[Rockologist]

I've got an '08 SES with just under 14,000 miles on it, and to date for the last three oil changes I've just been using Motorcraft 5W-20 synthetic blend as the manual recommends. I was doing some research on oil viscosity and read a few forums that warned against using 5W-20, claiming it was used purely for better fuel economy and lacked any real engine protection at high temperatures and higher speeds.

Now I have to admit that I am a bit of a speed demon, I'm always on the accelerator and drive the hell out of my car in both hot and cold weather. I guess 5W-20 is decent for the winter months, but before I go around dumping different oils into my engine (and voiding my warranty [rolleyes] ) I wanted to get a second opinion from anyone here on the forum who may use different type for the best performance.

I was looking at Pennzoil 5W-20 synthetic blend, though they advertise it as being mixed primarily for lighter trucks and minivans. Also, does anyone recommend switching to a 100% synthetic oil from now on?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! [wave]

 

[warneej]

pennzoil ftl, only use it if you like sludge

i run full syn mobil-1 5w-20, as do many of the people on this forum. don't use anything other than 5w-20 tho, thats what the car is built for and so you should use it. People who say otherwise are just old fashioned and think that everything needs 20w-50 in it...

 

[illinipo]

motorcraft synblend is excellent oil, people on car forums that are not Ford even recommend using it

it is also GF-4 which means you really cant do better for protection

"always on the accelerator" is different from "always above 5000 rpm". If you race the car or are otherwise consistenly over 5000 rpm then I would not use 5w20

for the everyday driver and yes even most leadfoots 5w20 will work just fine

"for the winter months" the second number does not matter one bit, the second number is hot viscosity. Once your engine gets to operating temp it does not care whether it is summer or winter, it is at operating temp. So a 5w20 will act exactly the same at operating temp in summer and winter, and will have exactly the same difference in viscosity from a 5w30 in both the summer and the winter.

Ford put out a TSB when this oil came out, pretty much all fords were on the list to go to this oil, but the SVT focus was not. This could be due to a couple of things
1. Ford expects SVT drivers to race their vehicles, so they do not want to tell them to use an oil that will break down under high heat like a 5w20 would
2. the oil squirters in the SVT's engine heat up the oil more, so a 5w20 would get too hot and lose viscosity and therefore proection


moral of the story, if you subject your engine to high oil temps, use 5w30, if you daily drive your car and rarely break 5000rpm just use 5w20, your oil pump will thank you

 

[Rockologist]

Thanks for your help! I don't doubt that Motorcraft is excellent oil, and in the future I'll probably just end up sticking to it anyway. I don't rev above 5000 often enough to switch grades if the 5W-20 works fine overall.

Would there be any advantage to using full synthetic rather than the synthblend, though? I've never used synthetic and know next to nothing about it; I came to the high-tech Focus after driving a Buick with the indestructible 3800 that could practically run on cooking oil, and never considered paying any extra thought for synthetic. [dunno]

 

[illinipo]

the GF-4 test is actually done on a 3800 believe it or not

from wikipedia:

Their latest standard, GF-4[5] was approved in 2004. A key test is the Sequence IIIG, which involves running a 3.8 L, GM 3.8 L V-6 at 125 horsepower (93 kW), 3600 rpm, and 150 °C (300 °F) oil temperature for 100 hours.

300F oil temp for that long is RIDICULOUS. So you will be fine with the synblend.

the main reasons for full synthetic would be if you want to go for extended oil change life greater than 5000 miles, if you have a turbocharger and need to prevent coking of the oil inside the turbo after you turn off the engine, or if you run the car at track days and regularly see oil temps over 250F.

 

[Rockologist]

Again, thanks. Guess I'll stick with the Motorcraft synthblend, I definitely don't think I run my engine at 250 degrees!

 

[jlyon]

i would either run the motocraft 5w20 full synthetic or mobil 1 5w20. im gonna go with the mobil 1 myself.

 

[Svtzx555]

Omg...not another oil thread....but I'll play along.

Everyones going to tell you Mobil 1 full synthetic, Royal Purple, or factory Motorcraft oil. For you, stick to 5w20 and you'll be fine. Stick to a Motorcraft FL-910 or equivalent filter....don't use the fl-400 or fram 3600....those will screw on and fit, but are the wrong filter for the duratec.

