Synthetic Blend or Full Synthetic?

[Cheech]

I got my RR not too long ago and did an oil change early and got the oil right from my local dealer and they sold me Synthetic blend. I was wondering if I should just use Full Synthetic since that seems to just be better in every case. I contacted multiple dealers and they said as long as it it 5w-30 you should be good, but at my local dealer, I got the tech sheet from what the actual ford technician would use and it says to use the synthetic blend. So I put the Synthetic blend in because that is what Ford wants and i don't want that to fuck with my warranty or anything in the future.

Any responses?

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[Glisch]

Good information in this thread. Especially the spreadsheet that shows oils that meet suggested spec

https://www.ranger6g.com/forum/threads/motor-oil-and-filter-does-it-matter-what-kind.25818/

I think most replies I’ve seen (including myself) are using full synthetic

 

[superj]

you just missed a thread on this exact subject from last week, or maybe the week before.

as long as the oil meets the ford specs, you are good. make sure your filter is a good one though since some are not as good as others.

do a search really quick for full synthetic and that other thread should pop up

edit, nevermind, there it is /\

 

[Cheech]

OK because I remember trying to get the right specs on the oil and to make sure they reach certain certifications.

 

[superj]

i used mobil1 from walmart when i did mine two weeks ago. i just checked for the right specs and then cheapest price.

 

[Ron Quixote]

Lol good luck to the dealer who tries to deny a warranty claim because you used full synthetic. Ford just recommends the blend to keep dealers’ service inventory costs down.

 

[stuartmunto]

I don't see any situation for using semi-synthetic over fully-synthetic. Just buy fully synthetic oil that's on sale that meets Ford's minimum spec and use that. The price difference between full and semi is really negligible

 

[mos]

Blend because that is what ford states in the owners manual .

 

[ColeTrainsRR]

I switched it mobile 1 at 1500 miles. And then kept it when I did my 5k mile change. I will keep doing it. Synthetic is better with heat and TT vehicles create a lot of heat. My local dealership said mobile 1 is a great oil for these trucks and even told me if I want to save some $ on my changes to bring in my own mobile 1, 5 qt jugs, as they are about 65% cheaper than what they stock.

 

[Ron Quixote]

Ford has all kinds of reasons for recommending a blend, and their priorities probably don’t align perfectly with owners’ priorities.

There is nothing that a blend does better than a full synthetic. Perhaps Ford recommends it because it wants to save its dealers a few bucks, or because its engineers feel that a blend is “good enough” to let the truck make it to some mileage that Ford thinks is sufficient. But if you care about the best protection for your engine, full synthetic is better.

 

[bigb]

How and where the vehicle operates can also give weight (no pun intended) to your oil decision. A hard working turbocharged engine, desert climates, mountain grades, towing, any of those might be considered severe duty and a good reason to use full synthetic. I agree that the blend is a money saving decision.

 

[Lion77]

Blend because that is what ford states in the owners manual .

The owners manual also lists FS, so that is an invalid argument. The additive packages between Q1SP and Q1FS are nearly identical, that's now common practice in the industry. Valvoline did an engine test using two Ford 2.3L Ecoboost's from Explorers and ran them for several hundred k miles on their blend and then full synthetic.

Side by side, in parallel, to determine the differences. The cams, bearings etc. all looked good in both, so the anti-wear additive packages worked well in both the blend any full synthetic. BUT the blended oil had CONSIDERABLE sludging and MULTIPLE stuck piston rings, it also suffered more failures during testing that required repair than the Full Synthetic oil.

The chain tensioner was also frozen on the Ecoboost engine using the blend because of sludging. So the base oil purity MATTERS over longer timeframes, especially for engines that see hot environments, towing or hard use (WOT). If you do mostly highway driving at light loads, the blend is probably fine (average use cases), but for everythign else, Full Synthetics are much better under severe conditions and especially as the mileages pile on.

Testing Different Oils Over 4 Years and 1 Million Miles

This test took them 4 years, 500k miles per an engine! They do complete teardowns of each engine side by side. It is what it is, but shows there is a significant difference. On that same token, my buddy has a 2021 Escape ST with the 3.0L, he's used MC Blend since it was new, now at 130k miles, no mechanical issues, no oil consumption, runs it out to 10k mile intervals, but changes it on the dot and always is careful during warm-up (no WOT or heavy throttle til the oil / trans is up to temp).

Most of his driving is highway, not city. He plays around with it frequently but doesn't tow anything and normally only has 1 passenger, so lightly loaded. Blend worked fine, but he recently switched to FS to try and make it to 200k before any rebuilds after seeing the potential for sludging as the miles continue to pile on.

 

[Lion77]

How and where the vehicle operates can also give weight (no pun intended) to your oil decision. A hard working turbocharged engine, desert climates, mountain grades, towing, any of those might be considered severe duty and a good reason to use full synthetic. I agree that the blend is a money saving decision.

But only under certain conditions and parameters. 1. Limited ownership / mileage expectations, maybe if you lease or don't hold onto the vehicle past 100k 2. Lighter use cases, like lots of highway cruising.

Like you said, if you use blend under the harder use cases or if you keep it longer, you'll end up with far more cost in repairs than you saved on oil changes....

I mean seriously, buy FS from Rock Auto, my last oil change with air + oil filter cost me $72 for 1 qts of MC Full Synthetic, MC oil filter and MC air filter (all from Rock Auto).

More Information for MOTORCRAFT XO5W30Q1FS

More Information for MOTORCRAFT FL2062A

More Information for MOTORCRAFT FA2058

Also Ford is now shipping their GF-7A spec FS. The prior oil change, I got their GF-6 spec bottles, they have now ceased production of the older GF-6 spec oil, which is the first ASE spec really geared towards TGDI engines. GF-7A has some notable improvements for wear on timing chains, LSPI resistance and cold cranking viscosity over GF-6 spec.

I see ZERO reason to use blend on an expensive vehicle, maybe a base model Explorer that's just a family hauler and sees light use cases...

 

[Jason B]

IMO, it doesn't matter much if it's 'normal' day to day driving and you chang the oil every 5K miles.

 

[mos]

Read the owners manual .under certain conditions you need to change it more often . And guess what change intervals same no matter what you use . Of corse you guys know more about this than ford .
do as you please …..

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