5W-20 in a 2013 Mustang GT? Seriously?

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2013 Mustang GT
6-speed manual
.373 LS with Brembo's
5.0L V8 420 HP - with 8 quart sump

Car will occasionally be 'driven'
Do not anticipate any track time

Manufacturer recommends 5W-20

Your thoughts?
 
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I guess follow the manufacturer's recommendation and see how she holds up.
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They wouldn't try to screw you, would they?
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Originally Posted By: dave1251
How would using 5W-20 be bad?


I dunno. That's why I'm asking. I ran that 5W-20 stuff in a Marquis 4.6L for 278,xxx miles but it was an "interstate" go-to-work daily driver w 5k OCI's on Motorcraft syn blend.

???
 
8 quarts of oil the last time I checked was still quite of bit of oil for gasoline engine in a car. Also does the 13GT have a oil cooler? If it does that is more reason to use a 5W-20.
 
Well I can answer the above question^ its because it sounds very thin And makes you thinkwow if I get on this thing will that oil be enough to protect it. I know the technology is better but I have a bad feeling about running anything thinner than a 30 weight. Why? Old habits I guess. But I wouldn't use super thin oil in a car I was going to beat on or a truck that was hauling but that's just me
 
Originally Posted By: kballowe
2013 Mustang GT
6-speed manual
.373 LS with Brembo's
5.0L V8 420 HP - with 8 quart sump

I salute you.


Originally Posted By: kballowe
Car will occasionally be 'driven'
Do not anticipate any track time

Doesn't sound like you're going to be very hard on it, compared to what it's designed to do. The spec oil should be completely fine.
 
Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
I know the technology is better but I have a bad feeling about running anything thinner than a 30 weight. Why? Old habits I guess. But I wouldn't use super thin oil in a car I was going to beat on or a truck that was hauling but that's just me


First off, have you ever owned a vehicle that specified 5W-20 from the factory?

If yes, did you experience an engine failure directly related to the 5W-20 not providing enough protection, when the oil was changed at the manufactures recommended interval?

I'm going to bet the answer to both is no.

I'm going to double down on that bet by saying that this whole forum, the number of oil related failures for an engine that recommended 5W-20, and the owner changed the 5W-20 at the recommended intervals is less than 5.

This is for all different types of engines, and not just the Mustang engine in question.

5W-20 is good oil, for the engines that its recommended for.

BC.
 
Sump size and cooler! If the oil temp is under 190F the oil will be as thick as a 30 grade at 210F in your vintage 302. Ford accounted for the 20 with the big sump and cooler. My Mustang Bullitt ran like garbage on 5w30 after my first oil change dumping the 5w20. The Lincoln dealer Derry, NH didnt have any 5w20 at the time - and neither did the local autoparts store. The engin ewas dead silent on the 20. If its noisey on the 20 then you got a bad engine. Now, Asin motors spec'ing 20grade on cars "really" spec for 40 in europe are an issue - even with you sloth like, generally Terrible American driver. Yeah, you
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Originally Posted By: kballowe
2013 Mustang GT
6-speed manual
.373 LS with Brembo's
5.0L V8 420 HP - with 8 quart sump

Car will occasionally be 'driven'
Do not anticipate any track time

Manufacturer recommends 5W-20

Your thoughts?



The 5w-20 works very well in that engine. Here's an article about the engine design - it was built for 5w-20 from the beginning.

http://www.mustang50magazine.com/techart...ne/viewall.html

There are significant benefits to running lower viscosity oils; just search for Dr Haas on this forum. He routinely runs and recommends the thinnest oil that will maintain adequate oil pressure in his collection of exotic cars.
 
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Seriously! I would run a good syn like M1 for this though...
 
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Originally Posted By: kballowe
2013 Mustang GT
6-speed manual
.373 LS with Brembo's
5.0L V8 420 HP - with 8 quart sump

Car will occasionally be 'driven'
Do not anticipate any track time

Manufacturer recommends 5W-20

Your thoughts?


It's fine for normal driving, but these 5.0s see crazy high oil temps quickly at high rpm. I'm not going to throw any names or numbers around (I'll save that until I can provide a screen shot), but I can guarantee a lot of people here would call [censored] on the oil temps a 5.0 sees during a dyno thrashing. I will just say I now fully understand why Ford went with 5W-50 (WITH an oil cooler) on the Boss and why the GT Track Package now comes with an oil cooler.
 
Ya know - we had a nice pickup truck and almost never used it. It sat for months at a time. The Wife says "let's go trade that thing in" - so we went car shopping.

I was looking at a nice, used car - but SHE picked this one. The woman can't even drive a stick-shift. Go figure.
 
Originally Posted By: Ben99GT
It's fine for normal driving, but these 5.0s see crazy high oil temps quickly at high rpm. I'm not going to throw any names or numbers around (I'll save that until I can provide a screen shot), but I can guarantee a lot of people here would call [censored] on the oil temps a 5.0 sees during a dyno thrashing. I will just say I now fully understand why Ford went with 5W-50 (WITH an oil cooler) on the Boss and why the GT Track Package now comes with an oil cooler.


He did say he's not tracking, though, so the high rpm isn't a factor.

My 2011 GT 5.0 has both the Boss cooler and an Eaton TVS2300 supercharger. The highest oil temps I see in track day use are 250F. And the oil cools very quickly when you get off the throttle and bring the revs down.
 
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FWIW The Terminator Cobras that had "390" hp *cough cough* took 5W20 as well.

The new Boss 302 Mustangs take 5W50, but they also have a different pan, no oil squirters, and a larger cooler. We have a customer that insist we use 5W50 on his 2012 GT because he tracks it. He already shot a rod through the valley and 2 out the pan when he went from 2nd to 1st gear at WOT instead of 2nd to 3rd gear.
 
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
The new Boss 302 Mustangs take 5W50, but they also have a different pan, no oil squirters, and a larger cooler. We have a customer that insist we use 5W50 on his 2012 GT because he tracks it. He already shot a rod through the valley and 2 out the pan when he went from 2nd to 1st gear at WOT instead of 2nd to 3rd gear.


5W-50 can not prevent operator error.
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