5W-20 vs 5W-30 Mustang 2003 *MY* Experience.

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"I'm curious as to what type of mileage people are getting out of the 4.6L Mustangs using nothing but MC or any 5w-20 conventional oil. Any Mustang forum members here?"

OK..sold my 02 Mustang GT with 44k miles(five years)..used MC 5-20 oil for all but one change..I got 25 mpg doing 80mph @ 2000rpm( 5 speed)..changed every 3k or 6 mos..used MC 820s filter..motor ran like a Swiss clock..never had a tick on startup..even let the wife drive it..ONCE
 
I have had similar results to your's in my '96 GT. The engine feels smoother and uses less oil with the 5W-30. But it is quicker and quieter on the 5W-20. I blend them. Optimal oil would be a sticky thick 20 weight in my >>200K mile engine.

Part of the reason the 20 weight oils are better is that they don't hang on the parts, thus more power but less vibration dampening. Also, the 4.6L does not have tight bearing clearances. It has a very high volume oil pump like the Hondas, and approriately sized metering orifaces to the valvetrain and chain tensioners. Thicker oils just cause less oil flow and HP loss to the oil pump.
 
Rodbuckler - Havoline or Chevron 5W-30 might be great for your application, it runs thin, in the range of a thick 5W-20
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Oh no! Synlube has been mentioned in the thread. Well, it only gets worse from here on out. Just kidding. Er, maybe not. Anyway, Synlube is a perfect example of the anyone, anywhere can post anything on the www. If they told me the sky was up, my reaction would be to look down.




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Which is why I said:

"Of course they are selling Synlube so take it with a grain of salt."

Not much in the way of actual testing that I can find that shows OVERALL there is greater wear with 5W-20.
Cases can be made for just about anything, and are made, every day.
Like I said, the problem searching for this information is that Amsoil (a good product IMHO) shows up all over the search engines, even with carefully crafted search arguments.
 
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Steve, sorry I meant mileage in terms of how many miles people are getting out of the 4.6L V8 engines? 5w-20's and the 4.6L have been around for quite some time. I'd like to know who has gone over 200,000 miles in a Mustang driving it hard using nothing but conventional oil.
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Can't say for the Mustangs as I only know one person with one over 200k, I think he is at about 230k or so.
He uses Motorcraft blend 5W-20 and Motorcraft filters.

I take a lot of limos/taxis and I always peek at the odometer and most of them are well over 200k on Ford 4.6s.
The problem with the Mustang is many people modify them (supercharger etc) as well as race them on the weekends so it's hard to get a number.
In the forums, it's not unusual to see these cars with 150k on them and still running fine, even after the mods.
Like I said the Crown Vic limos run forever with the 4.6l.
 
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I have had similar results to your's in my '96 GT. The engine feels smoother and uses less oil with the 5W-30. But it is quicker and quieter on the 5W-20. I blend them. Optimal oil would be a sticky thick 20 weight in my >>200K mile engine.

Part of the reason the 20 weight oils are better is that they don't hang on the parts, thus more power but less vibration dampening. Also, the 4.6L does not have tight bearing clearances. It has a very high volume oil pump like the Hondas, and approriately sized metering orifaces to the valvetrain and chain tensioners. Thicker oils just cause less oil flow and HP loss to the oil pump.




Great information!
I did not realize that. The Mustang boards are filled with the "tight clearence stuff" and I have always doubted it because Ford, out of the blue, just changed the spec one year and I find it difficult to believe they re-tooled. I'm also sure they studied this in depth, but again I am always a wee bit suspicious because I get the feeling that making the warranty time is all they really care about and Ford's warranty is 36k although I think they just changed to 50k this year?
You could probably run the car on baby oil and still make 36k
cheers.gif
 
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Rodbuckler - Havoline or Chevron 5W-30 might be great for your application, it runs thin, in the range of a thick 5W-20
smile.gif





Thanks for the tips on the lower viscosity 30 weights. I don't use conventional oil since the PO's of my car used Chevron 10W-30 and it allowed the rings to coke up and the engine to varnish. I have tried the Syntec 5W-30 since they advertise it at 9.7 cSt at 100degC, but the advertised viscosity is suspect. I will try the Syntec Blend 5W-20 on my next change.

The 4.6L is a very long lasting engine with good oil and proper OCI. I have found that varnish in the lifters is a sore spot and is probably an indication of more trouble to follow, and that cleaner/lubricant in the gas makes for a better running and sounding engine. Also, a little head work can seriously wake up the powerband in these engines with no other changes.
 
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Like I said, the problem searching for this information is that Amsoil (a good product IMHO) shows up all over the search engines, even with carefully crafted search arguments.




