What brand/weight oil do you run?

tom p. said:
If you go to the Mobil 1 site you can see a brief commentary about using this instead of the 5W20 in Hondas and Acuras...have a look.
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Where was that? I only found this in the product datasheet: "Mobil 1 with SuperSyn 0W20 is engineered specifically for Ford, Honda and any other vehicle where a 0W-20 or 5W-20 engine oil is recommended."
 
hirosh said:
motorcraft 5W-20 semi-synthetic with motorcraft oil filter.

mainly because the oil was like $2 a quart and my Mach1 requires 7! :eek:



i want to switch to a full-synthetic but the maintenance tech guy at ford said ford doesn't recommend full-synthetic oils because it's too slippery for the main bearings, or something like that. anybody know whether this is true or not?
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Hirosh, don't buy into the Synthetic or 5W-20 BS from Ford. The 4.6 SOHC came out in '91 and the DOHC in '93. Ford specified 5W-30 for both motors until '01. The standard claim when you ask about 5W-20 is that the tolerances of the motor require it. Ford would have us believe they produced these motors for 10 and 8 years respectively and all of a sudden in '01 they decided to build them to tighter tolerances? Whoooey, the 4.6 has always had tight tolerances, it was designed that way from the start. The reason for 5W-20 is to help their overall CAFE fuel efficiency rating and to meet certain EPA regs.



I run Mobil1 5W-30 in my GT and I think you will find if you drop by Stangnet or even some of the more hard core sites like Modular Depot you will find most do the same.
 
Setec Astronomy - nah, it's cool. :D i just been too lazy to find out the truth.



rjstaaf - i've heard the same thing about ford spec'ing the 5W-20 for fuel economy/emissions reasons but i've been too lazy to find out the truth. thanks for the info. i guess since my car is still new and under warranty, i didn't want to get any hassles in the event the engine broke and it was recorded i wasn't using the 5W-20 oil. then again, i probably gotta drive the motor really hard or do something really stupid to break it.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Where was that?
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I think you had already seen it:



Mobil 1 with SuperSynâ„¢ 0W20 is engineered specifically for Ford, Honda and any other vehicle where a 0W-20 or 5W-20 engine oil is recommended. Mobil 1 with SuperSynâ„¢ OW-20 exceeds API SL/CF, ILSAC GF-3, and the performance requirements Ford WSS-M2C-153H specification.



This full synthetic formulation provides both exceptional engine protection while providing more efficient operation as indicated by improved fuel economy or greater power when compared to more viscous products.
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...that's all I was referring to.
 
Here's my opinion about synthetic oil, for what it's worth. I don't use it. Not because I don't think it's better, but because I don't think it's needed. Synthetic oil is better, no question about it. It has much better thermal breakdown qualities. The thing is, a water cooled engine doesn't get that hot as long as your coolant system is working normally. Consumer Reports, and others, have extensively tested synthetic motor oil against non-synthetic motor oils and have found no benefit to it's use. I have never used synthetic motor oil and I typically run my engines well over 100K miles. One of my vehicles has 168K miles on it right now and has never had synthetic motor oil in it. I do change my oil in all my vehicles religiously as specified in the owner's manual for the vehicle.
 
Three of my 4 cars require synthetic oil. It's no longer a choice.



Granted, if you're changing your oil frequently, you are not likely to reap the long term benefits of the syn products which are far more robust and are capable of protecting engines for 30,000 mile intervals and longer. America is still caught up in the "3,000 mile" oil change routine. Other areas of the world are far beyond this in terms of technology.
 
Pondscum said:
I don't use it. Not because I don't think it's better, but because I don't think it's needed. Synthetic oil is better, no question about it. It has much better thermal breakdown qualities. The thing is, a water cooled engine doesn't get that hot as long as your coolant system is working normally. One of my vehicles has 168K miles on it right now and has never had synthetic motor oil in it. I do change my oil in all my vehicles religiously as specified in the owner's manual for the vehicle.
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Agreed, it's not necessary. The conventional oils today are a lot better, and the cooling systems with electric fans contol the temperature much better than the days of yore. But it does give you an extra level of protection IF something goes wrong with your cooling system, etc. I don't drive that much, and change my oil 2 or 3 times a year, so, to me, the extra $40 or $50 a year is cheap insurance. As someone else pointed out, Autopians frequently use some pretty expensive waxes, etc., just to get a little extra.
 
