5w40 vs 5w30 for 3.5 HO?

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JohnSC

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Great breakdown. Good oils and good filters! Big fan of Royal Purple products. I typically use their ICE(Coolant enhancer), and Octane booster when I need it because of access to lesser fuels.

I have used Ceratec by Liqui Moly in the past. Good results on my VW TDI's when I did oil analysis. Haven't typically put it in my Fords, because of less extended intervals for change. I have been using FR3 by HotShot Secret after oil changes in my 2020 Expedition, my Previous 2020 Explorer ST, and my Current 2021 150. It is fairly cheap when broken down per oil change, and I have seen some promising analysis of it. Is it helping, well without an analysis, it is purely objective. The Expedition seems quieter on cold startup once it is added to the oil. Again, purely objective.
Of course you meant purely subjective... :)

 

LokiWolf

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Of course you meant purely subjective... :)

Excellent catch John! Fixing it now.
 

Expy Gator

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You would be wrong. The fuel used to certify most vehicles nowadays is an industry standard fuel. It is basically plain 92 Octane gasoline. No additives, and no Ethanol. There I believe is something in the works to add Ethanol to that fuel, and use a fuel that is closer to the fuel available to most, namely E10.
Nope - this is what I do for a living. Show me proof that there are no additives in the fuel Ford uses.

Plenty of reading to put you to sleep right here:

 

LokiWolf

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Nope - this is what I do for a living. Show me proof that there are no additives in the fuel Ford uses.

Plenty of reading to put you to sleep right here:

As in you work for the EPA, or are a chemist who works in fuel? My degree is Chemistry. Not what I do for a living, but that is a long an convoluted story. I have MANY friends that have gone through the After market certification process for tuning.

What is in the tank at a gas station that we put in our vehicles, and what is used to certify a vehicle to EPA standards and the J1349 SAE standards that most manufacturers use to certify HP/Torque is completely different. That testing is done on a dyno, to control conditions.

The Tuners I have talked to all say the fuel that was used for certifying their calibrations was a ridiculous price per gallon, because it is also certified, and it was "CRAP". Their words not mine. Nobody would want to run it. It is a base line, so that all manufacturers are on the same playing field.

I am partially mixing 2 testing procedures. The EPA certification testing and the J1349 SAE standard used by most to certify HP/Torque. From what I have read the J1349 has a little more leeway.
 

Expy Gator

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As in you work for the EPA, or are a chemist who works in fuel? My degree is Chemistry. Not what I do for a living, but that is a long an convoluted story. I have MANY friends that have gone through the After market certification process for tuning.

What is in the tank at a gas station that we put in our vehicles, and what is used to certify a vehicle to EPA standards and the J1349 SAE standards that most manufacturers use to certify HP/Torque is completely different. That testing is done on a dyno, to control conditions.

The Tuners I have talked to all say the fuel that was used for certifying their calibrations was a ridiculous price per gallon, because it is also certified, and it was "CRAP". Their words not mine. Nobody would want to run it. It is a base line, so that all manufacturers are on the same playing field.

I am partially mixing 2 testing procedures. The EPA certification testing and the J1349 SAE standard used by most to certify HP/Torque. From what I have read the J1349 has a little more leeway.
You can take a look at the EPA certification fuels used here:

And no I don't work at EPA or am a chemist but I do sell hundreds of millions of gallons of gasoline and diesel each year.
 

Michael D Morris

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The big thing people overlook is warrantee work. Your engine runs into an issue and they run a sample of your oil and figure out you’re running the wrong weights. They can easily deny a claim.
5w-30 vs 5w-40 isn’t a big deal but why change the weight? Thicker at operating temp isn’t helping flow or lubrication if the engine isn’t designed for it. I agree with sticking with the manual.
this is the same argument people who think 93 is better when the engine recommended 87 octane. Might not hurt but probably doesn’t help.
(Side note is the 3.5HO does recommend 91+ for optimal performance)
While my 2019 Expedition is still under warranty I plan to use the manufacturer's recommended 5W30 oil.

What we don't know, because the data is not publicly available, is what weight is actually best for the engine? Did the Ford engineers recommend 5W30 because of optimal lubrication, or did they recommend it because it improves their CAFE mileage by 0.2% ?

I'm guessing the engine would be fine with almost any readily available oil weight but do the turbos need thinner or thicker oil? I suspect that the auto-start plays into this equation as well. I disabled the auto start after the first month.
 
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chuck s

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Motor oil viscosity is PII (Preoccupation with Inconsequential Increments). :)

Blackstone Labs had a White Paper a couple of years ago noting that 5W-20 showed no wear differences in Ford engines over 10W-30 and vv. Motor oil lubricates based on oil flow not oil film and a higher grade oil may resist flow in some respects. The difference between 20 and 30, and 30 and 40 are minor my Honda S2000 calls for either 10W-30 or 5W-40. That said if the spec calls for 10W-30 I use xxW-30 full synthetic. The number before the W can 10 or lower.

My wife's car specifies full synthetic and if conventional oil is used the oil change interval is cut in half. Only car I've seen this with. It's her Subaru 3.6R engine -- the big engine here since the Expedition is a mere 3.5 liters.

-- Chuck
 

LokiWolf

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You can take a look at the EPA certification fuels used here:

And no I don't work at EPA or am a chemist but I do sell hundreds of millions of gallons of gasoline and diesel each year.
Awesome, Thanks for the links to the EPA. The listed fuel per vehicle per test is interesting.

Since you sell fuel, do you know what supplier provides the standard fuel for the OEM's? Do you have lists to the specs?
 

Expy Gator

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Awesome, Thanks for the links to the EPA. The listed fuel per vehicle per test is interesting.

Since you sell fuel, do you know what supplier provides the standard fuel for the OEM's? Do you have lists to the specs?
I don't but you have peaked my interest - I'll see what I can find.
 
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