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Deleted member 89374
The FRAM Ultra is an excellent oil filter. Every filter manufacturer has their top of the line, mid-range, and low-end offerings. The same could be said about Purolator: nothing below their BOSS lineup is worth buying.You won’t use Fram? Stick around. You might learn something. Research Fram Ultras. I’m doing you a favour.
Do you ever get tired of preaching this stuff and pontificating the sanctity of what FCA came up with, a car manufacturer that produces engines based on ancient (by today's standards) designs? Did you know that their main concern always is the average fleet MPG? This company is in the stone age when it comes to R&D, and they haven't spent any money on it. They are desperately hanging on to what they have, and thinning out the recommended oil viscosity is one of the few things they have left. The problem is that they can't really go beyond 0W-20.
Let me back peddle to my oil cooler issue: I don't need an oil cooler to run thicker oil. I need one to be able to run the factory specified 5W-20 while towing. Otherwise, when my oil goes up to 250F ~ 280F while pulling 7000 lbs on a mountain, I'm dealing with about 3~4 CST (at best) viscosity while the oil itself oxidizes at an alarming rate. Besides wearing out bearings and bushings prematurely in my engine (never mind everything else), do you know what happens to the oil under those circumstances? It creates sludge and polymerizes everywhere else where a thin layer of oil is left on cooldown. Imagine if I did this on the factory specified Mopar filter, it would be even worse. Quite honestly, I would rather use 5W-20 because I wouldn't have to spend more time warming up my truck every day before leaving. It has better flow characteristics and provides better internal cooling, amongst other things. If I install an oil cooler, even the expensive Mopar solution with the 45-degree filter adapter, I can have my warranty voided (which will be up in July of this year anyway) because it counts as engine modification. Using 0W-40 motor oil to deal with the harsher conditions of towing in the absence of an oil cooler is actually a plausible explanation. I even installed a Mopar oil filler cap that says "0W-40 - Synthetic oil recommended."
Finally, do you know the difference between 0W-20 and 5W-20, other than cold temperature properties? It is a fact that most 0W-20 oils are crap with very high NOACK values, made of cheap base oils. To make 0W-20, the oil formulator has to balance base oil quality and the amount of additives they put into that oil. And the easiest way to make 0W-20 is to take out additives like ZDDP. That's why, for example, Mobil 1 EP 0W-20 has 650ppm of Zinc, while Mobil 1 EP 5W-20 has 850ppm of Zinc. The catch here is that Mobil 1 EP 0W-20 is one of the very best 0W-20 oils out there because it's mostly made of PAO/POE, and that's why @OVERKILL uses it in his truck. The base oil is so good that it compensates for the lower amount of ZDDP in the oil. While the 5.7 HEMI doesn't need much ZDDP, it's still a good sacrificial anti-wear additive to have, especially in less expensive motor oils that don't have modern organic anti-wear additives.
At the end of the day, everyone can and should use what they think is right for their vehicle. Oil-related engine failures are not very common these days. People like myself are commonly known as "poor". No, I am not middle class. I am poor. As such, I have to make a vehicle last a very long time and get the most out of it. I'd rather do my due diligence in maintaining my vehicles because, honestly, I don't have much faith in the manufacturer's warranty, especially when it comes to RAM, as they will gladly ram the repair bill up my rear-end rather than properly perform a warranty repair. Just ask some of those who had lifter failures. Now, if you want to use 5W-20 or whatever oil in your vehicle, that's fine. Just don't preach to others what they should do. I don't tell others what they should or shouldn't put in their crankcase. If I'm asked, I'll give my opinion, especially if I had some experience with a particular vehicle. However, there is no such thing as a terrible motor oil anymore that shouldn't be used. Even Super Tech and Kirkland are decent options. Maybe people shouldn't rush to buy Dolar Store branded motor oil, but that's a different conversation.
FCA could have done a better job writing that section of the owner's manual, especially for pickup trucks.
Let me put it this way: you're more likely to grenade a HEMI with an "all original" Mopar paper filter with a botched drain-back valve than with a FRAM Ultra oil filter.