Personally I use Motorcraft 5w20 because I work at Ford and get it really cheap....really, really cheap, but in my SVTF I used Mobil 1 from the start to finish(sold it) and in my zx3 too. I started using Royal Purple in my ST, but then decided that I'll never keep it long enough to see any real benefits from it, so I just started using Motorcraft from my dealership.

 

[bdnld4482]

o god!!!! i ues the wlamart sh-t. i just drop my car off and let them do my oil out back . so that way i know there doing a great job by not changing out the oil filter and not realy changing all of my oil just a lil bit.lol

mob 1

 

[G1515]

Royal Purple 5w20.

 

[NAD23ZX3]

amsoil 0w20

 

[NAD23ZX3]

Would there be any advantage to using full synthetic rather than the synthblend, though? I've never used synthetic and know next to nothing about it; I came to the high-tech Focus after driving a Buick with the indestructible 3800 that could practically run on cooking oil, and never considered paying any extra thought for synthetic. [dunno]

Synthetic blends are tons better than conventional, and full synthetic is even better. In conventional motor oil all the molecules are different size (just the way nature is), so the smaller molecules burn off first and youre stuck with the big gunky ones. As opposed to synthetic, which is made in a lab to have uniformity in molecule size, the oil wears evenly through time.

ALSO

Conventional oil drains very quickly to the pan / Synthetic leaves a film to ease start up

Pour point is the coldest that an oil will flow conventional oils are usually -30 and synthetics tend to be -50 and up

If you ever see a Four-ball wear test, you will see hands down what oil is THE oil to pick


The Four-Ball Wear Test evaluates the protection provided by engine oil under conditions of pressure and sliding motion. The size of the scar left as a result of the test determines the amount of wear protection the lubricant provides. The smaller the wear scar, the better the protection.

HEY PENNZOIL YOU SUCK!

Conventional oils are dinosaurs, they do ok for a short period of time. But if you'd sacrifice wear/tear + performance for 2-3 dollars a change (Amsoil recommends 25,000/1 -year oil changes with their full synthetics) well then have fun when comes time to rebuild.


ps: For those who use motorcraft blend (while its a very suitable oil), it really lags behind in some areas

Heres the vicosity of different oils operating at high temps and high shear

The notoriously bad oil pennzoil beat it in a few other tests too

 

[honhon]

i use 5w30 royal purple because i beat on it alittle from time to time, so the extra thick lubricant helps. lol

 

[jetrinka]

Yeah I also use a 5w30. But it is full synthetic Amsoil and their filter. Awesome combo IMO.

 

[Grumpy]

Going by Amsoil's own charts above (albeit 2005) it looks like good old dino Castrol GTX gives you the best bang for the buck, for the daily driver at least.

 

[Rockologist]

One thing I'm still unclear on - it's not a problem to switch to a fully synthetic after using the synthblend for only 14,000 miles, correct?

 

[NAD23ZX3]

the only problem synthetics have ever given, were on engines with corkboard gaskets (no longer used on anything i believe) where the synthetics would supposedly seep through from time to time. Despite what people think, you can switch back whenever you want. But after peace of mind with synthetics (and up to 25,000 mile drain intervals) why on earth would you want to.

 

[Silverback]

Royal purple, heres proof against Mobil 1... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqvhRi7-iMA If seeing and "HEARING" is not enough, I don't know what to tell ya... I change it every 10,000 miles. I say if your going to keep a car for the long run and want the most out of it, run Royal Purple...

 

[whitefox]

Royal Purple, Mobil 1, Amsoil, Ford...IMO pick an oil and weight and stick with it. Change your oil at regular intervals that you are comfortable with and you should not have any problems.
Myself, I use Amsoil 0w-20 full synthetic and an Amsoil filter. Soon I will be rigging a dual element by-pass oil filter system, then my oil changes will be every 25,000 miles (just filter changes).

Still, just pick an oil with the recommended weight and a good filter (pay a little extra for a really good filter) and change it regularly.

 

[jrescina0035]

so what if u have been running 5w20 synblend and want to change to 5w30 fullsyn! will that hurt my engine at all?