Motocraft oil, "synthetic" at dyno prices?

[Johnny]

ChrisA There are different forms of hydrocracked oil. Group III is more hydrocracked that the Group II or Group II+.

The base oil in the Motorcraft is Group II+ that is made at the Excel Paralubes refinery in Louisiana. This refinery is co-owned by Pennzoil and Conoco. Conoco is the one that makes the Motorcraft oil. They all have a different additive package.

The Group III is a better product. Is it as good as a PAO OR Ester synthetic? The debate will go on for a long time about this.

 

[MolaKule]

Do a search on "synthetics" or "group III" and you will see a large set of postings.
(Top Right).

Group III is NOT a synthetic by the very definition of organic and lubricant chemistry.

Group III base oils do not have the oxidative stability nor do they have the low volativity
of synthetic oils.

 

[Chris A]

Jonny, so if I understand this, Motorcraft is a group II hydrocracked and the above mentioned Castrol and Valvoline are group III hydrocracked?

MolaKule, I'm not looking for hydrocracked vs. synthetic. I'm looking for info on the Motorcraft oil. I put synthetic in "" in the title as I know there are hydrocracked oils which can be legally called "synthetic".

I'm really looking for a good bang for the buck oil for my family vehhicle. If this Motorcraft was better than the normal oils (which I've heard hydrocracked is), then I'd switch to it on my next oil change.

 

[Johnny]

Chris A: Your understanding is correct.

[ June 20, 2002, 08:32 PM: Message edited by: Johnny ]

 

[Chris A]

I was browsing the backs of the oil bottles recently and was a little suprised at what I saw. I've read that Castrol Syntec and Valvoline SynPower are considered as "synthetic", but are hydrocracked mineral oil base.

On the back of the Motorcraft oil, it says that they use hydrocracked base oils. I also know that the base oil is not the only factor in a good oil, but I was wondering if anybody has any experience with this oil.

[ June 20, 2002, 12:11 PM: Message edited by: Chris A ]

 

[dragboat]

Chris,
I think it is a very good oil and the price is near dirt cheap! I am using it in a new car"not a FOMOCO Car" and will post the test results when it is time even though different motors,different usage will make for a different result.

Thing seems to be as of the last few months Chevron,Pennzoil,Conoco/Motorcraft are so very close together in terms of working in a daily driver with excellent results at a bargain price.
Someone please correct me if I am wrong

 

[Patman]

dragboat, are you running the 5w20 version? I'm dying to see some oil analysis data on a 5w20 oil! My hunch is that we'll see higher wear numbers than the same car that runs on 5w30 or 10w30.

 

[dragboat]

I believe you are correct about the higher wear with the 5/20,,it is a CAFE thing I believe.

I use the 10/30 , the 5/30 seems to make no sense to me with the added VI improvers to burn ect.The VI is higher in the 5/30 than the 10/30. It seems at least to be less of a chance for them to polymarize and leave deposits. The cold pour point difference in minimal in our neck of the woods so I chose the 10/30 or year round use here in Oklahoma

 

[VaderSS]

quote:

---

with the 5/20,,it is a CAFE thing I believe.

---

I think it's CAFE driven with Ford, but Honda also specs it and they are not hurting in the CAFE area.

 

[Patman]

Didn't Honda just come out with a new Sport Ute though? Perhaps they are worried that it'll drag it's average numbers down?

There isn't a whole lot of difference in the 1.6L engine in my wife's 2000 Civic compared to the 1.7 in the new ones, yet her car specifies 5w30 or 10w30. Things that make you go hmmm....

 

[VaderSS]

Honda's worst vehicles are still up to Fords best in terms of economy. They are number 1 CAFE wise, so I doubt that they are worried about thier new SUV pulling them down to far. I would think their latest economy cars more than make up for it.

 

[Bror Jace]

I know a lot of Honda owners are more than a little miffed that they want to market their cars and company as #1 in the "green" department so they's why they are making some of the decisions they are.

Another example of a bone-headed move is that they've compromised their excellent suspension designs by going back to Macpherson struts.

They've made some really stupid decisions and as much as I love my current Civic, My next ride may be something very different.

 

[Patman]

If my wife doesn't feel the need to get into a slightly bigger car as my 8 month old boy gets bigger, I forsee us keeping her 2000 Civic for a very long time. I like it's design much better than the 2001s and up, which makes me glad we got the last of the good ones. Her car has been flawless too, 36,000 miles without a single problem, not even anything minor!

I tend to change my own cars quite often (I've had 15 cars and I'm only 32!) so it would be nice to have one car in our family where we bought it new, and put 200k or more on it, just to see if my oil change habits really are paying off for the long haul!

 

[Bror Jace]

Patman: "I forsee us keeping (my wife's) 2000 Civic for a very long time. I like it's design much better than the 2001s and up ... Her car has been flawless too, 36,000 miles without a single problem, not even anything minor."

Typical. I had one warranty repair on my car (fan speed switch) and then not a peep out of the thing until the salt they use around here rotted out the exhaust at 80,000 miles. Other than that and preventative maintenance, my car hasn't cost me a penny in repairs since I bought it 7 years ago.

I expect a few rust spots inside the wheel well to come out and be visible in the next year or so.

Back to the original subject, the word "synthetic" has become a marketing term, not a technical one. This is according to the API ... a bunch of worthless fools those blokes turned out to be!

So, this is why two different companies can call the same exact base oil (and resulting formula) by very different labels and it's all legal 'n such.

Yes dragboat, please post those 5W20 sample numbers when you get them ... especially if your car has more than 10,000 miles on it.

 

[dragboat]

I posted that I use the 10/30 year round not the 5/20

Cannot think of what I would use a 5/20 oil in or for. Door hinges ?

[ June 22, 2002, 11:34 PM: Message edited by: dragboat ]