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What kind of oil should I use?

278092 Views 223 Replies 84 Participants Last post by  AllFordsGuy, 
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I know that the owners manual says use 5W20 but I'm not sure what to use. The only thing I do know is that I'm goin to use Mobil 1 synthetic. Should I use the recommened 5W20 or should I use a 5W30 or a 10W30?
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RyanAF069,

You have to change the oil every 5k to maintain the warranty. M1 every 5k is overkill and expensive but if if that's what you feel comfortable with then use it. Again, to satisfy your warranty you should use 5W20. M1's 0W20 also meets the Ford spec: WSS-M2C930-A so you can use that too.
If you want to save $ any name brand 5W20 will protect quite well. Best "bang for the buck" oils are Motorcraft, Pennzoil and Havoline on sale/rebate for under $2.00/qt.
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UnderEstimated,

You need to keep your oil and filter receipts as proof should you need warranty work.
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Yep, BITOG is THE oil forum - there's a lot to learn there.
http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/ubbthreads.php
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Ya beat me to it! I was thinking of posting that Explorer's UAO - it's mighty impressive.

Right now I'm running a 5W20 blend (3.5 qts of dino Pennzoil and 1 qt of PP). I stocked up on PP & "Q" TP at AA when it was BOGO. 8)
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How many miles will you have on your car when do your UAO?

I'm thinking I'll send a sample to Blackstone about 6 months (late '08) before the warranty is up which should be around 25K. Did you see the UAOs on the Mazda 6 forum for the 2.3? Break-in wear metals were much higher then typical break-ins.

My first 4 oil changes: 500, 2500, 6K and 10K. Next one will be at 15K and then every 5K 'till the warranty is up. Then maybe PP 5W20 every 8-10K? It'll depend on what Blackstone finds. I plan to keep my Fusion for 10+ yrs.
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Redline's 5W20 - an outstanding oil! 8)

Redline oil every 5K is too pricey for me but I do run their trans fluid in my transaxle.
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Well, if you're in the know (BITOG) then yes, RLI is THE best. It's expensive and of course total overkill for our Fusions. The one good case for using it in a street car is if fuel dilution is a problem. Of course you'd have to have your used oil analyzed (Blackstone Labs) to know that.
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Nope - there is no problem at all switching from dino to syn and back again. As for Mobil 1, it has fallen out of favor on the oil forum for various reasons. It's not bad but the better values are the syns from Pennzoil, QuakerState and Valvoline.
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danielpoore,

1) Poor Communication - Mobil isn't fourthcoming about the % of group III in their formulations, they're secretive and vague.

2) Price - They're overpriced compared to the competition.

3) Wear - The iron wear is quite often higher then with competitive oils.

4) Valvoline has called them out publicly saying M1 doesn't protect as well as Valvoline - Mobil's reaction has been a joke.

The above problems don't go over well with gearheads, who in turn discuss it on car, truck, bike, boat and oil forums. That in turn eventually effects sales. It's like Fram filters - how stupid to take best filter on the market and cheapen it to the point where it's absolute crap (yes, I've cut a bunch open and refuse to use them). Sure they'll make gobs of money now but pay dearly later.

The other players want a piece of this lucrative market and are working hard to get it. Pennzoil Platinum is the current favorite of the oil forum. PP, QS and Valvoline have been on sale for killer prices over the last few yrs while M1 has NOT. Many have taken the opportunity to stock up (myslef included) and have been pleased with their performance and used oil analysis.

Now I will say there are certain M1 formulations that are excellent, most notably their 0W40.
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I've seen first hand damage caused by Fram Extra Guards - one was a mild small block chevy in a Chevelle - it imploded and the oil pressure went to zero, luckily the engine was shut down immediately, a Purolator oil filter was installed and the oil pressure came right back. The other time was on a Suzuki Bandit 1200 - again, the filter collapsed in on itself, stopped oil flow and the engine was destroyed.

As for today's API SM rated oils - yes, all very good and all able to take a modern engine to 150K + miles. As for syn oils, they really only have two advantages over "dino" oil, but they are BIG advantages - extended oil change intervals and better starting in extreme cold.
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So your saying we can all run 20W50 in our Fusions in the middle of winter and Ford will repair all damage under warranty? Ya, sure!

VW owners can run dino 10W40 instead of syn 0W40 that meets the VW 502.00/505.00/503.01 spec? Good luck with the warranty!

BITOG anyone?
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php
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Nef,

Any name brand dino 5W20 meeting the Ford WSS-M2C930-A spec will serve you well! There are a million used oil analysis on BITOG proving this.

How cold does it get in Ontario? More specifically - how cold is it in your garage or do you park on the street?

I'd say to use syn if your regularly starting in below zero (F) weather because of syn oil's excellent cold flow properties.
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Correct!

I'm not sure about Canadian sourced Motorcraft 5W20 but here in the states it's made by Conoco-Philips and is a highly respected oil that puts up great wear (low) numbers.
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Herb,

Sorry, I mistook the below verbage at face value and didn't see that it went on to say "API service requirements and specifications"


Whether a motor oil is a 5W-20, 5W-30, 10W-30, 0W-30, 10W-40 or 20W-50 (for racing and high performance applications in, for example, a Cobra R Mustang) or even a synthetic vs. a petroleum based oil will not affect warranty coverage.
Click to expand...
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5spdSEL52,

Syn oil is certainly "worth the money" if you buy it on sale for 1/2 price and run it twice as long! You'd also only need 1/2 as many oil filters - even more savings!
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I hear you.

What I meant about the filter was that if the oil is changed every 10K instead of every 5k, then only ONE oil filter is needed (instead of two) for that 10K run.
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bassto,

:shock: Wow, 50W oil in this day and age? Why?

20W oil (e.g. 5W20) has proven to be an excellent year round lube. I could definitely see you picking up a few miles per gallon by switching to what the factory recommends for your engine: 5W20. It would also rev quicker too.
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