Man with two Fords

[Robbie Alexander]

Met a man with two Fords, one had 284K and the other 154K. His method is to use a 20w-50 oil, in the summer and a 10w-40 in the winter, and like his other two trucks when they reach 200K just go to a STRAIGHT 50w til the motor burns up. He claims his secret is to use a heavy motor oil in any motor over 200k and you can always get 3-400K. I told him I usually used 30W and have 389K and he said he has a couple buddies that is exactly what they do is use a 30W the trucks whole life and that they usually get 400K before swapping trucks.

 

[userfriendly]

I know of 5 propane (LPG) Ford and Chev 1 ton vans with over 1 million miles on the original engines. 10-15,000 highway miles per month. Fram filters and Budwieser SAE 30. So what does that tell us? LPG is a very clean burning fuel that does not produce a lot of contaminats and particles that wear an engine out. Clean engine oil = long lasting engines. Perhaps very little else matters.

 

[buster]

The only problem with what he is saying is the fact that I know people that have put on 400k miles on cars using cheap 10w-30 oils. I put 300k on a 87 Corolla using dino 5w-30. There are just as many people that have done the same thing on thinner oil and probably saved a few $'s in gas money.

 

[userfriendly]

For once your right. People don't take serious the difference 2 or 3% in fuel savings makes to their wallets over the life of a vehicle. And that is the difference between a fuel conserving engine oil compared to the same viscosity of a non (FM) conserving engine oil. Now add at least another 3% when using an SAE 50 engine oil in an application where an SAE 30 will do, and your SAE 50 just added a total of 6% to your fuel bill. Lets say you drive X number of miles per year, your fuel bill is $3,000 per year, and your vehicle lasts 15 years. How many dollars is a 6% savings going to make? Compound that at 10% because you put your gasoline purchases on a credit card that has never been fully paid off. There has to be a balance between engine protection and cost of operation. Has anyone noticed that Delvac 15W50 for one, is no longer? That is because the added protection of an SAE 50 engine oil came at a 2% increase in fuel costs to the long haul truckers with little added engine life. So what if your engine lasted forever? You paid for a new one with your added fuel costs, and your still driving a 20 year old vehicle with 600,000 miles on it. [ November 01, 2003, 06:23 PM: Message edited by: userfriendly ]

 

[Jay]

Well said.

 

[buster]

quote:

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For once your right

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Just once? I'll take it.