- Joined
- Sep 26, 2010
- Messages
- 9,791
Some background on the rationale for running this oil is that a discussion while sitting around the campfire arose between me and a few Friends/Dads/Grandfathers about common oil myths. I basically “shattered” most of the knowledge they had known for years and (of course) the inevitable argument ensued and led to the dare.
The items to be proved or not proved (not sure that we will actually prove anything, but there is some information to be shared that cannot be dispelled and it was interesting waiting on the results) were:
1. Switching from synthetic to conventional and back to synthetic will cause the engine to begin to leak oil and/or burn oil.
2. My 5.4L could not run/tow without there being more wear when using a 0W-20 oil—it is simply too thin for my engine.
3. Engine oils must be changed at either 3 month/3,000 mile intervals or (another viewpoint) 6 month/5,000 mile intervals
4. Because I have over 100,000 miles on the engine, I should be using a 10W-40 or 20W-50 to better “protect” such a "worn" engine.
5. Last, but certainly, not least, you have to stick with a single brand of oil for the life of an engine because using different brands will cause “problems” (undefined on this one) with the engine.
I thought that I had already dispelled #3, #4, and #5 with the history of my engine thus far, but apparently, a bottle of tequila clouds the vision of those attempting to read my historical UOA information so the argument/challenge ensued.
The challenge was that:
1. I could take any synthetic oil of my choosing and run it for 15K miles with no leaks developing (they examined my engine top to bottom to see if any leaks currently existed).
2. The UOA would not show a significant change in wear metals (though that is not a good measure of engine wear, it was accepted due to the UOA history I have).
3. The engine would not use more than 1 quart of oil in 15K. This was to indicate increased oil usage due to using such a thin oil (Geez, I already use 5W-20--what gives here? But some people...).
Thus far, #1 is true – no leaks have developed after 10K when this was sampled (now nearly 12K and still no leaks have arisen). I consider #2 to also be true; in fact, this UOA is probably the best one to date in relation to miles per OC. Lastly, #3 will be a potential debate because I lost about 3/4 quarts when I drew the sample, but it was witnessed and measured by one of the “arguers” so it should be OK. The 15K sample will show 0.75 quarts added on the UOA (though I doubt it will change the TBN much; the FX4 holds 7 quarts of oil). I also noticed an uptick on the silicon, so I will change my air filter when I complete this run.
As a side note, I would have to say one other potential “myth” may be argued—is that M1 causes engines to shed more iron than other oils (remember I did say MAY BE argued). A couple of last items--there was no appreciable difference in the noise levels in the engine (i.e. I could not tell the difference between M1, MS5K, or PU). However, the engine "spools up" faster and runs smoother than with MS5K or PU. Now, I know what you are thinking--what a seat of the pants observation! Normally, I would agree, EXCEPT, the seat of my pants has been in this truck for 117,000 miles and I KNOW how the engine feels and runs and it simply runs smoother on M1 0W-20 AFE than any other oil I have used to date.
Anyway…whether we proved/dispelled anything is debatable and I told you all of that to show you this; here is the UOA of the 10K sample (the oil HAS NOT been changed!).
Enjoy!
