Cam2 for police cruisers?

[fixit301]

Well, I have an 07 Crown Vic which is spec'd to use 5w20. One of our vendors did an OC for me today and used Cam2 in 5w30. I pointed to the fill cap showing 5w20 and he said our fleet manager said to use it in order to save $2 an OC! Then he said Cam2 is the best there is. I don't know much about Cam2. It's labeled semi-synthetic. We run this for 5000k OCs. I'm not sure what to think. We started 5000k OCs in Jan to save $$ on around 200+ Crown Vics. Is using this heavier oil in new engines spec'd for the 5w20 gonna hurt?

 

[cyclic]

Police Garages in a lot of places use 5w30 in ford vics.

Most municipal departments have their own garage or public works where they order in drums of oil, usually in 5w30 to cover all their vehicles. Some use 5w20 I am sure, but the only difference will be economy. Personally in a severe service vehicle the 5w30 is a good thing.

Besides what do you care, it's a work vehicle.

 

[fixit301]

I do care. I guess I shouldnt, but the car is assigned to me. When we get a new car, we KEEP it a looonng time. How much fuel economy are we looking at. Would it make up the $2 savings on the oil in the first place?

 

[Gary Allan]

Depends on how it's run. If it's running all day ..like a taxi/police unit normally does ..none of merit. If it's run from here to the local Drunkin Donuts ..shut off ...driven back ..maybe.

 

[fixit301]

Our cars see the "run all day" service. Good thing I don't like donuts or I woulda taken the Dunkin Donuts thing seriously. Then I would'a said how the cheapest conventional oil with 47513k on it driven in a Yugo without an air or oil filter out-performs Amsoil!!! Just kiddin, I wish we used Amsoil.. I do in POV's

 

[farrarfan1]

My department, Indiana State Police, has used 5w30 since at least 1979 when I joined. Back then they used 20w50 in the summer and 5w30 winter. Sometime in the early 80's we switched to 5w30 year round. Since we've never used 5w20 in our CVPI's I don't know how any conclusions can be drawn in regards to whether the 5w30 has performed "better" or "worse" than 5w20.Like you, our cars are assigned to us individually for the service life of the car.

My advice,FWIW, is let them put whatever they want in it, keep it topped off and worry about more important things than what kind of oil is in the crankcase.

 

[steve20]

Agree with the Hoosier

 

[HighwayRanger]

Ouch.......Gary!

 

[Gary Allan]

Originally Posted By: HighwayRanger
Ouch.......Gary!

Wha? For all I know he's an IRS agent with a CV

 

[TallPaul]

What kills me is that this CAFE thing would even extend to police cars. They should be exempt from CAFE and the owner's manual should state a proper grade of oil for the intended use, not to please the EPA.

 

[mechtech2]

You didn't get what you asked for, or what the car is clearly spec'd for. this is not right to me. Get a free oil change out of them - Kinda like a judge would award something for 'pain and suffering'.
It is not a big deal, as the 5-30 is just fine.

 

[fixit301]

Thanks for the replies on this guys. I am a deputy and we run our cars a lot in extreme conditions. Just frustrated over the whole save $2 thing. Can anyone tell me if I put the spec'd weight oil, would it save more than $2 worth of gas in a 5k run? Also enjoy the humor you all (Gary) have!! Thanks for your input.

 

[fixit301]

Also, what is with the cam2, is it decent oil for 5k extreme service or what?

 

[MGregoir]

In a lot of cases for large fleets, Ford will say 5w30 is just fine because it is cheaper. I don't think anything internally changed from 5w30 to 5W-20 so it's not an issue.

At $4 of gallon, for every gallon you burn, 5W-20 might save you 4/10 of a cent. Your savings might save you the $2 in fuel over the course of the oil change.

 

[Gary Allan]

Originally Posted By: fixit301
Can anyone tell me if I put the spec'd weight oil, would it save more than $2 worth of gas in a 5k run?



Possibly, but it would be very hard to see it due to the scale of fuel that you purchase. Most people are running 20 minutes or less for their daily drive. You're running in fully warmed condition for a very high % of your driving event and the difference of 2 Cst (or less at warmup) isn't squat.

That is, most of your fuel savings would occur during the first 10+/- minutes of every day ..... which happens to also be your peak fuel usage period (during the fuel enrichment cycle). Beyond that, the visc difference converges to next to nothing.

As far as Cam2 ..I haven't seen that label since the local BIG Sunoco stopped carrying the fuel line ..and that was about 15 years ago. Obviously someone still carries the label. That is, I don't have a clue, but as long as it meets spec's, it's surely good to go for your duration of use.