The car is an old 03 Crown Vic police car and I am sure has been run very hard. Probably only going to keep it for 2 years or so. Am I wasting my money on M1?
Is synthetic really worth it in a car with 125k?
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NO! Unless you want to extend the OCI.
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it would depend on how long you run the oil. if your doing 3-5k OCI it probably is a waste. if your running 6-10k to me it isn't a waste. plus the synthetic will probably provide better cleaning for that car. police cars are subject to lots of idle time, so i would want the better oil to clean up the engine.
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Originally Posted By: donnyj08
it would depend on how long you run the oil. if your doing 3-5k OCI it probably is a waste. if your running 6-10k to me it isn't a waste. plus the synthetic will probably provide better cleaning for that car. police cars are subject to lots of idle time, so i would want the better oil to clean up the engine.
I have checked under the valve cover and it is very clean. The thing is this: I have gone about 7,500 miles so far on M1 and a Bosch didtance plus filter. I have added about 2 quarts in that time. I just think if it had less miles and I planned on keeping it for 5+ years it would be worth it. at the 8k mark I am either going to stay with M1 or just go back to Motorcraft semi with a Motorcraft filter, and do 5k changes...
it would depend on how long you run the oil. if your doing 3-5k OCI it probably is a waste. if your running 6-10k to me it isn't a waste. plus the synthetic will probably provide better cleaning for that car. police cars are subject to lots of idle time, so i would want the better oil to clean up the engine.
I have checked under the valve cover and it is very clean. The thing is this: I have gone about 7,500 miles so far on M1 and a Bosch didtance plus filter. I have added about 2 quarts in that time. I just think if it had less miles and I planned on keeping it for 5+ years it would be worth it. at the 8k mark I am either going to stay with M1 or just go back to Motorcraft semi with a Motorcraft filter, and do 5k changes...
Originally Posted By: Falcon_LS
Originally Posted By: 6lbsoft
I have gone about 7,500 miles so far on M1 and a Bosch didtance plus filter. I have added about 2 quarts in that time.
When was the last time you changed your PCV valve?
Never have. What's the usual burn rate for a Modular? I average a quart every 2,500-3k miles.
Originally Posted By: 6lbsoft
I have gone about 7,500 miles so far on M1 and a Bosch didtance plus filter. I have added about 2 quarts in that time.
When was the last time you changed your PCV valve?
Never have. What's the usual burn rate for a Modular? I average a quart every 2,500-3k miles.
Originally Posted By: skyship
YES! Unless you want to extend the OCI.
There are more advantages to using Mobil 1 than just extending the OCI.
I personally think it will keep the engine cleaner and protect the engine a better.
Though in a car with high miles and only going to be used for two years maybe some may say it isn't worth it and there will be no ROI.
But there is nothing wrong in spending a little bit more, not really much more over the course of a year, to ensure you are taking the best care of your engine that you can for such a negligable extra cost.
YES! Unless you want to extend the OCI.
There are more advantages to using Mobil 1 than just extending the OCI.
I personally think it will keep the engine cleaner and protect the engine a better.
Though in a car with high miles and only going to be used for two years maybe some may say it isn't worth it and there will be no ROI.
But there is nothing wrong in spending a little bit more, not really much more over the course of a year, to ensure you are taking the best care of your engine that you can for such a negligable extra cost.
I would check the PCV and next oil change give a high mileage a try. That may calm down the use of the oil you had to top off. To some 2 qt make up in that amount of time is fine, to me it is not.
True. I might just go ahead and keep with M1. And I should probably change out the PCV valve since it never has been replaced lol.
Originally Posted By: 6lbsoft
True. I might just go ahead and keep with M1. And I should probably change out the PCV valve since it never has been replaced lol.
+1 PCVs are typically cheap and easy to replace. Might help the oil consumption.
True. I might just go ahead and keep with M1. And I should probably change out the PCV valve since it never has been replaced lol.
