Oil change intervals and filters - SVT's comments

[1IDSPTTR]

Just got off the phone with a rep from SVT, and while I was asking him a boost dump question, I threw in a question about oil changes, synthetics and so on. I asked about Mobil1 5W30 and interval lengths between changes, and he said that Mobil 1 5W30 wouldn't hurt the car, and if your service rep puts it in for you, that is tacit approval that if something goes wrong they can't blame it on non-5W20. He said that even though the recommended interval is 5000 miles, he would change it every 3000 miles because of the particulate debris that gets into the oil. The thought being that even good filters can't trap everything, and that the best protection is removal of the debris in shorter time intervals rather than trusting your oil filter to remove it. Any tribilogists lurking who want to add their (considerably more than) $0.02 worth?? :-D

Allan
:beer:

 

[1IDSPTTR]

by the way

Oh, I almost forgot, FWIW, he also said that he would wait until 5000 miles before he changed to synthetics
Allan

 

[gchronis]

Did you ask your service rep if he can put Mobil 1 in there for you? I have this extended warranty deal that has free oil change every 5,000 miles, so I thought I'd change my own oil every 2,500 and use the service every 5,000, only if they would put Mobil 1 in there for me. I asked them and they are thinking about it. Said they'll get back with me on this.

 

[Cobra'03]

Originally posted by 1IDSPTTR
Just got off the phone with a rep from SVT, and while I was asking him a boost dump question, I threw in a question about oil changes, synthetics and so on. I asked about Mobil1 5W30 and interval lengths between changes, and he said that Mobil 1 5W30 wouldn't hurt the car, and if your service rep puts it in for you, that is tacit approval that if something goes wrong they can't blame it on non-5W20. He said that even though the recommended interval is 5000 miles, he would change it every 3000 miles because of the particulate debris that gets into the oil. The thought being that even good filters can't trap everything, and that the best protection is removal of the debris in shorter time intervals rather than trusting your oil filter to remove it. Any tribilogists lurking who want to add their (considerably more than) $0.02 worth?? :-D

Allan
:beer:

Lots of bad advice and misinformation there at SVT, partner. Let me get this straight: Ford knows that 5w20 is the best oil, but is wrong about the interval? Isn't that a bit inconsistent? The 5w20 issue has been dealt with, search on "Why Ford says no synoil" for the truth. The particles that the filter misses do not promote much wear - and yes, a modern quality oil can easily go 5000 miles or 5 months, whichever comes first. The important thing is to ensure the filters you use do not fracture (the filter media, not the case). I recommend picking the filter you want to use, run it awhile, and cutting one open - check that all the pleats are intact.

I use Mobil 1 and Amsoil filters, as there construction and synthetic filtration media almost never break up.

One more thing - 5000 miles is way longer than you need to wait to go syn - 1500 is enough.