My read is that 5w-40 does everything 15w-40 does and then some. So there's no downside to running 5w-40 other than it probably costs more.
In the interest of technical accuracy - almost but not quite.
Two downsides often discussed in diesel forums is time in grade and a
potentially lower High Temperature High Shear (HTHS) viscosity.
Multigrade engine oils with larger viscosity spreads tend to have higher cincentrations of VI improving additives and are more susceptible to permanent viscosity loss due to shear. That means they will "wear out" and drop below the minimum viiscosity of grade 40 quicker.
HTHS is a similae issue for similar reasons. Oils with higher cincentrations of VI addituves are more susceptible to temporary viscosity loss under HTHS conditions.
Consequently the
minimum requirement set by SAE J300 is 3.5 cP for grades 0W40, 5W40, and 10W40.
The
minimum for grades 15W40, 20W40, 25W40, and 40 is slightly higher at 3.7 cP
That is why for decades 15W40 was the defacto standard for heavy duty diesel engine oil.
Now let me put that in perspective. Kubota recommendations include SAE grade 10W30 which has a minimum HTHS of 2.9 cP and grade 20 which has
no minimum at all.
Dan