well i just got an oil change and afterwards asked the guy what oil they used. i told them i have an svt and that it's different then the normal zetec. he said he knew the difference but i just had to come home and check to be sure. i did a search and aparently the svt's require 5W30? is this correct and what would this do to my engine?
5W20 in my SVT???
OrangeSVTguy
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Basically I'd recommend at least staying in the 5W20-30 range due to the VCT oil passages are very small. The thinner oil will make the cam adjustment easier on the motor and the VCT system itself in the long run. Over time running 10WXX I forsee u replacing ur VCT mechanism before you hit 100,000 miles.
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I just changed my oil today for the first time since I bought my svt. Since I didn't get a manual with my car, I went with the auto store's advice and got synthetic 5w-20. Does the SVT require synthetic or is it just recommended? Also, what do they recommend for oil changes if you run synthetic?
1. Recommend using it.
2. Use high quality oil like AMSOIL, Mobil 1, Red Line, and Royal Purple.
3. Use a high quality filter like AMSOIL and Mobil 1
4. Change oil around 5,000 - 7,000 miles depending on driving style or
conditions.
5. I would highly recommend running 5w 30 because I talked with a guy at
SVT today and he said “They did all of the testing on the motor with 5w 30
and with the high compression ratio and how hot the motor gets running
thinner oil you could run into problems in the future”.
2. Use high quality oil like AMSOIL, Mobil 1, Red Line, and Royal Purple.
3. Use a high quality filter like AMSOIL and Mobil 1
4. Change oil around 5,000 - 7,000 miles depending on driving style or
conditions.
5. I would highly recommend running 5w 30 because I talked with a guy at
SVT today and he said “They did all of the testing on the motor with 5w 30
and with the high compression ratio and how hot the motor gets running
thinner oil you could run into problems in the future”.
No one is 5w20 and the other is 5w30 , both oils are measured the same and do the same thing when they heat up .
Higher heat , hmmm , the thinner oil WILLNOT break down as fast.
Mixing synthetic and normal oil , what do you think synthetic blend is????
I never said that thinner oil will or will not break down faster. I said that conventional oil will break down. It does not matter what weight you run in conventional oil. Heat will break it down. Both 5w20 and 5w30 are measured in weight. Sure they do the same thing when heated up but, the synthetic in a heavier weight will seem lighter than conventional oil because of the properties of the molecular structure of the synthetic. Lighter weight oil is made for lower temp starting and higher tolerances in motors. It has nothing to do with the breaking down affect of the oil.
Just so there is no confusion I am saying that synthetic is slicker than conventional oil before and after it is heated up and will not break down unless it gets dirty.
Run what you want. Just look at what the racing industry is using. Lets see you have F1, NASCAR, Baja, NHRA, Indy, Champ, SCCA, and a lot of the manufactures are now sending there cars off the line with synthetic in there oil pans.
I’m not the only one saying it’s good.
Also synthetic blend is junk!
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I thought it was oil? hehehe[)] [
Also synthetic blend is junk!
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1,450 Posts
after reading this, Im going to put 5w30 in mine. i was at 5w20, and Im going to make that switch in about a week or so.
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3,824 Posts
What about 10w30?
I would just stay with the weight that the manufacture says to run. Like the guy at SVT said “We did all of our testing with 5w 30”. I’m sure there is a good reason why they want that weight of oil in the engine.
If there was a better weight I think they would have us running it.
The question should be: Should I run conventional oil or synthetic?
Not the weight.
If there was a better weight I think they would have us running it.
The question should be: Should I run conventional oil or synthetic?
Not the weight.
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SVT did not do all of their testing with 5w30. They actually DID test 5w20 at first, because that's what the Focus was using. They found that with continued high-rpm use in the SVT motor (auto-x, for example), the 5w20 oil breaks down. They upped it to 5w30 and didn't run into problems. This is the thinnest oil you can safely run in an unmodified SVTf, according to SVT's engineering and testing.
During the winter, you can run 0w30 to help startups and cold operation. If you live in a warm climate (the Southwest, for example), 10w30 should work fine. SVTf motors that run under boost or at higher redlines should run 5w40, or at least run an oil analysis of whatever 5w30 oil they are using to make sure it isn't breaking down.
During the winter, you can run 0w30 to help startups and cold operation. If you live in a warm climate (the Southwest, for example), 10w30 should work fine. SVTf motors that run under boost or at higher redlines should run 5w40, or at least run an oil analysis of whatever 5w30 oil they are using to make sure it isn't breaking down.
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16,636 Posts
did you know the "w" doesn't stand for weight? it actually stands for winter.
