what oil should i use

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vik singh

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on a ST with 120 miles on it, whould be better to a 10W 30 for the winter, since i was using it in the summer? I had no problem in the summer with it, but i was jus wonder will it get to thick with the cold at start up..am In toronto so it get pretty cold here..
 
I agree with the others... Ford says 5w30 so thats what I'd use. If you have a concern you might want to ask a local Ford dealership but I assume they'll say to do what it calls for in the manual.
 
Nelson: I do not see anything on that page that says not to use synthetic oil. Synthetic oil is not a 'special break in oil' or 'friction modifier'.
 
Myth: You should break in your engine with conventional oil, then switch to a synthetic oil like Mobil 1.



Reality:



You can start using Mobil 1 with SuperSyn Technology in new vehicles at any time, even in brand new vehicles. In fact, Mobil 1 with SuperSyn Technology is original equipment (it is installed at the factory) in:



Aston Martin

Bentley Amage and Bentley GT

Cadillac CTS, XLR, SRX and STS

Chevrolet Corvette

Dodge Viper

Mercedes-Benz AMG vehicles

Mercedes SLR

Mitsubishi EVO

Pontiac GTO

All Porsche vehicles



One of the myths that surrounds synthetic oils is that new engines require a break-in period with conventional oil. The fact is, current engine manufacturing technology does not require this break-in period. As indicated by the decisions of the engineers who design the high-performance cars listed above, Mobil 1 can be used starting the day you drive the car off the showroom floor.
Click to expand...
 
I'm willing to bet that vk here really means 120k, since he (or she) is talking about use 10w-30 last summer and probably put on more than 120 miles since then.

Sport Tracs call for 5w-30 year-round, it will be fine on that. #1, engines built in the last decade have tighter tolerances inside and thinner oil is preferable. #2, with modern oil technology, thicker is not necessarily good and thinner is not necessarily bad.

If it does have 120,000 on it, run 5w-30 Max Life or another high-mileage oil and motor on.

As cold as it gets in Toronto, a thicker oil would increase engine wear.
 
I have always used 10-30 in my Trac but I live down here in the South. You gotta remember the manual is pretty generic and does not take into account where you live. Sometimes you have to think out of the box. Now for vk up in Canada, I would stick with the 5-30.

I agree about using synthetic during break-in is okay. The only real difference between synthetic and a good dyno is the synthetic will not break down as fast. That being said, I do believe in changing the oil at earlier intervals the first couple of changes until the motor gets broken in. Would be pretty dumb to spend the extra money for synthetic if your going to change it in 3000 or less.
 
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My rule of thumb on new vehicles is to change the oil and filter at half the recommended interval the first time (@ 2500 miles) with conventional oil then at 5000 and every 5000 after with Mobil 1. That is, until I got some UOA's showing that the Motorcraft blend wear numbers were about identical to the Mobil 1.

Half the money and just as good works for me. :D
 
In VK's climate, I would definitely use 5w-30 oil... .10w-30 is too thick for those cold morning startups.



Synthetic oil doesn't get as thick as dino oil at low temps... my vehicles start much easier with Mobil 1 in the crankcase.
 

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