5W-20 Advice for 2003 Ford and Honda

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dcd

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Aug 17, 2003
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Chattanooga, TN
I presently own a 2003 Honda Civic and 2003 F150 w/ 5.4L engine. 5W-20 is the factory recommended oil for both vehicles. I anticipate putting 25,000 miles per year on the Honda and 10,000 miles per year on the F150. Could someone recommend oil and oil change intervals for me based on my usage? I have been using Motorcraft 5W-20 in both vehicles due to its availablilty, but is there something out there significantly better? Thanks.
 
The Motorcraft oil has done well in UOA's (Used oil analysis reports). Check here: http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=forum;f=3

If you want to go further than say 4 or 5 K miles between changes you probably need to go with say Mobil 1, or Amsoil 5W-20.

Being as you live in Tennessee 10W-30 mobil would be great bc it is a thin 30 wt (not a whole lot thicker than the 5W-20). But there is the warranty to worry about
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to the board. Lots of knowledgeable folks here. Look around and make yurself at home.
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the Motorcraft 5w20 is very good according to UOA here. I personally like the Castrol GTX 5w20 because it's one of the 'thickest' 5w20's, has moly and is currently on sale at Advance for $1.38/qt. This is what I use in my 2002 Ranger. I think either of these oils will do well for you at 3 to 4,000 mile intervals and even at full price they are a bargain.
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My wife and I love to vacation in Chatanooga. We will be there next week doing Rock City, Tn Valley Railroad and the Dixieland riverboat.
 
quote:

Originally posted by dcd:
I presently own a 2003 Honda Civic and 2003 F150 w/ 5.4L engine. 5W-20 is the factory recommended oil for both vehicles. I anticipate putting 25,000 miles per year on the Honda and 10,000 miles per year on the F150. Could someone recommend oil and oil change intervals for me based on my usage? I have been using Motorcraft 5W-20 in both vehicles due to its availablilty, but is there something out there significantly better? Thanks.

I read somewhere that the main reason Motorcraft 5w20 has done well in UOA is because Ford's 5w20 requirements are stiffer than the API requirements and the Motorcraft 5w20 is a synthetic blend in order to meet those requirements. I'm not aware of any pure dino oil that passes Ford's requirements.
 
Castrol, Exxon and now Pennzoil meet Ford specs. None advertise or price these oils as being blends...........

[ August 18, 2003, 11:56 AM: Message edited by: tenderloin ]
 
"Castrol, Exxon and now Pennzoil meet Ford specs. None advertise or price these oils as being blends..."

Correct. Most are a Group III blend of some sort but the marketing varies. Don't be fooled by the different "definitions" of terms by different manufacturers.

I'd use the Pennzoil or Chevron 5W20 but you should really do a search on "5W20" as this has been discussed at great length on this board.

--- Bror Jace
 
And once upon a time we also though the world was round and the sun rotated around the earth...

I find it funny that major reference to an expert in that article was a service department at a Ford facility in England. You didn't have to go that far to find dealerships that don;t use 5w20 - there are plenty here in the US. I'd hardly call a service department as an expert into what an oil can and cannot do.

So far, the 5w20 oils are turning out very good numbers. It will be many years before they are accepted by many as doing a good job, and even then, we will have skeptics. Some are still stuck on 10w30 oils as the best, and any variation from there is destructive.

If it were me, any of the current 5w20 oils on the market will work fine in your applications. If it makes you uneasy, then monitor with UOA.
 
Thanks everyone for the advice. This is a really neat board.
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From the responses, it seems that most the 5W-20's out there are okay. I think I will stick with Motorcraft on the F150, but might try Amsoil or M1 on the Civic to extend the oil change interval to 7,500 mi. or so.
 
Ok 5w 20 fans why do they feel the need to change the VI-B test engine to a lower friction roller cam. If the oil is better there should be no problem with the old test spec. Right Wrong? Also how about places like Australia are they using 5w 20 down there?
 
Amsoil XL7500 5w20 for 10k miles on the Honda and 7500 miles on the Ford if you are worried about warrenty.

If you want a longer oil drain interval then:

5w30 or 10w30 Amsoil for 25k oil changes with 12.5k Amsoil filter changes for the Honda. Same oil with Amsoil or Mobil 1 filter for the F150 with yearly changes.

For where you live the 10w30 would be fine.

The Honda is very easy on the oil. I am not sure about the Ford truck engine.

FWIW I have my mother in-law's 2003 Civic running Amsoil 10w30 on yearly changes and yearly filter changes. She has about 10k miles on the oil currently and I expect to change it out at about 14k miles in November. No oil consumption at all!!! I probably removed more by checking the dip stick than it has consumed. It doesn't register on the dip stick. Not bad for a car that only holds 3.5 qts including the filter.
 
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