Motor oil?

[bigjock]

I have a 2000 ford mustang v6 and it has 189,xxx miles on it. i use to go and have my oil change at the shops like firestone and carx for the cheapest oil change they had. I finally decided to change my oil myself. The guy at autozone recominded highmileage oil. So i bough castrol high mileage. Should i keep changing my oil with high mileage or go back to conventional oil? and my Manual says it uses 5w-30 oil but autozone said 5w-20? Which on is right? (i bought 5w-30)

 

[redsox1211]

weight depends on climate/usage. I only run synthtic oil because it doesn't break down like conventional. It also doesn't thicken when the temp drops

 

[bigjock]

ok but is high mileage good for my car or go back to conventional oil? i live in indiana so 5w30 or 5w20?

 

[Skymarshal]

High mileage oil is just regular oil with a few anti-wear and seal conditioner additives. It's open for debate as to whether it does the same job as those additives added seperately. I personally think it's 90% marketing BS. The best thing you can do for your high-mileage engine is to change the oil regularly.

As for the weight, you should trust Ford and run 5W20 in your car. There's a graph in the owner's manual showing the recommended weights for various temperatures, and if I recall correctly 5W20 is suitable for most of the country. Yeah, it's thin oil, but the 3.8 was designed for it (even though it's an old design). Most cars sold recently have engines that have been designed for the thinner oil since it reduces windage and friction losses and saves fuel.

 

[bigjock]

well the ford's manual says 5w-30.
Here is a online manual guide
http://www.shnack.com/docs/2000_owner_guide.pdf
go to page 191

So should i stick with high mileage? what do you think?