Syntec or Edge?

[Patrick_Hall]

I don't know whether to go with Castrol's Syntec or Castrol EDGE 5w30. In my 1996 Ford Escort's original 1.9L the the 5w30 did great and was nice and quiet after replacing all but two of the hydraulic lifters.
That motor since bit the dust due to a valve seat failure and I converted it to a 2.0L out of a 97 Ford Escort. I was told the 97's engine had 10w30 Havoline synthetic in it on the last change before it sat for two years. Since getting it running in July it has 10w30 Motorcraft with a Motorcraft filter. Due to lifter tick I put in a bottle of CD2 detergent to see if it was just a sticky lifter before replacing them with the ones from the 1.9L that only had a few thousands miles of use.
Now the time has come to change the oil as I am changing it after 3 months to get any contaminants out. I plan to run the factory recommended 5w30 and motorcraft filter. But I don't know whether to go with Syntec or Castrol EDGE.
I drive on average 250-300 miles per week of which 200+ are highway. (The engine is general in the 2.5k rpm area on the highway.) With either oil I plan to change the filter every 3k miles with another motorcraft filter.
Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.

P.S. I have a kit from Blackstone coming to get a used oil analysis on this oil.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Patrick_Hall
With either oil I plan to change the filter every 3k miles

OK, but how often are you planning to change the oil?

I think Edge could go longer intervals than Syntec. Edge is advertised as 15K mile oil. Not to say that it's 100% safe to do that, but it's possible under the right circumstances.

But if you're going to change oil every 3K miles, then you're wasting money on synthetic, IMO. Even mineral oil can easily last longer than that.

 

[dgee]

If you plan on changing the filter AND oil at 3k intervals, I suggest you use a conventional 5w30.

 

[yaris0128]

Edge is only a $1.50 more for a 5qt over Syntec. So why does Syntec still exist? Its fine if your a Castrol fanboy but honsetly its not any better than Pennzoil Platinum or Quaker State Ultimate Durability and thats a lot cheaper.

 

[Spyder7]

Difference is closer to $3 a quart here, at least when you buy by the jug and buy on the semi-regular Castrol rollback (GC and Syntec get rolled back now and then, but Edge never does). Although SOPUS has been beating out everyone at my WMs lately, so my last oil buy was Quaker State conventional, and likely my next will be the new Pennzoil conventional.

-Spyder

 

[demarpaint]

Look in the Product Rebates, Sales and Promotions threads for deals. I grabbed 5 qts of Edge and a Mobil 1 filter for $29.99, Syntec is $2 less. Both are good oils. O'Reilly was running it, and I had my guy price match it. He wasn't thrilled but he did it!

 

[yaris0128]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Look in the Product Rebates, Sales and Promotions threads for deals. I grabbed 5 qts of Edge and a Mobil 1 filter for $29.99, Syntec is $2 less. Both are good oils. O'Reilly was running it, and I had my guy price match it. He wasn't thrilled but he did it!


True but its still not as cheap as PP with a filter.

 

[Patrick_Hall]

Depending which I go with, 6k miles on the Syntec and 12k on the Edge. But like I said I plan on changing the motorcraft filter every 3k, unless after a few oci and uoa show that I am wasting money running multiple filters per oci. Wal-Mart has both cheaper than anybody else except when the part stores run it with a filter. The only time I bought it through a part store was when it was paired with a K&N or the Bosch Distance Plus filter.

 

[Quattro Pete]

What makes you think you need to change the filter every 3K miles?

 

[bryceban]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
What makes you think you need to change the filter every 3K miles?


+1

 

[Patrick_Hall]

I just want to make sure that the engine gets cleaned out well. In the old engine after 6k miles the oil was pretty dark. I may go with just one filter per oci, and wait for the uoa to tell me otherwise. I guess that would be the wiser thing to do right? Does any body know of a extended use filter that has a silicon adbv like the Motorcrafts do?

 

[Boss302fan]

Just use the new Pennzoil Conventional and change it every 3-4K miles. A few OCI's should clean up your engine.

Mobil 1 High Mileage oils also clean very well and may be a good choice to try if you want to go with a full syn. The first OCI should be 3K miles with Mobil 1 High Mileage and then go to 5-7K after.

Always change out the filter when doing a cleaning OCI...

 

[bryceban]

How many miles are on this swapped in engine?

 

[Patrick_Hall]

2.5k miles thus far, this is on the 10w30 motorcraft and a bottle of cd2 detergent 1k miles ago.

 

[bryceban]

I change my filter every 20K(twice a year) per the owners manual. Surely you would be good changing it every 5-7.5K

 

[shpankey]

Based on your mileage you said, Edge.

 

[TomYoung]

I think it is cool that you are maxing this car's life out, but really don't understand why you are using premium oils... new engine or not, the value is just not there for this car. I would go with the cheapest synthetic you can get your hands on and at least go to a 5,000 mile OCI. Or dino. Put the extra money away for a new car -- and, btw, most cars fall apart around working engines at this point -- so give some thought to the future. A few bucks saved will help. Syntec or Edge in the crank won't.

Best regards

 

[Ibrahim]

My friend, first I suggest that you buy the cheapest Synthetic Oil you can find and do a 3K mile OCI.

with PP perhaps?

Than feel free to move to EDGE, it is always a good idea to increase OCI's gradually.

If you know that ALL is WELL with your car, than I suggest you go for 10K miles OCI with EDGE at first...

check oil level every 3K miles also, go with M1, RP or BDP...

But I hate to say this but tend to I agree with the member who has advised you to consider of investing and saving for another car....

 

[shpankey]

I like your 12k mile with Edge plan. Though I agree with others, do a used oil analysis along the way to be sure (don't change the oil, just get a sample via a $4 pump from a parts store to suck it up through the dipstick tube). I'd put in Edge and at 8k miles pull a sample and used oil analysis. Go from there. If the used oil analysis shows you can go longer, go to 12k pull the oil and sample again. If that used oil analysis shows you can go longer, go to 15k on the next run and sample at the end of it. + or - the mileage based off of that. Once you know your OCI, your set and run Edge and that filter for that mileage every time and forget the used oil analysis.

Also, Edge is on sale at O'Reilly's. So stock up! For $29.99 you get 5 quarts of Edge with a Mobil 1 Extended Performance oil filter. Perfect combo for a long OCI. Don't worry about doing a cleaning run. It will clean itself over time.

 

[3putter]

The cheapest dino that is SM / GF4 rated would be fine in your application. Super Tech would be great. Suoer Tech syn would even be better at $18 / five quart jug.