Code:
Year: 2010 Make: Ford Model: F-150 FX4
Engine: 5.4L FFV Transmission: 6R80 Axle: 9.75 Ford ELD (3.73)
- -
SYNTHETIC > CONVENTIONAL CONVENTIONAL > SYNTHETIC
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| |
Date: 10/13 | 07/13 04/13 11/12 08/12 06/12 | 05/12 02/12 11/11 09/11 07/11 06/11 05/11 03/11 02/11 01/11 10/10 9/10
Oil Brand/Type: M1 | MS5K MS5K MS5K MS5K MS5K | PU PU PU PU PU PU PU PU PU PU PU MC
Oil Viscosity: 0W-20 | 5w-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 | 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20
API Service: SN | SN SN SN SN SN | SM{A} SM SM SM SM SM SM SM SM SM SM SM
Oil Filter: MC | MC MC MC MC MC | MC MC MC MC MC MC MC MC MC MC MC MC
Air Filter: NG | NG NG NG NG NG | NG NG{B} MC MC MC MC{B} MC MC MC MC MC MC
Lab: BLKST | BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST | BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST
| |
Truck Mileage: 116,433 | 106,265 99,231 89,211 80,927 74,447 | 69,305 62,055 54,575 47,075 39,770 32,280 27,100 21,600 16,600 10,600 4,500 991
Oil Mileage: 10,168 | 7,394 10,020 8,285 6,480 5,142 | 7,250 7,480 7,500 7,305 7,490 5,180 5,500 5,000 6,000 6,100 3,509 991
| |
Make-Up Oil: 0.0 | 0.0 0.5 0.5 0.0 0.0 | 0.0 0.25 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
| |
Aluminum: 2 | 2 3 3 2 2 | 3 3 5 3 2 2 3 3 6 3 3 3
Chromium 1 | 1 1 1 1 1 | 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0
Iron: 10 | 10 16 12 10 10 | 11 8 13 8 9 7 9 10 18 13 10 18
Copper: 1 | 2 2 2 2 1 | 2 1 2 2 2 2 3 4 4 5 9 41
Lead: 0 | 1 0 0 0 1 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Tin: 1 | 0 2 1 4 0 | 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Molybdenum: 75 | 6 3 6 3 11 | 48 56 46 47 58 55 54 45 47 52 48 42
Nickel: 0 | 1 1 1 1 0 | 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Manganese: 1 | 1 1 1 1 0 | 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 10
Silver: 0 | 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Titanium: 2 | 27 34 32 30 24 | 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Potassium: 0 | 2 0 4 4 2 | 6 0 6 5 1 0 2 3 4 2 3 14
Boron: 35 | 9 3 4 7 9 | 91 249 156 144 156 233 244 230 249 278 258 272
Silicon: 14 | 11 12 12 11 12 | 13 11 16 19 21 19 19 17 16 29 45 111
Sodium: 99 | 323 369 362 374 284 | 4 4 7 5 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 9
Calcium: 1236 | 2179 2200 2276 1954 2195 | 2647 3168 3003 3053 2941 2900 2814 2613 2740 2911 2706 2203
Magnesium: 768 | 15 19 19 12 15 | 17 15 17 17 16 12 12 11 12 12 12 14
Phosphorus: 668 | 697 706 735 624 655 | 688 728 671 668 710 713 676 608 629 691 643 773
Zinc: 784 | 822 832 797 738 765 | 762 820 724 743 861 834 813 675 718 774 752 835
Barium: 0 | 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 16
| |
SUS Viscosity @ 210°F 51.2 | 50.7 51.4 52.3 52.6 51.5 | 53.5 53.2 52.2 51.7 53.9 52.5 52.9 53.1 52.8 51.5 52.2 49.4
cSt Visc. @ 100°C (UOA) 7.63 | 7.49 7.69 7.96 8.05 7.73 | 8.34 8.25 7.93 7.80 8.45 8.04 8.14 8.21 8.12 7.72 7.94 7.09
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VOA Mobil cSt Visc. @ 100°C 8.6 | 7.48 7.48 7.48 7.48 7.48 | --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
MOBIL cSt Visc. @ 100°C 8.7 | 8.4 8.4 8.4 8.4 8.4 | --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
| |
VOA PU cSt Visc. @ 100°C --- | --- --- --- --- --- | 7.62 7.62 7.62 7.62 7.62 7.62 7.62 7.62 7.62 7.62 7.62 ---
SOPUS cSt Visc. @ 100°C --- | --- --- --- --- --- | 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 ---
| |
Flashpoint in °F (UOA) 400 | 400 395 510 390 {C} | 415 405 420 415 410 425 405 390 410 390 400 390
MOBIL Flashpoint in °F 435 | 446 446 446 446 446 | --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
SOPUS Flashpoint in °F --- | --- --- --- --- --- | 435 435 435 435 435 435 435 435 435 435 435 ---
| |
Fuel %
Antifreeze % 0.0 | 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 | 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Water % 0.0 | 0.0 0.0 0.2
Insolubles % 0.1 | 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.1 | 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1
TBN 2.2 | 2.5 1.4 2.7 2.6 3.7 | --- --- --- 5.4 --- --- 5.6 4.8 5.3 9.4 7.5 ---
TAN 4.3 | 2.3 3.0 2.6 4.3 --- | --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
| |
| |
SYNTHETIC > CONVENTIONAL CONVENTIONAL > SYNTHETIC
- -
NOTES:
Acronyms:
BLKST=Blackstone M1=Mobil 1 | MS5K=Mobil Super 5000 | PU=Pennzoil Ultra
{A} Possibly SN in SM bottle; note drop in Calcium
{B} Air filter change; MC=Motorcraft, NG=Napa Gold
{C} Blackstone spilled sample; not enough to test FP and Fuel%
The items to be proved or not proved (not sure that we will actually prove anything, but there is some information to be shared that cannot be dispelled and it was interesting waiting on the results) were:
1. Switching from synthetic to conventional and back to synthetic will cause the engine to begin to leak oil and/or burn oil.
