I drive a 1996 F-150, 5.0 4x4. 223k miles. I always use the best motor oil I can get. For years I've been using Mobil1. Recently I had somebody tell me that Amalie Elixir full synthetic is better than Mobile1. I hadn't even heard of Amalie until they started sponsoring the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey arena in Florida a few years ago. Amalie is a bit more expensive than Mobil 1. can anyone weigh in on Royal Purple. It's quite expensive, but money is no issue, I just want to make sure I'm using the best.

also the book calls for 10w-30. The person who's been changing my oil for years (a family member who does it for free) always uses 5w-20 and says it's better for the engine. My truck has always ran fine. Any thoughts

 

Don't know about Amalie. Started using Castrol back in my motorcyle days. Use only Mobil1 now. Find a new friend. With that many miles you need a thicker oil not thinner.

 

Ok, to start with, let's look at Amsoil, Royal Purple, etc. as a company...do they own a refinery...no, they purchase their oil refined just like any other 3rd party distributor except they add themselves and/or order the refined oil with additional chemicals......to do otherwise would have resulted in their owners being arrested and charged with numerous felonies since their local, state and federal permits do not allow them to conduct such operations on their site....this is a public record and can easily be verified.
With regards to syn vs non-syn oils, today, all oils are considered synthetic and have been for many years....per the court decision Synthetic Motor Oil and was confirmed through legal proceedings http://www.scribd.com/doc/217558103/...-Court......so what constitutes the ability of extended oil changes......three things... 1. Quality of the filter 2. Composition of the oil 3. Cleanliness by which the engine burns & contains the products of combustion within the combustion chamber/exhaust system (meaning, keep it out of the oils) IMHO, here is part of the BS marketing that has been occurring for several years now.....to start with...1. No automotive oil filter can filter at greater than 10 microns, anything more than that, oil flow is significantly reduced and the engine is starved. Hydraulic systems use filters rated at 5 microns, but they are never spec'd for automotive use.2. OEM filters typically filter at around 15-20 microns3. The oems spec that (in almost every case) the minimum filtering will be at 20 microns.4. The check-valves (anti-drain & relief) inside the filter must be capable of withstanding the demands but it is also well known/recognized/accepted that the greater filtration the shorter is the duration that the filter will function without the bypass opening....this begins occurring as soon as 90 day duration. You can pay anything you want for an oil filter, as long as the drain back & relief valves are good quality and the filtration is no greater than spec, it really doesn't matter if it cost $3 or $30...it’s all the same. and yes, WIX, MC, NAPA Gold are all very good quality filters. Most (every) of the oil filter mfgs conceed, that after about 90 days of use, the bypass valve in the filter opens to some degree.......While the stored/caught particulates do not escape, the oil is allowed to flow straight through to prevent starvation.....and guess what, contaminants are flowing throughout the engine.....take a look for example at diesels (big rigs), there are really only 3 (predominant) mfg's...Cummings, Detroit & International.......they each have incredible filters on their engines.....with way better media than we can typically get for our engines (as far as lasting ability) but, they also recommend the use of a by-pass filter....and these filter down to 5ppm.
IMHO, I don't ever like changing brands/types of oil (weight ok)...here's why...
http://www.carbibles.com/additives.html
“Additives are blended at the proper rate, heat and in the proper proportions by the manufactures of their particular product. Crude supplies are not all the same quality and the additives have to be adjusted for the quality of the base stock being used by each particular company, per batch. Dumping your own personal stuff will more than likely be way inferior to what the oil manufacturer uses. The chemicals will normally differ from the manufacturers blend, and can cancel each other out to the point where there will be no anti-wear properties left in the product. (This is one reason it's not wise to mix oils from different manufacturers together). Changing the oil from say Mobil to Shell and then to Pennzoil will have a negative effect on your engine from conflicting chemicals. Buy an oil that you may like and STICK TO THAT COMPANY'S product. What you may get away with when using Shell may cause instant havoc with Valvoline. The major oil companies work closely with the auto manufacturers so that bearing material, seal material, roller bearings, ball bearings, and all other moving parts are not adversely affected by the oil products. This is especially true for automatic transmissions.”

 

The only way for you to figure out which oil you want to use, is to try different oil, and send the oil in for used oil analysis. After many miles, and many years, you may have the data that you want.

Or just ask anybody randomly for an unqualified opinion........motor oil has been hotly debated since before I was legally allowed to drive......back then, adult video performers did not shave! There is an entire online forum devoted to motor oil. bobistheoilguy.com

Being in my part of the country, I have a local preference to RedLine. Yet, I don't buy it. I've also used Royal Purple, Mobil 1, Lucas Oil.....all popular boutique brands of oil. Currently, I don't buy any of them. Like you, I don't flinch at a few dollars per quart, every 6 months.

Let's assume for a second, that these boutique oils are all able, as they claim, to withstand extreme operating conditions. After all, if these oils are used in NASCAR, and every other type of punishing rally condition.....it should be good enough for you! But are you driving in extreme conditions? Your commute, even in stop and go traffic, is not extreme. My work car, which starts in the morning, stays running for 10 hours with the AC on, and sees plenty of my heavy foot wide open throttle.....may qualify as extreme, but it still does not get special boutique oil.

