Degrandbob Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 My Ford dealer is offering a Synthetic Oil change for $20 more than the 'normal' semi synthetic oil change I get every 5000 miles! Anyone have input on any benefit to choose one over the other? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stolenmoment Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 I had a Subaru Forester with the well-known head-gasket issue (drips everywhere), and I used full synthetic for evaluation. When I changed oil the next time, the tech told me that when she opened the drain plug, only a few drops came out, and that the synthetic had save the engine. Good enough for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 5 hours ago, Degrandbob said: My Ford dealer is offering a Synthetic Oil change for $20 more than the 'normal' semi synthetic oil change I get every 5000 miles! Anyone have input on any benefit to choose one over the other? Why are you changing every 5k miles? Did you know that wear rates and friction decrease as the OCI increases? At minimum stick with the 10k OCI as recommended by Ford. See publication link below by Ford / Conoco. Either oil is fine to use. https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/2007-01-4133/ Degrandbob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbov Posted February 3, 2020 Report Share Posted February 3, 2020 4 hours ago, stolenmoment said: ... the tech told me that when she opened the drain plug, only a few drops came out... So the sump was empty? Synthetic oil won't prevent engine failure! You were lucky.... I also paid my dealer extra for full synthetic... they got no-name oil from a local auto parts store. I don't believe it was misrepresented, but.... Here's a summary of oil tests done at ~10K vehicle miles, or removal in the last case, over 65K miles. The right two are base oil out of the bottle, so you can see the additive packages. Iron is the only thing that concerned me, but the rate seems fairly constant. I'll note that Paul Jones car shows less than half the iron, with over twice the ICE miles between changes (he does extended change interval). Bov Oil Data 191105.pdf The wear-out item for oil is "TBN," total base number, a measure of the oil's ability to neutralize acids. My last two measures are the same oil at increasing age. It's the one thing I wish Paul has measured, given his higher ICE mileage. As long as it meets spec, what you put in doesn't matter. I'm likely to use Mobil 1 AFE or EP, if only because I have the base oil data. HAve fun, Frank Degrandbob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigqueue Posted February 4, 2020 Report Share Posted February 4, 2020 16 hours ago, Degrandbob said: My Ford dealer is offering a Synthetic Oil change for $20 more than the 'normal' semi synthetic oil change I get every 5000 miles! Anyone have input on any benefit to choose one over the other? I am no expert, though that doesn't stop me from recommending synthetic oils. I have had great luck with them, and my greater than 200,000 miles for each of my last 7 cars (mine and my wife) seems to give me the confidence to recommend it. I also recommend the website: www.bobisyjroilguy.com for great information and insights. Here is a section talking the ins and outs of motor oil.....and there are other great areas including forums chock full of info. https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-101/ -Quentin Degrandbob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigqueue Posted February 4, 2020 Report Share Posted February 4, 2020 One last thing......one response on the "Bob The Oil Guy" website regarding synthetic oils is a recommendation for them over non-synthetics....given the following logic: (here is a link to the post: https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/round-1-bitog-q-a/ ) -Quentin C-MaxA2 and Degrandbob 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degrandbob Posted February 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2020 23 hours ago, Plus 3 Golfer said: Why are you changing every 5k miles? Did you know that wear rates and friction decrease as the OCI increases? At minimum stick with the 10k OCI as recommended by Ford. See publication link below by Ford / Conoco. Either oil is fine to use. https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/2007-01-4133/ Since I retired, I'm only driving about 5000 miles a year ! The maintenance manual indicates never to exceed one year or 10,000 miles between oil change intervals! