Oils and Additives

[Bullitt0819]

If you have any older cars, and even if you don't, you've probably heard/seen/read lots of stuff about 'which oil to use.' If so, you've probably come across some somewhat controversial postings, on BobIsTheOilGuy and elsewhere, by a guy that goes by '540 Rat.' He is an engineer and has done some exhaustive testing and rating of oils, disputing the value of ZDDP and examining the actual wear-resistance of oils:

https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/motor-oil-wear-test-ranking/

He makes a strong case for an additive called 'Oil Extreme.' Given that Ford's recommended oil for our cars is their 5W-20 Semi-Synthetic--or, at least the nearest equivalent--does not fare well in his rankings, and I get free oil changes from my dealer so I'm going to be using it for a while, I'm considering using this additive (I have previously sworn off throwing any 'magic elixirs' in my tanks and sumps).

I got 135K miles on my '08 Bullitt, and it was going strong when I traded it for my '19, using the Motorcraft oil and filters. But, I can't help wondering, with all the alleged issues with noises and engine failures with Coyotes, if this might be good 'preventative care.' Your thoughts?

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[Deleted member 35644]

I've not gotten the impression that any oil or additive would prevent the inherent mechanical issue that exists within most, if not all Coyotes. Have they even determined the root cause? I've seen tons of speculation, but I haven't stumbled across a post that names this issue.

At best, if there's a mechanical issue behind the tick, an additive will only serve to mask it, similar to using heavy oils to mask valvetrain noise or stem consumption. What other effects an additive may have are unknown to anyone but the folks that designed these engines.

A good quality oil (my preference is "synthetic", although this is just a marketing term for highly refined group III oil) is all you need. I also ignore the "suggestion" for 5W-20 oil, and use 5W-30 in everything I drive. Light oils are only for the sake of CAFE numbers, which becomes obvious when you see 5W-50 as a recommended viscosity in the owner's manual for tracked Ecoboosts, and 5W-30 for tracked GTs. If Ford believes these engines need extra protection while tracked, why not just provide that level of protection on the street? It has never really computed in my mind to provide my engine with "less" just because I don't take my car to the track.

If you have a noise, have it repaired / replaced, as that's what your warranty is for. If you don't have a noise, don't attempt to fix what isn't broke with an additive. I've never heard of one that didn't, at some point, turn out to be snake oil, regardless of endorsements by guys like 540 Rat. Remember when people used to swear by Slick 50?

 

[I Bleed Ford Blue]

I had a teacher in high school auto shop call all that stuff mechanic in a can, he said at best all of it was just a band aid and over half of what was out there did nothing more than lighten your wallet. I have never used slick 50 or rislone or stp or any of that crap, I just did timely oil changes with a good quality oil and a motorcraft filter.

 

[ALLSTOCK]

amsoil best oil

 

[Roger Blose]

I must be nuts but not too stupid, but I changed the oil in my 2018 GT 4 times in the first 4000 miles. Why? At 220 miles, the oil catch pan was loaded with metallic crud and debris which the filter had not caught. I repeated at 600, 2000, and again at 4000 miles using the Motorcraft semi 5-20 and MC filter. My engine is quiet and does not have the ticking / rattling issues that other have had so far. And with the complex variable cam timing on these Coyote motors, the thin oil runs these systems. Finally, the thin oil is critical for engine cooling as it flow well, pulls heat out and gets it to the factory oil cooler that Ford puts on all Coyote motors, ( the cooler is on the window sticker).. Thanks to Walmart for decent oil and filter pricing for the DIY owners like me.

 

[ugstang17]

I think we need to discuss oils again....

 

[MikeHTally]

Do you mean it's been discussed before?

 

[Bullitt0819]

Yeah, I'm not a 'mechanic in a can' kinda guy either (though I did fall for the Slick 50 schtick (fraud?) way back when). But, he has data and, apparently, a credible test methodology so he's not Billy Mays either. I get free oil changes--the main advantage is responsible disposal of 10(!) quarts of used oil--and the Motorcraft 5W-20 made a particularly poor showing in his ranking. I have a couple old British sports cars with flat tappet engines, and wiped lobes have happened to some owners (to some, too much ZDDP is not enough). I'm a little less leery of dumping snake oil in those engines because anything we use these days is significantly better than the crude used back in their days.

This additive is expensive-$50 for 16oz.--so that might be a show stopper too.

 

[Bullitt0819]

amsoil best oil

Rat's testing agrees.

 

[Biggus Dickus]

C'mon: Ol' Shel told us there is only ONE additive we need to concern ourselves with. After all, he put it in ALL of his cars, and if it didn't work, he wouldn't say it did.

 

[engineermike]

The rat540 blog is not credible.

 

[Bullitt0819]

The rat540 blog is not credible.

Do go on ...

 

[StangSteve]

Has anyone used Tribotex? Its not an oil but an additive with nano particles that are supposed to stick to sides to reduce friction. Curious if anyone had put some in after x amount of miles and felt a difference down the road?

 

[Tseg]

High end major brand synthetic oils come with a balanced additive package. Add more of one additive it is to the detriment of another. Many decades of testing and real world use in billions of car miles to land on the current cocktail. Want more horsepower from some additive? Great, but risk rusting your engine from the inside out, as an example, or foul some component in 100k miles or less. If an engine is to be short-lived or won’t put many miles on it in its lifetime, maybe that is not an issue for some.

I’m aware in some top motorsports series qualifying is done with the equivalent of 0w0 by some teams. Good for about 3 laps. Great for horsepower but I would not run it in my daily driver.

 

[NoVaGT]

Snake oils.....

Just change your oil and use quality stuff.

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