2013 F150

[dnewton3]

Originally Posted By: samwise2u
Just bought a used F150 and coming up on an oil change, thought I would ask for recommendations for oil brand and type.

1. 2013 F150 XLT Supercrew 3.5L Ecoboost
2. Owners manual - 6 qts Motorcraft SAE 5W-30 XO-5W30-QFS
3. Shreveport, LA (it gets hot and humid)
4. I like to let the horses run on a regular basis, like to hear the tires chirp!
5. daily drive - 10 miles to work, takes 12 - 13 minutes with about 7 miles being interstate
6. no problems
7. prefer syn

Any suggestions?



First -

Second - my suggestion would be to read a LOT more before you make a decision on what you're going to do here.

Last - realize that what you "want" and what the engine "needs" are often two totally different things.

If you "want" synthetics, and I presume you'll follow the IOLM, then just get whichever one is one sale that meets the Ford spec, found in your manual.

The 3.5L EB engines tend to have issues with fuel dilution; most DI engines do. But that does not stop the 3.5EB from running well or wearing well, despite the fear mongering here. Because of this, you're likely to OCI at least with the IOLM, if not sooner based upon some preconceived notion you have. And that's fine. But doing so does not necessitate the use of syns for your application, nor does your area.

I once attempted to get a good study program going on these engines, but everyone here who offered to participate wanted to run their own plan, and not stick to the protocol. Hence - the study never happened. Too bad; could have been very interesting and revealing. In the absence of that information, I say for the purpose of warranty coverage just stick to anything that meets the Ford spec and OCI with the IOLM. Past that, any lube will suffice very well, and the difference between brand products is going to exist in your head more so than manifest into a performance difference in the crankcase.

 

[stchman]

Pretty much any well known 5W-30 synthetic oil will do the job.

Use a good filter (Fram Ultra, Motorcraft, Amsoil, Mobil 1).

 

[Joe90_guy]

I suspect I'll get burnt at the stake for this but...

In order of preference, use a 20W40, a 20W50 or a 15W40. Forget the specs and go for the oil with the lowest volatility. Go with something Group II based if you can.

Like someone else said, these GDI engines tend to suffer from fuel dilution. Think Audi TFSI. It's not the fuel dilution that's your actual problem; it's what happens to the petrol in your oil when your engine warms up.

It helps if you know a bit about vapour pressure and how disparate hydrocarbon mixtures distil, but the bottom line is that the evaporating fuel will carry the volatile front-end of the base oil (with no additive) into the vapour phase, through the PCV valve, into the intake and into the combustion chamber. The recycled petrol will burn fine. The recycled oil will burn badly and create all sorts of problems. These problems are cumulative and irreversible.
Sometimes the only cure to an incurable disease is not to expose yourself to the bugs in the first place.

Please feel free to disregard all of the above. These are just my own personal theories backed up by absolutely no evidence whatsoever. And yes, I have been drinking (two glasses of red)!

PS - is LA Louisiana or Los Angeles? Both are hot (yes?) so I'm assuming you don't actually need much by way of cold-start...

 

[Garak]

Suggesting 15w-40 in a gasser (or any HDEO in a gasser) is enough to get a few people here sharpening their pitchforks.

As an aside, 20w-40 is exceedingly difficult to locate in North America, outside of marine shops, who want a pile of money for it. 20w-50 is barely hanging on up here, for obvious reasons due to climate, with Imperial Oil abandoning the grade when the SN rollout occurred around the same time the Esso products got consolidated into the Mobil ones.

 

[bbhero]

Very nice Dnewton3

Samwise2u Mr. Newton is tremendously smart and knows what he speaks of. His knowledge is vast and his insights are take to the bank good. Good to have you in here.

 

[Joe90_guy]

It's funny. Almost every single oil you can get in Europe is purposely designed to be capable of being used in both gasoline and diesel engines. From the humblest SG/CD oil to the most expensive factory fill stuff. It helps that most things that are good for diesel are good for gasoline and vice versa.
The big difference between true HDDO and PCMO, other than specs and DI packs, is viscosity grade. PCMOs range from thick 20W50 to thin OW20. HDDOs are far more focused on just one key grade; 15W40. I'm not entirely sure why this is. I suspect it's rooted in the trucking industry's absolute need for reliability and the vast mass of data that says 15W40 'works' over the long-term.
And they are sort of right too. 15W40 has low volatility, it contains a relatively light polymer loading and it contains a goodly amount of heavy base oil which is critical for decent piston cleanliness and sealing the ring pack.
And this is my point. PCMO has in recent years been plagued by real field issues. The Audi TFSI, the Toyota Camry, the Scion. I know the OEMs are taking the rap for some of these issues but I can't help but think oils are complicit in these problems. Maybe there are occasions where 'safe' counts for more that fuel economy and maybe 15W40 is the right oil to plop in your car...

 

[Garak]

Well, most HDEOs here are dual-rated, too, but obviously the HDEOs won't meet the ILSAC ratings. Too many people just get needlessly panicked about SA levels in Rotella or Delvac whereas, completely illogically, M1 0w-40 gets a pass.