+1 PCVs are typically cheap and easy to replace. Might help the oil consumption.
Originally Posted By: Falcon_LS
Go with synthetic and extend your drains, it's worth it in the long run. Modular engines also love synthetic oil.
I agree with that.
I have 137K miles on my 05 Vic and using 5w20 Motorcraft Full Synthetic changed out every 7-7500 miles..I can probably go longer but I am in a lot of gridlock..My friend uses 5w20 Mobil 1 in his X 2009 P71 with 100K miles on it..He changes it out overy 6K-7K miles...His P71 was serviced by fleet [5w30 dino] every 3K miles before he got it.
Go with synthetic and extend your drains, it's worth it in the long run. Modular engines also love synthetic oil.
I agree with that.
I have 137K miles on my 05 Vic and using 5w20 Motorcraft Full Synthetic changed out every 7-7500 miles..I can probably go longer but I am in a lot of gridlock..My friend uses 5w20 Mobil 1 in his X 2009 P71 with 100K miles on it..He changes it out overy 6K-7K miles...His P71 was serviced by fleet [5w30 dino] every 3K miles before he got it.
Originally Posted By: 6lbsoft
Never have. What's the usual burn rate for a Modular? I average a quart every 2,500-3k miles.
Definitely recommend you do. If you can install an inline oil separator as well, that would be great.
I run 6,250 mile drain intervals, and it uses 1/4 to 1/2 a quart. Mine's got 190,000 miles on it, but I do run a quality engine flush at every oil change to clean the ring packs and such. Might not be necessary, but whatever floats your boat I suppose.
Never have. What's the usual burn rate for a Modular? I average a quart every 2,500-3k miles.
Definitely recommend you do. If you can install an inline oil separator as well, that would be great.
I run 6,250 mile drain intervals, and it uses 1/4 to 1/2 a quart. Mine's got 190,000 miles on it, but I do run a quality engine flush at every oil change to clean the ring packs and such. Might not be necessary, but whatever floats your boat I suppose.
By the way, you might want to go with M1 High Mileage if you have any valve seal problems. '96+ motors do not have as much problems with the valve seals as the '91-'95 motors do, but they do require replacement at some point or another. Not an easy task on this application.
Personally, I would go with Mobil Delvac 1 5W-40 or Shell Rotella 5W-40 in that engine. Pennzoil Ultra Euro 5W-40 would also be another good choice. That's what I'm switching to at my next oil change.
Personally, I would go with Mobil Delvac 1 5W-40 or Shell Rotella 5W-40 in that engine. Pennzoil Ultra Euro 5W-40 would also be another good choice. That's what I'm switching to at my next oil change.
Something else worth mentioning. It's been my experience that when you first switch to an oil, you tend to experience a bit of oil consumption. Was this your first run on Mobil 1?
Also, your vehicle is fitted with an oil cooler and the slump capacity is slightly under 7 quarts. With a larger slump, you can easily extend the intervals further, but an oil analysis would be suggested.
Also, your vehicle is fitted with an oil cooler and the slump capacity is slightly under 7 quarts. With a larger slump, you can easily extend the intervals further, but an oil analysis would be suggested.
Temp won't drop below zero in S. California. I would use Motorcraft 5W20 syn-blend or valvoline Mazlife 5W20 for your VC and do 5k-7.5 OCI.
The OP's question was that he was only going to keep the vehicle for 2 years and is he wasting money on M1.
To answer that specific question, yes. For 2 years he is probably wasting his money.
Unless, he uses synthetic to change / double his oci, in which case he'll break even and save himself some time.
And, he may even get some sort of fuel economy improvement from synthetic.
But put it this way, oil for a car, probably after wipers, is the most negligible cost item.
If you drive 10,000 miles a year and get 25mpg and gas is $4 a gallon, you spend $1600 a year.
If you instead get 25.25mpg, you spend $1616 a year.
Are you going to fret about getting 25.25mpg vs 25mpg? Probably not, but that's the difference between the cost of synthetic oil and dino.
