should be, most people drive hard regardless of what oil type they have. Why dont u just get mobil 1 again?

 

Sure, it should be fine if you change it often (3 month or 3000 which ever comes first)

SOME ADDITIONAL INFO......

There is no "right" answer to oil. Short trips, stop and go traffic, weather (too hot or too cold), driving style, how many miles on your engine, and how often you change your oil all go into selecting an oil that is good enough..

"GOOD ENOUGH" is just that. Either the oil is doing it's job of preventing wear or it's not.

Ford continues to call for ILSAC GF-4 5w-20 in all it's vehicles except the SVT Zetec and the 4.0l V-6 engines. There was some discussion on upper head lubrication requirements needing the 20w (essentially the effective weight after the oil reaches operating temps). Many counter that the only reason Ford calls for the lighter oil is to meet CAFE standards for it's fleet.

I'm sure with modern chemistry that thinner oils can be made to lubricate sufficiently to do their job, I just don't see how thinner oil can carry heat away (oils other job that no one talks about) any where near as fast as a thicker oil.

I use 5w-30 at most because it's a nice compromise between gas milage and protection. I use Walmart Synthetic 5w-30 because it's cheap and I change it often and I get good gas milage. I also mix my own simi-synthetic with a couple of quarts of synthetic mixed with a couple of quality dino-oil.

If you have an expensive engine with expensive parts in it, go with the high quality stuff. Otherwise, just about anything with the API "for gasoline engines" will do.

Keith

If you "Stop and Go" all the time, add an oil cooler and save some worry.

 

WE don't drive hard enough to harm any oil mineral or syn even in the hottest climates of stop and go traffic. Use 5w20 oil. It performs extremely well regardless if it's mainy for cafe reasons.
blownstang......use motorcraft 5w20 and it will protect just as good mobil 1 5w30.

 

A thinner oil will actually perform a better job of cooling then a thicker oil will...you are wrong if you believe otherwise.
There is no harm in running 5w-30, nor is their in running 5w-20...most 5w-30s shear to a 20 weight after a few thousand miles anyways.

You are wasting you money if you change every 3k...especially with normal driving. That motorcraft oil will serve you well, but I recommend the 5w-20 MC semi-syn. Better built then the 30 weight. Both are great however. Also take a look at Havoline, and Castrol GTX. Similar performance and cost.


You could also take a look at other synth oils....Penzzoil Platinum is only $4 a quart at Wallmart, so is Quaker state synth. It can also be had for 1.99 after rebate at pep-boys.

 

Castrol Syntec PWNS motorcrap!

 

Motorcrap...hardly. Syntec is not liked by many...

 

Wow! Here come the oil Holy Wars.

I don't know that I've had oil failure in recent memory. I had a bout with Syntec about 15 years ago, but it might have been my fault. I continue to use Castrol GTX and probably will do so until I quit driving. It's never failed me, it's inexpensive (relatively) and I'm somewhat superstitious.

I think, personally, that the SGI rating is the key these days, but back "in the day" Castrol GTX was the only oil tested by Consumer Reports that passed the shear test. I was using it in motorcycles and liked that because it's used in the gearboxes of bikes. It then occurred to me that rings use shear properties as protection too.

That was my decision process, however flawed it might have been. All these years later and it's still my oil of choice, but it's probably more likely to be a "one size fits all" situation where oil is concerned.

 

Any castrol oil syntec or otherwise is on the thick side and almost a 30 weight so i won't use them. If i'm going to use a 20 weight i want the thinner oil and it's advantages. Also the 5w20 weights are very stout in their design. I'm in the process of changing over to valvoline dino from platinum because the dino are so good.

 

I use MC 5w20 semi-syn, what manufacturer recommends, 5K change intervals. I've read here and there that the MC syn-blend is a good quality oil, plus it can be had for cheap at wally.

 

I read somewhere that 5w20 puts more wear on your engine than using 5w30. It reduces engine life by 30% but you gain 1 mpg. 5w 30 gives you more protection but a decrease in gas mileage. 5w30 is clearly the best choice.

