The Great Oil Debate

I think, after researching and pulling advice from others....I have decided to run VR1 10-30 conventional.
Since I'm on E85..I'll be changing my oil frequently.

Comments?

New Oil for new engine

I am having a new engine built for my 06 GT (Automatic) and trying to get advice on whether I should continue to run 5W20 synthetic blend (motorcraft) or go to a full synthetic 5W30. I have read of people going to 5W30 but have concerns about what is needed for the VVT. The block will be 900 HP capable but for now will run stock heads and cam with a blower in the plans down the road. I am thinking of putting a 7 qt oil pan (Moroso or Canton steel) on with a ford racing high volume oil pump. Any suggestions on oil weight?
(I dropped a valve for a 2nd time with the comp cams and this time the head and cylinder were damaged) Any thoughts on the Joe Gibbs FR20 oil? Thanks for any suggestions or advice.

Start out with a non synthetic break in oil. Too good of an oil will prevent the rings from cutting into the cylinder walls and seating, and you will burn oil forever.

Once you finish the break in then run 5w-30 synthetic. 5w-20 is only sold in the US due to the EPA, you cannot even buy it in other countries because it's too thin. You live in Tampa so it's hot as hell most of the year. The 5w-20 gets too thin in extreme heat and doesn't offer as much protection as a slightly thicker oil. The 5w-30 is still plenty thin for the VCT to work properly. 5w-30 is what is recommended in these engines in every country in the world except the US.

Also this is NOT tech. There will be plenty of people to break your balls because you fucked up and posted this in our tech forum. A mod will move it, don't post this crap in Tech any more.

Use what the builder suggests.

Also - search the site for break in procedure and you will find a ton of info.

Dont gt500s use 5-50? I was told any power adder engine be it blower nitrous etc...no less that 5-30.

Switched back to 5W20, head is squeaking!?

So I have ran 5qts of VR1 Synthetic 10w30 and 1qt of Lucas Synthetic Stabilizer since I got the car, mainly because my valve stem seals seeped a little overnight. It has been fine for over a year now but I decided to try 6qts of Mobil 1 5w20 and a Ford filter. Started it up and it was squeaking like crazy. It mellowed out a little but is still loud enough to hear from inside the car. It sounds like its coming from either the closest or second closest cylinder to the firewall on the driver's side. I let it warm up and drove it a little, it seems to go away while driving but after a few seconds at idle it comes back. Any ideas?

Update
I drained it and filled it up with some regular Valvoline 10w30 I had lying around, same shit. Almost wondering if a follower roller got starved and is squeaky now. A side note, the 5w20 with ten miles on it came out like water. Is that normal viscosity wise?

Like Stkjock stated, you need to go with what the builder recommends but I wouldn't go over 30 if the VCT is still being used. I have been running 5w30 in my built engine and will be going to 10w30 on my next oil change since the weather has warmed up.

The 50 weight oil in the GT500's is all dependent on the clearances in the engine and I believe the GT500's don't have variable cams.

styx21 said:

I am having a new engine built for my 06 GT (Automatic) and trying to get advice on whether I should continue to run 5W20 synthetic blend (motorcraft) or go to a full synthetic 5W30. I have read of people going to 5W30 but have concerns about what is needed for the VVT. The block will be 900 HP capable but for now will run stock heads and cam with a blower in the plans down the road. I am thinking of putting a 7 qt oil pan (Moroso or Canton steel) on with a ford racing high volume oil pump. Any suggestions on oil weight?
(I dropped a valve for a 2nd time with the comp cams and this time the head and cylinder were damaged) Any thoughts on the Joe Gibbs FR20 oil? Thanks for any suggestions or advice.

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I'd also recommend billet gears for the oil pump. I've also never had any problems running synthetic blend 5w20 with a built motor.

dysan said:

The 50 weight oil in the GT500's is all dependent on the clearances in the engine and I believe the GT500's don't have variable cams.

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There is something that you may be overlooking. Coyote motors use 5w20 unless it comes with the track pack. That gets 5w50 with the same internals. Both have VCT.

Did you find out why you dropped a valve twice?? Not the right springs and floated a valve?

I was told to run conventional oil in my built motor

Snakethat said:

I was told to run conventional oil in my built motor

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For break in that is a good idea. But after the first oil change a good synthetic would be my preference. The benefits of synthetic oil are well proven.

What are your clearances? Nobody can recommend anything without that basic knowledge.

I've run 5w-20 almost exclusively and haven't had any issues with it. However, I have faith in Ford engineering and also build my motors to stock clearances. Some people on the internet are smarter than the entire Ford engineering team, lol. There are plenty of examples of 5w-20 mod motors going for well over 200,000 miles. In fact the motors are known for longevity and being relatively problem free.

Just make sure it's api certified.

Kalatrax said:

So I have ran 5qts of VR1 Synthetic 10w30 and 1qt of Lucas Synthetic Stabilizer since I got the car, mainly because my valve stem seals seeped a little overnight. It has been fine for over a year now but I decided to try 6qts of Mobil 1 5w20 and a Ford filter. Started it up and it was squeaking like crazy. It mellowed out a little but is still loud enough to hear from inside the car. It sounds like its coming from either the closest or second closest cylinder to the firewall on the driver's side. I let it warm up and drove it a little, it seems to go away while driving but after a few seconds at idle it comes back. Any ideas?

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Why was my post combined with this thread? This helps me in no way....

Stop whining. There is plenty of knowledgeable guys that will chime in on your issue. It got moved because the Mod felt to do so. This is a high traffic thread. You'll get help.

Kalatrax said:

Why was my post combined with this thread? This helps me in no way....

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I'm the one who moved it. Oil questions go here on this forum. Did I misunderstand about it being an oil question?

Besides you have Bruce here. He has a ton of knowledge when it comes to building engines and what oil he uses and why.

BruceH said:

I'm the one who moved it. Oil questions go here on this forum. Did I misunderstand about it being an oil question?

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It isn't a question about oil, it's a question about a noise in the valvetrain that is happening after switching to 5w20 and won't go away now.

AutoXRacer said:

So I just learned about Pennzoil PurePlus ...a full synthetic made from natural gas with makes it cleaner than any synthetic out there.

http://pureplus.pennzoil.com/




http://pureplus.pennzoil.com/base-oil/

Supposedly this was run in the Hennessy Venom GT...


How come my post got moved???
It will get lost in this old thread...

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Anyone have any comments on this??? My post was moved too... sigh