2. My 5.4L could not run/tow without there being more wear when using a 0W-20 oil—it is simply too thin for my engine.
3. Engine oils must be changed at either 3 month/3,000 mile intervals or (another viewpoint) 6 month/5,000 mile intervals
4. Because I have over 100,000 miles on the engine, I should be using a 10W-40 or 20W-50 to better “protect” such a "worn" engine.
5. Last, but certainly, not least, you have to stick with a single brand of oil for the life of an engine because using different brands will cause “problems” (undefined on this one) with the engine.
I thought that I had already dispelled #3, #4, and #5 with the history of my engine thus far, but apparently, a bottle of tequila clouds the vision of those attempting to read my historical UOA information so the argument/challenge ensued.
The challenge was that:
1. I could take any synthetic oil of my choosing and run it for 15K miles with no leaks developing (they examined my engine top to bottom to see if any leaks currently existed).
2. The UOA would not show a significant change in wear metals (though that is not a good measure of engine wear, it was accepted due to the UOA history I have).
3. The engine would not use more than 1 quart of oil in 15K. This was to indicate increased oil usage due to using such a thin oil (Geez, I already use 5W-20--what gives here? But some people...).
Thus far, #1 is true – no leaks have developed after 10K when this was sampled (now nearly 12K and still no leaks have arisen). I consider #2 to also be true; in fact, this UOA is probably the best one to date in relation to miles per OC. Lastly, #3 will be a potential debate because I lost about 3/4 quarts when I drew the sample, but it was witnessed and measured by one of the “arguers” so it should be OK. The 15K sample will show 0.75 quarts added on the UOA (though I doubt it will change the TBN much; the FX4 holds 7 quarts of oil). I also noticed an uptick on the silicon, so I will change my air filter when I complete this run.
As a side note, I would have to say one other potential “myth” may be argued—is that M1 causes engines to shed more iron than other oils (remember I did say MAY BE argued). A couple of last items--there was no appreciable difference in the noise levels in the engine (i.e. I could not tell the difference between M1, MS5K, or PU). However, the engine "spools up" faster and runs smoother than with MS5K or PU. Now, I know what you are thinking--what a seat of the pants observation! Normally, I would agree, EXCEPT, the seat of my pants has been in this truck for 117,000 miles and I KNOW how the engine feels and runs and it simply runs smoother on M1 0W-20 AFE than any other oil I have used to date.
Anyway…whether we proved/dispelled anything is debatable and I told you all of that to show you this; here is the UOA of the 10K sample (the oil HAS NOT been changed!).
Enjoy!
Code:
Year: 2010 Make: Ford Model: F-150 FX4
Engine: 5.4L FFV Transmission: 6R80 Axle: 9.75 Ford ELD (3.73)
- -
SYNTHETIC > CONVENTIONAL CONVENTIONAL > SYNTHETIC
| |
| |
Date: 10/13 | 07/13 04/13 11/12 08/12 06/12 | 05/12 02/12 11/11 09/11 07/11 06/11 05/11 03/11 02/11 01/11 10/10 9/10
Oil Brand/Type: M1 | MS5K MS5K MS5K MS5K MS5K | PU PU PU PU PU PU PU PU PU PU PU MC
Oil Viscosity: 0W-20 | 5w-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 | 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20
API Service: SN | SN SN SN SN SN | SM{A} SM SM SM SM SM SM SM SM SM SM SM
Oil Filter: MC | MC MC MC MC MC | MC MC MC MC MC MC MC MC MC MC MC MC
Air Filter: NG | NG NG NG NG NG | NG NG{B} MC MC MC MC{B} MC MC MC MC MC MC
Lab: BLKST | BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST | BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST
