Joe Gibbs DRIVEN FR50 5W-50 Synthetic Racing Oil

[Spacebird]

The three things I was taught not to discuss in mixed company: religions, politics, and motor oil... Let's all try to keep it together, friends

I stumbled upon Joe Gibbs DRIVEN FR50 5W-50 Synthetic Racing Oil which I had not previous come across on this forum or others. Joe Gibbs is a renowned manufacturer of boutique oils for racing and enthusiasts. Their DRIVEN line is a favorite among high performance engine builders. Their oils seem to produce very favorable Used Oil Analyses (UOA).

The FR50 oil is designed for Ford Coyote engines, and may work well in our Coyote-derived Voodoos. LN Engineering (mostly known for Porsche engines but is a Joe Gibbs dealer) describes this oil as such:

FR50 utilizes next generation synthetic oil technology to provide unmatched performance and protection in high temperature, high shear environments. FR50 provides the required viscosity for Ford Coyote oiling and variable valve timing systems while delivering the wear protection needed for performance cams. It also utilizes a low volatility formula that guards against oil vaporization and foaming. Eliminating this problem reduces oil consumption and prevents inconsistent cam phaser system performance. Ideal for crate up to super charged Ford Coyote engines. Viscosity typical of 5W-50.

I find the oil consumption comment particularly interesting and decided to share as a result. Anyone willing to be the guinea pig to see if FR50 reduces your oil consulption?

Is it Ford WSS-M2C931-C certified? Not that I can tell, but it could meet those requirements.

My next oil change is a long time away, but I may give this a try.

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[Brostang]

It's interesting, but I would like to see a tech data sheet. For basically the same price Amsoil and Redline both have 5w50. I don't think either are "certified" to be WSS-M2C931-C compliant, but they are definitely suitable for use and advertised for this spec. Both Amsoil and Redline have low NOACK volatility ratings of about 6%, and high VI index of 185-186. Redline has higher kinematic viscosity at both 40C (130 vs 119.5) and 100C (21 vs 19.5). Also its HTHS Viscsity is 12.3% greater than Amsoil (5 vs 4.45).

 

[Competition Orange]

I believe amsoil meets gt350 specs as does Lucas, and Castrol supercar.

 

[galaxy]

Amsoil does meet Ford specs. In fact, Amsoil was a -C spec before Motorcraft was. As warranty averse as most folks are around here, good luck getting anyone to use an oil that’s doesn’t wear that label. And the funny thing about manufacturers specs on oil, not having it most certainly does not mean the oil doesn’t meet specs. Most of the time when an oil doesn’t advertised meeting a manufacturer specs, it’s because said oil doesn’t want to, or didn’t pay to go through the certification to wear that label.

 

[Eritas]

Amsoil & Redline 5W50 is A LOT thicker than the OEM 5w5, which quickly shears to a 40-weight. I'd look at a solid 40 oil than one that keeps a 50 weight viscosity over it's service life.

 

[galaxy]

Amsoil & Redline 5W50 is A LOT thicker than the OEM 5w5, which quickly shears to a 40-weight. I'd look at a solid 40 oil than one that keeps a 50 weight viscosity over it's service life.

Uuummm, that would be incorrect. Motorcraft has a cSt @100* of 21.0. Amsoil is 19.4. Therefore, Amsoil (didn't look up the Redline) is actually thinner than Motorcraft, and I would hardly categorize 19.4 vs 21.0 as "A LOT". I also don't know what you're basing your shearing comment on since your other data was incorrect. Motorcraft doesn't publish it's NOACK and other numbers like Amsoil does (that I could find) to try and make an assessment. You can't make a statement like that anyways without some oil analysis being done.

Also, I will tell you Amsoil (ESPECIALLY their SSO oils) do an EXTREMELY great job of holding their weight. I have two vehicles ('02 F150 5.4L & '02 Lexus IS300) that both get 0W30 and both do 15,000 mile oil changes. With 198,000 and 268,00 miles respectively, I have never seen an Amsoil oil shear outside the weight specs. And this is determined by an oil analysis and not a guess based on what I read about oil on the forums.