White95Max said:
I currently use Quaker State Peak Performance 10W-30 in the summer and 5W-30 in the winter. I went out and looked for a lighter weight oil, and bought a 5qt jug of Castrol GTX 5W-20.



I thought about changing to synthetic, but I already have almost 160,000 miles on my Max. Is there a problem with switching to synthetic with that many miles?



And what do you run in your vehicles?
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If your engine is in mechanically sound shape, you should have no problam switching to synthetic oil. Will it provide any benefits at 160,000 miles???? Only you can answer that. If you want to switch to synthetic, I would recomend doing some research. Manufactures are able to use the term "synthetic" rather loosely. Not all synthetics are created equal, far from it actually.

Back when I worked in the car business, One thing I saw over and over was, those who changed their oil regularily and followed viscosity requirements the manufacture recomended, had the most trouble free miles, some well beyond 200,000.

Right now I am running Pennzoil 5w20 in the Element and 5w30 in the CRV. Is it because I think it's the best oil? NO. Thier is no best oil, only oil that is best for you. It just happens to be one of the quality name brand oils that I can get 5w20 in the easiest where I live. All the name brand oils will do a good job when used according to manufactures recomendations. After having typed all that I will admit that I have been looking quite abit lately at Mobil 1 oils.
 
tom p. said:
Three of my 4 cars require synthetic oil. It's no longer a choice.



Granted, if you're changing your oil frequently, you are not likely to reap the long term benefits of the syn products which are far more robust and are capable of protecting engines for 30,000 mile intervals and longer. America is still caught up in the "3,000 mile" oil change routine. Other areas of the world are far beyond this in terms of technology.
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If your manufacturer recommends or requires synthetic oil, I would say by all means use it. Many Americans still have the 3,000 mile oil change mentality, but not all American manufacturers follow it. My Chevrolet has an oil change monitor which bases the oil change interval on the RPMs and temps of the motor and doesn't use mileage at all. It has a display which tells you the approximate percentage of oil life left, which is very handy. Based on my own driving, it usually averages around 6-7K miles.



Just because the oil is capable of protecting an engine for 30K miles, doesn't mean you should necessarily keep it for that long. All internal combustion engines produce tiny metal filings and carbon particles which have to be periodically purged from the crankcase by changing the oil. The oil filter will collect most, but not all of those particles.
 
I'm pretty sure many turbos and cars like a Corvette, Viper as well as Mercedes and BMW even have a Mobil 1 emblem under the hood
 
Bill D said:
I'm pretty sure many turbos and cars like a Corvette, Viper as well as Mercedes and BMW even have a Mobil 1 emblem under the hood
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You're right, Bill, I didn't realize that the GM cars that use Mobil 1 as factory fill require an oil meeting GM4718M , which apparently will be synthetic (although Mobil 1 is not the only oil that meets that spec).
 
Oh no, not another oil debate even on Autopia !





Buy the cheapest oil you find for your car, its all the same, all motor oil must be approved by API/SAE. Marketing sells !
 
I got a deal recently on castrol syntec like 6 qts for 25 bucks. So I put like 4 1/2 qts of that and the rest Lucas Synthetic. I plan to switch to Redline soon but hey I almost have enough oil for another change so 1 more round of castrol syntec after this next oil change. I am right at 4600 miles right now and I did the oil system flush and then changed to synthetic early on. Hopefully the Nissan will run long and good.
 
This is a little fact that I heard.



A large shipping company uses synthetic in their 18-wheelers. They run 500k miles without an oil change, but they change the filters every 5k. That's kind of apples/oranges, because they hold 10+ GALLONS of oil!

I've read all the facts about synthetic over dino, and the MAIN benefit of syn products is breakdown. But if you can change you're oil for half the price, but twice as often..... it really equals out. Personally I dont like the idea that oil could be clogging or gunking up inside my engine, so I stick with Mobil 1. It's not that expensive, as my BMW doesn't hold that much. I say do what you're comfortable with.

Just my $.02

Josh F
 
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