now, lets talk oil!

[Spacebird]

Motor oil brands are like religions; there are many different options, but everybody is certain that their choice is the only logical choice.

Oil threads always devolve to this...

Sponsored

 

[bdub85]

I'm just going to use the Motorcraft 5w50 and not worry about it.

 

[ohtobbad]

I will be going with Ford oil also, first off they built and tested the engine using it.
2nd if I blow it up, one less reason they will give me a hard time

 

[grue]

hello. read bob is the oil guy and wanted to see if i have a decent understanding or weights/grade. newbie. also a couple questions about what he was saying in his whole write up. i'm assuming full-synthetic only below.

so, i can watch my oil pressures when cold and after 10-20mins of driving and get a baseline. according to bob, the 10psi per 1,000rpm is a good guideline for even modern engines. i'm currently seeing about 2500rpm and 50psi with 5w20 blend (that came with the car, i'm at 720miles also).

i could put a different oil in, say 0w20 5w30 or 5w50, and compare the oil pressures to get an idea of whether or not i should run that oil. if pressures are around what i'm seeing now for example. oh, also i need to pay attention to more than just 2,000rpm pressure, i should look at pressure when at higher rpms where the engine is under more stress.

cold weather daily driving: no oil seems to be good at cold start-up, they are all going to give extra wear-n-tear, but some will be less. 0w-xx oil seems to be pretty good when talking about cold start up and in cold climates where a car can sit outside in -10deg F all day.

it sounds like i should be choosing a 0w-xx oil for cold winter months? and keep an eye on pressures as mentioned above.

summer and track days: summer daily driving doesn't seem all that different from winter daily driving, at least for me, where it wouldn't warrant going with say a 5w-50, whereas a track day would warrant going to a 5w-50 due to the heat and strees. if i did a track day with te 5w-50, then again i would want to keep an eye on pressures to see if in fact that's an ok oil to go with.

after reading his site, did i learn anything?

finally, if something like a full synthetic 0w-20 or whatever, would be less wear-n-tear on an engine that starts up and drives in -10deg F to 30deg F, why would ford not just say "hey, in cold climates daily driving it's OK to use 0w-xx oil"? and i'm not asking that from a point of view that "it's not in the manual so i'm not doing it" or any conspiracy theory thing, just asking.

thanks!

 

[Hack]

why would ford not just say "hey, in cold climates daily driving it's OK to use 0w-xx oil"?

In my opinion the most likely explanation is that the engine will last 200k + miles with Motorcraft 5w-50, so there's no reason for them to recommend putting something else in it. It's more important to change the oil regularly than to put some special sauce in there.

 

[grue]

In my opinion the most likely explanation is that the engine will last 200k + miles with Motorcraft 5w-50, so there's no reason for them to recommend putting something else in it. It's more important to change the oil regularly than to put some special sauce in there.

didn't think about that. so since they are all bad at cold start, it could easily turn into some type of number chasing that isn't strictly necessary.

 

[icormba]

What's Ferrari using? Jay keeps comparing the VooDoo to Ferrari so I gotta ask! ;)

Anyway... I'd like to go Red Line because they are Bay Area local plus their bottles work great as funnels for other stuff , but the Ford brand still seems to be cheaper from what we found here in this thread. :shrug:

 

[Hack]

didn't think about that. so since they are all bad at cold start, it could easily turn into some type of number chasing that isn't strictly necessary.

That has been my point since the beginning of this thread - I'm probably close to repeating it too many times, but I was looking for evidence someone was aware of where a modern engine wore out quickly due to using Ford's recommended oil rather than a boutique oil that is "better". Most people just want a "better" oil because they want it. There's no evidence that I've seen that you will actually have a problem if you use the less expensive oil. I am open to having my mind changed based on real evidence of a causal relationship between Motorcraft 5w-50 shearing down and engine wear. I am not saying there's anything wrong with using a more expensive oil, just looking for someone to show that there's a real world benefit.

What's Ferrari using? Jay keeps comparing the VooDoo to Ferrari so I gotta ask! ;)

Anyway... I'd like to go Red Line because they are Bay Area local plus their bottles work great as funnels for other stuff , but the Ford brand still seems to be cheaper from what we found here in this thread. :shrug:

Google says Shell Helix Ultra.

 

[GRTWHT]

For my first oil change, I will take it to my local Ford Dealer; in fact all maintenance work will be handled by my local Ford Dealer. This car is too valuable to "test" other alternatives, and I don't care if the cost is higher - I can afford it, or I would have not bought the car.

 

[mattlqx]

What's Ferrari using? Jay keeps comparing the VooDoo to Ferrari so I gotta ask! ;)

Unicorn tears maybe.

 

[grue]

hack yeah definitely i see your point. UOA's are probably the best guide other than getting two engines side by side and running them with different oils and see what happens.

to me getting the weight/grade right for the driving conditions seems to be the bigger issue. practically that means using a daily driver oil where temps don't get up high for extended periods of time compared to an HPDE where oils temps stay high for pretty much a whole day.

that's also why i wondered about the 0w-xx oil since it looks like that'd be better for cold starts like down into the -10deg F range. if i can do that and get less wear then i probably should because this is pretty extreme side of thing. the other extreme is HPDE.

but yeah, if you back out and look at it from 1,000ft, could i run 5w-20 under all conditions for 100,000 miles and could someone else run 5w-50 under all the same conditions for 100,000 miles and we'd be the same at the end?

 

[Spacebird]

Google says Shell Helix Ultra.

Same thing as Pennzoil Ultra Euro. I used it in my Porsche. Hard to find locally except at Ferrari dealers.

 

[grue]

you tube has some neat videos. mobile million mile bmw, google that one. the science kid (engineering explained - awesome guy) has a video with someone from penzoil (motor oil myths and facts) which is also interesting.

so far nothing i've googled on youtube has talked specifically about high temperature track like environments.

i did see some guys testing motor oils that were chilled to -40 but it's not clear if they are measuring in C or F?

 

[combustor]

i did see some guys testing motor oils that were chilled to -40 but it's not clear if they are measuring in C or F?

I picked up on your temperature joke! :cheers:
(if you don't get it, -40F = -40C)

 

[grue]

I picked up on your temperature joke! :cheers:
(if you don't get it, -40F = -40C)

LOL that's right! nice... i totally forgot that.

Sponsored