I've read a lot of opinions on oil and filters here and the information is usually excellent, especially the people who buy and cut open off-the-shelf oil filters to show the internal construction.

People come to this form and ask "what's the best oil and filter for my truck." The way I see it these fall into 4 entirely different groups.

Group #1. The new truck buyer. My advise...use what your manual recomends. It is well known that the Ford Motorcraft oil is made by Conoco and it is damn good oil, there will be no argument in the unlikely event the owner needs warranty engine work done and it is priced very competitive. It is also known that Ford contracts Purolator to make Motorcraft oil filters. These filters are made to Ford's specification and are not exactly the same as an off the shelf Purolator, like the oil the filters are high quality at a competitive price. You can find Motorcraft oil at retail stores for around $1.80qt and filters for $3.00, even the dealers don't charge much more so it's not like Motorcraft is gouging anyone on the price here.

The bottom line for a new truck buyer is if you use Motorcraft oil and filters and change it every 3000 miles your truck's engine will be well protected and run so many years you will just get tired of driving the thing and go buy a new one (Ford of course).

Group #2. The used truck buyer. These vary greatly from the 36,000 mile lease trade in (note it's just out of factory warranty)to the 150,000 mile 8 year old $2000 work truck. What should you use in these? The used buyer rarely knows the true maintenance history on the truck. If the old truck's manual recomends 5w20,5w30 or 10w30 then use it, if it smokes, knocks or leaks then fix the engine! It has a mechanical problem most likely from neglect or abuse of the previous owner. Sure you could hide the problem with a thicker snake oil (engine rebuild in a can) or just buy the cheapest stuff you can find and hang an oil IV off the antenna to replace what is leaked and burned.

Group #3. The **** "I demand the absolute best oil and filter for my engine" owners. These guys will spend $6 per quart on oil and $12 on a filter. These owners are really confusing, they buy a new Ford truck and then refuse to use Ford parts on it because they apparently are not good enough!

Group #4. The cheapskate. Here is a guy that runs around town with a fist full of coupons trying to find the cheapest no-name parts available. Proud of the fact that he saved $2 on an oil change every 6000 miles would YOU like to buy his truck when he is done with it?

Ok, so I was bored this morning. Hopefully this will spark some argument.

 

I agree. Use a good filter ie Motorcraft, Purolator, Wix, and good oil. The motorcraft oil is very good. Change it when you should. I can't disagree with you!

 

What about those of us who spend a dollar or two more for filter packaging with a pretty color scheme. Dont forget our pretty oil bottles that cost us the same. As a bonus for being silly, some of us get a glass enhanced filter media, and extra additives in the oil.
Dont we get out own classification?

 

Yes. This describes me exactly.

And yes, you do want to buy a used car from me. If you've seen my cars, you'd know why.

And on my PSD, I save closer to $15 an oil change and change every 3000 miles like Ford recommends when towing.

There is no such thing as no-name parts, just no-name boxes with brand name parts in them. SuperTech oil filters are made by Champion Labs, one of the biggest filter makers in the world. SuperTech oil, at least in Texas, is made at the Shell plant in Houston using the same additive mix as the other PZ, QS and Shell oils made at the plant.

As far as coupons go, Purolator filters for my PSD are $11.99 at PepBoys. When PepBoys have a coupon sale, all Purolator filters are 2 for $5. So instead of $23.98, I spend $5.

Damn right I cut out that coupon.

 

A lot depends on timing, of course. For instance, at one time I might have fallen into category #1, but currently I'm kind of a mixture of #3 and #4.

How's that? Well, when it comes to the 4.0L in my Ranger with 125K on it, I want the best in lubrication, so I would have no problem paying a very high premium if I thought that one particular motor oil was - clearly- head and shoulders above the rest. But I don't think that.

And I also am one of those people who gleefully hands the autoparts clerk a coupon in order to save a buck or two on a Purolator Pure One oil filter, or 5 bucks on a case of Castrol GTX. Now, am I being a cheapskate by doing that? Yes indeed!! But nobody can tell me that I'm buying anything less than an excellent quality oil and filter for my truck, can they?

 

Rock...I think he was referring to the people that get coupons for oil that you buy in a place like a dollar store so you end up paying $1.40 for 8 Gallons of Crisco looking oil....Nothing wrong with saving on the good stuff...Valvoline always has mail in rebates for 5Quarts of their products, ie. high-mileage etc....I currently use FRAM filters but after reading some of the stories I am going to switch to Motorcraft.

 

jschira you can't be a Group-4 cheapskate, here's why...