In my climate, of course, winter starting and cold cranking are real concerns, not simply theoretical, so a 15w-40 has limited utility several months out of the year.

 

[Joe90_guy]

People here are also getting caught up in the whole 'low ash' thing and for all the wrong reasons. Your average bloke in the street thinks of ash as the white powdery stuff that gets left in the barbeque pan. No sane person would want a lot of that in their engine right??
But for oil, ash is for the most part a completely hypothetical concept because if your oil and engine are properly matched, then you won't be setting fire to your oil and all those metals will be kept in a nice solubilized state.
Over here, the low SAP debate revolves around DPFs on diesels. It's clear that filter failures are happening in the field and it's an expensive repair if it happens to you. However all of low SAP oils here are low viscosity synthetics and guess what, they are volatile. It would be interesting to compare a high ash, low volatility oil against a high volatility, low SAP oil in terms of there DPF plugging performance. I know which one I'd bet on...

 

[Garak]

Here, the bulk of the HDEOs wind up being E7, E9, with a couple E6 5w-30 examples available. They all have an SA percentage around 1, as per the spec, of which you're well aware. ILSAC lubes are a little less, generally speaking. Of course, the DPF issue here affects mostly guys with diesel trucks, since the passenger car diesel is nowhere near as common here.

 

[hatt]

Joe90 is going to go over like a kid with a roman candle in a gunpowder factory. Welcome.

 

[Joe90_guy]

Thank you sir! I am honoured...

 

[GenaFishbeck]

Originally Posted By: samwise2u
Just bought a used F150 and coming up on an oil change, thought I would ask for recommendations for oil brand and type.

1. 2013 F150 XLT Supercrew 3.5L Ecoboost
2. Owners manual - 6 qts Motorcraft SAE 5W-30 XO-5W30-QFS
3. Shreveport, LA (it gets hot and humid)
4. I like to let the horses run on a regular basis, like to hear the tires chirp!
5. daily drive - 10 miles to work, takes 12 - 13 minutes with about 7 miles being interstate
6. no problems
7. prefer syn

Any suggestions?


Hey samwise2u - Since you are considering synthetics for your next oil change, would you be interested in trying Pennzoil Platinum or Ultra Platinum in your F-150? Through our new UOA program, we're currently looking for consumers willing to test out Pennzoil Synthetics to experience how we stack up against the competition. If you're interested, please send us a private message with your contact info, and we can get you started with a product sample and used oil analysis kit to be tested at an independent testing facility. Hope to hear from you soon! - The Pennzoil Team

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: skyactiv
Use Castrol Edge Extended Performance 5W30. This particular Castrol scored the best in the TOEST test according to AMSOIL. Your engine is direct injected meaning you want to avoid intake valve deposits.

I agree Edge 5W-30 would be a good choice due to it's exceptionally low TOEST deposit score and quite low 11% Noack volatility rating. But first I would do some research on the 3.5L Ecoboost engine to see if intake tract deposits are actually an issue. Just because it's an DI engine doesn't automatically mean it's a problem. If it's not then any synthetic SN 5W-30 is probably fine.

 

[meborder]

Deleted by me.
Already answered

 

[wemay]

Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
Originally Posted By: skyactiv
Use Castrol Edge Extended Performance 5W30. This particular Castrol scored the best in the TOEST test according to AMSOIL. Your engine is direct injected meaning you want to avoid intake valve deposits.

I agree Edge 5W-30 would be a good choice due to it's exceptionally low TOEST deposit score and quite low 11% Noack volatility rating. But first I would do some research on the 3.5L Ecoboost engine to see if intake tract deposits are actually an issue. Just because it's an DI engine doesn't automatically mean it's a problem. If it's not then any synthetic SN 5W-30 is probably fine.


+1 on the research regarding whether deposits are actually an issue. I think we are beginning to see that IVD is less of a problem than many of us thought it would become across the board.

As for that Amsoil test, Edge has probably tweaked its formula a few times since June 2013, but i would have no issue going that route if my OCI were 8K miles pluse.

 

[GenaFishbeck]

Originally Posted By: samwise2u
Just bought a used F150 and coming up on an oil change, thought I would ask for recommendations for oil brand and type.

1. 2013 F150 XLT Supercrew 3.5L Ecoboost
2. Owners manual - 6 qts Motorcraft SAE 5W-30 XO-5W30-QFS
3. Shreveport, LA (it gets hot and humid)
4. I like to let the horses run on a regular basis, like to hear the tires chirp!
5. daily drive - 10 miles to work, takes 12 - 13 minutes with about 7 miles being interstate
6. no problems
7. prefer syn

Any suggestions?


Hey samwise2u - We just wanted to follow up with you to see if you had any interest in participating in our UOA program. You'd get the opportunity to test out Pennzoil Synthetics in your F-150 to see how we stack up against the competition. Please send us a private if you would like to participate. Thanks! - The Pennzoil Team

 

[RJS1971]

I have a 2014 F150 Ecoboost I have found that M1 EP 5W 30 works best for me. I have tried PP, M1 AFE and settled on EP changing at 10k