Pardon me guys and gals, once again. Still in the pursuit of trying to find out as much as possible about my Lightning. Sorry if these questions have been asked before:

-The manual says to use 5W-20 oil for the engine. I've always been one to use synthetics for such an application(motor oil). But to my surprise, end up finding out that the specific oil in question is still too new to be offered in a synthetic form. So my question to you all is, to those who are using synthetic. What are grade and brand are you using? And for anyone else, would you recommend using a synthetic on this type of engine?

-Also, I know that the gears differ from the '99 & '00 to the '01 models. What are the new gears and what were the old ones? I have a '01 and just want to know all the major differences.

-I know the hp and torque numbers that are different on the '01 models. But the numbers offered(380hp, 450torque), are for the flywheel calculations. Can anyone tell me what the hp and torque is at the wheels on a stock '01 Lightning?

Thanks for your time folks. Over and out.

 

gears were 3.55 now 3.73

as far as rwhp #'s , it will vary from truck to truck, most seem to be around 340 at the wheels.

 

hey zeus...try ams synthetic oil at napa...it comes in 5W-20
i use it in my 2001...just had some put in it 2 weeks ago...gonna run you about 5.80 a qt. though...but worth it in the end..

-Dan

 

I use Royal Purple syn. #11(5W20) at $8/qt. Put it in at 4,000 miles with a K&N Gold oil filter. Been good to me--see sig.

Dan

 

are you serious? i didnt think that royal purple made a 5w-20 oil...think i should just drain the ams oil and change to rp when i get the chance? im at 3300 miles with no mods.

 

I'm up here in the great white north, eh. Never heard of AMS or Royal Purple. But we do have NAPA up here. I'll try looking around for some. Thanx for the input guys. Anyone know what 4000 miles is converted into km's? I'm guessing there's a certain reason to wait until then to put the RP oil in? Thanx again. Cheers.

 

I use the Mobil 1 5w-30. Mobil 1 has put more money into the research and development of their synthetics than all the others combined. Not a flame; just a fact.

As far as RWHP; My stock 01 with 800 miles pulled 355.6rwhp (corrected).

 

4000mi= aprox. 6650km

I'd wait to like 6-8000 (10,000km) miles before adding syns.

I use Mobil 1 because it's readily available, never tried the others.

Brett


EDIT- I use Mobil 1 before the L, haven't changed the oil yet and therefore haven't looked for the new weight.

 

I'm with NeedFourSpeed on this one. . .

Mobil-1 all the way.

Remember to use a MOTORCRAFT oil filter, and 5w-20 (or 30) oil.

Any other combination may cause the dreaded knocking sound.

I tried the 5w-50 Mobil-1 with a Fram filter, and it knocked.
Motorcraft filter and 5w-30. . .no knock.


Good luck!

 

I've used the mobil one filter and K&N with no knocking noises. somebody did a huge filter comparison where they tore everything apart and measured filter area, flows, etc. Wish I would have bookmarked that link. I remember Fram's being on the bottom of the list. Mobil 1 rated a little higher than K&N I think.

 

I changed to RP at 4,000 after putting in fresh Motorcraft at 1,000 miles. Have never had 'slap', knock, or 'shudder'.

Mobil 1 is great oil. I started using it back in the 70s and have used it in many vehicles. Still using it in my 97 xlt and my wife's 97 Gran Prix.

Start using syn. whenever you feel comfortable changing over to it but do use synthetic , especially sinc you are in the frigid 'nawth'. You can order RP from Jeg's catalog--good service.

The K&N Gold filter has a 1" 'nut' on the bottom of the 'can'. Makes it easy to remove--just don't overtighten.

an

 

i did a regular change at 1500,

at 3500 i switched to mobile 1, never noticed anything

me and bob just did another mobil 1 change at 6k when we did the gauges and everything sounded good to go.