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Switching from 5w-50 to something lower for winter?

3K views 24 replies 10 participants last post by  pmale120 
#1 ·
Hey guys, I drove my buddy's 5.0 which has the exact same gear ratio as mine (3.73) and same mods (Just catback exhaust). I noticed his was a little "peppier" where as mine felt a little more "sluggish" especially in the morning. (I had his car for 3 days so I was able to get a good amount of experience with his car). When I asked him about it, he said he was using 5w-20 for his oil and I'm using the Motorcraft 5w-50.

Since I never felt any of the "sluggishness" with his car in the morning, I have a hunch that maybe my oil is too thick especially now that it is getting colder.

Any feedback with this would be great. (Especially if anyone has switched from 5w-50 to a thinner oil; your experiences would be greatly appreciated)
 
#3 ·
Oil can be a very tricky topic, everyone will have a different opinion. with this said i would say that the feeling in the car you are experiencing is not oil related. the viscosity numbers (5w-30 or 5w-50) are supposed to be the same viscosity when cold rated at 5w. Where the two oils differ between you and your buddies is that yours will remain thicker at higher temps
 
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#4 ·
5W-50 is ONLY recommended for the 2013-14 "Track-Pack" GT's.....
So I assume that is what YOUR GT is a TP GT...Could you go with a "Thinner" Oil?..Well yes....But you can NEVER have any problems from the "Mothership" (FoMoCo) if you Follow Exactly what is Stamped on your Oil Fill Cap!....Keep in mind (and Again! I have Verified THIS with the 5.0 Coyote Powertrain Team leader!) The Track-Pack equipped GT's Do have a slightly different PCM Calibration, that takes in account the use of 5W-50 Oil .....

Sean.
 
#5 ·
5W-50 is ONLY recommended for the 2013-14 "Track-Pack" GT's.....
So I assume that is what YOUR GT is a TP GT...Could you go with a "Thinner" Oil?..Well yes....But you can NEVER have any problems from the "Mothership" (FoMoCo) if you Follow Exactly what is Stamped on your Oil Fill Cap!....Keep in mind (and Again! I have Verified THIS with the 5.0 Coyote Powertrain Team leader!) The Track-Pack equipped GT's Do have a slightly different PCM Calibration, that takes in account the use of 5W-50 Oil .....

Sean.

Wow, thanks Ive read on this Forum that the engines are exactly the same but didn't know that the calibration are slightly different. I guess Im sticking with the 5w-50. Thanks for all the help guys. I think Im gonna do a KAM reset to see if that helps. (I've never done one and have heard that it can help)
 
#6 ·
Just wondering how the cal in the PCM can account for different oil weight
 
#8 ·
There are a handful tables in the pcm that control intake and exhaust cam phasing based on engine oil temp. In any of the 2014 files I have seen those particular tables were not any different than my 2011. Although I don't know if any were from Track Pack cars or not. I do know that those particular tables are different in the Boss 302s.
 
#9 ·
OK, that make a bit of sense, but thought our engines were different, as in how Honda works the Vtec that works on oil pressure
 
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#14 ·
Im NOT going to start this whole bit of "Boloney" about what the EXACT differences are between the TP equipped GT's and the Non TP GT's (As I have gone through this in more than enough Threads!..I WILL however reiterate the ABSOLUTE FACT! That I (Which CAN be Confirmed by our Official Customer Service Rep. Deysha that I Did indeed spend about 1 Hour Picking the Brain of "Ralph A" from the Ford Plant, and WAS Told that there ARE differences, however slight they might be, between the 2 engines and their respective calibrations!!...(THIS is WHY ALL TP GT's don't carry the "Normal" Cali-Emissions compliant certification for the States that they are Sold, and therefore in some of those Cali-Compliant States (Like mine) Require the Owner to produce a COO (Certificate Of Origin), That IS sent with the car from the Ford Plant, which States that the so mentioned TP GT is Legal for sale in such State with the COO Certificate. This COO IS Required to register the car, as it contains (On Mine, The Engine HP, 422.64, the Shipping weight, 3680, and a C.A.R.B. # (California Air Resource Board #)

So I will say this again!.....Was Confirmed By somebody from FORD that Actually builds these Stangs. So I will take his word for it!
And being a Staff Member here at AFM, I'm NOT about to just go and Post Interweb Boloney, without having first received credible info right from the "Horses Mouth" so to speak......THIS conversation is how I was able to CONFIRM that 2013-2014-MY Coyote Engines Do NOT have P.C.O.J.'s (Piston Cooling Oil Jets)!......So Again, this Thread is NOT going to turn into a Peeing Match!.....