Heres some good reading that will help clear up alot of misconceptions and hearsay I'm seeing in this thread. Google oil viscosity, whole lot of info out there on it.
http://www.advanceautoparts.com/english/youcan/html/ccr/ccr20010101ov.html
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question164.htm
http://www.engineersedge.com/lubrication/oil_viscosity.htm
Heres some good reading that will help clear up alot of misconceptions and hearsay I'm seeing in this thread. Google oil viscosity, whole lot of info out there on it.
http://www.advanceautoparts.com/english/youcan/html/ccr/ccr20010101ov.html
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question164.htm
http://www.engineersedge.com/lubrication/oil_viscosity.htm
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3,824 Posts
So what if I were to want to go synthetic? How would I do that from my current? and what kind of protection difference will it have?
Just find a high quality synthetic oil like AMSOIL, RP, Red Line or, Mobil 1. I have my favorite like most people on this forum do. I have had great success with AMSOIL for about 17 years but, I have heard some fantastic things about Royal Purple. I think I would be using RP if I wasn’t using AMSOIL. As for protection: you will have less wear, less heat build up, an increase in HP, more miles between oil changes , and the list goes on. You can change over at any time. It doesn’t matter if you have 1 mile or 100K on your motor.
Here is a site that shows a side by side comparison between synthetic and conventional. After you read this you may never go back to conventional oil.
CLICK HERE
Here is a site that shows a side by side comparison between synthetic and conventional. After you read this you may never go back to conventional oil.
CLICK HERE
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16,636 Posts
let the motor break in on regular oil. synthetic creates a slicker friction barrierwhich makes it take alot longer to break in. also, if the motor is high milage 100k i wouldnt suggest switching to synthetic, you may find the motor suddenly burning oil. been there done that...
in my experience, switching to synthetic after 5000 miles is usally best, everything should be seated in by then
in my experience, switching to synthetic after 5000 miles is usally best, everything should be seated in by then
Then tell me then why Mobil 1 is OE in all of these cars when they roll of the line? And this list will get much longer in the years to come.
* Acura RDX
* Aston Martin
* Bentley Amage and Bentley GT
* Cadillac CTS, CTS-V, XLR, XLR-V, SRX and STS and STS-V
* Chevrolet Corvette C6 and Z06
* Chevrolet SSR
* Chevrolet Trailblazer SS
* Chrysler 300C SRT-8 and Crossfire SRT-6
* Cobalt SS
* Dodge Ram SRT-10
* Dodge Charger SRT-8, Magnum, and Viper
* Jeep Cherokee SRT-8
* Mercedes-Benz AMG vehicles
* Mercedes SLR
* Mitsubishi EVO III
* Pontiac GTO
* All Porsche vehicles
* Saturn Red Line
* Viper SRT-10
* Porsche 911
Also I believe there is a show called Over Haulin and don’t they take a brand new crate motor and fill it with Royal Purple at the end of every show? Today, motors don’t need to be broken in like the motors from the past. The metals that are used in the motors today are way more superior to the ones used years ago. They are also designed where there is no break in time. It’s what you call technology.
The reason that your motor burned oil when you put synthetic in it at 100k is because conventional oil was used and prematurely wore the motor out. In that case you should have used a heavier weight synthetic. Using synthetic oil in a high mileage motor will only make it last that much longer. I have used synthetic in 3 very high mileage motors and in 3 with not even 100 miles on them and never had a problem. One truck of mine I put synthetic in at 23 miles and it had 165K on it when I sold it and never burned or used a drop of oil.
What I don’t understand is why people don’t understand synthetic oil. They think………. I don’t know what they think. All synthetic oil is, is oil. Oil that handles higher heat, less wear, can handle higher tolerances, doesn’t break down, better emissions and, so on. I'm not saying that synthetic oil is the fix all and your motor will gain 50HP and run for 5 million miles if you use it. It just lets you get the most out of your motor.
I personally believe that synthetic oil is not being pushed real hard because of the oil industry. Synthetic is man made. There is no petroleum in it. Just think if every car in the world ran synthetic oil. Look at the $$$ lost to the oil companies. It’s the same reason we don’t have cars that get 100-200 miles to the gallon.
$$ green backs $$
* Acura RDX
* Aston Martin
* Bentley Amage and Bentley GT
* Cadillac CTS, CTS-V, XLR, XLR-V, SRX and STS and STS-V
* Chevrolet Corvette C6 and Z06
* Chevrolet SSR
* Chevrolet Trailblazer SS
* Chrysler 300C SRT-8 and Crossfire SRT-6
* Cobalt SS
* Dodge Ram SRT-10
* Dodge Charger SRT-8, Magnum, and Viper
* Jeep Cherokee SRT-8
* Mercedes-Benz AMG vehicles
* Mercedes SLR
* Mitsubishi EVO III
* Pontiac GTO
* All Porsche vehicles
* Saturn Red Line
* Viper SRT-10
* Porsche 911
Also I believe there is a show called Over Haulin and don’t they take a brand new crate motor and fill it with Royal Purple at the end of every show? Today, motors don’t need to be broken in like the motors from the past. The metals that are used in the motors today are way more superior to the ones used years ago. They are also designed where there is no break in time. It’s what you call technology.
