Switching to Synthetic Motor Oil

[midnightsun]

Dtr wrote =

An ISL engine in a motor home takes 7.3 GALLONS of oil not quarts of oil and is rated for 20,000 miles with nonsynthetic oil.

100,000 miles+ seems a little optimistic even though big rig engines have even more oil than an ISL.

Your mileage seems high and misleading and it is really misleading to those that do not understand the large oil capacity in the Big Rig vs the few quarts in an EX.

When your crap oil breaks down the filters job is to remove the particles circulating in the oil...if it doesn't you are circulating 7 gallons of contaminated oil.

If your engine is leaking any water, gas, or coolant into that oil, you're again circulating 7 gallons of contaminated oil that is probably breaking down faster and causing more wear because of mentioned contaminants.

Oil analysis will tell you what is going on with the oil and its additive package....plus the engine. Clean uncontaminated oil doesn't need to be replaced....whether that be 5K, 10K, 50K or 350K miles in circulation. Again analysis will tell you if the oil should be changed because of additive loss or not regardless of "capacity".

You obviously think you know what your talking about, but from my end i understand you don't.

 

[midnightsun]

Oil life is not by color!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi_J4SZUlSo

Filter information
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiLhfAFhkvs

Bypass filtration systems.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKBs6KGcgwI

Another good small particle filter demo vs normal filter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaBuV9pOcrU

1 million miles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtspMVHiBuQ

 

[gilbertk]

new 2014 Ford Explorer Std V6 engine

Does any one recommend switching to a full high quality Synthetic oil Vs. the non synthetic that come with the car. thanks Gil K

 

[Rick]

Welcome to the forum. I moved you thread to our Stock 2011+ subforum.

 

[1995E]

Many have switched to 5W-20 full synthetic. Regular Dino oil won't cut it for today's engines and that's why ford uses a semi synthetic blend. Going a full synthetic would be good as there have been people on this forum that got 80,000 miles on full synthetic with no problems and one person even went 5W-30 full synthetic. Brand matters too so Mobil 1 or amsoil are popular.

 

[peterk9]

Does any one recommend switching to a full high quality Synthetic oil Vs. the non synthetic that come with the car. thanks Gil K

Welcome to the Forum gilbert.:wavey:
If you are in the U.S. your Explorer likely came with the synthetic blend oil.
It would also be helpful if you added the model to your profile so it appears in the left column.
Asking questions on oil will bring you many different opinions. I'm going to move your thread/post to one that discusses oil use.

Peter

 

[peterk9]

Many have switched to 5W-20 full synthetic. Regular Dino oil won't cut it for today's engines and that's why ford uses a semi synthetic blend. Going a full synthetic would be good as there have been people on this forum that got 80,000 miles on full synthetic with no problems and one person even went 5W-30 full synthetic. Brand matters too so Mobil 1 or amsoil are popular.

Explorers delivered in Canada come with the regular, non synthetic motor oil and that is all the dealer uses in mine. Ford wouldn't recommend its use if it wasn't able to "cut it".

Peter

 

[wallyuwl]

Does any one recommend switching to a full high quality Synthetic oil Vs. the non synthetic that come with the car. thanks Gil K

You might want to check out www.bobistheoilguy.com. It is a forum dedicated pretty much to motor oil.

Going synthetic in the standard 6 cyl engine would be not only fine, but smart. Synthetic oils shear less, handle fuel dilution better, and can be used for longer intervals. You could probably go 7500 miles or so without a problem. Just make sure you are using a major name brand (Mobil 1, Quaker State Ultimate Durability, Pennzoil Platinum, Castrol Edge, Kendall Synthetic, Amsoil, Valvoline Synpower, Royal Purple, or Napa brand synthetic which is rebranded Synpower) and the correct weight (5W-20 I think - don't have my own Ex yet to know for sure ). All synthetics should meet the oil spec Ford lists in the manual, but double check on the back of the bottle to be sure.

And while not an issue with the standard 6 cyl, the other two engine options are direct injected and would be best suited with synthetic, too. Direct injected engines get a lot more fuel dilution which shears the oil and reduces protection. Synthetics handle the fuel better. But oil in these engines should be changed every 3000-4000 miles still.

 

[Sgt1411]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpwrlWJMd40

 

[182RG]

You could probably go 7500 miles or so without a problem.

More than probably. 10,000 miles, 1 year, or when the Oil Life Monitor says to. Per the book.

 

[lakersfreak]

Can I use 5W-30 Mobile 1 Extended oil for 2015 Explorer limited??

I know the manufacturer recommends 5W-20, but is it ok to use 5W-30 instead? I use 5W-30 on my 2013 Mustang GT, which by the way also recommends 5W-20, so it would be nice for me to have the same oil for both vehicles.

Also, I'm planning on changing the oil every 7,000 miles, just like my Mustang.

 

[lakersfreak]

no one? :<

 

[2TimingTom]

You'll be fine.

 

[1995E]

no one? :<

I did. I used Mobil 1 5W-30 my last oil change after using 5W-20 for 35K miles. Went to Florida and back with it. No problems at all. The Ecoboost engines of the same displacement uses 5W-30 so I assume it offers better lubrication properties so might as well. Read up on it and it seems that 5W-30 will offer better protection than 5W-20 and that 5W-20 is only used due to CAFE rules and it is not really in the best interest of preventing wear on your engine.

This article explains it really well I think: http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/518/motor-oils

Someone else in the forum used 5W-30 as well and his vehicle is 80K plus miles.

 

[bigdude2468]

Wrong and wrong. Higher weight oil does not provide better lubrication, actually the opposite is true. While CAFE might be a consideration modern engines operate with lower tolerances that require a lighter / thinner oil to get into the tiny passages. Mobil 1 or any synthetic oil will provide excellent lubrication and I doubt while even towing you are putting a lot of stress on your engine. Remember with a six speed transmission at highway speeds your engine is at roughly 1700 RPM's, the engine is practically in a coma. 30 years ago at 60 miles per hour the engine would probably be at 3500 rpm. Synthetic oils don't burn off, provide better lubrication, don't shear and does not generate sludge.

Use 5W 20 like the manufacturer recommends, I think they know more about lubrication than we do.

 

[bigdude2468]

The article is 13 years old, much has changed. Motor oils are much different and much higher quality. FWIW many Euro cars now use a Dexos oil at 0W20 viscosity.

 

[bigdude2468]

Another consideration is that most engine wear occurs at start up> A lower weight oil will flow better at low temp thus providing protection sooner.

 

[2TimingTom]

Another consideration is that most engine wear occurs at start up> A lower weight oil will flow better at low temp thus providing protection sooner.

Correct. And since both are 5w20 or 5w30, both have the same cold viscosity.

See the 5- that's the cold viscosity. The 20/30 is the hot viscosity. That's right, it thickens as it warms up.

I bet if you blew the dust off and cracked open the plastic protecting that owner's manual of yours, you would find that given different environmental temperature ranges, different oil is recommended.

 

[Odrapnew]

Correct. And since both are 5w20 or 5w30, both have the same cold viscosity.

See the 5- that's the cold viscosity. The 20/30 is the hot viscosity. That's right, it thickens as it warms up.

I bet if you blew the dust off and cracked open the plastic protecting that owner's manual of yours, you would find that given different environmental temperature ranges, different oil is recommended.

That’s not a true statement. The lower number is the equivalent oil weight @ colder temperatures and the higher number is the equivalent weight at 212F. The oil will still get thinner when it heats up.

 

[bigdude2468]

212 degrees is the temperature used for testing purposes, oil see much higher operating temps than 212 F.