I just bought a brand new jug of mobil 1 5w-30 at walmart today, I have to change my oil as well. I have used mobil 1 for a few years now, and love it. this is my second oil change in mr. ranger. At 5,000 miles, I put in mobil 1, at that time I was getting 18 mpg going to, and from work, after mobil 1, I get 22 mpg. Can't say it's all in the oil, I'm sure the truck also just got broken in at 5,000 miles, also put synthetic fluids in the tranny, t-case, and rear diff. When I put mobil 1 in my 4 banger jeep wrangler, it felt like it had more power. I couldn't figure out why it was running so strong, then I remembered I had changed the oil before parking it for the winter, it felt like it had gained some hp. I have not felt the hp increase on my other vehicles, but they run smooth as silk, and the mpg as benifited. Also a mobil 1 decal makes a cool windsheild banner, can't advertise something I don't use ha ha. There's 3 things the ranger gets, and deserves at oil change time, 1) mobil 1 5w-30 2) outlaw fuel injector cleaner, and 3) k&n oil filter. I like the k&n filter because it has a drain back valve, and most importaintly, it has a nut on the end for easy removal. I will be putting mobil 1, outlaw, and k&n in my focus st, and my liberty as well, I love the stuff. I change my oil at 5,000 miles, thats once a year as I'm laid off in the winter, so the ranger gets parked. I think 35.00$ a year isn't to much to spend on my beloved vehicles. When I used dino oil, I used motorcraft, or havoline, both great oils, but mobil 1 rocks the blocks, and reaches the beaches. If for some reason I can't get the oil changed at 5,000 miles, I don't have to worry, I'm still good. If your truck gets some offroad abuse as mine does, I feel more confident running mobil 1, it does reduce the heat factor for those long streches of low range trail crawling.

 

I've been using mobil 1 in my 99 B3000 since I bought it a couple of years ago. The only reason I continue to use it though is because the motor doesn't use or leak oil. Don't know about gas milage, but since mine only gets 18 or 19 I'd hate to think what it might have been with dino. I use either Pure one or Motorcraft oil filters, but I have friends that swear that the walmart oil filter is as good.

Try going here:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/ubbthreads.php

About anything you'd want to know about oil and filters you can find there.

 

There's alot of good oil filters for sure, but k&n is the only one with the nut on the end, you can remove it with a wrench, or socket if need be. It seems like oil filters are getting harder, and harder to get at, or is it all in my head ?

 

I've heard some good things about the Mobil 1, so I think I will give it a try. And maybe the Motorcraft FL-1A, too.

 

Yeah Dave, if I didn't use, or couldn't get a k&n oil filter, I would use motorcraft. I used fram for years, but alot of test and reports say fram is not so good anymore, where as motorcraft is praise highly. I may go with motorcraft this time as well, I'm getting tired of paying 10.00$ for a nut ha ha. Seriously, k&n also has that anti-drain back valve which is also a good feature besides the nut, but it will be k&n, or MC, no other will do for me. I'm loyal to a product that treats me well. I also know that there are other good filter like pure, and wix as well as others. I think you will pleased with the mobil 1, but if you reaaly want to improve your mpg alittle, also go with synthetics in your tranny, t-case, and rear diff. Aimsoil makes synthetics for these different applications, and thier an awsome product. Other advantages besides mpg would be less friction, and heat, longer parts life. I think it's important in 4x4's that are used as they were intended like we do hee hee.

 

Quick question - if you increase the size of the filter, going from an FL 820s to an FL 1A, do you increase the amount of oil to compensate for the larger canister?

 

The FL-1A will use almost a full qt to fill it up, so you'll need the difference between the FL-1A & the FL-820.

If you don't know what the difference is,
just add whats needed to bring the oil sump level up to the mark on the dipstick.

Is the FL-1A's bypass valve opening specification the same as the FL-820????
Is it's base gasket diameter the same????

 

The FL1A will not fit in place of the 820. THe 820 has metric thread.

 

I'm not saying this to be mean or get under anyone's skin but K&N is about the worst thing you can put on an engine! They get their high flow ratings from poor filtration. Typically they allow 40% larger debris to flow past the filtering media. There's a real good study link on filters at BITOG worth searching for. Scientific data, not just cutting open filters and looking at them.

