Rationally, look at this example:

I have seen a truck (many vehicles) go over 200,000 miles on 5W-30 or 10W-30.

I have not seen any vehicles go 200,000 miles plus on 5W-20. This is partly because the oil is new, and I'm not trying to "outdo" any Ford engineers, but I am just saying that I will wait to see that this oil is as good as you all think it is. I am not willing to readily suggest this viscocity of oil based on the trust and goodnature of teh Ford engineers.

 

I'll have to agree with Dennis. My old truck 98 F-150 Ford recomended oil was 5w30 or 10w30 and I did use 5w30 on that truck. On my new 2002 Ford has change the recomendation to 5w20, I'm not sure why the Ford Engineers change the recomendation but I'll have to go with the recomendation till I find out the fact on why they change this.
I like Mobil 1 so I'll try to find the 0w20 and switch to this.

 

But Ford recommends 5w-20 not 0w20

 

I'll end this, as far as me with this. Both 5W-20 and 5W-30 are fine to use in your motor. Both will keep you within warranty specs.

I will NOT use 5W-20 because in my opinion and real world FACTS it will not protect as well as 5W-30 at operating temperature. When I race modifieds we used stright 50W because that's what the motor needed for protection. If you used a 30 weight you would FRY the motor, see the difference, the thinner oil would BREAK DOWN at operating temperature and NOT protect the motor.

I do NOT have FACTS to offer only experience, real world experience. I have not seen Dennis offer any FACTS as to why 5W-20 is better except to state the "Ford engineers" said so. Sorry but that is neither a FACT nor does it mean 5W-20 is BETTER protection, it only means an engineering decission was made based on the "best interest of the company" and YES for CAFE standards.

Now, please recall that in just about all my post I ask for NO ONE to "beleive" me but rather I suggest they call around to those that "really" know what is good and what is better, that is people in the business with actual knowledge, race shops, tow shops, other places that use trucks for heavy work and ask them what they recommend. Do NOT trust that just because an engineer "states" a particular oil that it is in the "customers" best interest.

Will 5W-20 work good in the motor, you bet. will it protect it to 200,000 miles, well the jury's out on that...

 

In support of what 01 XLT Sport said, I would urge you to ask Mike Troyer what he uses (viscosity wise) in his trucks. I asked a while back while I was deciding on this very issue. I trust Mike's advice and would take it any day over what the "Ford engineers" would say. This is because there is a difference between statistics and numbers on paper and in controlled enviornments and real world applications like driving in California traffic for two hours on a 100*F plus day or hauling a trailer. Even if the Ford engineers were right, they were testing the 5W-20 oil on a STOCK F-150, not a modified truck, likle many of us have.

Once again, this is my opinion based on my personal experience and what respected others have told me, so don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to say that one way is better than the other. I'm just saying that I will let others test the integrity of the Ford engineers. REMEMBER: they were also the ones who designed the exploding Pinto!

 

You are comparing apples and oranges when talking about high power high rpm race engines and comparing them with truck engines that don't spend their whole (extremely short in race cars) life at extremely high rpms.

I'm surprised, 01. You should know that the problem with oils in race engines is shear. Single weight oils stand up to shear better than the polymers in multi-visc oils can.

You see, I asked about this when I repowered my boat. The spec'd oil was single weight. The explanation was, if you're going to ask an engine to put out 700 hp for 2 or 3 hours running at 5,000 rpm, pushing a heavy boat, your biggest problem is having oil break down, not from heat, but from shear. Your typical car engine spends most of it's time running at 2,000 rpms or less. Two totally different applications with two totally different requirements.

In regards to proof. My proof has always been something called the Owner's Manual and the Warranty Guide. What's yours?

 

Here's a UOA done on my truck with 5W-20.

Amsoil 5W-20
2,500 miles on oil
8,500 miles on engine
F150 - 5.4L V8
No make-up oil
Purolator PUREONE Filter
Purolator paper air filter with 4,000 miles

Blackstone’s comments:
All wear read well below averages in this sample from your ford, which is a very good indication of normal wearing parts. The universal averages show wear after 4,100 miles on the oil. Insolubles were low at 0.5%, showing good oil filtration. Silicon was high, so you may want to check the air filter. Silicon could be form an additive, or left over from the factory. It should go down next sample. No other problems to report. If the air filter is ok, suggest 4,000 miles for your next oil change. The TBN read 7.9 showing plenty of active additive left in the oil.

Sample #’s/Universal averages
Aluminum 3/4
Chromium 1/2
Iron 16/24
Copper 5/9
Lead 0/4
Tin 0/0
Molybdenum 7/72
Nickel 1/1
Manganese 1/1
Silver 0/0
Titanium 0/0
Potassium 3/1
Boron 15/37
Silicon 24/16
Sodium 2/13
Calcium 1963/1424
Magnesium 272/694
Phosphorous 673/771
Zinc 972/942
Barium 0/0

Sus Viscosity @210F 55.6/53-62
Flashpoint 390/>355
Fuel % <0.5/<1.0
Antifreeze% 0/0
Water% 0/<0.05
Insolubles 0.5/<0.6

This is Amsoil’s old Group IV/V formulation. Also, I took a sample of a previous oil change and the silicon was 22 after only 600 miles. So I’m fairly confident it’s from the seals of this relatively new engine. The air filter is new and all connections are tight.

 

For what seems like years, I've been saying the Owner's Manual spec's certain fluids for our trucks and that's what you should use if you value your warranty at all. My owner's manual spec's 5W-20 oil, so that's what I use.

That has always been my proof. What's yours?