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbov Posted February 4, 2020 Report Share Posted February 4, 2020 Yes, the issue is time, not mileage. I can only offer the data posted yesterday showing nothing untoward happening with the oil if you go by miles instead of years. - The wear products (iron) are consistent, higher than other C-Max, but lower than healthy conventional engines (per Blackstone). It roughly doubles across the last two samples because my mileage is down, and it takes two years to get the miles on it (and I was getting ready to trade it in.) - The buffer system (TBN) is declining, as expected, but based on miles, not time. - The viscosity/flashpoint/%fuel-in-oil interact with your driving mode, at least in cold climates. More highway driving seems to drive off the fuel. If you're driving with a high EV percentage, you can expect fuel in the oil. That, in turn, drops the flashpoint and reduces viscosity. I'll also note that I used a 10K synthetic oil change interval in my Volvos, which went 240K, 330K and 250K, all retired due to rust issues. For me, the oil choice comes down to "oil's cheap, why scrimp?" You can always provide your own oil, and request a discount. I do. Have fun, Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigqueue Posted February 5, 2020 Report Share Posted February 5, 2020 13 hours ago, Degrandbob said: Since I retired, I'm only driving about 5000 miles a year ! The maintenance manual indicates never to exceed one year or 10,000 miles between oil change intervals! Yes, I see...that makes sense. I drive about 45K miles a year,. so I can't imagine driving only 5000 miles except in that I do about every 6 weeks or so.....but I can see that. If that is the case, and you only change once a year.....go for the gusto and fill it with synthetic.... Degrandbob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted February 5, 2020 Report Share Posted February 5, 2020 16 hours ago, Degrandbob said: Since I retired, I'm only driving about 5000 miles a year ! The maintenance manual indicates never to exceed one year or 10,000 miles between oil change intervals! LOL, OK. I thought you might still be on Ford’s early 2000s MY 5k / 6 month schedule. I believe shortly after the 2007 report I referenced on wear and OCI, Ford went to 7.5 k miles ( not sure when they went to one year) and eventually extended OCI to 10k / one year. I’ve used synthetics for many years: (Mobil Delvac) in my diesels since 1977, and Mobil1 in my gas vehicles since 2000. $20 EXTRA for synthetic is still too high. About twice a year Mobil has been offering a $12 rebate on a 5 quart jug of Mobil1 oil. Walmart generally sells it for around $25. So, watch for the rebate (someone will likely flag it on the forum), buy the oil and like fbov says, take it to whoever does your OC. Here’s the link to check Mobil promotions. https://mobiloil.com/en/promotion/mobil-promotions Degrandbob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degrandbob Posted February 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2020 24 minutes ago, Plus 3 Golfer said: LOL, OK. I thought you might still be on Ford’s early 2000s MY 5k / 6 month schedule. I believe shortly after the 2007 report I referenced on wear and OCI, Ford went to 7.5 k miles ( not sure when they went to one year) and eventually extended OCI to 10k / one year. I’ve used synthetics for many years: (Mobil Delvac) in my diesels since 1977, and Mobil1 in my gas vehicles since 2000. $20 EXTRA for synthetic is still too high. About twice a year Mobil has been offering a $12 rebate on a 5 quart jug of Mobil1 oil. Walmart generally sells it for around $25. So, watch for the rebate (someone will likely flag it on the forum), buy the oil and like fbov says, take it to whoever does your OC. Here’s the link to check Mobil promotions. https://mobiloil.com/en/promotion/mobil-promotions I'm old school and use to change oil myself in the driveway every 3000 miles (10/40w) in the 60s/70s with those big Ford V8s in my Mach -1 and Gran Torinos! Oh, those were the days! I regress, now that I drive my hybrid Cmax, I wonder if changing to synthetic oil ,after using non synthetic for a few years, will have any impact on the engine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbov Posted February 5, 2020 Report Share Posted February 5, 2020 4 hours ago, Degrandbob said: ... after using non synthetic... The usual prohibition is to use conventional oil during the engine's "break-in" period, but I believe that's old school thinking, too. I know both dealerships that did oil changes on our C-Max used the same Ford semi-synthetic oil part number. I suspect the 0W20 equivalent is in the Escape in my driveway. Have fun, Frank Degrandbob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degrandbob Posted February 6, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2020 19 hours ago, fbov said: The usual prohibition is to use conventional oil during the engine's "break-in" period, but I believe that's old school thinking, too. I know both dealerships that did oil changes on our C-Max used the same Ford semi-synthetic oil part number. I suspect the 0W20 equivalent is in the Escape in my driveway. Have fun, Frank Thanks! I noticed the dealer charges extra for the 0W20 oil! Also learned how to reset the oil change indicator after each visit (dealer forgets)...also must remember to tell dealer NOT to reduce my tire air pressure down to 38 PSI during each visit! Love my Cmax! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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