what do you all use 5w20 or 5w30 and does 5w20 realy save gas

 

Not really, the myth that thinner oils save gas is just that. Oil is meant to lubricate things so they move easier, not be a load the motor has to work around. Use 5-20 in winter and 10-30 in summer and you'll be fine. If you do lots of heavy-duty work you might want 20-50 or something in warm weather.

 

Thicker than recommended oils just mean they take longer to get to important places.

Run what's recommended for your engine; I use 5W20.

 

Also if the engine has smaller oil passages.

That's why I use 50wt in my Harley ....................Sportster of course

 

5w20 Mobil 1 ,Runs 190 to 205 temps on the Edge

 

Sorry, not a myth - heavier weight oil takes more power from the engine to pump. BTW, 20-50 is way too heavy for a modular motor.

Oil flow is more important than the viscosity, as long as the engine can flow enough oil to keep the bearings completely "saturated", for lack of a better word. For 99.99% of the people who use their truck for truck activities, what Ford says to use will work just fine.

Why do people think they know more than the manufacturer regarding oil to use, etc. ? As if the Ford bean counters would not have already yanked 5W-20 from the recommended list if they were paying out on lots of warranty work...

Flame suit on !!!!

 

Thats what I was thinking, thicker oil takes more power from the engine to get it through the block. By having the thinner oil it does decreas the strain needed to push the thicker stuff through... Is the difference a big noticiable one? No. But it does help

 

most def not 20w50 in the mod motors. I run that in the old school windsors and FE's, but your askin for trouble gettin that through all the tiny bits of the OHC. 5w20 in the '97 all year round here.

Adrianspeeder

 

I run 5-20 year-round in mine, I sure wish they used a more common oil as 5-20 is kinda tough to find, and there isn't much of a selection for different brands.

 

The hydraulic lash adjusters (lifters) need 5-30 to operate to specs.

 

Exactly..

 

question of curiousity:

Could you get away with 5w20 in a good old 302, or would it be worth the risk? Personally, i'd like to see the look on some people's faces when they watch me pour that stuff into my engine. I don't think i'd ever actually use 5w20 but I was just wondering if it's possible.

If i had a newer mod motor, i'd have no problem with 5w30 year round or 10w30 if in the hottest part of summer. I have seen UOA reports where it actually shows more wear with 5w20 than the Xw30 oils. Ford wanted to meet CAFE requirements so they "recommend" the 5w20 so they look better to the government. Ford doesn't give 2 *****s whether the engine wears out sooner or not. Then they can just sell you another vehicle. As long as the 5w20 oil is good enough to get the vehicle through the warranty period, they could care less what happens afterwards. They wouldn't go to the trouble of engineering this new 5w20 to make an oil that was "better" for your engine when there is oil out there that does just as good of job if not better. That's why I would recommend a Xw30 oil. I've know people who put over 200k+ miles on their mod motors with 10w30 and still going strong. Knock on wood. I'm sure if the "thicker" oil was a problem, they would have stripped a bearing by now.

I'm sure a 5w20 oil would let a motor last a long time too, it's more likely that the engine would fail because of something else first before it failed because of the oil. It would probably take a lot more than 300k miles to notice any real engine wear because of the 5w20 but most engines won't see that. I'm just saying, why cause more than needed engine wear so you can get 0.000000001% better mileage overall? Doesn't seem worth it to me.
Bottom line, pick what you want and it won't make any realistic difference. However, one thing is for sure: any regular vehicle engine that i'm in charge of maintaining will see a quality oil filter and 10w30 every 3-5k miles. No problems yet

 

exactly!

i just have my truck in getting a new motor in it! actually it has 5,000 miles on it, my truck was a lease to a construction company for the first 60,000 miles, i have had to have the tranny rebuild and now the motor, im only going to put in the MOTORCRAFT 5W-20 synthetic ford recomends!!

call me cautios but this was a expensive lesson!

 

if this is TURE why does my oil filler cap say 5W-20?? and my owners manuel also! ford wants my truck to break?

im sticking with the ford recommendation!

 

The only way you can tell for sure is to do a oil sample or tear the motor apart and check for wear. I've used top of the line oils to the dollar a quart cheapo oils in my 89 and usually changed the oil about 20k or 2 years. Bore wear was between 3-5 thousand and bearing were good after 250K mile's go figure. Never changed that 5 speed tranny oil tho

There are a few guys that run 0wt in their dragbikes but then again were only on the gas for 6 to 9 seconds and we change the oil more than having sex.