The reason that your motor burned oil when you put synthetic in it at 100k is because conventional oil was used and prematurely wore the motor out. In that case you should have used a heavier weight synthetic. Using synthetic oil in a high mileage motor will only make it last that much longer. I have used synthetic in 3 very high mileage motors and in 3 with not even 100 miles on them and never had a problem. One truck of mine I put synthetic in at 23 miles and it had 165K on it when I sold it and never burned or used a drop of oil.
What I don’t understand is why people don’t understand synthetic oil. They think………. I don’t know what they think. All synthetic oil is, is oil. Oil that handles higher heat, less wear, can handle higher tolerances, doesn’t break down, better emissions and, so on. I'm not saying that synthetic oil is the fix all and your motor will gain 50HP and run for 5 million miles if you use it. It just lets you get the most out of your motor.
I personally believe that synthetic oil is not being pushed real hard because of the oil industry. Synthetic is man made. There is no petroleum in it. Just think if every car in the world ran synthetic oil. Look at the $$$ lost to the oil companies. It’s the same reason we don’t have cars that get 100-200 miles to the gallon.
$$ green backs $$
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6,663 Posts
Exactly, synthetic oil is fine for new cars. Not because of the metal being used, however; it's because engine parts can be designed and built to such close tolerances that breaking in isn't even an issue. Older engines had all kinds of inconsistencies in the piston rings, the cylinder bore, the valves, the trans gears, blah blah blah... you needed to break them in because those inconsistencies wore away in the first few thousand miles, putting metal particles in the oil.
Thank you, some one that understands.
My dad is a metallurgist and we have had this discussion before about metals and synthetic oils many times and his knowledge goes back well over 30 years. You are right about the tolerances. I left that part out and that is a major key. Motors that were built 20 years ago measured their tolerances in the thousandths of an inch where as today it is in the millions.
The metals are way better today though. We know how to make them stronger, harder and wear less with the way they are now manufactured. Better alloy composition, bearing surface, better forging technique and so forth. This is also how they can achieve those tight tolerances along with better machining tools. Plus one other thing is that today motors have more forged parts in them then ever before. Like pistons, rods, cranks, cams and such that almost don’t even wear at all. I see a day when conventional oil will not be up to the job anymore. It’s almost 100% gone in the racing industry and what happens on the track finds its way to the consumer.
My dad is a metallurgist and we have had this discussion before about metals and synthetic oils many times and his knowledge goes back well over 30 years. You are right about the tolerances. I left that part out and that is a major key. Motors that were built 20 years ago measured their tolerances in the thousandths of an inch where as today it is in the millions.
The metals are way better today though. We know how to make them stronger, harder and wear less with the way they are now manufactured. Better alloy composition, bearing surface, better forging technique and so forth. This is also how they can achieve those tight tolerances along with better machining tools. Plus one other thing is that today motors have more forged parts in them then ever before. Like pistons, rods, cranks, cams and such that almost don’t even wear at all. I see a day when conventional oil will not be up to the job anymore. It’s almost 100% gone in the racing industry and what happens on the track finds its way to the consumer.
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oh, sorry, i've only been building motors and repairing cars for over 25 years....my bad on putting my opimion up on the subject.
never said anything about synthetics being bad, just what ive seen and experienced while using them.
by the way, now look at some of the daily driver cars in stead of performance cars. alot state not to use synthetics until after a certain break in period due to their tolerances being looser.
you have your opinion, i have mine. please don't tell others there opinion is wrong. after all, yours is just an opinion too right?
never said anything about synthetics being bad, just what ive seen and experienced while using them.
by the way, now look at some of the daily driver cars in stead of performance cars. alot state not to use synthetics until after a certain break in period due to their tolerances being looser.
you have your opinion, i have mine. please don't tell others there opinion is wrong. after all, yours is just an opinion too right?
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16,636 Posts
and the reason i use conventional for break in is cost. i can change it at 2000 and 4000then switch to synthetic alot cheaper than doing that with synthetic at the start. engines over 100000 i don't switch to synthetic because the tolerances in engines have become alot looser and rings seem to not seal with synthetic anymore. and going to a heavier synthetic doesn't work in cold climates.
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