5.0 coyote 5w-30 vs 5w-20
02-14-2015, 06:31 PM
#41
The main thing to keep in mind is how you drive the vehicle. If it is purely a daily that you putt to work and back then the 20w is just fine. If you do much heavy hauling and towing very often or you like to have fun and drag race it occasionally then i would suggest going with a 30w oil. The added stresses and loads on the engine can cause the oil to break down faster and break through the oil film on the bearings thus causing metal to metal contact and damaging the bearings. Even if you prefer to run the 20w oil, keeping it changed on time with a quality oil and filter will tremendiously extend the life of your engine. I personally run an amsoil synthetic oil, i change the oil and filter every 6k miles and change just the filter every 3k miles.
05-08-2017, 01:01 PM
#44
Senior Member
My 2012 originally came recommending 5w-20. In 2017 ford changed the 6.2L to recommend 5w-30 so I bought a 5w-30 cap and have been running that for the last 10k miles.
I think ford is moving all engines back to 5w-30 (my guess) to simplify things.
I think ford is moving all engines back to 5w-30 (my guess) to simplify things.
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Apples (07-22-2017)
07-22-2017, 04:57 PM
#45
5.0 DOHC V8
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I bought a 5w-30 cap
I'm about to dump my first batch of oil from my previously-pwnt '16 F150 5.0... parts store had no 5W-20 Motorcraft Syn Blend so I grabbed 8 qts of Motorcraft 5W-30, and that's just fine with me. Just need to find a FL500S filter locally. Staying with Motorcraft stuff and will document with pictures of receipts and odometer readings of every oil and filter change for any possible warranty claims.
07-22-2017, 05:33 PM
#46
Been running 5w30 in mine for the last couple of years, same in my wife's Ford Edge. I just don't trust the thin 5w20 oil for the long haul of the engine. When I switched from 5w20 to 5w30 my engine "chatter" reduced significantly. Haven't seen any mpg losses or issues ortherwise.
11-13-2017, 09:47 PM
#47
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The main reason 5W-20 was specified for your engine is to increase the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) reported to the Federal Government. CAFE is the combined average fuel economy of all of a vehicle manufacturers product line. Minimum CAFE levels are specified by the Federal Government. In order for a vehicle manufacturer to continue selling profitable large trucks and SUV's, which typically have poor fuel mileage ratings, as compared to smaller cars, and still meet mandated CAFE requirements, they must also sell enough of the smaller cars which have much better fuel economy ratings to offset the poor fuel economy ratings of the larger vehicles. For model year 2001, the change to a 5W-20 oil will allow Ford and Honda's overall CAFE to increase by a very small amount, typically in the tenths of a mile per gallon range. 5W-20 oil is a lighter viscosity than a 5W-30 oil and therefore has less internal engine frictional losses, or less drag on the crankshaft, pistons and valvetrain, which in turn promotes increased fuel economy. This increased fuel economy is virtually undetectable to the average motorist without the use of specialized engine monitoring and testing equipment under strictly controlled test track driving when compared to a 5W-30, 10W-30 or a 0W-30 viscosity motor oil.
In Australia they spec 5W 30 and have no cam phaser issues
11-14-2017, 05:47 AM
#48
Senior Member
I want one. Is there a specific Ford model vehicle I can refer to when asking a Ford parts counterpersonage? Thanks.
I'm about to dump my first batch of oil from my previously-pwnt '16 F150 5.0... parts store had no 5W-20 Motorcraft Syn Blend so I grabbed 8 qts of Motorcraft 5W-30, and that's just fine with me. Just need to find a FL500S filter locally. Staying with Motorcraft stuff and will document with pictures of receipts and odometer readings of every oil and filter change for any possible warranty claims.
I'm about to dump my first batch of oil from my previously-pwnt '16 F150 5.0... parts store had no 5W-20 Motorcraft Syn Blend so I grabbed 8 qts of Motorcraft 5W-30, and that's just fine with me. Just need to find a FL500S filter locally. Staying with Motorcraft stuff and will document with pictures of receipts and odometer readings of every oil and filter change for any possible warranty claims.
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Apples (11-14-2017)
11-14-2017, 06:24 AM
#49
Wow this thread has come up again....since 2015, I've had my truck stolen 
and replaced it.
With this oil weight debate going across multiple websites, I've decided to perform a test with 5w20, 5w30, and 0w40 oils. I'll be doing a UOA (Used Oil Analysis) with each change, and am going 9100 miles each time.* The oil will be all be from the same manufacturer, with a new filter each change.
This is not about which brand of oil to use, but rather which grade/weight of oil will result in the lowest wear. If the 5w20 is the same as the others, I'll have no problem using it. Right now I believe that a thicker oil will result in less wear, but I'll depend on the test results to correct me if I'm wrong.
Since the Mustang's engine can use up to 5w50, I don't think this will result in any engine damage; plus I've had the 0w40 in for around 6,000 miles with no issues.
I'll post the results here when I am finished ... in around 21,000 miles. Until then let the debate continue....
*9100 miles gives about 10% on the oil monitor, and I have a previous UOA showing my oil can go further.
My thinking is that when the HD pickups were under a heavy load, Ford found that a thicker oil protected better.
and replaced it.With this oil weight debate going across multiple websites, I've decided to perform a test with 5w20, 5w30, and 0w40 oils. I'll be doing a UOA (Used Oil Analysis) with each change, and am going 9100 miles each time.* The oil will be all be from the same manufacturer, with a new filter each change.
This is not about which brand of oil to use, but rather which grade/weight of oil will result in the lowest wear. If the 5w20 is the same as the others, I'll have no problem using it. Right now I believe that a thicker oil will result in less wear, but I'll depend on the test results to correct me if I'm wrong.
Since the Mustang's engine can use up to 5w50, I don't think this will result in any engine damage; plus I've had the 0w40 in for around 6,000 miles with no issues.
I'll post the results here when I am finished ... in around 21,000 miles. Until then let the debate continue....
*9100 miles gives about 10% on the oil monitor, and I have a previous UOA showing my oil can go further.
My thinking is that when the HD pickups were under a heavy load, Ford found that a thicker oil protected better.
Last edited by JLTD; 11-14-2017 at 06:32 AM.
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Apples (11-14-2017)
11-14-2017, 08:48 AM
#50
Senior Member
Funny you mention 0w-40. I've actually changed both my FJ cruiser and F150 over to 0w-40 mobil 1. The UOA's on 0w-40 are really fantastic and since I'm now doing it myself, I figured why not.
The reason I'm doing it myself is my local Ford quick change place always says "we put in 5w-30 like the cap says" but the sheet I get back says "5w-20" as the oil part number. Since I can't be sure I've started doing it myself.
My FJ cruiser calls for 0w-20 but the same truck in Australia actually lists which grade to use at which temperature and in their owners manual it says "do not use 0w-20 when the temp is over 80F". WTF, I'm in Texas.
The reason I'm doing it myself is my local Ford quick change place always says "we put in 5w-30 like the cap says" but the sheet I get back says "5w-20" as the oil part number. Since I can't be sure I've started doing it myself.
My FJ cruiser calls for 0w-20 but the same truck in Australia actually lists which grade to use at which temperature and in their owners manual it says "do not use 0w-20 when the temp is over 80F". WTF, I'm in Texas.