On my 4.6, should I switch to the Moble 1 sythetic oil. Do you knotice much difference with this motor. Does the oil cost much more, and finally, how do they do the chage,? (I would think they would have to flush the system a time or two)

 

There are many threads where this has been covered before, but you ABSOLUTELY should switch to synthetic. Probably the only single thing that everyone on here agrees to! Do yourself a favor: switch to either Mobil1 or Amsoil. There are more knowledgable engineers on here but here is my take:
There are 3 types of oil: conventional, synthetic blend, and synthetic.
conventional $1/qt syn blend $2.25/qt syn $4.50
The two main advantages of syn, imo, are:
1. the added polymers that allow better coating and are "slippier" than conventional oils
2. synthetic oils have better quality control on what you are pouring into the engine.
Use a pure syntetic oil (like Mobil1 you can get at Wal-Mart) and increase your oil change interval to 5000 vice 3000 miles for conventional.

 

thanks 98 4X4flairside, win my oil change is up I will switch, I have noticed a few threads, but seemed as though most were on the L,

 

i've used mobil 1 in my race car for a long time and i was the ONLY person to never blow a built engine at the track i raced at,and that was a $20,000 engine,so you know it was nowhere near stock,and if mobil 1 can keep that engine running problem free,i'm sure it will help my 5.4 run for years with no problems too.believe me,it's worth the little extra,just like the fram commercial said,pay a little more now or a lot later.

 

Yea on the Mobil 1, but don't use a Fram filter--several tests have shown it's pretty crappy. Use a Motorcraft, Amsoil, or my favorite, K&N Gold.

Dan

 

LIGHTNINROD, very true! I've seen those tests also and contrary to popular belief, Fram oil filters are crap! Stick to Mobil 1, Amsoil, or K&N oil filters guys.

I will also be switching to synthetic oil soon. However, I'm gonna try Royal Purple. My local speedshop sells it way cheaper than Amsoil. Gonna see how that goes.

 

everyone, thanks for your input. Since I live at collage, the local oil change place will do the change. Where can I buy a K&N oil filter, the local car place, pep-boy's, oriely's (cant spell), or will the oil change place have it, if it is hard to get, i will go with one of the others. Only 300 miles from 15,000, and it is 120 miles home, so after the weedend road trip, tuesday morning (becouse no class til 12:30) the oil shall be changed. Thanks again

 

Is the amsoil really worth the trouble of getting? I can't find it locally, and $5+ per quart seems a bit steep. Does anybody else make a synthetic 5w-20 oil? Or are all of you guys running the mobil 1 in a 5w-30?

Mitch

 

Not to ruffle anyones feathers, but I will guarentee everyone here doesn't share the opinion that you should switch to a synthetic. Sure, they offer advantages, as others have pointed out. However, todays conventional oils are more than able to handle the task under specified change intervals. Some would argue the cost of synthetics outweigh the benefits of using them. All depends on who you ask.

In any event, my feel is the K&N oil filter, although the nut on the end is nice, is overpriced at about $10 a crack. Mobil 1, Purolator Pure One, Amsoil Filters, even the Motorcraft filter are all pretty good choices.

If you want use mobil 1, more power to ya. Its great oil. Just thought I'd let you know not everyone feels that synthetics are the only way to go.

FYI - ford does not specify different drain intervals based on a synthetic vs a conventional oil. Severe duty (extended idling, trailer towing, dusty conditions, short trips with tempertures below freezing, etc...) gets a 3,000 mile change interval, everyting else 5,000 miles. No mention of the type of oil (although I personally would feel better at 5,000 with a good synthetic).

 

I've been using Royal Purple for 11, 000 miles now--daily driven and 1/4 miled. If you can get it cheaper than $7.99/qt., would you mind emailing(see my profile) me where you are getting it?

Dan

 

LOL If you think EVERYONE on here agrees that you ABSOLUTELY should swap to synthetic than you must have not read the 'many threads' your referring to! I think the last thread on this subject had about 300 replies with all of us argueing back and forth tell we finally agreed to disagree. (The subject was Synthetic Doubts if you'd like to do a search and take a look.) There are reasons NOT to use synthetic, although I will not get into all of that here. With that said, I do use synthetic and would recommend it. (You should know by now there's nothing we can ALL agree on! )

 

gopher, I totally agree on the oil change intervals. Regardless of what they say, I still change the oil every 3k miles. As for the high priced oil filters and synthetic oils, I have no problem paying a little more to better protect my truck's engine. If it gives me more hp at the same time, even better. Its the little things that count and give u an edge when racing others.

LIGHTNINROD , sent ya mail.

 

Read on one of the boards that a k&n filter is one in the same as a mobil1 filter. If it's true mobil1's are a lot easier to find. Maybe some of the other guy's will know if this is true or not.

 

I'm gonna toss my opinion in on this one, just 'cause I'm one of the few that prefer using dino oil. I change at 3k or 3 months, whichever is first. For those that are comfortable with the extended drain intervals, that's great. I just can't get used to the idea of keeping oil that long. Even if you do change the filter between oil changes. Been changing oil in cars since I was a kid, so it's just been engraved in my mind that way.

The real reason for having to actually ever change your oil is because of the contaminates that the oil "absorbs" while the engine is running. That's what makes the oil black. Just like a filter, the oil holds these comtaminates and keeps them away from the metal parts. I actually get concerned if the oil does not turn black after a couple thousand miles. Those contaminates have to go somewhere? Probably sticking to all the metal parts in the engine! Every car I've owned has gone well over 100k trouble free miles using dino oil (KOW).

Just my opinion. Nothing against the synthetics, as we'll all be using it sometime, when all the dino oil is gone. And since I put 3k miles on my truck every two months, I'm using my share of the stuff!

 

I was also interested in this question of oil change intervals and synthetic vs. non-synthetic oil so I asked a friend of mine who is an Engineer at Lubrizol. For those of you that don't know the company, they make the additives that basically every company puts in there oils and they do extensive testing on oil life in engines. This is what he told me word for word:

"I run Castrol GTX, and have so since I was 12. Synthetic is definitely better, but only if you either intend on racing (high oil temp) or if you want to extend your drain interval farther than 7500 miles, which any good modern mineral based oil can handle. If you plan on changing your oil any more frequent than that, it's definitely a waste. "

So make your own decisions. I'll probably just stick with changing my Castrol every 3000 miles like I have been.

Bob