The Fram "orange can of death" is an ok filter as far as filtration goes but you're getting really low flow numbers like you'd get out of a Pure One (without high micron filtration). For the money you're way better off buying a regular purolator if you're just looking for a solid no frills filter to get the job done. No need to spend a dime more for a motorcraft because you aren't getting anything better for your money. Same goes for an AC Delco for the bowtie guys. FYI WIX is another good filter that you can feel good about but once again I wouldn't spend any extra money for one compared to a Purolator.

Now if you want "superior" protection then Mobil 1 filters with their synthetic media are a good choice. Purolator's Pure One filtration is great but they have really low flow. My personal choice is the Fram TG. TGs have more flow then a Pure One and better filtration probably due to the type of synthetic media they use. TGs are also the only one that I know of that have a screened bypass on them. If you put in the study time you'll wonder how this filter even carries the Fram name, it's nothing like the rest of the line-up from them. Another FYI, AMSOIL filters are no better then a regular Purolator.

As far as oil goes, someone hit it on the head when they mentioned add packs. Havoline is about the best dino oil you can run. If I was running it strait I'd drop it every 3k but if you're adding a couple quarts of full synthetic to it then feel free to run 5k with it. My typical brew is 3 quarts Havoline, 2 quarts Syntec (Yes I use a type III base synthetic). That buys 5k with ease.

For you guys dropping full synthetic at 5k, you're wasting your money. It's your money so do what you like but you've got an easy 3k more miles to go and then some. Mobil 7500 safely goes 5k and costs half the price. You'd save a lot with it and still be getting some synthetic and the great add packs you've learned to love. Actually you get the best of both worlds with blends, that's why I mix my own. You're average Pre-Blended oil is 30% synthetic, 20% add pack and 50% dino. If you can blend your own cheaper then go for it but if you can get it pre-blended for cheaper stock up on it. Recently I stocked up on some Q 4x4 syn blend on sale for less then $2 a quart. That's another oil with a solid add pack.

 

I've run Mobil 1 in my vehicles since it came out. I've personally run Mobil 1 15000 miles in my car, had the uoa done and it still passed new oil specs. From this you could argue that Mobil 1 after 15000 miles is better than some 'new' dyno oil. I run the Ranger about 25k miles per year on 2 oil changes per year. It now has 78k miles and runs better than new. The reality is that you can run Mobil 1 to 10k miles with no more risk of oil-related failure than running dyno oil to 3k miles. Only for exceptionally severe duty would it be necessary to change more often than that.

Why does synthetic oil allow longer drain intervals? Primarily because their molecules are more the same size - less variation, more consistency. This chemistry results in less oxidation with combustion byproducts. The reduced oxidation means the additives are 'used up' more slowly and less acids are produced, hence the oil 'lasts longer' before it needs to be changed.

Synthetics also have higher film strength, which is important as the additives are changed to reduce zinc (as required by law, and mentioned in an earlier post). The increased film strength of the synthetic will at least partially offset the tendency to increased wear on items like cam followers. Because the synthetic has less tendency to oxidize, it also causes less deposit buildup in the engine. And, because the synthetic has uniform sized molecules, they have lower viscosity when cold, reducing the pour point some 40 degrees below what similar viscosity-rated dino oil would have. (Since the original poster is from Texas, his concern should be more related to film strength at operating temperature and less about low temperature viscosity.)

Modern engines, with their polution controls, tighter oil control, etc. will not build up enough sludge with synthetic oil to cause filter plugging (unless you add that teflon junk to make the oil 'more slippery'). The filter guys just want to scare you into buying more filters, just like the oil guys want to sell you oil more often.

Synthetic oil will have a minimal impact on gas mileage. The only time I've noticed a difference is when its cold and the engine isn't warmed up, doing short trips (which is brutal on the engine, and you get lousy mileage then anyway). I can guarantee you it will not result in 20% mileage improvement, as was suggested in an earlier post. If it was anything like that, all the auto manufacturers would be specifying synthetic in all of their vehicles to improve the gas mileage.

