Best synthetic oil for 32v DOHC V8 Cobra

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lou_cypher

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Hey guys. Looking for another recommendation for my summer car. I'll give you guys all the perticulars of the car...it's a 1996 Ford Mustang Cobra w/ the 4.6L DOHC 32V V8. The nature of this motor is.. it's a very high revving engine & makes all of it's power on the top end, basically the redline of this motor is 7K rpm's. I do drive this car alot in the summer months( weather permitting)& I drive it hard & do go to the drag strip on occasion
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. This particular motor is notorious for having very tight motor tolerances, which makes it sensative to using correct weight oils. Which leads me to my question.I Was going to use GC because my research has led me to believe that its the best OTC grp IV syn. I have also heard that although it is considered a 0w30 weight, it actually acts more like a 40 weight when hot. Have you guys heard this as well?? If it's true, might not be a good oil for my car, being that it's sensative to weight as mentioned before. I've always used M1 5w30 at OCI's of 2.5k to 3k miles as my use of syn is more about flow,hp,and protection, than about extending OCI's. M1 I heard, is now mainly a group 3 syn ( heard this alot). I noticed that on this site a lot people seem to really like Pennzoil Platinum. Does anyone here have experience with PP use in high performance engine? If so, how did you like it?? Guess what I want to find out is...what do you guys recommend for high performance,high revving engines? My main concern is motor protection from the abuse of "spirited driving".But also want to take into consideration best flowing oils or the combo of both.Thanks guys, looking forward to the recommendations.
 
My friend has a 2001 Cobra SVT and he uses Mobil 1 (not sure of the weight, but either 5w30 or 5w20). He only drives in the summer/fall and then stores it away. He drains it out before winter storage and then puts in the new oil so it's ready for the warmer months.

It seems that Mobil 1 is the #1 choice for people with these kind of cars simply based on brand image. Not very scientific (UOA) but then again, it's a fine oil.
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CMB,
What are your OCI's using thst kind of "premium" oil like Amsoil? Is that a grp IV synthetic? Hate to spend money on an expensive oil only to dump at 3K miles. You know what I mean? Looking towards an cheaper but still good alternative like Plat.Pennzoil, Q state, or the hard to find German Castrol.
 
Coffee let me ask you about that Mobil 0w30. I currently use the 5w30 weight. Now I know that the first number corresponds to the oils flow in cold weather correct? So theoretically 0w30 should flow a little better in the cold than 5w30. Does that also make 0w30 "thinner" than 5w30 in warmer weather? Which is my main concern as the Cobra is only used in summer. I'm not opposed to using thinner oil if it flows through the motor faster,which is what I want in a high performance oil. The extended OCI protection is kind of a moot point to me since there is no way I would extend OCI's on a car that is driven very hard like this Cobra is.
 
Why specifically do you say PP 10w30? The car calls for 5w30.Why do you feel that PP is better oil than Mobil 1?
 
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I wouldn't say Mobil1 is group 3, everything I've seen still suggests that it is a group 4 synthetic. If your manual recomemends 5w-30, I would run either Mobil1 5w-30, GC 0w-30, or PP 5w-30. Was your model car before they changed to 5w-20 motor oil on the 4.6L ?.
 
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hey man i use pennzoil platinum in my z28..i drive it pretty hard and it seems to be doing fine..I change it around 3K miles as well due to how the car gets driven
 
Originally Posted By: lou_cypher
Why specifically do you say PP 10w30? The car calls for 5w30.Why do you feel that PP is better oil than Mobil 1?

PP 10W-30 is less volatile and will hold it's viscosity better than PP 5W-30. The 5W and the 10W aspect of the viscosity grade is tested at less than a -25C temperature and you are using the car in warm weather. If it was during cold weather, I'd say try the 5W-30.

I like Mobil 1 as a whole. They have so many different oils of different worth IMO. PP 10W-30 has been a relatively consistent outstanding performer in UOAs. So has 10W-30 Mobil 1. I recommend that oil in addition to PP 10W-30. In contrast, 5W-30 Mobil 1 UOAs have had too many cases of large viscosity loss and funky wear metal levels IMO to be considered a consistent performer. Little changes in formulation can make big differences in performance.
 
Or go with Amsoil SSO 0w-30. Something cheaper would be PP or Amsoil ASL 100% synthetic.

Make sure to use a good filter like Wix, Napa Gold, Mobil 1, K&N or Amsoil.
 
So then, is it the general consensus of this board, that pennzoil platinum is a better all around over the counter/ mass produced synthetic than lets say, Mobil 1? How do you guys feel about mobil 1 EP? Is there an additive package in M1 EP that makes it "protect" better ? Sorry for so many questions...Love to learn and I'm learning a lot on this site.
 
In reality, Mobil 1, Penzoil Platinum, Amzoil or any other synthetic will make little or no difference in the performance or longevity of your engine.

I've been using Mobil 1 in all of my vehicles since it came on the market and have never had a problem. It's been in my 32V DOHC 2004 Mach 1 since 500 miles (5w-20).

Frankly, I see absolutely no reason to change what you are doing. By the way, the 32V is not "very high revving". At a redline of just under 7,000 rpm, it spins about 1,000 rpm higher than a 12V 4.6.
 
STG, I consider any street motor that can spin to a 7k rpm redline to be pretty high revving. Actually I have mine dynotuned to have the redline moved up a little to 7200 rpm's and compared to most street V8's that is high revving.
 
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