In the US, synthetic is so cheap, and so miniscule a cost of maintenance, that it's a no brainer to use it.
You'll get more cost savings on car related items if instead of pondering dino vs synthetic you instead spent it on any number of other things such as:
1) Looking for rebates for all parts and fluids
2) Adjusting your insurance coverage
3) Finding out the critical maintenance items on your vehicle and making sure they were up to date eg critical fluids such as coolant concentration level and ph, brake fluid, whether your tires are inflated properly
4) Choosing and negotiating on car purchases to minimize depreciation
Seriously, deciding whether to spend $10 extra on synthetic is a serious waste of effort!
To answer that specific question, yes. For 2 years he is probably wasting his money.
Unless, he uses synthetic to change / double his oci, in which case he'll break even and save himself some time.
And, he may even get some sort of fuel economy improvement from synthetic.
But put it this way, oil for a car, probably after wipers, is the most negligible cost item.
If you drive 10,000 miles a year and get 25mpg and gas is $4 a gallon, you spend $1600 a year.
If you instead get 25.25mpg, you spend $1616 a year.
Are you going to fret about getting 25.25mpg vs 25mpg? Probably not, but that's the difference between the cost of synthetic oil and dino.
In the US, synthetic is so cheap, and so miniscule a cost of maintenance, that it's a no brainer to use it.
You'll get more cost savings on car related items if instead of pondering dino vs synthetic you instead spent it on any number of other things such as:
1) Looking for rebates for all parts and fluids
2) Adjusting your insurance coverage
3) Finding out the critical maintenance items on your vehicle and making sure they were up to date eg critical fluids such as coolant concentration level and ph, brake fluid, whether your tires are inflated properly
4) Choosing and negotiating on car purchases to minimize depreciation
Seriously, deciding whether to spend $10 extra on synthetic is a serious waste of effort!
If you plan to use it as a trade or down payment for the next car, may add some value if the engines clean and quiet. The other way of looking at it...whether its this one or the car you plan on keeping awhile cars are not investments, you always lose money in the end.
Originally Posted By: bigjl
Originally Posted By: skyship
YES! Unless you want to extend the OCI.
There are more advantages to using Mobil 1 than just extending the OCI.
I personally think it will keep the engine cleaner and protect the engine a better.
Though in a car with high miles and only going to be used for two years maybe some may say it isn't worth it and there will be no ROI.
But there is nothing wrong in spending a little bit more, not really much more over the course of a year, to ensure you are taking the best care of your engine that you can for such a negligable extra cost.
I have never seen any proof that M1 keeps an engine any cleaner than a good major brand conventional oil that has enough detergent additives. The BMW forum added up all their UOA results for different oils over a 5K mile OCI and Castrol GTX 5w30 beat Mobil 1 0/40.
Fully synthetics might last slightly longer, but if you are not exploring the outer OCI reaches, a good quality major brand conventional oil will do just as good a job.
Changing your drving habits as regards cold starts and avoiding traffic jams will make more difference.
Originally Posted By: skyship
YES! Unless you want to extend the OCI.
There are more advantages to using Mobil 1 than just extending the OCI.
I personally think it will keep the engine cleaner and protect the engine a better.
Though in a car with high miles and only going to be used for two years maybe some may say it isn't worth it and there will be no ROI.
But there is nothing wrong in spending a little bit more, not really much more over the course of a year, to ensure you are taking the best care of your engine that you can for such a negligable extra cost.
I have never seen any proof that M1 keeps an engine any cleaner than a good major brand conventional oil that has enough detergent additives. The BMW forum added up all their UOA results for different oils over a 5K mile OCI and Castrol GTX 5w30 beat Mobil 1 0/40.
Fully synthetics might last slightly longer, but if you are not exploring the outer OCI reaches, a good quality major brand conventional oil will do just as good a job.
Changing your drving habits as regards cold starts and avoiding traffic jams will make more difference.
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