Synthetic oil

[klink1983]

What is everyones opinion on synthetic oil? I have an 11 Fusion SE, and in the 13 months I have owned it I put on 56000km. A huge majority of that is highway cruising at 90-120km/h between the base and my house. (Army base where I am posted is 90 minutes from my house and my wife) I currently have the prepaid maintenance package which has oilchanges and regular scheduled maintenance. I am contemplating switching to synthetic because (I think) I can go longer without an oil change, its all around better for my engine, helps with gas mileage, durable in cold weather Canadian starting, etc. etc. etc. If you were in my boots, would you start supplying the oil and continuing with the service plan, or stick with it at oil changes every 8000km for the time being? I think I am good up to 100,000km before I have to start paying. After that, I plan on doing my own oil changes because labour up here is legalized theft! I ran mobil1 on my old car without any problems at all. What is everyone elses opinion on oil...dont tell me RoyalPurple either, its like 13 bucks a litre up here..... unless you want to pay for it for me... lol Cheers!!!!

Edited April 26, 2012 by klink1983

[Big Jim]

Keep in mind that you may have a warranty issue if you use extended oil changes, even with synthetic. Ford still requires the same oil change interval even if synthetic is used.

 

With that said, today's conventional oils are really stellar. They perform better than synthetic did 20 years ago. There is very little if any benefit for a street driven car.

 

Synthetic does have an edge at extreme temperatures, and extended oil change intervals, but as conventional oil continues to improve with every new iteration of API specs, the edge gets thinner and thinner.

 

My recomendation is to use Motorcraft oil specified for the car and don't exceed the factory intervals until you go out of warranty. Then you can do what you want. If the weather in the part of Canada you are in get cold enough in the winter that the pour point becomes critical, use synthetic, but make sure it meets Ford requirements and chnage it a factory recommended intervals.

 

As far as longer engine life from using synthetic is concerned, it isn't likely to make much difference. With proper care from either kind of oil, the engine should last longer than the rest of the car. You are likely to tire of the car long before it matters.

[FFHdriver]

Keep in mind that you may have a warranty issue if you use extended oil changes, even with synthetic. Ford still requires the same oil change interval even if synthetic is used.

 

With that said, today's conventional oils are really stellar. They perform better than synthetic did 20 years ago. There is very little if any benefit for a street driven car.

 

Synthetic does have an edge at extreme temperatures, and extended oil change intervals, but as conventional oil continues to improve with every new iteration of API specs, the edge gets thinner and thinner.

 

My recomendation is to use Motorcraft oil specified for the car and don't exceed the factory intervals until you go out of warranty. Then you can do what you want. If the weather in the part of Canada you are in get cold enough in the winter that the pour point becomes critical, use synthetic, but make sure it meets Ford requirements and chnage it a factory recommended intervals.

 

As far as longer engine life from using synthetic is concerned, it isn't likely to make much difference. With proper care from either kind of oil, the engine should last longer than the rest of the car. You are likely to tire of the car long before it matters.

I drive about 5500 miles per year and change the oil once a year. I use Motorcraft synthetic and a Motorcraft filter. Most of my driving is short trips of 10-20 miles at speeds below 60 MPH. The extra cost of the synthetic over the blend is insignificant.

[BeenFused]

Mobil1 Extended Performance Synthetic oil is good for 15,000 miles of protection but you do need to stay with the factory recommended internal as long as you're under warranty. Kendall GT-1 Full Synthetic is made by ConocoPhillips who I believe also makes the motor craft oil. The Kendall product includes a liquid titanium additive that I've heard makes it better. I've been told Ford doesn't want to pay for the extras in what they offer. I found a site at http://lubeudo.com that has the Kendall full synthetic 0W-20 oil for only $5.49 a quart but I don't know if they ship to Canada or not. They also have the Mobil products and the 0W20 Mobil1 Advanced Fuel Economy oil would probably be a good choice for a cold climate. If flows much better when cold but is just like a 5W20 at operating temperature.

[klink1983]

Mobil1 Extended Performance Synthetic oil is good for 15,000 miles of protection but you do need to stay with the factory recommended internal as long as you're under warranty. Kendall GT-1 Full Synthetic is made by ConocoPhillips who I believe also makes the motor craft oil. The Kendall product includes a liquid titanium additive that I've heard makes it better. I've been told Ford doesn't want to pay for the extras in what they offer. I found a site at http://lubeudo.com that has the Kendall full synthetic 0W-20 oil for only $5.49 a quart but I don't know if they ship to Canada or not. They also have the Mobil products and the 0W20 Mobil1 Advanced Fuel Economy oil would probably be a good choice for a cold climate. If flows much better when cold but is just like a 5W20 at operating temperature.

 

020 works great here for the winter months. I don't live so remotely that I drive a skidoo part of the year, but where I am we have about 8 or 9 weeks that really really suck. I bet if they ship to Canada it'd be expensive. Ill have a look, I may be proven wrong. At the rate I am going, I will be out of my factory warranty in another 18ish months. Im all for spending a bit of extra coin to make my car last a bit longer and possibly perform a bit more efficient.