This study shows a comparison between numerical simulations and experiments of the frictional behaviour in porous journal bearings. Experimental tests were carried out on bearings lubricated with poly-alpha-olefin base oils of distinct viscosities. The theoretical model includes the effects of cavitation by vaporization and accounts for the sinter flow by application of Darcy’s law. An accurate numerical interpolation scheme is used to estimate the eccentricity ratio corresponding to the load applied in the experiments. The comparison is performed by evaluation of the hydrodynamic branch of the Stribeck curve where the dependence of the viscosity on temperature according to the Ubbelohde–Walther relationship is considered. We find that the numerically calculated friction coefficients reproduce the trends of the experimental results satisfactorily well, yet the calculated values lie predominantly below the measured ones. An explanation of this low-positive correlation is given.