The ONLY advice that was given by ME in this thread was that "One cant go wrong with running the Oil that the Manufacturer recommends, especially when an active Warranty is involved!


Sean.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Dude, you live in California. The temps there are never going to get low enough to effect your oil. Your oil isn't "too thick", it has the same low-temp viscosity as the oil in your buddy's car. You could put many different viscosity oils in your motor, and you won't feel any difference.

You said that you borrowed your buddy's car for a few days, and this is how you have come to the conclusion that his car is "peppier". Well, there are other variables that could account for this;

1. It's your imagination. This is the most likely scenario.

2. Environmental differences; if the temps and humidity dropped at about the same time you borrowed your buddy's car, it would feel livelier due to the better atmospheric conditions. And you actually mentioned this, you wrote "now that it's getting colder".

3. He has a tune on the car, or some other mod you don't know about.

4. He runs higher octane gas than you do.

Without knowing the details of the two cars in question, it is impossible to know if there are any other possible contributing factors. Based on the oils you described, it sounds like your car is a Track Pack car, and his is not. How about providing us with some real information, so we can help better?
 
#17 ·
Dang Sean, just wondering why, inquiring minds want to know, and I learn something everyday.

I agree, use what is recommended
 
G
#20 ·
Sean Reilly,

I don't know what to tell you but it's definitely not "interweb baloney". I've looked at the files and, while they are not all inclusive of every single piece of code within the pcm, the engine calibrations are the same.

You can buy the program and check it out for yourself.
HPTuners.com >> Performance At Your Fingertips
Yeah, I know, HP Tuners, SCT, Viper, ALL State that there are No differences between the Tables of the 2011-2014 GT's (whatever the Flavor!) WRONG! You also mentioned that "YOU know that there are no changes to be seen between a 2011 Calibration, and a 2013-MY Calibration"! Again VERY WRONG! Heck, the Pistons, Ring Lands, and Rings themselves, Are Completely Different, along with the head Bolts, not to mention the P.O.C.J's are no Longer used!......Heck Blazin, there were 2 completely Different Calibrations in the REGULAR 2013-MY GT's equipped with manual Transmissions, depending on the Build Dates! (the biggest change residing in the "Engine Braking" and Fuel Cutoff Strategies!).....I wont even get into the Big-time changes made within the TCM (Transmission Control Module) 6R80 Strategies between the 2012 to the 2013-MY GT's that are Automatic Tranny equipped!....Heck, besides the addition of the "Select-a-Shift" hardware, the 2011-12 have a Completely Different Torque Converter compared to the 2013-14-MY Stangs!......

But again, I myself Will take the Word of 1 of the actual "Plant Supervisors" from the Very FoMoCo's Plant that Actually Does the Great Job of Building our beloved Mustangs, that there ARE differences between the Calibrations, over some Aftermarket Co. that reverse "Hacked" the Copperhead PCM's software, and the Calibrations within!basket.gif

And if I WAS Indeed talking out of My "Keaster".....Then Im absolutely POSITIVE, that our Ever So Hard Working Angel From Ford, Deysha would have Certainly "Called Me Out" as being "Full of it" in her Post above!.....Nuff Said on this matter, as I listed just a few of the parameters (Engine Braking, Fuel Cutoff, and Torque Management (Between Shifts) that are indeed different within the Calibrations for Track-Pack Stangs. and the other Flavors of GT Stangs......As I Stated, Im NOT here to "Mix Words" or go "Tit-Tat" with any Member here!......I WAS Lucky enough to have Full Access to one of the Creators of our Beloved Mustangs, and I am just reporting what I was Told!.....

