TB15XLT

Not going to make a nickels worth of difference........

rdg04578

If you notice NASCAR sprint car engines generally use 0-5W oil to reduce friction and I seriously doubt anyone beats on an engine like that-- making 850+ HP out of 358 CI. Obviously they don't have heat, high temperatures and hard use to contend with. People often confuse lubrication properities with oil thickness-- not necessarily true. 3 inches on coating on a surface is just as good a three molecules thick of coating. More does not mean better.

engineermike

Well, if Ford recommends a 50 in the 5.0 Track Pack and a 20 in the truck, then how could you go wrong by splitting the difference with a 30?





These engines will make the warranty period even with the upcoming 0W-16 in the crankcase. The engineers are fraught with all sorts of conflicting requirements, some of which we would opt differently for in our own vehicles. For instance, I'm willing to sacrifice 0.6% (at best) fuel economy for better engine protection. The factory engineers are pressured to find every tiny bit of fuel economy available, even if it means shortening the engine life by a few percent. Also, there must be some reason that Ford recommends 5W50 in the Track Pack 5.0, Boss 302, GT350, and GT500.


By the way, I'm using 5W-30 in my supercharged 5.0.

engineermike

Ok, but what's the second number? I know at least some F1 cars that use 0W40. The first number means almost nothing in a race car.

msgtord

A few years ago, Ford notified fleet owners that 5W20 must be used when required by the owners manual. Threatened to void warranties.

B-ManFX4

I never said anything about being wrong - he did. I simply stated that if he believes the 5w-50 usage in the Track Pak cars means the 5W-20 is "junk" (his words) then the same must hold true for the 5W-30.


You assume that in the case of the N/A 5.0 that 5W-30 offers better protection than the 5W-20. Just because the viscosity is higher does not mean it is a better oil FOR THE APPLICATION. There are a lot of parameters to engine oil - viscosity is but one of them. I know people get their panties in a wad over oil but I think the example I gave of my Lightning is indicative of real-world, rubber-meets-the-road usage of 5W-20 in a supercharged engine. Just as Ford specified. The type of oil spec'd for those high performance cars is probably more related to viscosity breakdown due to heat and gasoline dilution due to the boost levels they operate under. If you were to remove the blower belt on those engines and run them N/A I am willing to bet the requirement for 5W-50 would go away...

Great - I hope it makes you happy. When Ford specifies a type of oil, it is for a reason. Just because people think CAFE is the only reason doesn't make it so. All things being equal, the thinnest oil you can run and still have proper lubrication is best for the engine. Of course, facts don't always jive well with people's opinions and beliefs, but that doesn't change the data...

engineermike

Oddly enough, 3 of the 4 examples I gave actually are N/A, so no need to remove the blower belt to find out. Ford recommends 5W-50 in the Boss 302, GT350, and 5.0 Track Pack even though they are not forced induction, so I guess I'll take you up on that bet.

To further my point, the 5.0 Track Pack is the exact same engine that's in the regular 5.0 GT. The Track Pack calls for 5W50 and the GT calls for 5W20. So what's the difference? Intended use. Ford expects you to beat on a Track Pack car more than your typical GT owner would. Learn from that what you may.

I've seen that posted a couple of times. It's true that for Group II conventional oils, the viscosity does reduce over time because of breakdown of the VI improvers. However, a good Group III or IV oil will not suffer from this phenomenon.

I haven't seen much data presented here. I've posted Ford's prediction on mpg improvement (<0.6% or .1 mpg) and also oil viscosities recommended on numerous comparable vehicles. I've also done enough oil research and analysis for work (hydrodynamic and elastohydrodynamic calc's, professional development classes, etc) that I believe 5W30 is the best choice for me.

News in

I think the move to lighter weight oils has more to do with CAFE than engine design. I've seen manufacturers change their oil recommendation to a lighter weight oil with no engine design changes. Toyota did similar for some of their engines. My wife's highlander calls for 0w20, but 5w20 can be substituted if 0w20 is not available. As long as 0w20 is used at "the next oil change" per the owners manual. On a 10k mile oil change interval.. I'm thinking if 5w20 is good for 10k miles, it's probably ok forever.
But I assume they want you to use the 0w20 full synthetic for mpg reasons.

I could be wrong. It's always weird how people get pissy when someone says something they disagree with about oil or oil changes.

OP, I'd put the 5w30 in the ecoboost. But I wouldn't be afraid I was damaging the engine or anything if I had to run the 5w20 for a little while.

engineermike

Good point, news. It reminded me of ford's tsb that announced the switch to 5w20. It was published in 2002 but retroactive 10 years. Also in that very same tsb, ford says "this oil is an improved formulation to improve fuel economy." That says it all and directly from ford. This reinforces that a) the engines werent redesigned for that oil and b) it's for fuel economy not longevity.

Ssls6

Here are a few fun facts....I have a 6.2L ford in my truck. It specifies 5w-20 but in 2017 the same motor now specs 5w-30. I also drive a 2014 fj cruiser. In the US, it calls for 0w-20 and the manual says it is for fuel economy. The same fj cruiser in Australia calls for 5w-30 and the same vehicle in the middle east calls for 5w-40.

The old SAE weight system covers a large range of viscosities. It takes less HP to pump a thin oil vs. a thick oil. A thinner oil has a lower critical pressure before the film barrier breaks down. Oil viscosity "thickness" drops by a factor of 2 for every 20 degrees F (roughly). These are all engineering facts. Higher protection against hydrodynamic film break down will cost HP. High operating temperatures will thin the oil.

If Ford designed the motor to have an acceptable service life using 5w-20, then using a thicker oil will cost you a little mpg. If you don't trust Ford's deciding what's right for you, a 5w-30 will provide you more protection at the cost of a little wasted HP.

I would not run 5w-20 in an ecoboost. Even Ford thought that was too thin.