Over the years, I've learned that everywhere I worked, fleet vehicles did not receive any special fluids. Under fleet conditions, which qualifies as extreme, every low cost oil held up, and none of those cars experienced engine failure due to cheap oil. They all ran over 100,000 miles, with countless engine hours of idling. Now that I think about it, there is not one government agency, livery service, or utility that I know of, which uses a high price boutique oil. I once worked at an agency where we handed over keys at shift change. That means that the car ran 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The fleet maintenance guy changed the oil once a month, and laughed when I asked him about brand. He said something like, "You guys are putting about 100 miles a shift, 3 shifts a day, every day of the month, on a Crown Vic with a V8. We use the cheapest oil and cheapest filter, once a month."

The most important thing is to just change the oil. You're not forgetting the oil change at proper intervals. You will have other problems with your truck, and they will not be oil related. Come to think of it, read through this forum, and you will not find 1 case of someone who can scientifically indicate that their engine failed with OEM spec oil & filter.

As for your oil change tech / ex-brother-in-law using 5W-20.....he's probably doing the right thing, whether he knows it or not. A few years back, Ford issued a TSB which instructed use of 5W-20 in almost every car that used 5W-30. Plenty of opinions on that also......a lot of people refused to believe that it was the "right thing to do". I recall driving into a dealership with my 5.0, and the dealership had the TSB, then proceeded to change the sticker under the hood and installed a new engine oil fill cap to read 5W-20. The tech, service writer, and parts counter guy all laughed about it. No way was anyone with a large displacement engine going to get better fuel economy by using a lighter weight oil. The new owners manuals on a lot of models also recommend using 0W-20 as an alternative to 5W-20. My truck left the factory with 5W-20, I have also used 0W-20 (because I already had it on hand), and there has never been a problem related to oil weight.

I no longer buy boutique brand oil because I do not believe that it benefits me. More to the point that I am not driving any of my vehicles in race conditions.

These days, I am buying whichever oil that I can buy at a good price per quart, and even better if I have a coupon. I am currently getting Castrol Full Synthetic Magnatec for about $20 per case of 6 quarts from amazon.com. That's a little over $3 a quart.....which is even cheaper than buying Wally World house brand. I'm not fanatical enough to cut open the oil filters. Everyone else has already done that and posted photos and videos online. I used to buy K&N, Mobil 1.......now, it's Motorcraft while the price is right. Amazon had a case of 12 filters for $14,98. Sometimes you see something like that, and you buy it before someone who works there realizes the mistake. Same way I once bought a pair of Levi's jeans on Amazon for $10.

 

May as well continue with what you've been using since you have 233k miles.

 

The best oil & filter combinations are the ones that yield the lowest UOA = Used Oil Analysis wear numbers, for the vehicle, engine & drive cycle it sees.
Seeing as how we've paid Fords lube engineers Big Bucks to do the work for us, start with their specified semi-synthetic crankcase lube, oil, air & fuel filters, then see if UOA's indicate we can beat that base line.
Most engines maintained to the Factory service schedule, with the specified Factory fluids & filters, outlast the running gear & body, so we're not likely to do Meaningfully better, but its fun to think about trying sometimes.

 

Cost could be a factor. Profit could be a factor. Ford would make more money if every owner used Motorcraft everything. It's probably less expensive for Ford to used Ford Motorcraft oil & filter on the assembly line. Surely, you can find a better combination of boutique oil & filter. Or maybe not. Maybe no matter how much you spend on expensive oil & filter, it won't do a better job.

 

It's about the point of diminishing returns. Yes we can opt to use a more robust engine lube, formulated with higher quality base oils & additive package, so to take the beating we're giving it & maybe last a little longer.
Perhaps along with higher quality oil, also choose to filter oil, air & fuel to a finer particle size But for most of us, is it going to make the engine last Meaningfully longer, when most engines maintained to the Factory call outs for oil & filter quality & change interval, now outlast the body & running gear. Or we tire of the vehicle & sell or trade it for a newer ride before it wears out!!!!

SO, the Best oil isn't the only thing that figures into the equation, gotta have Clean oil, fuel & air too & change the filters on time, so we help keep the oil cleaner, longer..

So those of us that lug & tug, or run long distance at freeway speeds in hot weather, or while also lugging & tugging at freeway speeds, could employ used oil analysis (UOA) results to help tweak our choices & maybe improve results a little over the specified Factory call outs, but that work has already been done & its cost was included in the vehicle price, so for most of us, we're not likely to do Meaningfully better than the Factory call outs we've already paid for.
Anyway the Best oil is the one that UOA indicates is constantly yielding lower wear numbers, for the use we're putting it to, while filtering the oil, air & fuel to at least Factory specifications.

If we're curious about how well the fuel, air & oil filters are doing, we could also opt for a UOA particle count if wear numbers look abnormal.

If it is abnormal, with higher wear numbers, or silica count, its usually because the air filter isn't the specified type, wasn't installed properly, or the air box, or air tubing isn't fastened like designed for, or those items are damaged & letting unfiltered air pass the filter!!!!.

Anyway UOA's & particle counts can help us Tweak our lube & filter choices & maybe better the Factory results, but again, most of us aren't likely to beat them by much, or meaningfully so.