 

I read somewhere that 5w20 puts more wear on your engine than using 5w30. It reduces engine life by 30% but you gain 1 mpg. 5w 30 gives you more protection but a decrease in gas mileage. 5w30 is clearly the best choice.

This guy backs you up... His KILLER point is that Ford of England requires 5W-30 for the same engine... HA!

Motor Oils - Fuel Economy vs. Wear
By Blaine Ballentine, Central Petroleum Company

Conventional wisdom states that engine oils that increase fuel economy allow less friction and prolong engine life. The purpose of this article is to challenge conventional wisdom, particularly concerning modern (GF-3 ILSAC/API Starburst) engine oils.
Fuel Economy: Does Anyone Really Care?
First, we should face the fact that the American consumer does not appear to care too much about fuel economy. The No. 1 selling passenger vehicle is the Ford F-Series Pickup. Five of the top 10 best-selling vehicles are trucks, and trucks outsell cars. Some of the trucks are called sport-utility vehicles, otherwise known as SUVs, because their owners don’t want to admit they are trucks. The mass (size, weight) of these vehicles is not conducive to great fuel economy.

Additionally, consider how most vehicles are driven. Anyone accelerating slowly or driving at the speed limit to conserve energy is a danger to himself and other drivers who are in a much bigger hurry.

Auto manufacturers, on the other hand, are concerned about fuel economy. The manufacturer faces big fines if the fleet of cars it produces falls short of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements imposed upon them by the federal government.

The March to Thinner Oils
Thinner oils are being used these days for three reasons: They save fuel in test engines, the viscosity rules have changed, and manufacturers are recommending thinner grades.

The Sequence VI-B is the test used to evaluate fuel economy for the GF-3 specification. The VI-B test engine is fitted with a roller cam where the old Sequence VI test used a slider cam. The old Sequence VI test responded well to friction modifiers, but the Sequence VI-B responds to thinner oils.

The test oil’s fuel efficiency is compared to the fuel efficiency of a reference oil in the Sequence VI-B test. To pass, the test oil must improve fuel economy one to two percent, depending on viscosity grade. SAE 5W-20 must produce higher relative fuel efficiency than SAE 5W-30.

It is interesting to note that the reference oil is fully PAO synthetic SAE 5W-30. To qualify for the GF-3 Starburst, ordinary mineral oils had to beat the fuel economy of the full synthetic reference oil. (It seems there is more to fuel economy than a magic base oil.)

Another factor in fuel economy is temporary polymer shear. These polymers are additives known as viscosity index improvers (or modifiers). Polymers are plastics dissolved in oil to provide multiviscosity characteristics. Just as some plastics are tougher, more brittle or more heat-resistant than others, different polymers have different characteristics.

Polymers are huge molecules with many branches. As they are heated, they uncoil and spread out. The branches entangle with those of other polymer molecules and trap and control many tiny oil molecules. Therefore, a relatively small amount of polymer can have a huge effect on oil viscosity. As oil is forced between a bearing and journal, many polymers have a tendency to align with each other, somewhat like nesting spoons. When this happens, viscosity drops. Then when the oil progresses through the bearing, the polymer molecules entangle again and viscosity returns to normal. This phenomenon is referred to as temporary shear.

Because the Sequence VI-B test responds to reductions in viscosity, oil formulators rely on polymer shear to pass the test. A shear stable polymer makes passing the GF-3 fuel economy test much more challenging.

New rules defining the cold-flow requirements of SAE viscosity grades (SAE J300) became effective in June 2001. The auto manufacturers were afraid that modern injection systems might allow the engine to start at temperatures lower than the oil could flow into the oil pump. Consequently, the new rules had a thinning effect on oil.

