TooSlick: ask yourself this:
Why is Ford's 5W-20 a Synth "Blend" and not a dino?
Of course the meager UOAs done by wimpy drivers (3k miles highway driving on a new car or something ridiculous like that - at least wait 10k to 15k miles for the engine to wear in before sending in for a UOA come on what a fuggin waste of $20 on an analysis) show that the synthetic 5W-20 outperforms the dino 5W-30. Big surprise. You're comparing apples to oranges.
If you read up on what I've written about 5W-20 in the past I was about to try it out but seeing how weak some of these pro-5W20 arguments are I'm going to stick with dino 5W-30.
Facts:
2000 Ford 4.6L SOHC V8, Romeo NPI. Uses 5W-30
2001 Ford 4.6L SOHC V8, Romeo PI, Uses 5W-20
2000 Ford 5.4L SOHC V8, Windsor PI. Uses 5W-30
2001 Ford 5.4L SOHC V8, Windsor PI. Uses 5W-20
I've checked the engine components, asked the Ford engineers, did the research and found that the 2000-2001 engines are identical in terms of clearances, parts, etc... NOTHING that warrants the NEED for a thinner oil.
Do you understand so far? SAME ENGINE, NO DIFFERENCES IN CLEARANCES THAT WOULD MANDATE THE NEED FOR THINNER OIL WHEN FULLY WARMED UP
Ok, next step.
Why is it that Ford's own 5W-20 is a synthetic blend at the very least and NOT a Group I/II/II+ dino oil which would be less expensive for the customer? Also why is it that all 5W-20s out on the market that are non-Group IV/PAO are some form of severely hydrocracked dino oils (GRoup III)? Look at the 5W-20 prices vs 5W-30 dino. There's always about a $0.3 difference with the 5W-20 being more expensive.
The answer: Ford's testing with dino 5W-20 showed that it would shear out way too quickly to a sub-20 weight oil (xW-5 or xW-10 etc). yes the weight spread isn't as great as 5W-30 or 10W-30 but look at the UOAs for dino xW-30, they almost all shear out to a 20wt or close to a 20wt after 3k - 4k miles. Patman always complains "doesn't look good, its now a 20wt..."
(No offense intended towards Patman!!!)
Now we move on from Fords.
I was reading about how someone from Singapore? was using 15W-50 or a ridiculously high weight synthetic oil in his late model toyota Camry 2.2
In the US the Camry is using something like 5W-20 or 5W-30. Can these engines have such different clearances that would warrant the NEED to use super thin oil in the US? The major difference is that the US is subjected to the Nazi-like rule of the EPA.
Ok ok the moral of the story:
want to use 5W-20? Hey its fine by me, its not my car or truck.
Just use a fully synthetic xW-20.
Ford is crazy enough to ask me to use 5W-20 in my 2003 E-250 w/ the 5.4L SOHC V8 (260 hp and 350 ft-lb of torque). Are you willing to kill your truck towing or hauling work loads w/ 5W-20 when the E/F-series with a mod motor ran for 200k+ miles w/o any problems using 5W-30?
YOU need to ask yourself some questions.
1). Why the need to use 5w-20 in the same engine that used 5w-30 a year ago? Given that there are NO significant enough changes in the engine design to warrant the need for thinner oil. Remember:
2000 5.4 Windsor PI: 5W-30
2001 5.4 Windsor PI: 5W-20
2000 4.6 Romeo NPI: 5W-30
2001 4.6 Romeo PI: 5W-20 (differences between NPI and PI include but is not limited to the heads and camshafts, which still does not justify the use of 5W-20).
Keep in mind 2000 4.6 Windsor PIs in the stangs used 5w-30 w/o any problems.
2). Why is Ford's own 5W-20 a synth blend? Why isn't Ford making a dino 5W-20?
3). Would you use synth blend 5W-20 in a working truck that hauls and tows in the heat?
4). Why is Mobil recommending 0W-30 or 5W-30 Mobil 1 in engines that call for 5W-20? Yes if you ask them they'll tell you 5W-20, ask them several times presenting the evidence I wrote here (engine changes) they'll tell you to use 0W-30 or 5W-30 for more thermal stability.
5). Can you be ABSOLUTELY sure the EPA/CAFE has nothing to do with the change from 5W-30 to 5W-20???
That being said, your engines will probably last a decent amount of time assuming you're using synthetic 5W-20 which won't shear below a 20 weight at all.
If you're still genuinely interested in debating this, you can also feel free to email me to discuss what I've written.
[ April 24, 2003, 08:48 AM: Message edited by: metroplex ]