Sorry but that's total fuc*ing bullsh*t
pardon my French of course.
Why is this BS?
2000 Ford Mustang GT: 4.6L SOHC V8, made in the Windsor engine plant. Uses better build quality along with retaining rings to hold the piston wrist pin in place.
2000 Ford Crown Victoria: 4.6L SOHC V8, made in the Romeo facility. Uses slightly lower build quality, uses pressed pins for the pistons.
1998 Ford Mustang GT: 4.6L SOHC V8, also made in the Romeo facility.
2001 Ford Mustang GT: 4.6L SOHC V8, made in Romeo facility.
2001 Ford Crown Victoria: SAME ENGINE AS THE MUSTANG GT, COMPLETE WITH PI HEADS.
prior to 2000, all of these cars used 5W-30.
All of a sudden in 2001, Ford wants us to use 5W-20. The engines were certainly not changed to REQUIRE 5W-20. I do not see any changes in the metallurgy or bearing clearances that would warrant 5W-20. The experts that work on modifying these engines also agree that 5W-20 is not mandatory.
Exxon Mobil is just spewing out crap that Ford and Honda wants them to spew out. That's why synth oil companies like Redline are making their 5W-20 or SAE 20 oils to meet the new market demands.
Mobil 1 was smart in giving a real response. They're making the 5W-20 and want to make money off of it, but the smart tech person actually has hands on experience with a vehicle (mustang actually). Turk from Exxon seems to be a run of the mill customer service rep guy that knows jack about cars.
Yes 5W-20 might be an excellent oil but I just don't see a legitimate reason to use it OTHER THAN FUEL SAVINGS (as slight as they might be).
I'll continue to use 5W-30 in my 2000 4.6L SOHC V8, and I'll use 5W-30 in my 2003 5.4L SOHC V8.
5W-30 and 0W-30 have better thermal stability than the lighter weight 5W-20.