1. No true cheapskate would pay 6 grand extra for the diesel engine option in the first place.

2. Using Motorcraft parts an oil change costs around $15 for a gas engine and around $48 on the diesel so if the purchase price of the diesel didn't kill a cheapskate the maintenance certainly would. The $2 savings was of course based on a gas engine.

3. You change your oil twice as often as my example.

Regarding no-name parts like Walmart specials, if you do the research you can find who these stores currently contract to make their parts. The company they use today may be one you trust but they can and will find a new lowest bidder to make their parts without warning.

I know what you are thinking, Ford contracts other companies to make their Motorcraft parts so what's the difference? Simple answer: Ford works with those companies to define the design, quality and performance of Motorcraft parts. What quality and performance specifications does Walmart specify? Answer: None just be the lowest bidder this week. Walmart doesn't have to warranty millions of engines like Ford does so they don't care how good their parts are.

Your example of coupon savings on the diesel engine filter is an outstanding value. $2.50 for a filter that normally sells for $11.99 and it's from Purolator not an unknown quality re-labeled no-name brand. But on a gas engine a Motorcraft is regularly only $3-4 so the savings is a lot less impressive.

 

1. Or pay $46k for an X (and its not even an EB or Ltd.) But the PSD pulls better, making the vacations more enjoyable. Plus, you get most of the PSD money back. My $3800 investment in my '99 PSD returned $2500 at trade-in time.

3. 3000 is what Ford recommends when towing, which is 95% of what my X does. I agree that Wally uses the low bidder, but as often as not, those low bidders are the big name products in a Wally box. I know that Champion and Shell make Wally filters and oil.

We all need to do whatever it takes so that we can sleep at night. If "the best" pulls your trigger, that's A-OK by me.

 

I agree with you but Ford cannot dishonor any warranty claims based on the fact that you did not use Ford branded products as long as you are using oil meeting the proper specification.

"Group #2. The used truck buyer. These vary greatly from the 36,000 mile lease trade in (note it's just out of factory warranty)to the 150,000 mile 8 year old $2000 work truck. What should you use in these? The used buyer rarely knows the true maintenance history on the truck. If the old truck's manual recomends 5w20,5w30 or 10w30 then use it, if it smokes, knocks or leaks then fix the engine! It has a mechanical problem most likely from neglect or abuse of the previous owner. Sure you could hide the problem with a thicker snake oil (engine rebuild in a can) or just buy the cheapest stuff you can find and hang an oil IV off the antenna to replace what is leaked and burned."

This is my category. I bought my ranger used and thankfully I do have some idea of its maintenance history. I run Purolator, Motorcraft, or Napa filters which are reasonably priced and name brand 5W30 oil (currently Valvoline Maxlife 5W30).

"Group #3. The **** "I demand the absolute best oil and filter for my engine" owners. These guys will spend $6 per quart on oil and $12 on a filter. These owners are really confusing, they buy a new Ford truck and then refuse to use Ford parts on it because they apparently are not good enough!"

Yup they make no sense. So many people have proved that the middle of the road approach works well but they continue to dump large amounts of time and money into expensive filters and wonder oil. I don’t think the guys who run Mobil 1 oil fall into this category because it’s easy to acquire and is not really expensive (only about $10 more than Maxlife).

"Group #4. The cheapskate. Here is a guy that runs around town with a fist full of coupons trying to find the cheapest no-name parts available. Proud of the fact that he saved $2 on an oil change every 6000 miles would YOU like to buy his truck when he is done with it?"


I don’t think auto parts store brand oil will hurt your engine but there is no resin to be cheep to the point of foolishness.

 

I think that you all give Ford way too much credit....

 

Verry true

 

As far as oil is concerned, most oil companies, even the big names, do not design their own additive packages. Big additive manufacturers, like Lubrizol, do all the additive designing.

This was posted in another forum by someone with decades of experience in the oil industry, including a stint as a motor oil blender:

Motor oil has become a common commodity. Buying strictly by brand just does not make sense any more.

 

jschira,

Excellent post. That is one reason why I buy Chevron. They make base oil and additives in-house, so I am getting the best chemistry for the money. Check out the Chevron Oronite website for lots of information about additive packages. I can just buy base oil and additives, blend and bottle, and call it "Jimzoil".

I fall into group #2 for this thread, with the addition of oil analyis to help verify engine health and validate oil change intervals.

Jim

 

That still does not take into account specific additives or the amounts used to make oil beyond minimums needed to pass API. The cheapest oil may still not be the best, but your brand names are all good.

 

But if they pass API certification, aren't they "Good Enough"?

Dumping extra additives in the mix that I'll never use and will never do me any good, then charging me Mega-$$ for them? Why should I pay?