The auto manufacturers now recommend thinner oils for their vehicles than in the past. Years ago, SAE 10W-40 was the most commonly recommended viscosity grade, later migrating to SAE 10W-30. SAE 5W-30 is most popular now, but Ford and Honda recommend SAE 5W-20. It is likely that more widespread adoption of SAE 5W-20 and other thin oils may occur to help comply with CAFE requirements.

Because of the change in cold-flow requirements and the fuel economy test pushing formulators toward the bottom of the viscosity grade, today’s SAE 10W-30 oils are more like yesterday’s (GF-1 spec) SAE 5W-30 oils. On top of that, there is a trend toward auto manufacturers recommending thinner grades. This seems ridiculous. SUVs and trucks, with their inherently less-efficient four-wheel drive and brick-wall aerodynamics, need powerful, gas-guzzling engines to move their mass around in a hurry. In response, auto manufacturers recommend using thin oils to save fuel. Incredible!

]Viscosity and Wear
Thinner oils have less drag, and therefore less friction and wear. Right? Perhaps in the test engine or engines that experience normal operation. But somewhat thicker oils may offer more protection for more severe operations such as driving through mountains, pulling a boat, dusty conditions, short trips, high rpm, overloading, overheating and overcooling.

Any abrasive particles equal to or larger than the oil film thickness will cause wear. Filters are necessary to keep contaminants small. The other side of the equation is oil film thickness. Thicker oil films can accommodate larger contaminants.

Temperature has a big effect on viscosity and film thickness. As a point of reference, one SAE grade increase in viscosity is necessary to overcome the influence of a 20°F increase in engine temperature. At a given reference point, there is approximately a 20°F. difference between viscosity grades SAE 30, 40 and 50. SAE 20 is somewhat closer to 30 than the other jumps, because SAE 30 must be 30°F higher than SAE 20 to be roughly the equivalent viscosity. In other words, an SAE 20 at 190°F is about the same kinematic viscosity as an SAE 30 at 220°F, which is about the same viscosity as an SAE 40 at 240°F. This approximation works well in the 190°F to 260°F temperature range. One might be surprised at the slight amount of difference between straight viscosity vs. multiviscosity oils with the same back number (for example, SAE 30, SAE 5W-30, and SAE 10W-30). If an SAE 50 oil at 260°F is as thin as an SAE 20 oil at 190°F, imagine how thin the oil film becomes when you are using an SAE 5W-20 and your engine overheats. When an engine overheats, the oil film becomes dangerously thin and can rupture.

Ford is bumping up against its CAFE requirements and recommends SAE 5W-20 oil for most of its engines in the United States. It claims SAE 5W-20 is optimal for fuel efficiency and wear.

To determine if SAE 5W-20 oils provide the same level of protection as SAE 5W-30 oils, Dagenham Motors in England, one of the largest Ford dealers in Europe, was consulted. SAE 5W-30 is required for warranty purposes in England, and SAE 5W-20 is not even available. If SAE 5W-20 were better for both fuel economy and wear, why would Ford not recommend it for its same engines in Europe?

Antiwear Property Changes

Another change that occurred in passenger car motor oils with GF-2 and GF-3 is a more stringent limit on phosphorus, which is part of the zinc phosphate (ZDDP) antiwear additive. The auto manufacturers are concerned that phosphorus will deposit on surfaces of the catalytic converter and shorten its life.

This is a complicated issue, and the deposits depend on the specific ZDDP chemistry and the finished oil formulation. The industry was unsuccessful in designing an engine test for an oil’s catalytic converter deposit forming tendencies. Therefore, the auto manufacturers set an arbitrary limit for motor oil of 0.1 percent phosphorus.
Antiwear additives are important in the absence of a hydrodynamic film, such as in the valve train. The antiwear additives are activated by frictional heat, which causes them to react with the hot surface and form a chemical barrier to wear.
The mechanism by which phosphorus deposits form on catalytic converter surfaces is not fully understood. It does not correlate directly with oil volatility or oil consumption. On the other hand, if engine wear causes oil consumption to increase, the risk of forming phosphorus deposits in the converter would increase dramatically. It seems that preventing wear and oil consumption should be a priority.
In the past, oil formulators could make a premium product by simply adding more ZDDP. A similar move today would result in an oil formulation that would not support new car warranties.
Short-term Thinking
As wear increases, the efficiency of an engine declines. Valve train wear slightly changes valve timing and movement. Ring and liner wear affect compression. The wear hurts fuel efficiency and power output by an imperceptible amount at first, but then the difference in fuel economy between an SAE 10W-30 and SAE 5W-20 is hardly noticeable. Efficiency continues to decline as wear progresses. Perhaps optimizing wear protection is the way to reduce fuel consumption over the life of the engine.


