10.2k miles Mobil 1 SN+ 5w-20 & 7.4k miles Motorcraft 5w-20 break in - 2019 Mustang GT

Joined
Mar 26, 2024
Messages
80
First in a series of tests I’ve done to see how well different oils hold up to 10k miles of use in my Mustang. Multiple samples were taken over the interval to see if the wear was uniform. Also to see just how well 5w-20 holds up to extended use. Both things you’ll find people across the internet swearing to high heaven will destroy your engine. So I was curious, does it?

Where’s the fun in just spending less money by changing the oil more frequently when there’s data that can be collected.

One big thing I didn’t do this round was get a baseline for the oil after putting it in the engine and since this was the first oil change for the car there was a lot of carry over contamination from the break in oil. In following tests Ive taken a sample at 200 miles to get that reference point.

Other problem this round is the regular sampling without replacement + engine burn rate ~quart/10k caused the oil level to drop too low before I hit 10k miles so I added a large slug at the end throwing off the TBN and causing it to slightly tick up at the end. This was also fixed in later tests by topping off with a few oz of oil every time a sample was taken.

Anyway, the sample all the way at the right at 7.4k mile is the factory Motorcraft oil. Copper Iron and Silicon levels are through the roof, no surprise there. Car was driven like I stole it for the first few thousand miles. Once the engine was warm, I floored it to redline as often as I could. Viscosity stayed in grade and the TBN wasn’t shot, not bad. In hindsight I would have changed it sooner to flush that break in wear out.

Onto the Mobil 1, nothing fancy like the EP or HM or EP HM, just the basic Mobil 1 5w-20. This was probably the easiest 10k miles this car ever saw, lots of highway driving but it was still redlined ~4 times a day getting onto the highway. The oil also saw a full winter so lots of cold starts with the temperature below freezing.

Wear doesn’t look bad when you compare the 10k mile values to the 2k mile ones. The large slug of oil at the end threw the TBN off but I didn’t look so spent where I wasn’t comfortable doing more 10k mile runs.

I do eventually move away from Blackstone and paying attention to TBN but I was young and naive 5 years ago when I started doing this.

Mobil 1 went the distance, I’d use it again without hesitation. Next up is Valvoline

IMG_2325.webp
 
Last edited:
Looks good, Seems to be working ok for you. Did you buy SN+ specifically? You going with API SP Valvoline?
 
Looks good, Seems to be working ok for you. Did you buy SN+ specifically? You going with API SP Valvoline?
This is old data from 2020, I've got a backlog of results to post and API SP wasn’t out on the shelves when I picked up this round of Mobil 1. Everything after this used API SP including another round of Mobil 1 after the Valvoline.
 
This is old data from 2020, I've got a backlog of results to post and API SP wasn’t out on the shelves when I picked up this round of Mobil 1. Everything after this used API SP including another round of Mobil 1 after the Valvoline.
Awesome thanks for the details.
 
Back
Top