Red Line or Mobil 1?

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Hello-

Now that I've decided on a viscocity for my 03 GT Mustang, I now have to decide on a synthetic oil. I do a lot of city stop-n-go driving and take many short trips. Which oil would provide me with the most protection Red Line or Mobil 1?

I've heard that Red Line might not be API cert. That would be a major factor in my decision, for my warranty might not hold up if I use a non-API approved oil.

Thanks for your opinions.
 
Mobil 1 in the new SuperSyn variety is a much improved product over the old Tri-Synthetic.

As far as API certification, Ford would have to prove that the oil caused the failure to void your warranty.

Mobil 1 is your best choice off the shelf and based on analysis is a good product.

Now if you use nitrous or forced induction, i.e. a supercharger, I definately would use Redline. Remember its roots in dragracing and stock cars.
 
John in the ATL hit the nail on the head. For racing, I'd go with Redline. In your case Mobil 1 10w-30 would be my choice. If your concerned about the warranty, run Mobil 1 0w-20.
cheers.gif


[ July 19, 2003, 07:42 PM: Message edited by: buster ]
 
quote:

Originally posted by mf150:
Which oil would provide me with the most protection Red Line or Mobil 1?

I'd say Redline, and I'd say John in the ATL and Buster said the same thing. More protection in racing means more protection overall, no?
BUT if you are concerned about warranty, does that mean you'll be following severe service for oil changes? If so I think the answer is that Mobil 1 (in any grade that matches the manual), is still overkill.
Congratulations on getting a new Mustang, BTW.
Humor me and ask if they'd be inclined to void the warranty if you got a dino-oil change every week until the break-in was done. You may wish to check out '1st oil change, at how many miles' by Chefwong, http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002947
Cheers
 
Rob-

That guy is nuts! You can't be too anal about oil changes, though!

I'll be be changing the oil at 3,000 mile intervals during the warranty period. I was thinking of M1 0W-20.

I had two HG leaks in my 01 F-150 with Red Line in the engine, so I'm tainted by association with the Red Line products (I know it didn't cause the leaks, but it scares me to think.

The only problem for me is finding a synthetic XW-20 weight oil here in California. You can find the Motorcraft/Dino stuff everywhere, but there seems to be a shortage of the syn.

The real question is...

Will Motorcraft (Conoco) oil, 5W20, protect my engine as well as M1 or Red Line at 5,000 mile intervals?

Thanks.
 
The oil certainly didn't cause the headgasket leak. It is a well known manufacturing defect.
 
YZ-

Yup, the Triton Engine family (Trucks and Mustangs) called for 5W-30 as early as 1999. I understand that there have been no internal engine chages since then, with the exception of "PI" heads (4.6L).

I've been looking into 5W-20 for a while now. I still haven't decided whether it is an EPA pleasing gimmic or whether it is all they say it is.

This is a hard decision.
 
hmmmmm.....After running Castrol GTX 10W-30 I am now running 4 qt. M1 10W-30 and 1 qt. M1 15W-50 in my 1994 Thunderbird beater(4.6 SOHC) .......I had all M1 10W-30 in there at teh oilchange, but the engine started sucking this stuff in at 1qt./1500 mls. when before on the GTX it would not use any oil. I will switch back to Dino castrol GTX or Penzoil at the next oil change.BTW teh valve seals are fine on thisc ar and the engine is spotlessly clean inside, so it must be the thinner M1 that gets consumed ...... I change my oil every 3K so the dino will be fine................in addition on the M1 the cam chain tensioners bleed down overnight and on start-up the chains rattle for just a second until the oil pumps them back up. This never happened with Dino oil before.....(many mistake this noise as valve clatter on start-up)
quote:

Originally posted by mf150:
YZ-

Yup, the Triton Engine family (Trucks and Mustangs) called for 5W-30 as early as 1999. I understand that there have been no internal engine chages since then, with the exception of "PI" heads (4.6L).

I've been looking into 5W-20 for a while now. I still haven't decided whether it is an EPA pleasing gimmic or whether it is all they say it is.

This is a hard decision.




[ July 20, 2003, 06:51 PM: Message edited by: Alex D ]
 
MF: Relax!

Any volume dealer of M1 can likely order for you the 0-20. Get it and use it if you're worried about warranty.

But, why worry about the warranty? If you are really that anxious about the quality of that engine that you think that it might fail because of a quibble over small variation in the viscosity of the oil used, then why'd you buy it?

What oil was specified for that engine when it was originally released? 5-30, 10-30? I don't know, just speculating. But, chances are slim to none that the design and construction changed for that engine since then, and the 5-20 oil recommended in the manual is for fuel economy purposes, not mechanical ones.

Do some homework, find out what the oil recommendation was when that engine model was released, and use that weight oil.

Redline oil did not cause your HG leak any more than non-5-20 will damage your Stang.

And if you are still going to change the oil at 3000, regardless of oil, and you intend to choose between M1 and Redline, then use the less expensive one.
 
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