I use the Motorcraft filters whenever I can get them, which is almost always.

As was mentioned, all synthetic oils are not the same! The additives and base stock are very important. Some oils labelled 'synthetic' are really virtually all dino oil with just a small percentage of hydrocracked petroleum so they can call them synthetic. True synthetic oils will have a base stock of either poly alpha olefins (pao) or esther or a combination of the two. One of the reasons that I've stuck with Mobil 1 is that they publish that their synthetic oil is a pao based product, so I know its truly synthetic. The other reason that the additive mix is so important is that the synthetic base stocks (especially pao) naturally tend to cause seals to slightly shrink, which can lead to leaks. In fact, many of the early synthetics did not have enough seal swelling additives, and the result was leaking seals on many engines, and many people who swear they'll never use synthetics again. I've never had a problem with leaks using Mobil 1, and that is one reason I continue to use it. Another reason I only use Mobil 1 is that the additive packages used by the various oil manufacturers are not the same, and I cannot predict how the combination of some of the additives from the last brand will work with the new brand - will it cause seals to swell too much? will they shrink? The best answer is to pick one brand and (assuming you like its performance) keep using that same brand.

I'm partial to Mobil 1, since I've got 25 years of good experience with it, but there are others that are good as well.

 

The k&n filter that you are atempting to dog, I believe is thier air filter, not the oil. The oil filter doesn't claim to have great flow, it claims to filter dirt, and have an antidrain back valve. There is starting to be way too much k&n bashing going on for a company that is as successful as they are. They've been doing this a long time, and thier far from being out of buisness. I have never had a problem with any k&n product over the years, however, I have whitched to AEM filters to keep from having to oil them (laziness ha ha). Alot of people say fram is junk, but thier still selling, so to each his own. I don't think k&n is the only filter, I just like the nut, that was a really good idea. Put a nut on motorcraft, and that would be my only filter. I hope this doesn't turn into an k&n debate, it's been done to death, and never gets settled. Those who like them still do, and those who don't, still don't, pointless don't you think !!

 

Sorry wendell, I was talking about the oil filter. Do the research and I promise you'll never use them again. I just cringe when I hear people are using the oil filters because they really are choosing the worst filtration they can. The tested flow rates are off the chart but it comes at a horrible price. I'm a big supporter of thier air filters and believe that most of thier bad rap on those are poor maintence. I'm not looking to "bash" the company I'm just trying to let some fellow FTE members know the truth.

FYI, A lot of major retailers offer $1 to the sales person for each K&N oil filter they sell, nothing extra for the air filters. So beware if you're being told it's good by someone behind a counter, most likely they're just trying to get a bigger pay check.

 

Well, thanks for the heads up, cause the engine is very important to me. I would hate to think that I spend the money for mobil 1, but short change my truck on a filter. You would think for 10.00$ it would filter out atoms ha ha. I'm gonna trust you on this one because your not the tipical k&n basher, and you have a ginune concern for your buddy's on the site. I needed an excuss to stop spending 10 bucks on a nut anyway ha ha. "So" motorcraft it is, and thanks for your unbiased concern for me, and my truck. Most people just love to take shots at k&n, but since you like the air filters, this is not the case with you. Thanks again "buddy", I'll be sticking with motorcraft from now on, and save some money in the process.

 

I run Mobil 1 5w30 in my truck and have since about 10K miles and I run either a Motrocraft filter or a wifirst choice). I run Mobil 1 5w20 and wix or motorcraft filters in the 05 focus ST as well.

 

I used to run Conklin Para-synthetics in my Mustang and did 15K drain intervals with no problems. I even locked up the oil pump and then drove 9 miles home with no oil pressure and didn't harm the engine at all. The bearings were like new and the cylinder walls still had the factory honing marks( at 80K miles) When I got home I pulled to a stop and lifted the hood and dumped half a quart of oil down both valve covers and let it idle for about 15 more seconds before I shut it off. Just barely had a hint of lifter chatter after 9 miles at 85 mph. Good stuff if you can find a distributor( I am one but won't order enough to make it worth while) and if you want to spend $8 a quart on it.