Best value 5W-20 oil???

[2000 TAWS6]

Ready for my first oil change in my 04' Sable LS with the 24V Duratec engine.

Sounds like I need to use 5W-20.

Which is the best value vs. quality for this?
Car does 400-500 highway miles per week.

Do not want to use synthetic as with frequency I will be changing (every 8 - 10 weeks), its too expensive.

 

[beanoil]

The $9.52 5 quart jug of Motorcraft 5-20 at Wal-Mart would be my vote..

 

[GoldenRod]

That's my vote too.

 

[pbm]

I agree about the MC. Another good choice would be Exxon Superflo which is very reasonablly priced and usually shows excellent UOA's.
PS: If I were doing all those highway miles I'd go 3 months which would be about 6K. I think any of the 5w20's can easily handle that.

 

[Old Mustang Guy]

I use MC 5W20 in my 01 Ford Escape with 75k and my 06 Mustang GT. I agree it is a great value, and you have the peace of mind knowing it was engineered for your application. The Duratec supposedly takes 5.5 qt. but 6.0 puts it right at the full line on mine.

 

[Mr Nice]

Havoline is $1.18 per quart at Advance Auto Parts, look at the UOA's of Havoline 5w20 and you will see its a low cost, great performing oil.

 

[Iain]

quote:

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Ready for my first oil change in my 04' Sable LS with the 24V Duratec engine.

Sounds like I need to use 5W-20.

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Yep.

quote:

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Which is the best value vs. quality for this?
Car does 400-500 highway miles per week.

Do not want to use synthetic as with frequency I will be changing (every 8 - 10 weeks), its too expensive.

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I'll cast the lone dissenting vote here regarding your decision to forgo the use of synthetics based on price. That would be a mistake.

I run Mobil 1 5W-20 in my 2001 Duratec and the engine absolutely loves it. It consistently performs better with this oil than it has with any other. I run it on 5K OCI.

As for the cost issue, I've heard members quote prices for 5 quart jugs of M1 at Walmart for as low as $25.00. With that minimal price differential, I believe M1 would represent a tremendous value. Try it; I believe you will be impressed with it.

 

[Gary Allan]

With that type of mileage ..over that short a time span, I can see using a synthetic ONLY if you were to extend the time based OCI to about 6 months. You've got 1/10th the normal cold start insult to any oil you use. You're in a fully warmed operating status most of the time ..or at least substantially higher then most.

If a 5w-20 or 0w-20 is proven to work well in this engine, then there is no reason, given your service (in the absense of any aggrevating conditions), to change it at that short an interval, imo. I would probably, just to ease into a new behavior, extend my OCI 2-4 weeks at a time. Without UOA, I'd probably cap it at 6 months.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

The thinner the oil, the better you want! Reason-being is extreme temperature protection, contamination protection & assured longer-life of the thin oil - that is - should you not opt for someone like Blackstone or Dyson for analysis. The only time that changes is if you plan on selling the vehicle long before it's death.

Any name-brand syn-blend or synthetic would be my first & only thought before purchase. Right now, the "Best Buy" in oils is Pennzoil Platinum for around $2.

 

[2000 TAWS6]

quote:

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Originally posted by Triple_Se7en:
The thinner the oil, the better you want! Reason-being is extreme temperature protection, contamination & assured life of the thin oil - should you not opt for someone like Blackstone or Dyson for analysis. The only time that changes is if you plan on selling the vehicle long before it's death.

Any name-brand syn-blend or synthetic would be my first & only thought before purchase. Right now, the "Best Buy" in oils is Pennzoil Platinum for around $2.

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I hadn't decided on an OCI as yet. Most likely, I'll shoot for 5K miles, or about every 10 weeks.
I am not comfortable going much further than 5K on oil, that's why I don't think syn-blend or synthetic makes sense.

Car has 40K miles on it, of which, I put on the last 4K.

 

[Bill in Utah]

The 5w-20s dinos are all good.

I'd go with Pennzoil, Castrol, Halvoline, MC or Chevron and 5k oil changes and you'll be well protected.

Take care, Bill

 

[Triple_Se7en]

It doesn't make sense until the day comes when the vehicle overheats in an unsafe neighborhood or highway & you need to stretch that hot, running vehicle for another mile.

Good oils (syns) are like insurance policies. They cost more money. You can opt for the insurance or cancel it. Most dinos are usually fine in either extreme cold or hot... usually not both like syns are.

Personally, I would not go with a dino 5W-20 because I own my vehicles until they die of old age - plus I like extended OCIs -- plus I have the additional money for the insurance.

Otherwise I would buy a dino 5W-20.... no problemo!

 

[Jim 5]

777,

I don't know much about 5w-20's, but I thought I had read that most of them are semi-synths in the first place.

If I understand things correclty, I'm wondering if it's correct to classify 5w-20's as dino's at all?

