All you need to know about engine oil, then some.

[Huney1]

Should you use 5W-20, 10W-30 or 20W-50? What does the 'W' stand for, weight? Wrong. Is synthetic worth the money and do you really need it? Is there a good, economical oil filter out there?

Allow me to wet your whistle a little. "Also, thicker is not better, no matter what your mechanic or engineer told you. 20W-50 has 40% more viscosity (resistance to flow) at operating temperature than 10W-30. This means that your engine has to work 40% harder just to move the oil around inside your engine. An engine with thick 'oil' produces significantly less power, uses more fuel, produces more emissions and runs hotter, all contributing to shorter engine life. A thinner oil can more easily and quickly be 'pumped-up' to the critical parts of the engine, takes less energy to move it around, helps the engine to produce more power, less emissions, better economy. And the engine will last longer too!"

I don't know about your Taurus, but our 03 Vulcan calls for 5W-20 and to me it feels about as thin as water and I frowned on using it, but after reading the article I'm glad I do.

Long read but when you finish you will be oil wise. I'm not an oil expert saying the man is right in every respect, just sharing interesting technical information. Forget the Mustang part and enjoy the article. http://www.boss302.com/oil.htm By the way, the 'W' stands for Winter.

[MyTaurus8AChevy]

...and here I thought the W always stood for Wiener Great article and a good read, but just keep in mind that it is 3 years old and technologies change very fast. Other than that it's a must read for every Taurus owner out there. Thank you for sharing

[Huney1]

"..and here I thought the W always stood for Wiener "
HeHeHeHe . . . You sho' is a nasty man. I thought it stood for Weight.
Yeah, oodles of good info there and I knew a little about additive packages but not near that much. Thing a lot of folks don't realize; There is no difference between gasoling engine oil and diesel oil except for the additive package in the diesel oil to keep the engine clean. No problem running diesel oil in a gas engine but you really don't need all that diesel additive cleaning power. Get this, I was surfing around and found a forum where a guy said he had 525,000 miles on a 06 Honda using Mobil 1. Great googa-booga! That's a whole lot of driving and he claims it is still running fine. I can give you the forum link if you PM me.

[Millermagic]

Actually, I don't think it's against the rules to post a link to a certain topic on a certain forum. But them VTECS!!!!!! must be good if they can run that long.

[Huney1]

"Actually, I don't think it's against the rules to post a link to a certain topic on a certain forum. But them VTECS!!!!!! must be good if they can run that long."

You got that right! I went back and looked again and I made an error, it is a 1991 Accord V6 so if my math is correct, 525,000 mi divided by 15 years old, "Gurkha" puts 35K a year on it. (Scroll about half way down in the thread.)

I'm not a skeptic but that is one heck of a lot of miles without an overhaul or valve job or some major engine repairs. The thread started with Nissan ixnaying the use of Synthetic engine oil, and went from there, some say use synthetic from brand new and some say not until after the break in. What was it the man said. . . ? "Opinions are like noses, every body has one and is entitled to it". I think it is a very interesting thread so please look it over and let me know what you think.

Shorod- If I'm violating a forum rule feel free to delete the link, but I feel it will increase our knowledge about oil and generate a lot of good discussion. I totally agree, a lot of people blow smoke, but *all* people don't blow smoke. Case in point; The one who originated the thread claims the letter is from Nissan N. America Inc., the Big Dogs Office. http://forums.noria.com/eve/forums/a...95/m/835100362

[shorod]

Huney1, I don't have any problem with you posting the link to the other forum. You are not advertising the other forum, just citing your reference.

Per the forum guidelines, the issue is "Advertising other forums when asked not too." If you're curious how to get back to the AF Guidelines, the path is http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...uidelines.html

-Rod