Trop Artic is a Phillips 66 brand made by ConocoPhillips who also makes MotorCraft oil as well.

I would say if it's a SN rated oil and 5w-20 you're good to go unless you have a Ecoboost which requires a 5w-30.

 

I started off using MotorCraft 5w-20 in my wifes '11 Edge but during the winter months this stuffs pumps terrible allowing the motor to knock over 10 minutes at idle. I switched to Mobil 1 and the engine would only knock for about 1 minute which means the full synthetic flows much better at cold temps which I feel is very important with this 3.5 engine.

 

Strange that you should have any knocking at all, especially for 10 minutes. My wife's old '98 Sable had a 3.0 Duratec, spent its life on 5W30 or 5W20 Motorcraft (either non-syn or semi-syn) oil and never had any kind of knocking problem even in subzero winter startups.

I'm assuming you are using a Motorcraft oil filter (does the 3.5 also use the FL820S?--I believe my wife's Sable did) with the silicone anti-drainback valve, but any knocking cause by a bad ADB valve would subside within about a minute. Again, a 10 minute knock on a new engine using the recommended oil would bother me. Is it in the valve train, a piston slap kind of noise, or what?

George

 

this jives with what i've heard other places. i'm sure it is the same oil in a different bottle.

being that they had all the grades I need, i will likely be stocking up.... lord knows i go thru enough freaking oil .... lol

 

One of the benefits of synthetic oil is that it has extended life; you can go longer between oil changes. However, I've read that a limiting factor here is how good the filtration system in the vehicle is; both the air and oil filter system. It's not doing you any good driving around with oil with life in it that's dirty.
German cars are geared toward going a long milage between synthetic oil changes. The oil filter on my Audi is HUGE. It also uses a Germman brand air filter, which I'm guessing is better then standard.
So if you're thinking of going 10,000 miles between oil changes just because you're putting synthetic into your American vehicle, you may be kidding yourself. Especially with turbos, which really need clean oil.
This is based on what I've researched and been told by Audi trained techs.

 

The knocking noise is a design problem with the 3.5 engine and comes from the flat buckets in the heads being starved for oil during cold starts. Using a synthetic oil that offers better low temperature flow mitigates this issue. And good advice with using the Motorcraft oil filters as that's all I use.

The real point I'm trying to make here is not with the issue with Fords 3.5 engine as that's another thread, but is synthetic a waste or worth it. Well for me it's worth it for use with this particular engine in that it idles much quieter, provides improved fuel economy, and flows much faster at cold startup and reduces that cold start knock much better than MotorCraft synthetic blend.

 

I would recommend the factory recommended Motorcraft Synthetic Blend oil for normal driving. Full synthetic oil's are better but cost more. The important thing is to service your vehicle and change the oil on a regular schedule.

Having said that. I use Amsoil products in my Harley-Davidson twin cam air engine because of the extreme heat and the fact that isn't a liquid cooled engine.

Those that use full synthetic oils are making a mistake when they extended the service period compare to standard engine oil. Synthetic oil does a better job but should be change at the same interval as standard engine oils.

 

I would verify your change intervals with Ford and your oil maker. I had a guy tell me that Mobil 1 recommended 10K oil changes and he verified that interval with Ford to maintain his warranty. The Ford service dept told him that if he kept recipts and records showing that Mobil 1 was used at 10K intervals, that they would honor the factory warranty.

this is hearsay and should be verified by yourself.

that being said, i spent a year and a half working in a different part of the state and drove 160 miles a day to get there and back. Being tired of changing the oil every freaking month (especially in the winter) I started using Castrol Full synthetic and changing it every 3 months. That usually ended up between 10 and 12K miles.

not sayin you should or shouldnt do that ... just saying i did and there were no ill effects. After 220K that motor did develop a lifter issue, but that started at about 120K. One lifter wont hold pressure and needs to be replaced. But like i said, that problem was a long time coming and i do belive it would have happend regardless of oil or change interval.

I still got the car if anyone wants it 94 'scort 1.9, tube headder, h&r sport springs and pleanty of rust

just some food for thought.

 

Even if I had the best Oil available to man, I don't know if I could let my truck go 10,000 miles without a change. This 2011 F-150 5.0L is the first truck I've ever owned that I'm letting go past 3,000 miles. I'm thinking 5,000 miles seems like a reasonable Oil change interval.

 

A lot of people do a lot of things and get by with it. I've done a lot of research on the subject and if you will do a search on the use of full synthetic oils you will find that most of the so called experts say to change full synthetic at the same regular interval as standard oil. This subject has been discussed more times on the internet than I can remember. Don't take my word for it. I can only speak from my 46 years of driving.

There people that claim they get better fuel mileage and performance with higher octane than what the manufacturer recommends but that contradicts the way fuel octane works. If they beleive it I guess that's all that counts.

I would recommend anyone do research and not arbitrarily take the word of a stranger.

 

A little off topic - full synthetic is needed in turbo cars . The bearing on the turbine is in direct contact with exhaust temps. Theses reach extremely high temps and can cause regular oil to "coke" on the bearing when you turn car off and oil sits in it - this is why the turbo manual suggests leaving car idle a bit after a hard run and before turning off . Full synthetic oil resists the "coking" on the bearing . But as far as a non boosted engine , I am not totally sure of benefits to full synthetic .

 

I agree, to an extent. You say syn is "needed" in turbo cars. I assume you mean gas and not diesel? I don't think any construction company I have heard of uses syn in equiptment. I know we use dino 5-40 and no particular brand either. We have used Mobil, Conoco and a few others and I can speak for the turbos in our equiptment- they usually last awhile. There are the guys that don't let them cool down and just shut them off, but normally a turbo failure before it gets around the "due to fail" hour range is rare. Sorry

 

Full synthetic oil especially Amsoil is more tolerant to high temperatures. That's one of the major advantages of Full synthetic. The Amsoil I use in my Harley runs about 20* cooler than conventional oil.

 

I also run full syn in my Dyna for the same reasons. Amsoil is what the guy I take it to get service uses.

 

Good point on diesels - my comment was about gas engines -