What is the difference in Ford's 5w20 specs?

[Roger]

Specifically, what is the difference between the old WSS-M2C153-H and the new WSS-M2C930-A standard Ford issued for 2005?

I'm not an engineer, and I know they are highly regarded specifications, but is the new one the same, better, or worse than the old? I presume it is backward compatible, but Ford doesn't say.

Here are some links I found. Regarding the 153H spec:

http://www.ilma.org/resources/ford_2004_my.pdf

and the 930A spec:

http://www.ilma.org/resources/ford_service_fill_specs.pdf

Aside from requiring that 5W30 oil now meet the same specs as 5W20, the new 930A spec doesn't say that it still requires the double length Sequence IIIF test.

 

[Gene K]

WSS-M2C153-H = API SL/GF-3

WSS-M2C930-A = API SM/GF-4

Gene

 

[dbf]

This not so subtle bit of manipulation could be interptreted as: Ford knows the 5w20 stuff doesn't do the job as well as the 5w30 oil. However,in order to meet CAFE reqirements Ford needs you to run the 5w20 suff in those engine/vehicles that don't make CAFE without it. Engine wear and tear are not the prime concern. Those vehiclesthat can meet CAFE with 5w30 should use it. Now I know we have wonderful 5w20 UOA's and 7-10 years and millions of miles from now they will provide a meaningful data set but for the moment that universe is barely populated and cannot be shown to provide a meaningful trend as compared to the volumes of 5w30/10w30 data. Sound reasonable?

 

[SKUNKY]

dbf..that sounds reasonable..but..my 02 Mustang 4.6 seems to preform really good on the MC 5-20..when I first bought the car I ran the 5-20 till summer then switched to the MC 5-30 for one change..the motor seemed to not have as much power and I lost fuel milage so I went back to the 5-20 ...I regained the power and fuel milage...I now have over 30k on the car and still drive 80 +- on the freeway without any problems...if I had the Ford V10 and pulled a 10k trailer I might be thinking different...

 

[Gene K]

Actually its two different standards:

929A = 5W-30

930A = 5W-20

The difference is viscosity. I have never seen a Ford 5W-20 Engine that authorized 929A. They just toughened up the standards for 5W-30 while bringing both inline with the new API SM/GF-4 category.

There where still a few Ford engines that required 5W-30 or even 15W-50.

Gene

 

[JohnnyO]

I got good UOA's on our Taurus with both Mobil 1 0w-20 and Motorcraft 5w-20. I figure low wear metals are low wear metals, whatever you're running. I may end up using M1 5w-30 anyway just because a jug at Wally-World ends up being $5 cheaper than 5 bottles of 0w-20.

 

[Roger]

I simply want to know if the newer 5W20 specification (930A) is really any different than the previous 5W20 spec (153H)? When Ford 1st came out with the 153H spec it gained some credibility because it specified a double length ASTM Sequence IIIF test, in addition to ILSAC GF-3 requirements. But now there is no mention of that ASTM test in the newer 2005 spec. 930A only specs the VG follower pin and ring wear limits and the 30 mg TEOST limit, in addition to ILSAC GF-4 requirements.

In layman's terms, do these two different Ford specifications really mean anything significant for a 5W20 oil?

 

[Gary Allan]

I believe that the requirement to allow this oil to be used in EPA/CAFE testing was that it, not only, be widely available, but that it had to not increase maintenance costs over the duration of typical ownership. That is, they were not going to allow them to use "qualifying oil" for the test, even if it was made available to the public ..and then have their engines grenade on the 10th lap of the feature 500 ...so to speak.

 

[tenderloin]

http://www.ilma.org/resources/ford_service_fill_specs.pdf

SAE 5W-20 engine oil with the API Certification Mark displayed continues to be the oil recommended for most 2005 MY Ford vehicles and some Mazda vehicles.

The Ford Engineering Material Specification for SAE 5W-20 service fill oil is WSS-M2C930-A, which specifies primarily ILSAC GF-4 requirements.

In addition, VG follower pin and ring wear limits and the 30 mg TEOST limit are specified.

We continue to strongly promote the use of SAE 5W-20 for our customers. We also request the continued support of oil marketers to supply oil for our vehicles that follows the owner guide recommendation

The Ford Engineering Material Specification for SAE 5W-30 service fill oils is WSS-M2C929-A, which specifies ILSAC GF-4 requirements and the additional specifications beyond ILSAC GF-4 that are the same as SAE 5W-20.

SAE 5W-30 with the API Certification Mark displayed is recommended for 2005 MY 4.0L V6 applications only.

 

[Lance]

The question I have is, in the long run, what is the factual result of lowest overall costs in the realm of oil change frequency/ wear/ fuel mileage in the Ford 4.6l modular engine.