5w20 or 5w30??

10thanniv · Jul 25, 2005

Getting ready to change the oil on my "new" 03 with 1500 miles on it and am going to go synthetic. First owner changed a year ago (only couple hundred miles driven last year) and ran 5w30 Syntec. The ford manual says to use 5w20. Does it matter that much? I am going to use Mobil 1 or Royal Purple which are about the same price. I am in Southern New Jersey if that matters temperature wise.
I expect to put only a few thousand miles ayear on this car. What a great automobile this is!!

missouri_guy197 · Jul 25, 2005

I would stay with 5w20 like the manual says...

Uncle Meat · Jul 25, 2005

Ford recommended 5W20 in almost all of their vehicles back in '02/'03 as a way to improve their overall C.A.F.E. rating, not because of tighter tolerences in the motors and certainly not because it protects better. Use 10W30 because a 20W oil is much too thin! This info came straight from the mouth of a tribologist.

U.M.

1268 · Jul 25, 2005

Uncle Meat said:
Ford recommended 5W20 in almost all of their vehicles back in '02/'03 as a way to improve their overall C.A.F.E. rating, not because of tighter tolerences in the motors and certainly not because it protects better. Use 10W30 because a 20W oil is much too thin! This info came straight from the mouth of a tribologist.

U.M.

UM...what brand would you suggest?

COBRA90GT · Jul 25, 2005

The 5w-20 designation was actually released for MY '01 cars (due to CAFE).

You can run either 20 or 30 weight, it's not going to harm anything. I would be more worried about keeping a close eye on the oil level on a semi-regular basis.

10thanniv · Jul 25, 2005

Uncle Meat- what is a tribologist?

Dr. Wu 2000 · Jul 26, 2005

Mobil 1 10W30 here.

Uncle Meat · Jul 26, 2005

1268melberger said:
UM...what brand would you suggest?

I personally use Mobil 1, but what is MORE important than the brand is the interval at which your oil is changed. Changing your oil every 3000 miles is much more important than the actual brand of oil you use. Just make sure the oil you do use meets all the SFI/API specifications which 99% of all oils do...

10thanniv said:
Uncle Meat- what is a tribologist?

Someone who studies tribology!

tri·bol·o·gy
n.
The science of the mechanisms of friction, lubrication, and wear of interacting surfaces that are in relative motion.

U.M.

1268 · Jul 26, 2005

Uncle Meat said:
I personally use Mobil 1, but what is MORE important than the brand is the interval at which your oil is changed. Changing your oil every 3000 miles is much more important than the actual brand of oil you use. Just make sure the oil you do use meets all the SFI/API specifications which 99% of all oils do...

Someone who studies tribology!

tri·bol·o·gy
n.
The science of the mechanisms of friction, lubrication, and wear of interacting surfaces that are in relative motion.

U.M.

Hahaha...Yeah, my car has 4,400 (03) on it and the oil has been changed probably 3 times already. Assuming Mobil 1 is synthetic??

Mick

Uncle Meat · Jul 26, 2005

1268melberger said:
Hahaha...Yeah, my car has 4,400 (03) on it and the oil has been changed probably 3 times already. Assuming Mobil 1 is synthetic??

Mick

Yes, Mobil 1 is a syn oil. Even though it's designed to go 5000+ between changes my car never makes it more than 2500! I also suggest you use a QUALITY oil filter to go along with whatever oil you decide on. The stock Motocraft filters from your Ford dealer are actually one of the best. Again I use the Mobil 1 filter which is really expensive ($11) but it got high marks in testing. Try to stay away from the Fram filters. I've read too many horror storys about them.

U.M.

1268 · Jul 26, 2005

Thanks!

04_snake · Jul 26, 2005

Uncle Meat said:
Yes, Mobil 1 is a syn oil. Even though it's designed to go 5000+ between changes my car never makes it more than 2500! I also suggest you use a QUALITY oil filter to go along with whatever oil you decide on. The stock Motocraft filters from your Ford dealer are actually one of the best. Again I use the Mobil 1 filter which is really expensive ($11) but it got high marks in testing. Try to stay away from the Fram filters. I've read too many horror storys about them.

U.M.

I prefer redline 5W-30 oil, just my hedge against track abuse.

the filter you want to use is the Ford Racing Hi PO filter. It is better than a K&N, what I used to use, for about the same price ~$11 if you know where to buy it.

call Steve at Tousley Ford 1 800 328 9552

order 2 so the shipping doesn't kill the 10% over dealer cost he gives us internet customers. This filter has features, that you will not find on any over the counter filter, they are solid as a rock and I will never use anything else, now that I discovered what the road racers use.

FORD RACING HIGH PERFORMANCE OIL FILTERS

Synthetic-Polymer/Cellulose-Fiber blend media
Heavy gage base and canister for higher burst strength and impulse fatigue resistance
High quality silicone anti-drain back valve
Non-stick sealing gasket for ease of installation and removal
Long life with standard and synthetic motor oils
Up to 50% more filtering capacity then standard filters
Improved filtering efficiency
This technology is only available through Ford Racing Performance Parts.

1268 · Jul 26, 2005

04_snake said:
I prefer redline 5W-30 oil, just my hedge against track abuse.

the filter you want to use is the Ford Racing Hi PO filter. It is better than a K&N, what I used to use, for about the same price ~$11 if you know where to buy it.

call Steve at Tousley Ford 1 800 328 9552

order 2 so the shipping doesn't kill the 10% over dealer cost he gives us internet customers. This filter has features, that you will not find on any over the counter filter, they are solid as a rock and I will never use anything else, now that I discovered what the road racers use.