 

[oldmachguy]

... I also don't know what you're basing your shearing comment on ...

You can't make a statement like that anyways without some oil analysis being done.

And this is determined by an oil analysis and not a guess based on what I read about oil on the forums.

I don't know what he based his statement, about the OEM oil shearing quickly, on, but I base my agreement with his statement, in part, on an analysis of the OEM fill at 500 miles, an analysis of a different oil at 2,500 miles (both run by a nationally known lab), both of which were reviewed and analyzed by a 30 year tribologist, as well as his same comments about the OEM oil shearing quickly (e.g., 500 miles) to a 40 weight.

 

[tjbrowder]

I believe Driven is using ExxonMobil's M-PAO. Great base oil, but no clue on who they are using to develop their add packs.

 

[JAJ]

Oil threads are dangerous places. I think that's because it's about a product that operates in invisible ways - there's no way to actually know if one product is better than another unless you have extravagant engineering resources to throw at measurements. For most of us, we just have to buy what the manufacturer recommends and count on their engineering resources.

Last time I looked there were four oils that met WSS-M2C931-B, which is what the Voodoo calls for: Motorcraft, Amsoil, Castrol Supercar (not the regular Edge) and Lucas. That's it.

The other oils that "probably work fine" are the usual suspects - API SN consumer 5w50 oils like Mobil 1, Pennzoil, Castrol Edge and probably the Joe Gibbs product, which is an unspecified base oil blend with a Lubrizol additive package.

The principal (but not the only) difference between the oils that meet 931-B and those that don't is phosphorus. Ford's spec is 800ppm or less and the API SN spec (for Xw-40 or thicker) is 1000ppm or less. So while 931-B oils easily meet API SN, most consumer API SN 5w50 oils don't meet 931-B. Phosphorus matters because it poisons the catalytic convertor, so if your engine consumes a quart of SN oil with 1000ppm, it's does the same damage as consuming 1.25 quarts of 931-B oil

Will SN oil work in a 931B engine? Probably - 931-B oils also have to meet tougher performance tests than SN - but I'd be shocked if any of the usual suspects wasn't "good enough".

And then there's the internet meme about Motorcraft 5w50 shearing down to a lower viscosity. This story was a solid drumbeat delivered by people promoting a specific oil brand back in the days when that oil brand didn't have a competing 5w50 product. Now that that specific brand has a 5w50 offering, the drumbeat has gone silent and I have yet to see a published UOA on the specific brand's 5w50. Could it be that the shear performance of that specific brand's 5w50 product turned out to be about the same as the rest of the competing products? We'll probably never know.

 

[Tank]

@JAJ - “Last time I looked there were four oils that met WSS-M2C931-B, “

The correct standard is WSS-M2C931-C. Everything else is above my pay grade...

 

[galaxy]

(I hope I say this right) -B and -C are backwards compatible and approved by Ford certifications. The -C is just an update.

 

[Tank]

(I hope I say this right) -B and -C are backwards compatible and approved by Ford certifications. The -C is just an update.

It wouldn’t make sense to me that B could be backwards compatible with C where C is a later, updated standard.

 

[JAJ]

@JAJ - “Last time I looked there were four oils that met WSS-M2C931-B, “

The correct standard is WSS-M2C931-C. Everything else is above my pay grade...

It seems we're both right - 2015, 16 and 17 were -B and 2018 is -C.

The comments in my post are based on Ford's published 931-C spec.

 

[Tank]

It seems we're both right - 2015, 16 and 17 were -B and 2018 is -C.

The comments in my post are based on Ford's published 931-C spec.

Pardon my mistake, you were correct in that the -B is specified for the ‘16...

 

[Brostang]

Redline: https://www.redlineoil.com/content/files/tech/Motor Oil PDS 5-13.pdf

Amsoil: https://www.amsoil.com/lit/databulletins/g2880.pdf

Motorcraft: https://www.fcsdchemicalsandlubrica...fo/Product Data Sheet 5W50 Full Synthetic.pdf

Motul: https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/...s/202/Sport_205W-50_20_28GB_29.pdf?1492016047

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