Well, it's about time to change the oil in my truck, and I was considering a switch to synthetic. I know a few people here have said some things, but I would like anyone who runs synthetic now or in the past to leave their opinion. I use my truck for everyday driving, including driving 100 miles a week to and from work (total per week), and some occasional off-roading. Thanks to all for your input.

 

Dave, I guess I would have to say it's kind of up to you as to whether it's worth the extra cost, I run synthetic in the race truck, and the wifes expy, as well as my F250 PSD during the winter (helps the powerstroke start better in cold weather) but I run regular oil in the Bronco (not driven very much) and in the diesel during the warmer months as I don't feel it's worth it in that truck. I just did a UOA on it and at 7000 miles my oil still had 60+% of it's additive package still left (TDN of 7.9). If your really abusing your engine (racing type of abuse) or you driving a lot of mileage say like 2500 miles a month and want to run extended oil changes then I feel it's worth it, if you end up changing at less then 5000 miles because of time instead of mileage than I would say no it's not.

 

I run synthetic in my truck, but only because that's what the previous owner used, and I'm a big believer in the school of thought that if you have an engine with 200k (what the truck had when I got it), you should continue to use whatever oil got it there.

If I bought a new truck tomorrow, I would not use synthetic in it, just a good quality dino oil and change it a litte more frequently.

 

Monsterbaby, I am interested in extended oil changes, and the cost of the synthetic is last on my mind. I also hear that it might give me 1-2 more MPG as well as a couple of horses (a couple of horses isn't really as important as 1-2 MPG). But, like I said, I like longer interval oil changes. Thanks for your input.

 

For the extended oil changes, I would suggest doing the UOA it's worth the money in my book atleast on my diesel ($8000 engine tends to make you want ot take care and make sure it's right) but it told me what I wanted to do. You can email Blackstone labs (they are a site sponser so easy to find) and they send the first collection kit for free, it costs $20 for the basic UOA, and another $10 to do the TDN so you can see how your oil is holding up to the longer oil change interval and whether you can extend it farther or need to back off, in my case they suggested going to 7500 miles and try it again.

 

That's pretty cool. How long does it take for results?

 

I got the email copy back in one week and the hard copy back in the mail 2 days later. And thats from teh day I dropped the sample off at the post office.

 

Well I've run Havoline 5W-30 in my 99 4.0L Ranger & got 1.8-2.2 better highway mpg, but no better city mpg.

So as I do most of my driving in urban/city conditions, with some light to moderate short trip towing & the Havoline Synthetic is hard to find in my area, I've gone back to dino Havoline, who's specs are as good as, or better than some so called synthetics!!!!!

Unless you live in a unusually hot or cold place & do some heavy long haul towing or high speed running in that kind of enviorment, with the improvements in dino oil & add packs, you don't likely need synthetic imo.

If you do mostly highway driving & it offered up say 2 more mpg & you could run it for 5-7K OCI's maybe it would be worth it, BUT be sure you use a premium oil filter, with a large filter area & a media that can stand up to the longer OCI & not clog up, restrict oil flow, switch to bypass, or breakdown!!!!!

I like the suggestion monsterbaby had, to do a oil analisis, if your going to try & stretch your OCI.
BUT for the cost of doing the anaisis, you could just change the oil & filter & know for sure!!!!!

 

By the way, what about a filter? I have been using Fram filters on everthing I drive, but I was wondering if there were better ones out there.

I forgot to mention (pawpaw's post reminded me), I do some towing, and sometimes it can be a pretty heavy trailer.

 

I can't stand Fram filters and won't run them on anything even my lawn mower (note personal opinion that comes from personal experience) I run Napa Gold or WIX (which happens to make napa gold BTW, and motorcraft I believe also) motorcraft is also a good filter. Those are my choices, and I run them on everything including the race engines.

 

ooh, that can't be good. So the motocraft works well with the synthetic, eh. I might have to switch.

Anyone else with personal experience with synthetic oil?

 

I second the "no" to Fram filters, though I do like idea of the black texture spray they have put on the back of them for the grip it gives when hand tightening them down. I use Purolators. From what I understand they are the oem supplier for Motorcraft, however I don't know if the paper on the inside is the same between the two. What is in the Motorcraft may be a little better but when you change it every 3 to 4K I am not sure it is a big deal in the grand scheme of things. That is also how I feel about the synthetics, I just prefer to change it frequently. Gives you a chance to get under the truck and make sure all is otherwise well when you do it.

 

bigdavesohc, I run the Mobil 1 5w 30 changing every 5000 miles, with the same engine you have. When I switched I noticed the same mileage increase that pawpaw experienced. I would think that you would easily be able to use Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w 30 for 10,000 miles (I agree with the UOA). I would probably change the filter at 5000 though, using a Mobil 1 M1 210 (pawpaw, I found out that the bypass valve is indeed in the base) Motorcraft fl 820s, WIX 51372 - these model numbers are assuming you have the 4.0 SOHC engine. The filters and oil would probably last longer, but it's taken me to 40 years old just to get past the 3000 change. I know, I know baby steps!

 

If your going to do some heavy towing in hot humid weather, you could likely make use of a good quality synthetic lube.

The Motorcraft FL-1A filter is of good construction & made by Purolator, has one of the largest filtering area media's, can go for 7500 miles OCI & has it's bypass valve in the base, where it belongs for inverted filter mounting.

Don't know that I'd use a paper media filter for anything longer than a 3-4L OCI & yes there are now better made filters than Fram imo.

Motorcraft is a very good value in a filter & I know use them on all my Ford rides.

In the years past when Bendix owned them, I used Fram, but not for a long long time now, after Bendix sold them & their PH-8A construction got so flimsy, with the cardboard end caps & small surface area media.

 

IMO, base oil technology has come so far in the past 15 years that the "synthetic v. dino" oil debate is hardly even worth the mental energy any more. The more important question these days is: what kind of additive package does the oil have?

The add pack very is vitally important to pay attention to. For example, for those of us with an older DOHCammer (my SHO), a potential problem could develop as the SL-rated oils are replaced by SM-rated stuff. The reason for this is as follows: As the phosphorus limits continue to fall in the newer oil formulations, the amount of ZDDP (Zinc) additive xontinues to fall with it. This additive is regarded as the absolute best bang for the buck when it comes to protection from engine wear, particularly at the single highest friction/wear point in the engine - the cam/lifter interface. Many of the newer cars and light trucks today use roller cam followers, so this reduction in ZDDP seemingly does not pose as much of a threat to newer engines, but what about those that don't?

If you're not convinced by my opinion on this, then maybe a little tidbit from Comp Cams will help sway you:
See the Tech Note in this link: http://www.powerandperformancenews.c.../PAPNV2I10.htm

In short, the focus today should really be on the the add packs, and not so much on the base oils.