FORD RACING HIGH PERFORMANCE OIL FILTERS

Synthetic-Polymer/Cellulose-Fiber blend media
Heavy gage base and canister for higher burst strength and impulse fatigue resistance
High quality silicone anti-drain back valve
Non-stick sealing gasket for ease of installation and removal
Long life with standard and synthetic motor oils
Up to 50% more filtering capacity then standard filters
Improved filtering efficiency
This technology is only available through Ford Racing Performance Parts.

I will check out those filters..........thanks for the heads-up!

Uncle Meat · Jul 26, 2005

04_snake said:
FORD RACING HIGH PERFORMANCE OIL FILTERS

Synthetic-Polymer/Cellulose-Fiber blend media
Heavy gage base and canister for higher burst strength and impulse fatigue resistance
High quality silicone anti-drain back valve
Non-stick sealing gasket for ease of installation and removal
Long life with standard and synthetic motor oils
Up to 50% more filtering capacity then standard filters
Improved filtering efficiency
This technology is only available through Ford Racing Performance Parts.

Just so you guys know... The Mobil 1 synthetic filter has all of these exact same features and can be purchased at your local AutoZone so there's no shipping charges!

U.M.

1268 · Jul 26, 2005

Uncle Meat said:
Just so you guys know... The Mobil 1 synthetic filter has all of these exact same features and can be purchased at your local AutoZone so there's no shipping charges!

U.M.

OK...I will go that route. Why would I go against you after all??

mustangrmyk · Jul 26, 2005

Hey, UM, I remember you saying a while back that you didn't like Royal Purple. I think you said you wouldn't use it in your lawn mower. How come?

04_snake · Jul 26, 2005

Uncle Meat said:
Just so you guys know... The Mobil 1 synthetic filter has all of these exact same features and can be purchased at your local AutoZone so there's no shipping charges!

U.M.

I have 5500 miles on my car and I have changed the oil 5 times.

I had the mobil one right next to the K&N, no comparison. The K&N is heavier and larger.

the Ford racing filter is heavier than the K&N. I beg to differ but I am sure the mobil one does not have the same burst threshold. The racing filter is more rugged and is way under-rated, basically it will not fail, but if you are just driving on the street, it probably doesn't matter. I can afford the $10 and I am ordering stuff from steve all the time so I just add a filter to each order.

I mentioned it but didn't share the part number, I just changed my oil tonight, about 1250 miles but 30 passes at the strip so I felt it was time.

FRPP # CM-6731-FL820

save money on your groceries, not your oil changes, thats my 2 cents.

Uncle Meat · Jul 27, 2005

04_snake said:
I have 5500 miles on my car and I have changed the oil 5 times.

I had the mobil one right next to the K&N, no comparison. The K&N is heavier and larger.

the Ford racing filter is heavier than the K&N. I beg to differ but I am sure the mobil one does not have the same burst threshold. The racing filter is more rugged and is way under-rated, basically it will not fail, but if you are just driving on the street, it probably doesn't matter. I can afford the $10 and I am ordering stuff from steve all the time so I just add a filter to each order.

I mentioned it but didn't share the part number, I just changed my oil tonight, about 1250 miles but 30 passes at the strip so I felt it was time.

FRPP # CM-6731-FL820

save money on your groceries, not your oil changes, thats my 2 cents.

No, it probably doesn't have the same burst threshold as the racing FL820 filter by Motorcraft, but it does provide a higher burst point than the stock FL820 Motorcraft filter and it's easier to obtain than the race version. Plus it's MORE than adequate for a street driven Cobra.

04_snake said:
save money on your groceries, not your oil changes, thats my 2 cents.

Exactly! But why pay for gold when silver is more than enough? That's just being wasteful! I say save the money and put it towards more mods!

mustangrmyk said:
Hey, UM, I remember you saying a while back that you didn't like Royal Purple. I think you said you wouldn't use it in your lawn mower. How come?

Again it was due to the reports and comments of a tribologist. I'll see if I can dig up his posts from the SVTPerf web forum instead of trying to quote his numbers and studies from memory...

U.M.

calgarycobra · Jul 27, 2005

04_snake said:
I prefer redline 5W-30 oil, just my hedge against track abuse.

the filter you want to use is the Ford Racing Hi PO filter. It is better than a K&N, what I used to use, for about the same price ~$11 if you know where to buy it.

call Steve at Tousley Ford 1 800 328 9552

order 2 so the shipping doesn't kill the 10% over dealer cost he gives us internet customers. This filter has features, that you will not find on any over the counter filter, they are solid as a rock and I will never use anything else, now that I discovered what the road racers use.

FORD RACING HIGH PERFORMANCE OIL FILTERS

Synthetic-Polymer/Cellulose-Fiber blend media
Heavy gage base and canister for higher burst strength and impulse fatigue resistance
High quality silicone anti-drain back valve
Non-stick sealing gasket for ease of installation and removal
Long life with standard and synthetic motor oils
Up to 50% more filtering capacity then standard filters
Improved filtering efficiency
This technology is only available through Ford Racing Performance Parts.

Got a Ford filter part # handy?

Uncle Meat · Jul 27, 2005

calgarycobra said:
Got a Ford filter part # handy?

04_snake said:
FRPP # CM-6731-FL820

U.M.

5w20 or 5w30??

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