Just got back from picking up my new car and I asked three mechanics at the dealership what they thought about oil viscocity, to this they said that there would be no problem running a 5W-30 weight oil. Then, the conversation came upon the topic of what types of oil they use. All three mechanics agreed that a synthetic oil was pretty much a waste of money in our modular engines (Mustangs and F-150's). They said there is little wear out over-all even with regular oils.

I have a while before I change my oil for the first time (engine still breaking-in), but when it comes time to change the oil, I'd like to run Mobil 1 5W-30. The car comes stock with 5W-20 and it runs like a champ. I guess teh good thing about 5W-20 is there are less polymers to break down.


1) Should I stick with conventional oil or switch to Mobil 1?

2) Should I stick with the recommended 5W20 or switch to the 5W-30?

Thanks for your opinions.

 

Congrats you lucky dog. Wish I was in the market for a new one. Here's my analysis. Purely economical. you bought a $30,000? truck. Assume you change oil 3 times a year, ignore filter cost. that's $22 for conventional or 72 for synthetic. So syn is a $50 premium. If you were really intrested in saving money you'd a bought a ranger and saved $10,000. Why are you worried about $50 a year?

As for weight, the polymer concern is valid for conventionals.
if you use synthetic: 0W30

if conventional, 5W20
We all want the best for aour babies.

 

Tiger-

Thanks for your advice...very rationally oriented. I like that. I will be changing the Mobil 1 (syn) every 3,000 miles (I'm **** when it comes to fluids). This brings me to the question of benifits vs. economy. If I were to go 5,000 miles a year and only change out the synthetic once per year, I would have no problem going with Mobil 1; however, I am thinking of the long-term. I want to keep this car for a lifetime (God Willing!). If I'm changing out the oil every 3,000 miles, then do the benifits of running sythetic justify the price, or will I not see anymore protection at a 3,000 mile (syn) interval than with regular oil?

(I don't think I understood my own question)...

I guess what I'm asking is:

If I'm changing the oil every 3,000 miles will I get any benifit from a synthetic oil? I do city driving and short trips primarily.
Right on Bro-hams!

 

Congrats on the new purchase. With my vehicles I change the oil after the first 1000 miles, then at 5000 miles and then every 5000 miles thereafter. I use Mobil 1 in the F150 because I change it myself, and have the dealer change the oil on the Mustang (a lot harder to get under) using Motorcraft 5W-20. On both vehicles I use the Motorcraft filters.

I use 5W-30 or 0W-30 in the F150, but may be switching to Mobil 1 0W-20 when I run out of the oil I bought on sale when K Mart went out of business here.

 

If you are commited to 3000 mile changes, don't bother with Mobil 1 - you are literally throwing your money away. Any decent dino oil will provide wear numbers that are just as good as Mobil 1 in that short of an interval. At 5,000 miles on an interval, then you are pushing even the good conventional oils limits, but Mobil 1 will still be functioning well in most cases. If I were using Mobil 1, I'd be looking at doing my changes at 5,000 miles, minimum, and use analysis to figure out how much further it could be pushed.

Do our modular engines NEED synthetic oil - no. Does synthetic oil have benefits though - Yes. Typically, the syn oil will be more shear resistant (ie: the oil will stay in grade and not thin out), offer better extreme cold weather properties, and better extreme hot temperature resistance. As a result of these properties, synthetics can usually be pushed longer than convetional oils, and still deliver good results.

5w30 or 5w20? Both will work fine. If you are still under warranty, the 5w20 gives no ammo to a dealer in the event of engine trouble. May or may not matter to you, just throwing it out there.

I used to run 5w30 in both my trucks, but both were recently changed to 5w20 - Conoco Hydroclear in the '97 (essentially Motorcraft 5w20) and Havoline 5w20 in the '99. I've had no issues with the change in either, and oil consumption has not been an issue.

Best of luck!

 

With a 3000mi change and syn your primary benefit is the warm fuzzy you get knowing you've done the best for it you can, within reason. Even at 5000 it's really about what feels good. I spent a lot of money on my truck (bought not leased) and feel real good about using Mobil 1.

 

stick with 5-20 blended motorcraft as recommended you will be more pleased then you know you are ok this is a good oil do not use a heavy oil.engine oil will not oil circulate propley. tom

 

Hi, All!

Thanks for the support. I just want the best for my vehicle as I'm sure all of you do. Just got off the phone with the "Mustang Specialist." He confirmed that the switch to teh 5W-20 oil viscocity was due to MPG benifits for Ford (straight out of his mouth). 5W-20 is a dependable oil, though. It has been tested time and time again. He said that I could run a 5W-30 with no problem.

As far as the Dino vs. Synth choice, I still haven't decided. I will be changing out the oil every 3,000 miles. My rational towards using Mobil 1 is that in extreme cases (like traffic, long idle, and high temps.) I'd feel better having at least Mobil 1 in there. I can get a case for $23. at Costco. I'm sure dino oil at 3,000 miles is great, producing just as much protection.

I've run Red Line with my past vehicle (01 F-150 4.6L), but I had two HG leaks in less than a month. I'm wondering if synthetic is too slick for the gaskets. I guess that is my main concern for running synthetic.

Please keep it comming! I'm feeling better about the choices.

Thanks all!

-Matt

 

You have two choices, use deno oil and hope your right, or use Mobil 1 and know... I'm headed towards 150,000 miles. I'll stick with the Mobil 1.

 

WLF-

As always, good philosophy! What you think about 5W20/5W-30?

What about leaky seals and synthetic?

 

Leaky seals has not been a problem with synthetics for many years because of the additive packages.

Go with the viscosity that is recommended for your engine. With Mobil 1 you really don't have to worry weather or not it's good oil...

 

I changed to M1 at around 80k miles....... Bought the truck with 62k and did the 3k dino oil changes...... Since I'm putting on over 18k miles a year (108k now). I was changing oil every 2 months. Decided to do the syn and go 5k miles. That's working out very well and get my M1 from WallMart for $18.88 for 5 qts. Just needed to buy two jugs the first time, then take a qt out of it at the oil changes. It's good for 5 oil changes and I'm only spending $20 for each 5k mile oil change (well, until I have to buy two jugs again...... ) It uses less then 1 qt between the 5k mile changes, so I don't even have to add any in between changes!

As far as what 'weight' to use, it's easy for me. I'm spec'd for 5W30, so that's what I use. If the manual said to use 5w20, that's what I would use........

When it all boils down, it's only a couple bucks more for syn, so why not use it???? You probably spend more for Cable TV each month then it costs to do ONE oil change! I spend more in BEER a month then it cost to do an oil change!!!! It's a "no brainer" for me!!

 

Hi-

Just got off Mobil 1's site as well as Red Line's site. Neither have 5W-20 available as a viscocity anymore. I know that Red Line added 5W-20 to their production line, but it simply wasn't listed with their other oils. Mobil one was rumored to have developed a 5W-20, but that, too, isn't listed as an optionional viscocity. They only list 5W-30 in their SuperSyn line.

What's the deal?

I guess all I can get is 5W-20 Motorcraft, which is not a true synthetic. This doesn't make me happy. Of course there's Castrol, Valvoline, etc, but I'd prefer Mobil or Red Line.

Anyone know what's going on?

 

I could have sworn I just saw 5w20 Mobil 1 at WallMart????? Not in the 5 qt jugs, but in the individual qts....... Thought I saw it at Costco in the 6 qt case too????? Maybe I've had too much BEER!!!

 

Mobil 1 has a 0W-20 out that says on the container that it meets Ford specs. Saw it at Wal Mart.