 

As I have said, just because it is in the “Owners Manual and Warranty Guide” is NOT proof that it is“better” oil for protection. All it means is there was an engineering decision based on many equations one and important being “best interest of Ford”.

Why is it that it is fine for motors just a few years ago “same specs” to run 5W-30 but not engines made when Ford was having a HARD time meeting CAFÉ specs?

No it is not comparing apples and oranges, it is apples to apples, very simple and I don’t understand why you do not get it. I was comparing two single weight oils, 30wt and 50wt. The difference is weight, one is thicker then the other. 50wt is thicker then 30wt. 30wt in a modified motor and the motor fries and/or drastically reduced life of the motor.

That is the same apple to apple I am comparing with 5W-20 to 5W-30, weight, one is thicker then the other, the 30wt is thicker then the 20wt, it’s simple. Now, I do not at this time know that the lighter weight 20wt will protect better, but the jury is out, as it is out for all the tow shops I have called, and all the race shops I have called and all the Ford dealers in my area that I have called.

Let me give you one example of an “engineering decision” based on “companies best interest” I am in engineering where I work and we design and manufacture electric motors. Do we use the absolute “best bearing” we can in our motors? Not necessarily, it depends on the application. On government jobs that require a life of 20 years, yes we do and we charge a high premium on the motors due to the engineering involved. On other applications such as blower motors we use basically decent bearings, not the best, but decent because they cost less thus “best interest” of the company.

I stand behind my statement that just because some engineer at Ford or any company in America or around the world “prints” something in an owners manual or warranty book, does NOT mean it is the BEST. To ask someone directly involved with something if their product or what they recommend for use with their product is the best you are making a big mistake because they will be partisan towards what they have “already” stated.

Who do you trust about Fords being the best truck? Not Ford, you are more inclined to believe others with “experience” with Fords, or magazines that have done some testing, or others that have been around Ford’s long enough to have an “experienced” and “expert” advice on the subject.

That’s exactly what I have been saying, call around and find out for yourself from those with “experience” and “knowledge” not some engineer helping Ford to meet CAFÉ specs.

 

The Manual spec'd 5W-30 in 97. There are no structural differences since then. The engines in original 97 trucks are still running with over 200,000 miles on their odometer. The change was predicated on the need for lower internal friction, because Ford wanted better CAFE numbers.

I asked our family friend, Scott Zumwalt (of Zumwalt Ford), about the issue. He concurred in regards to the CAFE spec 5W-20 oil switch.

 

These same Engineers want me to run my tire pressure dangerously low 26 PSI in the front. (Scary if you have firestone tires).

Use whatever oil you can afford; 5w-20, 5w-30, 10w-30 and change it every 3000 miles (with a good Fram filter) and you will be fine.

 

Oh, no! I see a new flame war starting. j/k

 

First off, I don't believe for a second that the engineers who spec'd the 5W-20 oil are the same ones who spec'd the air pressure in the tires. Totally different areas, don't you think?

01

In regards to these motors you design/build, whatever. Don't you spec out certain maintenance requirements for them? Don't you say to use a certain weight and/or type of oil or grease in the bearings? Don't you spec out a particular voltage, phase, and frequency? Or do you let the customer decide what kind of lube and what kind of power they're going to feed your motor?

My point has always been that you and others like you are coming on here and making like you're experts who know better than anybody else about what to use in the Triton engine.

My point has always been, the Owner's Manual calls for a particular oil specification. Your actions and your words all lead to one conclusion. You think you know more than Ford does about what your engine needs.

My question is for you to show your proof. Show us your proof that you know more than Ford does.

 

Dennis:

You are completely missing my entire point. I never posted making any statements that I was some expert who knows better then Ford. Every post I have made I make a statement for others to “call around”. If I were assuming an expert position and knowing better then Ford I would have no need of telling others to “call around”

Second as far as one division of engineer’s specs for low air pressure being different then engineers specs for oil does not hold water. However, what it does state is there are “engineers” that have proven themselves unreliable is providing a spec in the “best interest” of the customer rather then Ford themselves.

Yes, our electric motors do have certain specs for voltage, and/or proper connection for dual voltage motors. The customer either follows it or the motor burns up very quickly. Our bearings are sealed bearings it is very rare that you find bearing in electric motors today that require greasing. However, like I said on some motors an engineering decision was made on lower quality bearings in some motors due to “price” which translates in to a decision in the “company’s best interest” not the customers.

You keep insisting on some kind of proof but yet have provided none for 5W-20 being a “better” oil to use for protection over 5W-30. My proof is “life test” same thing we do with some of our electric motors they run 24/7 for months or years to determine which bearings, winding insulations etc are better then others. After the test is complete the time for break down and the cost are weighed to determine what the “best” decision is on parts due to pricing and how long the motor “needs” to last.

We could have one motor last for 5 years and another with more expensive materials last for 7 years, but decide to use the materials from the 5-year motor for better profit, and/or to lower the price of the motor for competition reasons.

5W-20 from Ford was to meet CAFÉ specs and must have been found to last “long enough” in the engines when the decision was made. So will a motor last as long or longer using 5W-20 compared to 5W-30, well I don’t know the jury is out, as it is with race shops, tow shops and some other business that use F150 for hard duty reasons.

Therefore, as stated before my proof is “life test” and “real world” feedback…

 

Didn't Ford also recommend and install Firestone tires on the Explorer? Not to argue with your logic, but the engineers don't necessarily look out for the best interest of the consumer. They recommend 5w-20 because of the CAFE ratings so that they can build more of their best selling trucks and SUV's that bring there CAFE ratings down.