What oil/filter do you use?

[USMCBuckWild]

I have had a myriad of vehicles and am always looking for the best ways to keep my junks up and running and plugging down the road.

A little background: I was afforded the opportunity to get certified as a Pertoleum Labratory Specialist, which means I was taught how to run the full variety of petroleum and petroleum based products through an assortment of SAE and other spec tests and testing methods. Now this does not make me an expert, but gives me a good working knowledge of a variety of petroleum products. I have a background with Subarus over the past few years and through alot of research came to be a user of Rotella T6 in my little turbo motor. Whilst I drive like a maniac, after UOA and recommendations I was going between 7,500 and 10,000 miles between services. I would like to duplicate that sort of performance in my 5.4 Expedition and the wife's 4.6 Explorer.

So now that we got all that silliness and my OCD knowledge ******* out of the way:

What oil do you use in your 4.6/5.4 engine? Why?

What oil filter do you use in your 4.6/5.4 engine? Why?

 

[stamp11127]

Hastings or Baldwin. Used a can cutter to open around 8-10 filters for big trucks when I was buying parts. Huge difference between the El cheapo and the top of the line filters. One thing that was evident was the quality of material used for the filter media and the by-pass valves.

 

[1955moose]

I use the Fram filter. The reason I do is my 4x4 is a bear to get any filter wrench in there, believe me I've tried. The black rough edge makes it easy to get a grip with my hand. I know their are better media insides, but I don't have the patience to mess with a filter for 15 minutes.


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[ExplorerTom]

Wix or Motorcraft filter. I have the "socket" that goes over the end to help loosen them.

For oil, I use Walmart 5w-30 synthetic. I know someone that works at BG Products and they ran a bunch of oil through a myriad of tests and the Walmart oil scored VERY well. And it's inexpensive and readily available. And it comes in 5qt jugs which makes disposal of the old oil easy.

 

[Habbibie]

K&N filter, 5w-20 Mobil 1 extended performance.

 

[08T1]

Wix or motorcraft.

Mobile1 extended performance. Actually a true synthetic.


CJ

 

[USMCBuckWild]

Interesting thus far. Keep em coming and lets get a good spread of information.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

5.4 here. I use a Motorcraft FL-820S and whatever mainstream oil was on sale at the time I bought it (Castrol, Pennzoil, Valvoline, etc.). I only run 5-6K between oil changes, but based on what I've seen on the BITOG forums the FL-820S can do 10K and beyond. I would probably go with a synthetic oil though if I was running it that long. Royal Purple would be my choice as I've seen the test results and you can actually get it cheaper than conventional several times per year via rebates.

 

[ExplorerTom]

From what I've read, the brand of oil really doesn't matter much anymore as all oils are decent enough to handle the rigors of engines of the last 30 years or so. You just need to keep the oil clean.

When was the last time you heard of an engine fail due to improper lubrication when regular oil changes were kept up with? There's a guy on ford-trucks with a 5.4 in an F-150 with 550,000 miles and he uses conventional oil that he changes every 5000 miles.

OK, I'll admit to one. I know a guy with a 2007ish WRX STI that he autocrossed heavily. Sticky tires generated high lateral G loads and long sustained corners (most courses were set up on old airstrips: wiggle down, turn 180 and wiggle back) and he fried 2 motors. But the type of oil wasn't so much the problem in this case.

 

[reece146]

NAPA Gold (WIX) and I guess I'll start with the Motorcraft now that I own a Ford (first one, ever).

Mostly used Mobil 1 for oil. New shop that I use for my Audi uses Motul so maybe I'll give that a go. He tells me it is the base that Redline bases their oils upon. No idea if that is true or not.

Like Tom said, all the oils are good nowadays - it probably doesn't matter unless the vehicle hasn't been maintained. This is where the differences come in. For myself - I'm always pushing the change interval due to bad timing, obligations, travel, etc., etc. so I spring for the good stuff.

