Synthentic Blend to Full Synthetic?

[Mrmike]

I worked on Army vehicles for 34 years as a Dept of the Army civilian employee. The big emphasis was always on preventative maintenance. That being said I run Mobil 1 full synthetic oil and Motorcraft FL-910S filters. I changed oil and filter at 900 miles and will change it once a year or 5000 miles in the future. It may be overkill to some, but for a $40,000+ vehicle its cheap insurance. Besides that, I enjoy doing it myself.

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[bs2024]

I realize this is an old thread, but I wanted to point out for those worried about the wet timing belt that Ford does recommend either Motorcraft synthetic blend or Motorcraft full synthetic in the owner’s manual. So you can have both a full synthetic and Ford’s recommendation at the same time. The full synthetic is only about $2 more per quart, so we are only talking about $14 more per oil change. The full synthetic is readily available at the dealership.

 

[bs2024]

I spoke to a master Ford tech who sees the insides of countless engines. He advised me to go with Motorcraft Synthetic Blend. In his experience, it is actually far superior to the Motorcraft Full Synthetic (YMMV). He changes at 5K.

MC synthetic blend is good oil, but this is so phony. You can browse forums for UOA’s for both. The blend shears down to a lower viscosity than the FS, which is to be expected. Synthetic base oils are inherently more shear stable. The FS is superior, but probably not necessary. Ford doesn’t push the blend because it is superior. It’s about total cost of ownership and being good enough.

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/blackstone-uoa-results-on-factory-9-10k-mile-oci.26096/

 

[Quashish]

I worked on Army vehicles for 34 years as a Dept of the Army civilian employee. The big emphasis was always on preventative maintenance. That being said I run Mobil 1 full synthetic oil and Motorcraft FL-910S filters. I changed oil and filter at 900 miles and will change it once a year or 5000 miles in the future. It may be overkill to some, but for a $40,000+ vehicle its cheap insurance. Besides that, I enjoy doing it myself.

I second this. Mobil1 synthetic on all my vehicles Except I'm ot ex military.
I don't trust the stealership and would rather do it myself than be out of a vehicle all day

 

[Davexxxx]

My 23 F150 and now, this 24 Badlands, are my first turbo charged engines.

Prior to either of these, I took great liberties regarding oil and filter choice.

I worked around a lot of heavy equipment and it was more or less universal, that the field mechanics used Castrol and Wix.

I'm more or less an oil idiot but it doesn't take a genius to see that Wix filters are superior in build, when looking at a cutaway, or from personal experience, noting how heavy they are at oil change time, relative to others.

Anyway, I had good results. 300K before trade in was common and no problems with the guts of the engines. 5K oil and filter changes and at least a peek at the air filter, each time.

But that was then. These engines will get the Ford, Works package, at 5K intervals. After the warranty period, I may revisit that.

 

[ltcdwb]

I have been using Mobil 1 full synthetic oil in our vehicles for close to 10 years now. I plan to use it in our new to us BS Badlands. I have one shop I use to change the oil, and been going there for close to the same 10 years.

I am retired military and always enjoyed changing the oil, rotating the tires, washing and waxing the vehicles. Now that I'm in my 70's my back is reminding me of all the hours I spent riding in helicopters, JEEPS (1/4 Ton M151 Trucks), 113 personnel carriers and Abrams tanks. I'm just not as flexible these days. So I let someone else do it.

 

[Mark S.]

Blackstone Labs performs oil analysis for fleet operators. Consequently, it has a tremendous trove of data regarding oil and oil performance. Every so often it posts an article answering the question, "Which Oil Is Better?" The answer might surprise you.

 

[Meanderthal]

Blackstone Labs performs oil analysis for fleet operators. Consequently, it has a tremendous trove of data regarding oil and oil performance. Every so often it posts an article answering the question, "Which Oil Is Better?" The answer might surprise you.

My only caveat to this is that in a direct injection engine the oil's NOACK rating can be important to the intake valves. You want something with the lowest NOACK value you can find. Mobil 1 happens to be pretty good for the BS.

 

[Bucko]

Nice read Mark S. I have always stuck with synthetic blend because of its price, and oil change interval I follow. I will NEVER buy full synthetics if I change my oils at 5 to 7K intervals, because I'd be wasting my money. Full synthetic allows for longer intervals, which I don't do, based on my driving habits.

 

[Davexxxx]

Nice read Mark S. I have always stuck with synthetic blend because of its price, and oil change interval I follow. I will NEVER buy full synthetics if I change my oils at 5 to 7K intervals, because I'd be wasting my money. Full synthetic allows for longer intervals, which I don't do, based on my driving habits.

That sounds like a very reasonable "right tool for the job" type of approach.

 

[Mark S.]

My only caveat to this is that in a direct injection engine the oil's NOACK rating can be important to the intake valves. You want something with the lowest NOACK value you can find. Mobil 1 happens to be pretty good for the BS.

I believe that AMSOIL and MOBILE 1 both tout their oils as having low NOACK scores. 5W30 oils that meet the API SN SP/ILSAC GF6 standards are allowed a maximum of 15% on the standard NOACK test. I'm not aware of any full-synthetic oils that exceed 11%. I can't find any NOACK data online for Ford's recommended synthetic blend, but since it meets the API and ILSAC standards it must be below 15%.

Before I advocated for any specific brand of oil based on NOACK score I would have to see data. My assumption is that Ford collected such data before making its recommendations.

 

[Meanderthal]

I believe that AMSOIL and MOBILE 1 both tout their oils as having low NOACK scores. 5W30 oils that meet the API SN/ILSAC GF6 standards are allowed a maximum of 15% on the standard NOACK test. I'm not aware of any full-synthetic oils that exceed 11%. I can't find any NOACK data online for Ford's recommended synthetic blend, but since it meets the API and ILSAC standards it must be below 15%.

Before I advocated for any specific brand of oil based on NOACK score I would have to see data. My assumption is that Ford collected such data before making its recommendations.

It does suck that now when I really want to know the NOACK value, it has become nearly impossible to find. It also seems to vary from one weight to another within the same brand. I'm sure thicker oils naturally have a lower NOACK. I don't remember where I found the M1 NOACK number now, but at the time I decided M1 was a good enough choice.

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