Vehicle: 02 Ford ZX3 with 164k, Zetec Engine, and 5 speed manual.
I just picked this vehicle up as a beater to get me by reliably until I get a few other car projects completed.
I have no idea how much oil this vehicle consumes between changes. I like Synthetics, but I don't know whether or not the vehicle has leaks yet or burns alot of oil.
I like an extended OCI when possible. I used to go 15k miles with M1 0w-20 on my Escort GT with the Mazda BP engine without problems or buring more than a quart of oil in 15k miles.
I just don't know about doing that with the Zetec though...don't know much about it or if it is as reliable, more reliable, or less reliable than the Mazda BP.
The vehicle will be driven 130 miles round trip 4 days per week on the highway. The highways are usually clear, but sometimes it can take 3.5 hours to go just 65 miles on the highway due to heavy congestion.
When I am done with the vehicle in about 4 months, my wife will have learned to drive stick on it. She will be expecting a similar commute with it except we anticipate the commute to be about 120 miles round trip 5 days per week all highway miles. The area that she will be commuting too will be straight highway miles and traffic jams should not be nearly as common as they are for me…however if traffic does happen to jam, it will jam very badly.
I don’t mind sacrificing fuel economy for reliability in my choice of oil. I would prefer a Synthetic oil just to give me a bit of a break with OCI intervals since I have so many other cars that I have to maintain.
However, I’d like to keep the OCI conservative since my wife will driving it not me. I have a spare ZX3 of the same year where I can play the opposite game…(best fuel efficient oil and pushing OCIs).
I have done some searching hear and it looks like the engine is very picky about the oil filter type? Anyone know anything about that?
Sorry for the long post, I figure the more specifics about the commute and my goals the more you can assist.
Thank you.
I just picked this vehicle up as a beater to get me by reliably until I get a few other car projects completed.
I have no idea how much oil this vehicle consumes between changes. I like Synthetics, but I don't know whether or not the vehicle has leaks yet or burns alot of oil.
I like an extended OCI when possible. I used to go 15k miles with M1 0w-20 on my Escort GT with the Mazda BP engine without problems or buring more than a quart of oil in 15k miles.
I just don't know about doing that with the Zetec though...don't know much about it or if it is as reliable, more reliable, or less reliable than the Mazda BP.
The vehicle will be driven 130 miles round trip 4 days per week on the highway. The highways are usually clear, but sometimes it can take 3.5 hours to go just 65 miles on the highway due to heavy congestion.
When I am done with the vehicle in about 4 months, my wife will have learned to drive stick on it. She will be expecting a similar commute with it except we anticipate the commute to be about 120 miles round trip 5 days per week all highway miles. The area that she will be commuting too will be straight highway miles and traffic jams should not be nearly as common as they are for me…however if traffic does happen to jam, it will jam very badly.
I don’t mind sacrificing fuel economy for reliability in my choice of oil. I would prefer a Synthetic oil just to give me a bit of a break with OCI intervals since I have so many other cars that I have to maintain.
However, I’d like to keep the OCI conservative since my wife will driving it not me. I have a spare ZX3 of the same year where I can play the opposite game…(best fuel efficient oil and pushing OCIs).
I have done some searching hear and it looks like the engine is very picky about the oil filter type? Anyone know anything about that?
Sorry for the long post, I figure the more specifics about the commute and my goals the more you can assist.
Thank you.