Certainly engines that have experienced significant ring and liner wear benefit from thicker oils. Thicker oil use results in compression increases, performance improvements and reduced oil consumption. High-mileage oils are a relatively new category of passenger car motor oils. These products typically contain more detergent/ dispersant and antiwear additives than new car oils. They typically contain a seal swell agent and are available in thicker viscosity grades than most new cars recommend. “High mileage” seems to be defined by “as soon as your car is out of warranty.”

What To Use
Although thinner oils with less antiwear additive outperform more robust products in the 96-hour fuel economy test, it is not clear that such products save fuel over the useful life of the engine. Every fluid is a compromise. Oils recommended by the auto manufacturers seem to compromise protection from wear under severe conditions to gain fuel economy and catalyst durability. It is important to recognize that to use a product that offers more protection from wear will most likely compromise your warranty. Thicker oils also compromise cold temperature flow, which may be of concern depending upon climate and season. The best protection against wear is probably a product that is a little thicker (such as SAE 10W-30 or 15W-40) and has more antiwear additives than the oils that support the warranty. The best oil for your vehicle depends on your driving habits, the age of your engine and the climate you drive in, but it is not necessarily the type of oil specified in the owner’s manual or stamped on the dipstick
Please reference this article as:By Blaine Ballentine, Central Petroleum Company, "Motor Oils - Fuel Economy vs. Wear". Machinery Lubrication Magazine. July 2003

Practicing Lubrication​

http://www.machinerylubrication.com/article_detail.asp?articleid=518&pagetitle=Motor%20Oils%20-%20Fuel%20Economy%20vs.%20Wear

 

I run the 5w30 because Walter at Marcy Motorsport recommends it. I now want to switch to the Motorcraft oil because it's cheaper. I do change the oil at 5k.

 

I run the 5w30 because Walter at Marcy Motorsport recommends it. I now want to switch to the Motorcraft oil because it's cheaper. I do change the oil at 5k.

What walter runs in his race car is another story altogether. 5w20 will be fine for even the most abused street focus. Most 5w30 don't have as robust of a total package as the 5w20 do. Almost all 5w30's thin out to a mid grade 20 weight anyways. Most top quality 5w20 hold their grade longer through their OCI. Conoco phillips has stated that their motorcraft 5w20 blend has performed better in tests than their 5w30. Do what you want but i have many UOA and have talked to a lubrication analysis expert that states 5w20 are more than enough.

 

I read somewhere that 5w20 puts more wear on your engine than using 5w30. It reduces engine life by 30% but you gain 1 mpg. 5w 30 gives you more protection but a decrease in gas mileage. 5w30 is clearly the best choice.

Ya Ya, quote your RELIABLE source. There's been nothing said about 5w-20 not doing the job. Check the website "bobistheoilguy.com" if you want some intelligent information on oils.

 

Seriously, I am tired of people posting other peoples info in order to make their point. Read up, and get your own damn clue. Nothing wrong with 5w-20...most are getting better UOAs running MC5w-20 then they were with any other oil.

Marcy has an old school thought process about oils...thicker is better. Don't get me wrong, the guy is brilliant, but when it comes to oil things have changed a lot in the last 5-10yrs.

