synthetic or

[Josh Painter]

Motorcraft and Kendall are 2 fine Oils....a buddy of mine who races cars running 1/4's under 8's is a big fan of Valvoline.

I was a big fan of Valvoline back in the 1970s and 80s. I owned several Honda CB750 and Kawasaki KZ1000 motorcycles. I ran Valvoline Racing oil in them until I learned that I could get the same results using Castrol GT.

But then Mobil 1 changed everything. It took a few years, but the other oil companies caught up with ExxonMobil on synthetic oils. When I purchased my Fusion used in 2008, it came with the previous owner's paperwork. He saved every receipt. He had used nothing but Motorcraft Synthetic Blend, so I saw no reason to switch to another oil.

That's also when I started doing some serious research on motor oils. I learned that I could pay a lot more for other oils, but I couldn't find another one that performed significantly better than what Ford recommended in the owner manual (Motorcraft).

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[GStang]

Think I"m gonna give Mobil 1 a go! I too believe it's good product, it's easy to find and now I will search for best prices.

Figured I run 1000 miles through the factory oil and do a change.

 

[GStang]

I see Mobil 1, 5w30 synthetic on Amazon selling for $40 for 6 qts...

Sound about right?

 

[908ssp]

Never use anything less than what Ford recommends...period end of story. Now you can spend more certainly won't hurt. I prefer what I think is a little extra protection but that is me it may not suit you, I won't spend oodles more. I get Mobil 1 at Costco on sale and use the 5w-30 where Ford recommends 5w-20. The 30 tells me that it will have slightly high viscosity at high temperatures and the same viscosity at low temperatures, can't hurt.

 

[GStang]

Good advice....A Costco will be opening soon here in Rochester...I'll check it out.
I also will take a good hard look to see what Ford recommends in the new Eco for oil...

Not knowing much about changing viscosity....not sure changing to a 5-30 actually provides any additional benefit...BUT I will diligently pursue that question to the "Wizard of Goggle"'...the powerful and omnipotent one!

sweet ride that 2010...some bucks spent there for sure!

 

[Seabee1973]

I see Mobil 1, 5w30 synthetic on Amazon selling for $40 for 6 qts...

Sound about right?

At Wal-Mart it's 28 for 5w20 for 5 or 6 for the extended life oil

 

[GStang]

The Wizard is speaking:
"Is it ok to use 5w30 in a car if the owner's manual calls for 5w20?
Some manufacturers now use 5w20 engine oil to maximize fuel economy for certain applications. Using a 5w30 type of oil may cause a slight decrease in fuel economy. For maximum engine performance, Valvoline suggests following the recommended motor oil viscosity and maintenance schedule provided in your vehicle's owner manual."

in ehow:
Your vehicle's engine is built and tuned to run on a specific grade of oil. If you put in 5W-30 oil instead of 5W-20 when the latter is the grade suggested by your vehicle's manufacturer, damage to internal engine parts can occur. Additionally, your engine may experience performance issues such as diminished fuel economy and horsepower.

MotorOilEvaluator says:
Obviously, the answer is, you can. In fact, many owner’s manuals have a small blurb that indicates you can use 5w30 “in a pinch”, but that you should switch back to 5w20 as soon as possible.
Of course, in any engine that you know has not really changed since the viscosity recommendation changed, chances are the “old” viscosity recommendation would still be fine. But, be careful with this. IF you are driving a vehicle which calls for 5w20 and there HAS been a modification to the engine which really does necessitate a different viscosity and you go with the told, you COULD conceivably cause yourself an issue.
Is it likely? No. Is the issue likely to be a serious one, even if there IS an issue? No. Especially if you’re only moving ONE viscosity grade up or down from the standard recommendation.
But, it’s important to be aware that there ARE some newer engines on the market that are calling for 5w20, and that recommendation is NOT solely due to trying to meet CAFE standards. There actually HAVE been modifications to the engine which give rise to the new viscosity recommendation.


Ok...the Wizard has gone to lunch and I'm running from the flying monkeys!

 

[geokots]

I know noting about US pricing but here Walmart has the jug on sale almost once a month.

 

[Husker]

If ya wanna go crazy with information overload, check the Forum section.

B_I_T_O_G

 

[Old 5 Oh]

The fact that the Coyote takes eight quarts of oil really plays havoc with the cost of a full-synthetic oil change, doesn't it?

 

[Pie]

My car takes 5w-20, but the 20 weight is like water. I use 5w-30 for a bit more protection. Everything has been rock solid for over 70k miles and I never baby my car.

I also switch to Pennzoil from Mobil 1 because my black lab report came back more favorable for it. Not by a huge margin, but since they're same price I'll take the one that performs slightly better.

 

[Tamadrummer88]

Ill use whatever the factory uses. In my Taurus i use the Motorcraft semi-synthetic blend. 56k miles and no problems.

 

[Pie]

The fact that the Coyote takes eight quarts of oil really plays havoc with the cost of a full-synthetic oil change, doesn't it?

Synthetic at Walmart is $24-$25 for 5 quarts. However, you can actually go pretty far with synthetic oil. My report from black labs suggested I go up to 7k miles

 

[wjones14]

Synthetic is a no-brainer. Mobil 1, Amsoil, Castrol - they're all good. BMW/MINI recommends Castrol. NASCAR uses Mobil 1. I personally have always used Mobil 1, even in my lawnmower.

It's been about $35 per change including Motorcraft filter for my '05, done about every 5000 miles since new. But, the very first change (at 1400 miles) was Mobil 1 synthetic blend, just out of habit. ;)

Synthetic fluids are cheap insurance.

 

[5.0GT]

5w-30 Penn ultra

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