 

[02supercrew]

quote:

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Any name-brand syn-blend or synthetic would be my first & only thought before purchase. Right now, the "Best Buy" in oils is Pennzoil Platinum for around $2. [/QB]

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Where in the world are you picking up PP for $2???

The cheapest I've seen in my neck of the woods is $4.50 which is what you can buy M1 for.

 

[fred0803]

I think he meant after rebates with the Pennzoil.

Decisions decisions decisions.

It's pretty simple. Go to Walmart and get the 5 quart jug of Motorcraft semi synthetic 5/20 for $9.25, and a MC filter for $3.50. $13 oil change and let it go 5000 miles.

Hard to beat that deal and oil.

 

[Norm Olt]

I don't know about you guys, but I have NEVER had a vehicle "overheat in an unsafe neighborhood or highway"... Or overheat ANYWHERE?

Of course, it may have something to do with the fact that I have always maintained the cooling system on every vehicle, two or four wheeled, that I have ever owned.

This includes replacing hoses and belts BEFORE they break or leak (you put the old belts and hoses in the trunk after you clean & inspect them as spares), changing antifreeze on a regular basis, looking for worn or leaking seals, radiators, etc. as a matter of routine maintenance.

Of course emergencies will happen, occasionally, but one can do a lot to make sure that one is prepared.

I can't imagine how any quality oil, dino or synthetic, if maintained in proper quantities & changed on any regular basis, would somehow result in an overheating situation at the beginning or at the end of its OCI.

A water pump can go South, a belt can break: that's what idiot lights and guages are for, IMHO.

Cheers!

p.s. I'd go with the 5W-20 Havoline @ $1.18: actually, in Tampa, FL I would personally use a 5W-30, but that's just me...

 

[2000 TAWS6]

quote:

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Originally posted by Norm Olt:
I don't know about you guys, but I have NEVER had a vehicle "overheat in an unsafe neighborhood or highway"... Or overheat ANYWHERE?

Of course, it may have something to do with the fact that I have always maintained the cooling system on every vehicle, two or four wheeled, that I have ever owned.

This includes replacing hoses and belts BEFORE they break or leak (you put the old belts and hoses in the trunk after you clean & inspect them as spares), changing antifreeze on a regular basis, looking for worn or leaking seals, radiators, etc. as a matter of routine maintenance.

Of course emergencies will happen, occasionally, but one can do a lot to make sure that one is prepared.

I can't imagine how any quality oil, dino or synthetic, if maintained in proper quantities & changed on any regular basis, would somehow result in an overheating situation at the beginning or at the end of its OCI.

A water pump can go South, a belt can break: that's what idiot lights and guages are for, IMHO.

Cheers!

p.s. I'd go with the 5W-20 Havoline @ $1.18: actually, in Tampa, FL I would personally use a 5W-30, but that's just me...

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Ford is pretty specific about using the 5W-20, they mark about everywhere in the manual and engine compartment. I think I'll stick with their recommendation. But the Havoline sounds great!

 

[pbm]

quote:

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Originally posted by LT4 Vette:
Havoline is $1.18 per quart at Advance Auto Parts, look at the UOA's of Havoline 5w20 and you will see its a low cost, great performing oil.

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I also think Havoline is a great dino 5w20 (in fact all of their grades are great) but the last time I was in Advance Auto (about 2 weeks ago) it was either 1.79 or 1.89 (definitely not 1.18).
Could there be such a big markup in the NY/NJ
area?

 

[Triple_Se7en]

quote:

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I can't imagine how any quality oil, dino or synthetic, if maintained in proper quantities & changed on any regular basis, would somehow result in an overheating situation at the beginning or at the end of its OCI.
IMHO.

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Who in tarnations ever said any oil causes overheating?

Also... while you may do "preventative maintanence" to your vehicle, a large majority of drivers don't.

Every "cooked engine" that went to it's graveyard cooked when it reached a certain temperature. Synthetics are a helping hand in these situations..... kinda' like an insurance policy that may get you to safety one additional mile away (one hypothetical circumstance out of many).

Keep buying your dino & hopefully you never get into a situation where people's lives have been ruined after cooking their engine while still owing thousands of dollars on the loan -- all because they needed to go an additional mile while the engine was hot.

Get a real grip! You sound exactly like folks with no home insurance during the summer of 2005 in New Orleans -- all because they told themselves everything will be alright during every spring tornado season - every summer hurricane season too.

 

[m2200b]

5w-20 dino (ford spec. SM)and syn are closer to one another than any of the other weights. The benefits of using syn over dino are less in 5w-20. I suppose you could argue that
the same reasons Ford made a tougher 5w-20 requirement for such a thin oil mean you are better protected with syn 5w-20 but I'll leave that to syn defenders , apologists and scare mongers.

I use and like Chevron Supreme 5w-20.