We've had a guy in our local club have a similar problem with a Subaru. I think it was a 2011. It was a couple months old and he took it on the big track at Calabogie. He's a seasoned, fast driver and I think the car may have even had some R888s or similar for tires. Blew the engine a couple sessions in. Likewise, not the oil's fault - most street cars are not made for continuous track duty - or even light duty in some cases. Depends on the car of course. I never had any such problems with the S2000 or heard of any from others. But then, it was a bespoke sports car and not an econobox with wheels, wing and turbo strapped to it.

 

[USMCBuckWild]

From what I've read, the brand of oil really doesn't matter much anymore as all oils are decent enough to handle the rigors of engines of the last 30 years or so. You just need to keep the oil clean.

When was the last time you heard of an engine fail due to improper lubrication when regular oil changes were kept up with? There's a guy on ford-trucks with a 5.4 in an F-150 with 550,000 miles and he uses conventional oil that he changes every 5000 miles.

OK, I'll admit to one. I know a guy with a 2007ish WRX STI that he autocrossed heavily. Sticky tires generated high lateral G loads and long sustained corners (most courses were set up on old airstrips: wiggle down, turn 180 and wiggle back) and he fried 2 motors. But the type of oil wasn't so much the problem in this case.

From my own personal experience, Subaru engines (the EJ255/WRXand EJ257/STi to be more specific) are very sensitive to not only viscosity but pressure variances. This is why the Blue Subaru OEM filters are strongly recommended for use on these engines, even by high end motocross builders. Alot of Subie owners/builders experimented with various weights and manufacturers of oil and found a very narrow margin in which the engines ran properly and the product maintained spec and was not burned off prematurely.

This is the type of info I want to document and provide for 4.6/5.4 engine owners. I have read on the Exploder forum that people have had good results with the OEM FL-820/FL-820s and the Motorcraft 5w-20 synthetic blend. Personally, I am not overly enthused by the Motorcraft oil, but this is why I am asking everyone here to speak up.

 

[1955moose]

Well you guys got me thinking about a quality oil filter. I like the grippy black stuff on the end of Fram filters, but wanted to upgrade to something better than their orange ph2. So I went online and found a 6 pack of synthetic Fram filters go $25.00. That's cheaper per unit than the basic filter. I should be set for the next 60k miles. Part number was xg2 for first gens, may be the same for later models.


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[08T1]

371000 on my 2000 f150 4.2. Always use motorcraft filter and chevron supreme 10w 30. Changed religiously at 5k miles.
Buy it from Costco.

 

[detailer03]

Amsoil and Amsoil or Wix filters.
Amsoil because I can go longer between oil changes as well has better protection in the Arizona heat

 

[tcwaltz]

Right now I'm running a Fram Ultra Guard and Mobil 1 5-20. I really wish someone around me sold Amsoil. I used that in my 6s....great stuff.

 

[Habbibie]

I'm a once a year oil change man

 

[eluther3]

I have the 5.4 and i like the Fram Tough Guard oil filter because of the Check valve. I use a good semi synthetic. I run full synthetic in my other cars (usually Mobil1) but I have owned this one for many years and using conventional for many years, so I have resisted the urge to go to a full synthetic. I like the Castrol high mileage (around 300K miles on the engine)

 

[USMCBuckWild]

I have the 5.4 and i like the Fram Tough Guard oil filter because of the Check valve. I use a good semi synthetic. I run full synthetic in my other cars (usually Mobil1) but I have owned this one for many years and using conventional for many years, so I have resisted the urge to go to a full synthetic. I like the Castrol high mileage (around 300K miles on the engine)

Out of curiosity, why have you fought the urge to go full synthetic?

 

[spsfrank98]

I use Mobil 1 on all my vehicles except diesel

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[ExplorerTom]

So about 15 years ago, Fram got hammered in several head-to-head filter competitions. They were basically considered "do not use" filters. Has Fram improved since then?