Which engine oil for Fiesta ST

The 0w labeling in this case is mostly irrelevant. AFAIK the Mobil 1 ESP 0w30 Kv40 is on par with other engine oils listed as 5w. The part that makes the 0w so good is the fact that the 0w variant uses PAO/Ester base and has a more robust additive pack than the 5w ESP.
This, plus the HTHS on ESP is 3.5 which gives a nice bump in protection
 
The 0w labeling in this case is mostly irrelevant. AFAIK the Mobil 1 ESP 0w30 Kv40 is on par with other engine oils listed as 5w. The part that makes the 0w so good is the fact that it uses PAO/Ester base and has a more robust additive pack than the 5w ESP.
THIS right here.
 
why, in laymans terms, would one use a 0w30 in a car where the recommended factory fill is 5w20 (or 5w30 depending on location), especially one as prone to heating issues as the Fiesta ST?
@XanRules , the Mobil 1 ESP 0W-30 is made with higher quality and/or more group4 and 5 base stock. Also, it meets the European ACEA C3 specification that US API rated oils don't meet. The C3 Spec gives that 0W-30 a >3.5 HTHS number. What that means is a stronger film strength-protective oil film between moving parts. I think most of your API rated 5W-30 or 0W-30 oils have an HTHS 2.8-2.9. The reason API doesn't like the C3 ACEA spec is the thinner the oil, the less resistance for the oil pump to push the oil through the engine. It is about EPA rules and meeting CAFE standards. This is an exaggeration, but when the API labs have their 50 engines lined up and running in their controlled environment, they may show a fuel milage improvement of 1/10 of 1 percent or something. Basically, the thinner the oil, the less horsepower it takes to circulate the oil through the engine. My car calls for 0W-16 oil, I run a 0W-30 oil in it. On my occasional 300-mile round trips to Omaha, I saw no visible tank to tank milage difference between the 0W-16 and the 0W-30 oil I run now. It is not a big deal to most people, but I am a kind of nuts and prefer the stronger oil film over the fuel milage difference I can't even see with my calculator figuring from tank-to-tank fuel ups. Hopefully this helps. There are other 0W-30 engine oils out there besides Mobil 1 ESP that meet that Euro ACEA C3 spec. Anyhow, that is my reasoning for using the 0W-30 C3 oil as opposed to a 16,20 or 30 weight API rated oil.
 
Pennzoil Ultra Platinum High Mileage
Can you link to this product? I don't think it exists.

why, in laymans terms, would one use a 0w30 in a car where the recommended factory fill is 5w20
The only "benefit" of a lower grade oil is a fuel economy increase that is so small you won't ever be able to detect it. The benefits of a higher grade oil are increased wear protection and increased margin for viscosity loss due to fuel dilution. So many here choose to run higher grade oils to enjoy those benefits.
 
@tired you're correct, sorry, I'm just using regular Pennzoil Platinum high mileage, not Pennzoil Ultra Platinum.

So for everyone else, basically, the "0" is closer to a "5" in terms of how it actually performs in the real world, and has additional benefits in the form of a higher HTHS and better additives, do I have this about right?
 
@tired you're correct, sorry, I'm just using regular Pennzoil Platinum high mileage, not Pennzoil Ultra Platinum.

So for everyone else, basically, the "0" is closer to a "5" in terms of how it actually performs in the real world, and has additional benefits in the form of a higher HTHS and better additives, do I have this about right?
Yup, that it.
 
basically, the "0" is closer to a "5" in terms of how it actually performs in the real world
I'm not really sure what you mean by that.

The 0W-xx oils force the oil companies to use a better base oil to meet the cold flow properties, essentially. They can get away with lower quality with 5W-xx. Winter rating will not have any impact on HTHS or additives though.
 
I'm not really sure what you mean by that.

The 0W-xx oils force the oil companies to use a better base oil to meet the cold flow properties, essentially. They can get away with lower quality with 5W-xx. Winter rating will not have any impact on HTHS or additives though.
Sorry, even as long as I've been lurking here there's a lot of information that hasn't quite sunk in and I get a bit overwhelmed. What I meant by "the 0 being closer to a 5" is that, if I am reading these comments correctly, either:

1. the viscosity of the Mobil 1 ESP 0w30 when cold is going to be closer to that of some other companies' 5w30, and/or
2. the difference is so negligible so as not to matter,

but either way I should not worry about putting this particular 0w30 in my car even though the manual recommends 5w20 or 5w30, especially due to the additional benefits from the better base oil, additive pack, and HTHS, when compared to even the Mobil 1 ESP 5w30.

