Is it safe to run 0W40 in the 2013 500 H.O. motor? Or should you stick with the hyped up magical space age 2W50?

 

Yes it's safe to run either 0w40 or 2w50 "IF" you want to stay with Polaris branded oils.. In fact it's safe to run 5w40,5w50 too in most major oils as long as it's FULL SYNTHETIC because doesn't matter if any oil has friction modifiers as the 500 doesn't have a wet clutch for it to affect. I wouldn't go any thicker than 5w50 myself. Again my opinion(and everyone has one) as long as Rotella T6 5w40 is cheaper than the major brands I'll continue to use it in my old Honda,my son uses in his SV1000 and haven't had any clutch problems since it's Jaso rated and doesn't have friction modifiers. If I owned a 500 it would be using Rotella right now! Using a different oil wont affect the warranty if it's sill in effect. The manual only states "more frequent oil changes may be needed" if you use a different oil other than Polaris branded oils,which I take with a grain of salt! Polaris started out with 0w40,then went to 2w50,and now offers an "extreme" 5w50 oil which to me leaves the door wide open on oil choices,especially for the 500 engine..

 

The 2W-50 doesn't even exist anymore, other than what dealers have in stock. The Polaris PS-4 is now 5W-50 and the PS-4 "Extreme" is 10W-50.






My owners manual says to use 2W-50, but this sticker right on the machine says to use 0W-40.

 

Doors getting wider on oil you can use now .. Just like Polaris did with all the different differential fluids for awhile. This just causes more confusion for people and frustration for dealers that have to stock their branded oil. So take your pick 0w40 all the way to 10w50..Their brand of oil or your own preference. Glad I'm retired...

 

I saw a temperature chart before and you have to be someplace really hot to need higher than 40 weight oil. I wouldn't worry about it.