howdy,



does anyone know what's the best synthetic motor oil out of these?



- valvoline synpower

- royal purple

- redline

- amsoil


my lightning has only 900 miles on it. i've heard it is recommended not to use full synthetic until 3,000 mi. some say, 6,000 mi. is this true?



thanx for any info.

 

Thinking is it wont break in right or at all if you use slick syn oil. Better wait awhile. Don't know which is best and the debate rages if it's even worth it. One side says only use it if you want to extend the intervals between changes or its not worth it. Either way I would make ford happy till the warranty is over.

 

i hear royal purple is very good. also about the no syn until 3000miles, the corvette z06, mercedes all come factory filled with mobil1...

 

Motorcraft

 

Ducat Motorcycles
Corvette Z06
All Aston Martins
All AMG Mercedes
Porsche Cayenne (and mabe all of them)
Dodge Vipers
2002 Ford Mustang Cobra R

ALL come factory filled with full synthetic oil from day one...so build your own theories on that. But, since you asked...I use Amsoil in my two Ducati's and Mobil 1 in the cars.

 

Newer motors may not require break in like older ones so I honestly do not know much about that. But older ones need to seat the rings and some other bearing to work properly so I guess it depends.

 

I would change the oil an extra time or two (@1000, @ 2000 and @ 3000) using conventional stuff. Then switch to synth.
The best synth? Whichever is on sale. All synth oil on the market now is good and for street use virtually the same. Even the Wallyworld SuperTech stuff is as good as the other namebrands - just a little cheaper.
- personal opinion, please don't firebomb my F150. -

Fritz

 

The question is far too large for a single answer. Of the ones listed, the top picks would be the Redline or the Amsoil. But they are totally different oils. The Redline claim to fame is the abundance of moly in a 50% prox, ester basestock with the balance a POA. The moly is in the oil at the tune of around 680 PPMs. If you will be running her hard, as in driving it like you stole it- here's yer oil. If you want a good oil with a solid foundation and a large add pack, Amsoil would be the pick but it is not API certified for their best products which could effect your Ford warranty. Skip the XL7500 oil as it is an over priced Gp III that can had anywhere for far less money. Another option for you, chose a dino oil that has a lot of moly in it. Havoline and Pennzoil will have around 2/3s the content of Redline. Both are using a blend of basestocks but the largest % is a Gp II+ which is the same technology as a Gp III synthetic but doesn't quite have the Viscosity Index of a Gp III. It should hold up well for the 5000 mile OCI even if the engine sees an occasional 100% throttle run. None of these oils will, for average driving, make your engine last one mile farther. If you intend to drive it hard, the Redline will make it last a few miles longer but it is no replacement for sanity.
Your mileage may vary.

FWIW, moly that is the key to some of the oils today is better known as molybdenum trialkyldithocarbamate or MoTDC. It is a clear liquid, not to be confused with moly disulphide of the 1960s which was a solid lube, black in color and ended up clogging the oil filter. The MoTDC is a anti- oxidant, oxidation inhibitor, anti-wear and extreme pressure, metal deactivator, and a friction modifier or friction reducing agent. It is a good additive to have in any oil. For my personal engines, it is a requirement to be in the oil. Moly is especially important when things get real hot and the engine is being subject to the boundary lube state. Boundary lube state is when the engine surfaces are so hot that the oil literally runs off of the parts providing zero lubrication. The additives then come into play and the add pack provides the lubrication. For many years the ZDDP provided this but since the levels have been reduced, a different type of additive is being used. This is why I like the moly in my oils because you never know when you may have to drive your engine harder than normal and stopping for an oil change to get the right add pack for that situation is not an option.

 

It all comes down to personal preference in the long run. To each his own, but I would say this:

- valvoline synpower--I'd use Pennzoil Platinum synthetic over this, but its an economical choice that provides all the protection you need while covering your API needs for warranty. THere is no wait period for installing it.

- royal purple--I have heard good things, never used it.

- redline--Again, heard good things, never used the oil.

- amsoil--Snake oil in sheeps packaging. Wouldn't use this crap in a gas powered rc car.

I simply run pennzoil synthetic 10/30 in my blown 5.4 and have no issues, changing it every 2500-3000 miles.

