH, TPS 12-14, gives 38-48 MPG! I think the higher speed puts the engine into a better spot for the CVVT to work. I'm still testing.

Some more photos (grille block seen in place).

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2735/4462027135_be1d91bee6.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2798/4462027063_c683a22af9.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2677/4462801428_1d2c673eb8.jpg

How do you see out the windscreen with those enormous ornaments hanging off the rear view mirror?? :eek:

No one says I leave 'em up while driving. That'd actually be enough to get me ticketed in PA for obstruction of view.

Nice car, nice grille block.

Mirror ornaments - what are those things, anyway?

They're "Weighted Companion Cube" style 'fuzzy dice.' My best friend (and best man at my wedding) got them for me as a Christmas gift one year.

http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Aperture_Science_Weighted_Storage_Cube

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal_(video_game)

You'd have to be into Portal and/or video gaming in general to really understand the joke.

:woot::woot:

New record for trip TO work! I normally average 32-34 so far in the mornings due to cold temps and elevation (work is higher than home). I've been having success lately with P&G, which I finally believe I have figured out, so I tried the route to work I normally avoid.

It's straight, flat, level (except for the godzilla-hill at the end up to the office), and full of trigger lights.

I normally avoid it due to heavier traffic and catching all the lights wrong, as the trucks come out of all the industry and have the main road red at almost every intersection. Today, I decided to try to P&G in "competition mode" and see what would happen.

Well, I got good timing, and was only borked on TWO of the seven lights. Between that, and P&G, I managed to take a normally 32-34 MPG trip, and turn out...
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...
36.1 MPG! YAY!

I'm hoping now between this, and warmer temps, and other things, I can keep my tank average over 36 MPG. :Banane45:

I'm hoping now between this, and warmer temps, and other things, I can keep my tank average over 36 MPG. :Banane45:

36.274 MPG for the tank; filled up this morning. And so it begins...

509.9 miles
14.057 gallons
E10.

Got a bath today too; get all that filth blown off. Almost time for an oil change already!

OMG THOSE THINGS ARE HUGE!!

Jeff, would you like some friendly competition? I'm sure it'll help boost your mileage up :D.

OMG THOSE THINGS ARE HUGE!!

Jeff, would you like some friendly competition? I'm sure it'll help boost your mileage up :D.

Ha! I think that when on "best behaviour" in a competition-mode mindset you and that voodoo avenger would eat me alive. I wouldn't mind a bottle of whatever secret sauce you run in it though... ;)

Side note, I'll take a close-up pic of my cubes and post up. I take 'em down to drive and put 'em up when I park; they're like 4" on each side.

Ha! I think that when on "best behaviour" in a competition-mode mindset you and that voodoo avenger would eat me alive. I wouldn't mind a bottle of whatever secret sauce you run in it though... ;)

Side note, I'll take a close-up pic of my cubes and post up. I take 'em down to drive and put 'em up when I park; they're like 4" on each side.

Winter kills my drive to maximize my mpg with sorry numbers I could get without hypermiling during summer. Now that the weather's changing and my car has both the wheel bearings replaced (twice in the last year), I can feel comfortable listening something other than just the noisy wheels going down the road. I think once you learn more about the car I wont be of any competition, but it'll be fun watching you rip me a new one once everything is broken in.

I've had some embarassing tanks I'll tell you that much. You seem like the perfect candidate for some good competition for the warm season :P.

There is a secret sauce...I guess you could say my foot gets saucy sometimes. :P All I have is a kill switch and a FAS switch, I'll run my numbers against yours. I just wish my starter was a bit more quiet. I like attention, but not everytime I leave a stoplight :cool:

a close-up? lol, I'm not sure if they'll fit in view

Remember though, that I've got an automatic. On top of that, it's ZERO use of engine-off coasting for me. From what I've read, the tranny is licensed/bought from Mitsubishi and uses some sort of weird rubber-compound clutch packs. Coast with the engine off for more than a few FEET and suddenly you have no more gears.

So, I think you'll always be able to eat me alive just due to that front. If I could EOC (Engine-Off Coast), My trip to work would appear to "shrink" from 14 miles down to 11, and my trip home would go from 14.5 to about 9.1. That'd boost me up by 15 to 20% on my overall average.

I do have more aero mods planned, but need a day where I have time to "play" in the garage.

Well that's a fun-killer. I haven't used much FAS in a while. I'll probably play around with it on lunch today.

should've gotten a chrysler tranny, they FAS all day :p

Maybe if I slip my wife some of your secret sauce she'll learn to love manuals, and then it'll be moot?

well, if I did drive a manual, that just might've done the trick.

Long time since anything major; just a general status update.

Getting ready for another oil change, ATF change, and timing belt change. Somewhere in the next 5k for 'em; next 1k for oil. Decided on Royal Purple for ATF.


P&G mostly perfected. Funny story. I was using TPS to pulse, at TPS 28. I realized over time that IGN didn't really mean much to me, so I changed it to LOD one day. Turns out, that what I found worked best for the pulse (TPS 28-30) worked out to LOD 68. Hey, isn't 70-75% the rule of thumb for P&G? Durrr..... :p


I have to move it a *little* lower in this car. Get LOD up to 70, 71 and it'll downshift. So I try to pulse at 68-69 LOD - works great.

May need new rear struts, too.

I rolled 100,000 on the odo Thursday morning! I have a nice laundry list for the next couple weekends:


Oil Change
ATF Change
Spark Plug/Wire change
Valve Adjustment
4-wheel Alignment (roads to new job are NASTY!!)
Timing Belt
Accesory Belts
Water Pump

Oil Change DONE 2010-05-29
ATF Change
Spark Plug/Wire change
Valve Adjustment
4-wheel Alignment (roads to new job are NASTY!!)
Timing Belt
Accesory Belts
Water Pump


AutoZone was/is running a special. 5 quarts of Mobil 1 full synthetic PLUS a Mobil 1 oil filter for $29.99 + tax.

So, I got 5 quarts of Mobil 1 "Advanced Fuel Economy" 0w-20 with a Mobil 1 filter for 30 bucks!

Coolest thing. After a 30 or so mile drive, I figured the oil was well circulated and whatnot. LOD on my SGII normally runs 15-17 at idle in N. With the new oil, it's almost rock-solid at 14 after warm-up. Engine feels smoother and is quieter; some tapping I could hear is gone.

I attribute part of this to having a FRAM filter on the car before; having forgotten that Hyundai + FRAM = bad.

:Banane02:

Is the car spec'd for a -20 oil? My manual calls for 5W-30...

No. However, there are issues with flow rate and non-OEM oil filters, so I figured being a little thin wouldn't be a bad thing?