The name and color marketing idea is "borrowed" from an old Union 76 product from the 1950's, Royal Triton motor oil. It was also purple in color.

Jim

 

I love this stuff. I use the 5w30 in my F150 4.6. I also use the 15w40 in my New Holland diesel motor.


2004 F250 SD 6.0 on order!

 

hey kinda off topic... when going to syn. should you go to a heavier wieght? i have heard that syn. are thiner, i have a freash 400 i am breaking in and may want to go to syn. soon, should i go with like a 10w40 instead of 10w30?

 

The conventional wisdom is just the opposite. If you believe that sythetic can stand the heat better, you go down one grade to get the hp and fuel economy gains claimed by synthetics.

Jim

 

IMO, it is not necessary or advisable to reduce the viscosity of the oil. On the street, the 0W20 and 5W20 oils do NOT show any increased mileage. Moreover, they do not protect an engine as well as a properly implemented higher viscosity oil, that is to say one that has a high viscosity index and a robust additive package to maintain the initial performance of the oil.

Synthetic or dino, viscosity is viscosity. Reducing the viscosity necessarily means a reduction in the durability of the oil film separating metal surfaces and also a reduction of the oil's ability to isolate wear particles. What synthetic oils provide is durability of performance in that the given ability of an oil at a certain viscosity is maintained for a longer period of time but if the oil film, not matter how durable, is not sufficient to keep metal parts from contacting each other, increased wear will result.

Though I don't own a Ford truck currently, the feedback on fuel mileage I receive on other boards with the car I own indicates strongly that I'm getting noticably better mileage with the 5W50 oil I'm using than those adhering to the 5W20 Ford recommendation. Note too, that the engine I have has 35-40hp more than their engines do.

One does not lose horsepower by using a higher viscosity oil either. Again, IMO, using a 5W30 or 0W30 oil is much better than using a 0W20 or 5W20 oil. In the long term, using a higher viscosity oil will make a positive difference in fuel mileage because engines with a greater amount of wear will not be as fuel efficient.

 

Then you would really love NEO Synthetics 0W-5 that they claim you can run in everything. I was not recommending reduction in viscosity, merely pointing out what you said, viscosity is viscosity. Those that have been here a while know that I am not a big fan of synthetics. Royal Purple is one of those that claims hp gains.

On a BMW board that I am on, the Mobil 1 loyalists have discovered that 15W-50 does reduce mpg and engine responsiveness. Higher viscosity can be a drag at least on a high-rpm engine.

Jim

 

Can you still get the Mobil 1 in 20w50? I also have a BMW and have had to change to 15w50. I noticed a big change in the oil pressure while using the Royle Purple in my F150 4.6. It even quieted the engine/motor/valve noise down.

 

Using a 15 or 20W50 oil is a mistake. No wonder the BMW loyalists didn't have a good experience. The engine is having to work hard to circulate the oil during the time when fuel economy is lowest, when the engine's cold.

I have, for the last year or two, believed that the 0W30, 5W30, and 5W50 true synthetics are much better provided that the additive package is of a high enough quality to protect the oil's properties. Anyone using a 10W or higher (on the lower end) oil is penalizing themselves.

Tne NEO folks have either gone off the deep end or they know something I don't.

 

My experience in only one engine with 0W30 Mobil1 is that it makes more gear train clatter on clod startup than the 5W30. I live in Oregon and the times I used 0W30 were winter with morning temps in the 20s-30s. I don't recommend 0W 30 unless you live in Alaska or similar frozen wastelands ;^)

But like I said, "only one engine" so that isn't a scientifically valid test, but enough for me. Been using Mobil1 5W30 for over 22 years in 4 cars(370K miles) and maybe 10 small yard engines, and Valvoline syn 10W30 in my 460 for 40K miles and Texaco syn 5W30 in the wifes Villager for about 10K miles. I have never torn these engines down so I don't know what the insides look like but based upon my experience I have no problem recommending Mobil 1 5W30. The Valvoline and Texaco need more experience but so far I am happy with them. I also have never had any trouble with Valvoline 20W50 dino back when I used it(3 engines 200K miles) before "discovering" syn. So can't complain about dino either.

Modern oils are splendid stuff compared to the stuff I used in the 70s. Least that is what all the news areticles and marketing hype say. I never had a complaint.

Jim Henderson