 

WOW, living proof that what they say about opinions is true!! In all my years of turning wrenches and racing and surfing around these forums (here and many others like this one) I can honestly say beyond the shadow of a doubt that's the first time I've E-V-E-R heard that one!!!

 

Well there you go. The debate rages. Just one question. Why spend the extra money if your going to change every 3000k And it will not add any life to the motor. Are you going to the race track? Just change the oil with a good quality unless your driving through the desert at full throttle.

 

Wow! Just another comment not to knock the syn guys but had an explorer that was driven to Hebersprings AR. Most weekends from the time it was new and had the oil changed at jiffy lube with plain ol oil. It had over a quarter million miles on it when I sold it and never gave a minutes trouble. Once when it was new with less than 2000 miles they left out the drain plug and it was driven a couple miles and towed back. They refilled it and she kept on going till the day we sold it. So once again I don't see the point of syn.

 

The real attraction of synthetics is that the oil doesn't break down nearly as fast as conventional oil, it just gets dirty so you can go longer between oil changes. I've had Castrol GTX full synthetic in my Cherokee v8 for about 7500 miles now, I checked the other day and it was getting pretty black so I'll probably wait until 9000 and then change it. I actually put synthetic in my yard tools.... so I'll never change it again. The tractor and push mower probably don't see 3000 "miles worth" of runtime in their whole life so with synthetic you just put it in and might as well forget about it. Some people figure the synthetic is worth the extra money since you'll save on oil changes(provided you DIY). I do. I paid about $10 extra for full synthetic than regular. 5 quarts of regular is about $12, the 5 quarts of syn was about $25. So if I only went 6k miles I didn't really save much of anything(maybe just "labor" of changing it). 9k, and you save another $12. I'm pretty sure I saw a mileage increase also. Average before the change was 15.8(over about 3k miles, pretty mixed city/highway). After about 7500 with the syn, it's now about 16.3 Half a MPG is a pretty significant boost for just oil I think.

That's the first time I've ever heard anyone knock amsoil. I've never used their 4 stroke oils, but man, their 2 stroke oils are THE oil to use. Pretty much every snowmobile/jetski/motocross/whatever team uses amsoil. I switched from wal-mart oil to HP Injector and everything performed better. Finally hit the 6800 RPM "sweet spot" on my seadoo(used to WOT at about 6600). The sled motor touched 7000, from a previous WOT of 6800. Neither of these ratings are exceeding the motor's redline, those Rotax motors are pretty hardy and don't fall over until near 7500. Crisper throttle response, and haven't fouled a plug since, even after extensive idling. Everyone I know uses amsoil, and everyone loves it. Doesn't cost any more than manufacturer equivalents and works so much better. With their 2 stroke oils being of such high quality, I'd highly doubt their 4 stroke ones are any worse.

New motors have virtually eliminated break-in, since to properly break in motors would result in very erratic driving. Don't worry about it. Some people still like to change the oil every 1k or even 500 miles for the first 3k, but IMO that's way overkill. Constant throttle varying, running the entire powerband, neither of those happen in most cars. Hell, most automatics never see past about 3k, if that in normal driving. 4 strokes don't really get as much effect as a 2 stroke from improper break in. 2 strokes can get "dead spots" in the powerband, crappy idles that just can't be fixed, and unable to reach WOT speeds if improperly broken in. I bought my ski used, and right at about 2900 RPM(not quite on plane, but plowing along at 15mph) the motor falls on it's face and will even stall if you hold it there too long. It's a speed nobody ever rides at, so a dead spot developed. Under that, it's fine. Above that, smooth as silk. 2 strokes have lots of quirks for being so simple.

 

Any of these oils will work fine, switch at your first oil change. Changing a synthetic oil every 3-5K is a waste of money, if that's your intention I'd stick with the MC 5w-20 that Ford recommends. If you want to extend your oil change intervals beyond 5K then use a synthetic.

Amsoil products are not snake oil, however, they are overpriced by about $2 per quart up and down their product line. Most likely this is a result of their unique MLM sales system. Ultimately, the decision is yours.

 

All right now any of you guys true beleivers of 5w20? I changed the oil on my truck at 7500 I got it used and didnt know what was in it as far as oil. I used Mobil 1 5w30 btw its supercharged. Any takers on the 5w20 Vs 5w30