Sean.
 
G
#19 ·
Hey guys, I drove my buddy's 5.0 which has the exact same gear ratio as mine (3.73) and same mods (Just catback exhaust). I noticed his was a little "peppier" where as mine felt a little more "sluggish" especially in the morning. (I had his car for 3 days so I was able to get a good amount of experience with his car). When I asked him about it, he said he was using 5w-20 for his oil and I'm using the Motorcraft 5w-50.
Just stick with what Ford recommends. They spend hundreds of millions of dollars on R&D for these cars, it's highly doubtful that they are wrong.
Your vehicle takes 5w-50 because it has the GT Track Package, 50blackout. I also agree with dcottrell6. As per your Owner's Manual, we recommend: Motorcraft Full Synthetic 5W-50 Motor Oil, Ford Part# XO-5W50-QGT, Ford specification WSS-M2C931-B.

I recommend you get your vehicle checked out at your dealer to make sure there’s nothing else going on. Let me know the outcome.

Im NOT going to start this whole bit of "Boloney" about what the EXACT differences are between the TP equipped GT's and the Non TP GT's (As I have gone through this in more than enough Threads!..I WILL however reiterate the ABSOLUTE FACT! That I (Which CAN be Confirmed by our Official Customer Service Rep. Deysha that I Did indeed spend about 1 Hour Picking the Brain of "Ralph A" from the Ford Plant, and WAS Told that there ARE differences, however slight they might be, between the 2 engines and their respective calibrations!!...(THIS is WHY ALL TP GT's don't carry the "Normal" Cali-Emissions compliant certification for the States that they are Sold, and therefore in some of those Cali-Compliant States (Like mine) Require the Owner to produce a COO (Certificate Of Origin), That IS sent with the car from the Ford Plant, which States that the so mentioned TP GT is Legal for sale in such State with the COO Certificate. This COO IS Required to register the car, as it contains (On Mine, The Engine HP, 422.64, the Shipping weight, 3680, and a C.A.R.B. # (California Air Resource Board #)

So I will say this again!.....Was Confirmed By somebody from FORD that Actually builds these Stangs. So I will take his word for it!
And being a Staff Member here at AFM, I'm NOT about to just go and Post Interweb Boloney, without having first received credible info right from the "Horses Mouth" so to speak......THIS conversation is how I was able to CONFIRM that 2013-2014-MY Coyote Engines Do NOT have P.C.O.J.'s (Piston Cooling Oil Jets)!......So Again, this Thread is NOT going to turn into a Peeing Match!.....

The ONLY advice that was given by ME in this thread was that "One cant go wrong with running the Oil that the Manufacturer recommends, especially when an active Warranty is involved!
Thank you for the reminder, Sean Reilly! :)

Deysha
 
G
#22 ·
You are right, there is no point in arguing because we are going to do nothing but go round and round over the same thing and accomplish nothing. I also cannot disagree that you cannot go wrong in doing exactly what Ford says. However, it's not the only way and in many cases it might not even be the best way.


Well at least We can agree on this aspect of the convo!tooth.gif

Sean.
 
#25 ·
Oil weight

This topic is quite ambiguous when I was looking for information on this for my issue. I talked to a couple Ford Dealer service Managers about my situation. I have a non-track pack mustang and go to HPDE events a few times a year( no intention of this when I bought it). In Georgia, my oil temperatures creep up with the electronic dummy gauge on the 2013 GTs. I installed a Ford racing radiator and boss 302 oil cooler on it which really did not do much, but delay high oil temps. The Ford service managers told me I can put the 5W-50 weight in my car due to what I am using it for. They told me to make sure it is 5W something for the cold start. I do all my own maintenance, but I wanted to hear a Ford service managers input on it before I made the decision myself.

I figured I would share my situation for this topic as well. I'm not debating either topic, but what I have been advised for my situation. I emailed Deysha about this and she said she only deals with service and not technical issues. I understand this and thank her for the quick response though.
 
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