 

Read this

http://www.synlube.com/sae5w-20.htm

 

Marcy has an old school thought process about oils...thicker is better. Don't get me wrong, the guy is brilliant, but when it comes to oil things have changed a lot in the last 5-10yrs.

I think you have misunderstood what Walter has said about using the heavier weight oils. To the best of my knowlege Walter was referring to high quality synthetics that don't differ much in viscosity from one weight to the next or from the typical cold & warm temperatures seen in most of the U.S.

Old school or not, he's got more first hand experience with what works & what doesn't then anyone else in this thread. His word's good enough for me.

 

5w-20 Castrol Syntec ... PWNS Motorcrap SyntheicBlah!

 

Wow, I can't believe a synlube linked popped up here. Ha, the day is complete!

Syntecs a fine oil, but so is MC....use both with confidence.

 

MC for your tranny yes...

MC for 5k miles as oil ... Hell no!
Its not a true sythetic... its a blend... that makes a big difference.

Comepare the oils at 5k... I change my buddies oil at 3.5K and it was black... and dirty... like reg oil does when you change it...

You change my oil at 5k ... its looks very clean, not much of a difference from when its put it... its a little darker... but def nothing close to what my buddies did...

and no im not basing that of that one time... I have used several different oils in other cars... and nothing comes out cleaner then synthetic.

 

Under rated...you need to read up on the oil info. Color has absoulutely nothing to do with oil performance. Mobil1 gets black almost immediately when used and it's not because of cleaning. Nothing comes out cleaner than synthetic? Again color has nothing to do with the oil performance. Motorcraft 5w20 is a syn blend along with most of the other 5w20 on the market today. Motorcraft 5w20 is an excellent oil and protects as well or better than alot of synthetics. I have taken valvoline AC dino to 7000 miles with great UOA results. Castrol syntec pwns motorcraft? You really don't know much about 5w20 oils!
OREO.. Walter does know his **** but i will take the recommendations of a lube analysis expert over walter anyday. A 5w30 will be ok but if a 5w20 protects just as good or better and may give me a slight mpg gain, all the better.

 

I have tired Mobil1 didnt like it... I do not use Motorcrap fluids except ford honey... I dont use there filters... I stay away from motorcrap as much as I can...
I dont trust there quality, and I never will ... I have been using Castol Syntec for 2 years straight... except the time i used Mobil1 and Royal purple... and the motorcrap that was first put in y engine... I drive my focus probably harder then anyone on this board... I downshift into the high rpms all the time... infact my car sees more 5K -6K range then it does 2K-3K... I drive alot of highway, and I have NEVER EVER had any issues with Castrol Syntec... and I know my oil is clean... I have had test run on them... one of the things that texas oil exchange did for me cause I used them so often... I take care of my car, and I only trust Castrol Syntec in my car. My car runs great with it in. This is my experience with my car... if you have any reason to tell me how a BLEND is better then a FULL SYNTHETIC.... then I would like to know.

 

You could not hurt mineral based oil driving on the street no matter what rpm you shift at. The fact that you drive alot of highway is better on the oil. Castrol is good oil also. I actually thought the same way you did before doing oil analysis on my 2.3 and actually found out how good mineral based oil protect. It seems most people have an idea that dino oil is garbage and there is so much info that says that is only a myth. Mineral oils protect jas as well. What makes you say that motorcraft oil is crap? Conoco phillips makes an excellent product and has many outstanding UOA that shows it durability.

 

Under, no where did anyone say MC was better than Syntec. All we said was that is is a good oil...hardly deserving of the label Motorcrap. Are you drunk? This being Saint Patricks day and all, you never know. Anyways, your last post proves you know nothing of oil...so continue using Syntec with confidence...its a good oil.

Oil threads always end like this...two extremes, those who ascribe to old myths about oil, and those who are trying to learn more. The irony of it all is, just about any oil on the face of the earth will take your car to high mileage and beyond....regardless of how hard you think you drive.

 

...as long as you change it & the filter on a reasonable & consistent schedule.