I figured that, but you didn't specify. There are gas and diesel turbo cars. Just clarifying

 

Actually Ford recommends full synthetic as one of their approved oils. I suggest you read your owners manual

 

I agree with that statement!

 

Actually it may depend on the year. My 09 manual specifically states:

Motorcraft SAE 5W-20 Premium Synthetic Blend Motor Oil (US)
Motorcraft SAE 5W-20 Super Premium Motor Oil (Canada) (Note 1)

Note 1: Use of synthetic or synthetic blend motor oil is not mandatory. Engine oil need only meet the requirements of Ford specification WSS-M2C930-A and the API Certification mark.

 

I don't think anyone implied it was mandatory. Only recommended.

Motorcraft SAE 5W-20 Full Synthetic

• Top-quality motor oil for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury passenger cars
• American Petroleum Institute (API)-certified for gasoline engine service ILSAC GF-4 and meets API SM/Energy Conserving
• Manufactured with high-viscosity index, premium-quality, synthetic base oils that provide good high-temperature and low-temperature performance
• Helps minimize engine deposits and wear
• Helps protect against high-temperature oxidation, low-temperature gelling, rust, corrosion and foaming
• Friction-reducing technology provides excellent wear protection and features energy-conserving characteristics, which offer significant improvement in fuel economy when compared to SAE 5W-30 and 10W-30 motor oils
• Recommended by Ford Motor Company, meeting warranty requirements
• Available in one-quart bottles or 55-gallon quantities

 

I understand that and I have read my owner's manual. I was making a simple point about Mobil1 products and some of the negativity that I've been reading lately. No links and it's not important enough for me to justify.

I've used Mobil1 since 1995 and even extended my drain cycles from the factory recommended intervals to 10K on a '95 T-bird, an '02 Focus, a '99 Taurus and my '04 Expy with absolutely no adverse results. All of these vehicles are still on the road doing the king's business and the Taurus has over 150K on the clock.

It seems that the factory fill which is MC 5W-30 for the EB application provides plenty of protection and is approved by the manufacturer.

I'm considering switching everything over to the Castrol synthetic, using appropriate viscosities for my applications and MC filters of course.

Any thoughts or personal experiences with the Castrol synthetic would be appreciated from anyone or everyone.

 

Alot of people and myself included feel that Castrol synthetic (Edge w/Titanium) has made their current SN formula cheaper than the SM formula.

Castrol no longer boast 8x better wear protection than Mobil 1. Probably because they perform equal in wear protection or Mobil 1 now outperforms Edge on wear protection.

Castrol is owned by BP so you can decide for yourself on that topic.

My experience with Castrol Edge (SM) vs Mobil 1 (SN) is that the Castrol started out making excellent fuel economy and quiet valvetrain operation in the Ford 3.5, but by 3k miles it's fuel economy started to really drop and the flat buckets started to get a little noisy so the oil was dumped. The Mobil 1 on the other hand maintained excellent fuel economy thru the complete 6k mile OCI and maintained quiet valvetrain operation.

For now I prefer the Moly additive in Mobil 1 vs the Titanium in the Edge, although I havn't ran the Titanium Edge SN version.

 

im a little slow off the draw here, so forgive me.

i agree, you should not take the word of anyone except qualified professionals, one of which i am not.

I do, however, feel somewhat compelled to express my opinion on "doing stuff and getting by with it" I don't think anything about my experience with this car and my 10-12k oil change interval gave me the feeling that i was just "getting away with it" or just "getting by"

I started that practice on a car with 150K miles on the clock and quit somewhere around 200K because i got a job closer to my home, afterwhich i resumed 5k change intervals with motorcraft oil.

during this 50K miles of "abuse" (i wouldnt argue too much with using that term) the motor never used any oil between changes. I checked the oil evertime i fueled up (which was every other day at least) and i never had to add. (i checked it religiously because my mortgage was riding on that car getting me to work and back every day).

I will admit that i did have a problem with Mobil 1 oil in that car. after 5K miles on Mobil 1 i had added a full quart to top off and i just changed the oil at that point. After that I just changed back to Castrol Syntec and never had to add again.

to this day that car has never used any oil between oil changes. (with the mobil 1 exception noted above)

Im not saying anyone should do this, especially with a 4 qt oil system. but there were no decernable side effects from the 50K miles in which i changed the oil no more than 5 times. at no time did i ever think i was just getting by; if i had, i would have discontinued the practice immediatly. like i said, my mortgage was riding on that car.

synthetics are good ... let their be no doubt.
but you will never go wrong changing your oil at 3k.

just thought i'd add

 

I remember a cold spell in winter. The temperature was in the single digits. I was going to have an oil change. There was Motorcraft 5w20 in the engine. The engine grunted and cranked slowly. Oil was replaced with Pennzoil Platinum 5w20. The next day it was just as cold. The engine spun like it was summer! Synthetic oil made a difference.

 

That was also my experience with Castrol. I was using Castrol when I changed to Amsoil.

 

This is apple to oranges maybe but in my FSBronco 5.8L - I started syn oil at 35-40K I think and continued until I sold it with 270K. I kept that synthetic (RedLine) in there for sometimes summer months 6-8K then other months 10-12K even 15K. Maybe not the smartest thing to do in SoFla but I did.

Now I have the "11 F150 with the 5.0 and I am considering mileage intervals and oil types.

MC syn blend
Amsiol
Redline

7500miles for the change. BTW did I see in my OM (onwers manual) I need 8qts oil???

thoughts?

 

You guys need to do some research on Bob Is The Oil Guy. I can shorten your research time though and say that according to all the used oil analysis and virgin oil analysis, Pennzoil Ultra is probably the best off the shelf synthetic out there. I use the platinum in my 92 F-150 and it runs like a champ. I like many people hated pennzoil for a long time, but these new oils are the real deal, mang. My 2001 Mustang Bullitt has a high compression 5.0 stroker in it and I trust it to Pennzoil Ultra. So does Ferrari!

 

Maybe Penzoil has changed their formula but IMHO because of past indiscresions- I'll pass.

 

For everyone's information. The new Mustang 5.0 engine has a "Full Synthetic Oil Recommended" sticker on the engine valve cover.

 

I worry about picking the right oil too and have spent hours on Bob the oil Guy.

But does it really matter for most of us which oil we choose? I say it doesn't as long as we change it at the correct interval. How many documented case do you know of, of an engine failing because of the brand of oil used?

Few of us will keep our trucks long enough for the brand of engine oil to be a factor in how long it runs or how well it runs if we stay with a reasonable change interval and oil spec.