Is that correct?
 
the viscosity of the Mobil 1 ESP 0w30 when cold is going to be closer to that of some other companies' 5w30, and/or
I'm not sure you can say that. The winter ratings are only for the specific temperature where they are tested. So for example unless you're cranking at -22F or lower, then you can't really make a statement about which is thicker or thinner. I think you're getting lost in the weeds. You can look at KV100 which will tell you the viscosity at 100C. Sometimes they list KV40 which will be viscosity at 40C.

I think your #2 is accurate. I would not worry about it. For choosing an oil, you just need to look at your cranking temp. If you're cranking below -22F then you need a 0W-xx. Next, pick your grade. 30 or 40. Then put them together, and that's what you should shop for.

The question of oil quality is separate from winter ratings discussion above:

The 0W-xx oils force the oil companies to use a better base oil to meet the cold flow properties, essentially. They can get away with lower quality with 5W-xx. Winter rating will not have any impact on HTHS or additives though.
This holds true still.

Now, the exception is if you're buying AMSOIL or HPL. They DO NOT cheap out on base oils even with 10W and 15w oils (and straight SAE grade oils for HPL), so there's something arguably to be gained by using the highest winter rating you can. So for example for me, I would try to get by with a 10W-30 oil because I can squeak by in the winter even though I live where it gets cold, because it will have significantly lower VIIs, lower Noack, and theoretically lower deposits.

Hope this helps.
 
I should not worry about putting this particular 0w30 in my car even though the manual recommends 5w20 or 5w30, especially due to the additional benefits from the better base oil, additive pack, and HTHS, when compared to even the Mobil 1 ESP 5w30.
Yes. This is correct. There are some Boutique 0W-30 oils out there that may outperform the Mobil 1 ESP 0W-30 but they could cost twice as much. Mobil 1 ESP 0W-30 is hard to beat for the money and almost always available at Walmart. Use the 0W-30, however, the 5W-30 is made with a lower percentage of the group 4 and 5 base stocks.
 
One factor that is important is learn the CCU and Mrv testing results of the oil in question,(if you can),that will tell you what and how the oil will perform ,especially when cold out, the pour point of the oil is just that and does not directly corelate on the total function when cold weather like and even just starting up protection,
 
I'm not sure you can say that. The winter ratings are only for the specific temperature where they are tested. So for example unless you're cranking at -22F or lower, then you can't really make a statement about which is thicker or thinner. I think you're getting lost in the weeds. You can look at KV100 which will tell you the viscosity at 100C. Sometimes they list KV40 which will be viscosity at 40C.

I think your #2 is accurate. I would not worry about it. For choosing an oil, you just need to look at your cranking temp. If you're cranking below -22F then you need a 0W-xx. Next, pick your grade. 30 or 40. Then put them together, and that's what you should shop for.

The question of oil quality is separate from winter ratings discussion above:


This holds true still.

Now, the exception is if you're buying AMSOIL or HPL. They DO NOT cheap out on base oils even with 10W and 15w oils (and straight SAE grade oils for HPL), so there's something arguably to be gained by using the highest winter rating you can. So for example for me, I would try to get by with a 10W-30 oil because I can squeak by in the winter even though I live where it gets cold, because it will have significantly lower VIIs, lower Noack, and theoretically lower deposits.

Hope this helps.
Okay, I think I understand a bit, but this is just for my knowledge, really. You said "If you're cranking below -22F then you need a 0W-xx," but I'm not cranking anywhere near those temperatures. It rarely gets below 20F where I am. Do I understand correctly that "need" is the operative word here, ie, I don't necessarily have to worry about that first number unless I'm cranking the engine in those conditions?
 
Do I understand correctly that "need" is the operative word here, ie, I don't necessarily have to worry about that first number unless I'm cranking the engine in those conditions?
You don't have to think twice about it. You are correct. With that weather, you could run 15W-xx without an issue. However, if you are not using a boutique oil then non-boutique oil companies use the higher winter rating as a way to use cheap base oils because good base oils make it easier to formulate an oil that will crank at very low temps (broad strokes here, but I think you get the drift). Boutiques keep the same high quality base oils and just use fewer VIIs. So if you're buying Mobil, Pennzoil, et al., then in general, a 0W-30 will have higher quality base oils than a 5W-30 or 10W-30. That's what makes Mobil 1 ESP so unique and why it's so highly recommended here even if you lived in Phoenix. You don't need the winter rating, but getting the high quality base oils is a nice side effect of the winter rating.
 
to simply state, you want the oil at ALL given temperatures to (as in start up) to FLOW as soon as possible throughout the engine ,including the bearings and upper valve train components , and to mention think also of the engine oil as a sort of hydraulic fluid to the vvt too, flow and pumpability is a high priority, along with the running viscosity protection . especially in modern engines. Thus is also ONE of the reasons of lower viscosity oils. the additive package is vital in all these functions.
 
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