5W-30 instead of 5W-20

[JExpedition07]

Ford has always added to the Mustang owners manuals and supplements to use either 5W-30 or 5W-50 for track use and to forgo the on road recommended 5W-20. Engineering specifically has stated in the manuals for the modular engines 30 weight is fine, that goes for both 3-Valve and 4-Valve engines with VCT.

 

[Michael McC]

I see a lot on this thread about oil brands.

About 10-15 (maybe 20) years ago there was a study done on NYC cabs varying oil brands and oil change intervals. Bottom line was that it didn't matter which oil brand you used, as long as you changed it often.

I buy the cheapest full synthetic I can find (lately O'Reilly's in-house brand), and change it myself every 7,000 miles or so--sometimes 10,000 miles. Costs about $30. Did the same thing with my 5.4 and it did fine for 140,000 miles. I'm not keeping a car much longer than that, and I've never had one that wore out. Is there any evidence that one brand is better than another? I'm asking for evidence, not anecdote (and I know my experience is an anecdote, but the NYC cab study is evidence).

 

[Plati]

2003 XLT 5.4 4x4. 185K 6K oil changes conventional 5W20 Valvoline. Runs like a bear, but hasn't shit in the woods yet.

 

[chuck s]

No need to change it often. Just follow the manufacturer's specifications.

Here's the report of the Consumers Union tests from 1996 (darn near 24 years ago) -- been a while!

Even in the severe driving conditions that a New York City taxi endures, we noted no benefit from changing the oil every 3,000 miles rather than every 6,000. If your driving falls into the "normal" service category, changing the oil every 7,500 miles (or at the automaker's suggested intervals) should certainly provide adequate protection. (We recommend changing the oil filter with each oil change.)

Ford specifies 10,000 miles or 12 months or the maintenance notification on the dashboard -- which ever comes first.

http://www.xs11.com/xs11-info/xs11-info/articles/51-consumer-reportstruth-motor-oils-july-1996.html

-- Chuck

 

[Blksmk]

I changed to 0 w 30 due to minus 55 below, noticed no more ticking

 

[ExplorerTom]

At all times trust your Ford Engineers. If they say,"5-20W" just go with what they say.

That would be great of engineers actually got the final say in stuff. But it’s the accountants and marketing staff that get the final say.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

I'm sure I've said this before, but the truth is we don't really know what the engineers recommend because anything they recommend is filtered through the execs and bean counters before it reaches our eyes and ears.

A friend of mine is a software engineer for a company that provides the brains behind self-driving vehicles. Last year they had several incidents where the vehicles crashed after heading off like they had a mind of their own. The software engineering team recommended that all of the vehicles using the software temporarily be taken out of service so they could rewrite huge chunks of code, which would take them weeks or months to complete. The bean counters weren't having that as it would have resulted in a huge loss of revenue, so they kept going back to the engineers asking "What else?" (as in "We don't like your recommendation, so keep making new ones until we hear one we like." Finally, the engineering team told them they could roll back the software to the previous version and hope the problem that caused the crashes was in the last update. Done! So the vehicles went back out on the road and the company assured their clients that their engineers took care of things.

 

[chuck s]

There's always money involved. Just ask Boeing.

As for 0W-20 it's "common knowledge" (meaning I saw this in the Internet) this grade of oil was selected to meet fuel economy requirements. I recall a White Paper from Blackstone Labs (oil analysis lab) that they found no wear differences with 0W-20 and 10W-30 in Ford engines, so there's that data as well.

And as far as conventional vs synthetic motor oil is concerned my wife's car's oil change schedule is cut in half unless she uses synthetic. Specific to the optional engine in her car. Right in the owner's manual. Dealer says it doesn't matter. Who ya gonna believe? ?

-- Chuck

 

[Blksmk]

Only reason I got 0 w 30 was on sale, and we hit a -68 for 5 days, low and behold. My battery froze lol but I got fresh oil in it! Lol

 

[Machete]

My original manual say 5-30wt. So that’s what I use. I ignore the CAFE update suggesting 0-20wt for fuel mileage.

I used to use motorcraft synthetic until I learned ConocoPhillips makes oil and Ford rebrands it.

I also learned the additive package in Motorcraft oil is less than Kendal 1 synthetic also made by ConocoPhillips.

Kendal 1 Titanium has much more additives and in larger amounts plus its half the cost of MC oil.

When I switched it could tell a difference in normal engine noise. Much quieter w Kendal.

The 3v 5.4’s are notorious for VVT failures most having to do w oiling issues.