It's Amsoil's ambition to take over Google and then the whole world after that. Boutique oil extremists are a growing threat to the nation's search engine security.
grin.gif
 
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Like I said, the problem searching for this information is that Amsoil (a good product IMHO) shows up all over the search engines, even with carefully crafted search arguments.



Haha!!
You're a riot!!

Every time I hear Amsoil I think of Amway for some reason.
My uncle sold Amway.
He was the bane of every family gathering. My mom used to say the fastest way to clear a room was to let my uncle in the door!


It's Amsoil's ambition to take over Google and then the whole world after that. Boutique oil extremists are a growing threat to the nation's search engine security.
grin.gif



 
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Amsoil (a good product IMHO) shows up all over the search engines, even with carefully crafted search arguments.




Try adding -amsoil to the end of your search string. This will eliminate all of the amsoil pages. Might as well add -synlube as well.

For example:
ford 5w20 oil -amsoil -synlube
 
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I have found that varnish in the lifters is a sore spot and is probably an indication




So the 4.6 shows varnish using conventional oils?
 
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My searches usually look like this:

-amazon -ebay -nextag -bizrate - craigslist -alibaba -china
grin.gif





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Yea, I hear ya!
The problem with Amsoil showing up is that many times you start reading the page and it looks interesting and only then you find it's another Amsoil advertisement. Nothing in the URL or title would lead you that way.
Anyhow, Amsoil is good oil IMHO so I'm not knocking them at all.
 
Believe me - it drives me just as crazy when someone says: "Amsoil says......" and it turns out to be some weenie dealer's site they are quoting. I guess I'm pretty quick at ferretting out bogus sites (duh), so I don't modify my oil searches too much.
 
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Rodbuckler - Havoline or Chevron 5W-30 might be great for your application, it runs thin, in the range of a thick 5W-20
smile.gif





Thanks for the tips on the lower viscosity 30 weights. I don't use conventional oil since the PO's of my car used Chevron 10W-30 and it allowed the rings to coke up and the engine to varnish. I have tried the Syntec 5W-30 since they advertise it at 9.7 cSt at 100degC, but the advertised viscosity is suspect. I will try the Syntec Blend 5W-20 on my next change.

The 4.6L is a very long lasting engine with good oil and proper OCI. I have found that varnish in the lifters is a sore spot and is probably an indication of more trouble to follow, and that cleaner/lubricant in the gas makes for a better running and sounding engine. Also, a little head work can seriously wake up the powerband in these engines with no other changes.




Was the coked rings and varnish due to Chevron oil, 10w-30 weight oil, OCI, or racing the engine? If the car was beaten on with short fast, high RPM runs that heat the engine near it's limit and then shutting the engine off without letting it cool down by driving, any oil would varnish, let alone other problems that could be blamed on the oil manufacturer.
 
My car was an I-95 commuter car for most of 185k miles for a medium-young mother of several young'ins. Maintenance by the PO's was excellent and comprehensive as far as I can tell. It was like buying a new car for $3500 that used 1 qt per 500miles, and had light varnishing with one sticky lash adjuster.

My usage of Syntec has reduced the varnish, and my M1-HDEO blends freed the rings enough to reduce consumption to 1 qt per 1250miles or so. I drive the car intermittently hard, but very smooth with lots of highway and backroad miles in between. I scared the lady on my test drive, so I doubt she ran it hard. She said she didn't use first gear; I wind it to 5000RPM in first gear on a regular basis.
 
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Anyhow, my 2003 4.6L Mustang GT calls for 5W-20, which I assume was used from birth as the car was dealer maintained and I am 2nd owner




Assume nothing about the dealer. Hyundai specs 5W20 for the entire lineup except for the Santa Fe 3.5 V6, and they routinely take delivery of 10W30 and even 10W40 for their bulk oil. That said, here, now, the future, unless the car wears, or some indication appears that the car doesn't hold the 5W20 well (seepages, etc.), I'd say use it with confidence.
 
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Quote:


Oh no! Synlube has been mentioned in the thread. Well, it only gets worse from here on out. Just kidding. Er, maybe not. Anyway, Synlube is a perfect example of the anyone, anywhere can post anything on the www. If they told me the sky was up, my reaction would be to look down.




laugh.gif


Which is why I said:

"Of course they are selling Synlube so take it with a grain of salt."

Not much in the way of actual testing that I can find that shows OVERALL there is greater wear with 5W-20.
Cases can be made for just about anything, and are made, every day.
Like I said, the problem searching for this information is that Amsoil (a good product IMHO) shows up all over the search engines, even with carefully crafted search arguments.




How about a case for 5W-20s being refined from higher quality base oils?
 
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