| |
Truck Mileage: 116,433 | 106,265 99,231 89,211 80,927 74,447 | 69,305 62,055 54,575 47,075 39,770 32,280 27,100 21,600 16,600 10,600 4,500 991
Oil Mileage: 10,168 | 7,394 10,020 8,285 6,480 5,142 | 7,250 7,480 7,500 7,305 7,490 5,180 5,500 5,000 6,000 6,100 3,509 991
| |
Make-Up Oil: 0.0 | 0.0 0.5 0.5 0.0 0.0 | 0.0 0.25 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
| |
Aluminum: 2 | 2 3 3 2 2 | 3 3 5 3 2 2 3 3 6 3 3 3
Chromium 1 | 1 1 1 1 1 | 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0
Iron: 10 | 10 16 12 10 10 | 11 8 13 8 9 7 9 10 18 13 10 18
Copper: 1 | 2 2 2 2 1 | 2 1 2 2 2 2 3 4 4 5 9 41
Lead: 0 | 1 0 0 0 1 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Tin: 1 | 0 2 1 4 0 | 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Molybdenum: 75 | 6 3 6 3 11 | 48 56 46 47 58 55 54 45 47 52 48 42
Nickel: 0 | 1 1 1 1 0 | 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Manganese: 1 | 1 1 1 1 0 | 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 10
Silver: 0 | 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Titanium: 2 | 27 34 32 30 24 | 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Potassium: 0 | 2 0 4 4 2 | 6 0 6 5 1 0 2 3 4 2 3 14
Boron: 35 | 9 3 4 7 9 | 91 249 156 144 156 233 244 230 249 278 258 272
Silicon: 14 | 11 12 12 11 12 | 13 11 16 19 21 19 19 17 16 29 45 111
Sodium: 99 | 323 369 362 374 284 | 4 4 7 5 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 9
Calcium: 1236 | 2179 2200 2276 1954 2195 | 2647 3168 3003 3053 2941 2900 2814 2613 2740 2911 2706 2203
Magnesium: 768 | 15 19 19 12 15 | 17 15 17 17 16 12 12 11 12 12 12 14
Phosphorus: 668 | 697 706 735 624 655 | 688 728 671 668 710 713 676 608 629 691 643 773
Zinc: 784 | 822 832 797 738 765 | 762 820 724 743 861 834 813 675 718 774 752 835
Barium: 0 | 0 0 0 0 0 | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 16
| |
SUS Viscosity @ 210°F 51.2 | 50.7 51.4 52.3 52.6 51.5 | 53.5 53.2 52.2 51.7 53.9 52.5 52.9 53.1 52.8 51.5 52.2 49.4
cSt Visc. @ 100°C (UOA) 7.63 | 7.49 7.69 7.96 8.05 7.73 | 8.34 8.25 7.93 7.80 8.45 8.04 8.14 8.21 8.12 7.72 7.94 7.09
| |
VOA Mobil cSt Visc. @ 100°C 8.6 | 7.48 7.48 7.48 7.48 7.48 | --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
MOBIL cSt Visc. @ 100°C 8.7 | 8.4 8.4 8.4 8.4 8.4 | --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
| |
VOA PU cSt Visc. @ 100°C --- | --- --- --- --- --- | 7.62 7.62 7.62 7.62 7.62 7.62 7.62 7.62 7.62 7.62 7.62 ---
SOPUS cSt Visc. @ 100°C --- | --- --- --- --- --- | 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 ---
| |
Flashpoint in °F (UOA) 400 | 400 395 510 390 {C} | 415 405 420 415 410 425 405 390 410 390 400 390
MOBIL Flashpoint in °F 435 | 446 446 446 446 446 | --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
SOPUS Flashpoint in °F --- | --- --- --- --- --- | 435 435 435 435 435 435 435 435 435 435 435 ---
| |
Fuel %
Antifreeze % 0.0 | 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 | 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Water % 0.0 | 0.0 0.0 0.2
Insolubles % 0.1 | 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.1 | 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1
TBN 2.2 | 2.5 1.4 2.7 2.6 3.7 | --- --- --- 5.4 --- --- 5.6 4.8 5.3 9.4 7.5 ---
TAN 4.3 | 2.3 3.0 2.6 4.3 --- | --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
| |
| |
SYNTHETIC > CONVENTIONAL CONVENTIONAL > SYNTHETIC
- -
NOTES:
Acronyms:
BLKST=Blackstone M1=Mobil 1 | MS5K=Mobil Super 5000 | PU=Pennzoil Ultra
{A} Possibly SN in SM bottle; note drop in Calcium
{B} Air filter change; MC=Motorcraft, NG=Napa Gold
{C} Blackstone spilled sample; not enough to test FP and Fuel%