2012 Mustang 5.0, 9500mi + track + autox (M1 0w20)

[metalboy]

Here's Blackstone's first report on my Coyote Mustang. These engines seem to go pretty easy on oil: on top of 9500miles of service, this fill had 2.5 hours of track sessions (in 30 minute bursts) and quite a few autocross runs as well. Mobile 1 0w20 AFE seems to hold up to this service quite well, although I will probably be adding an oil cooler before I take it to a road course during the summer. I never saw oil temperatures exceed 230F during the track sessions, let alone the "limp home" mode. Based on my datalogging, the car needs a transmission cooler more than it needs an oil cooler. It's a very large sump!

I'm pretty confident the extra silicon is from a fairly memorable "off track adventure."

 

[KHP]

Excellent looking report! Only issue is silicon, but it didn't seem to affect anything else and you know the cause.

People would have a heart attack in this forum to find out you tracked and autocrossed your 5.0 with factory recommended viscosity of 20 weight.

This report makes me laugh because of another Coyote discussion/argument going on in another thread. The engine does not seem to care about oil used.

Keep doing what you've been doing and thanks for posting!

 

[vinu_neuro]

Brave using a 20wt for track use. Doesn't Ford mandate 5W-50 for the Track Pack model, which has the same engine iirc?

 

[KHP]

Originally Posted By: vinu_neuro
Brave using a 20wt for track use. Doesn't Ford mandate 5W-50 for the Track Pack model, which has the same engine iirc?


Yes they do recommend 5w50 for the track pack model. It doesn't seem like the OP car is a TP model since he mentioned adding an after market oil cooler.

 

[randomhero439]

Wow those are pretty impressive numbers using a 20 grade of track use!

Goes to show that thicker isnt always better.

 

[metalboy]

The MY2013+ "Track Pack" cars as well as the BOSS 302 are slightly different revisions of this engine, notably deleting the oil squirters. This one has the squirters and when we saw the size of them we decided to go ahead and stick with Xw20.

This car is NOT currently equipped with the Ford liquid-to-oil heat exchanger. It will be growing a nice Seatrab sometime before the summer.

In my experience oil-related racing failures come from oil pressure problems or oil overheat, neither of which have been an issue with this car. In an endurance race or the summer, it would need a quality air-to-oil cooler, but the temperatures stayed just barely under what I consider the "critical" range for a quality synthetic.


I've been lurking here for quite a while, and YES I knew that this might be a somewhat controversial UOA

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: vinu_neuro
Brave using a 20wt for track use. Doesn't Ford mandate 5W-50 for the Track Pack model, which has the same engine iirc?

The sump is big enough that its really hard to get the oil hot enough to cause the oil film to fail.
Ford specifying 5w-50 is just ford covering their butts. My friend has a 2012 and when he first for it we broke it in very hard.
The oil temps never broke 220-230 and we are talking some real pounding on that coyote. Never went into limp mode either.
I don't know what it takes to force that engine into limp mode but if we couldn't do it driving like that I don't k ow what it takes to make it happen.
I'm glad you posted this. My faith in 20 grades grows every time I see something like this.

 

[metalboy]

Originally Posted By: Clevy
Originally Posted By: vinu_neuro
Brave using a 20wt for track use. Doesn't Ford mandate 5W-50 for the Track Pack model, which has the same engine iirc?

The sump is big enough that its really hard to get the oil hot enough to cause the oil film to fail.
Ford specifying 5w-50 is just ford covering their butts. My friend has a 2012 and when he first for it we broke it in very hard.
The oil temps never broke 220-230 and we are talking some real pounding on that coyote. Never went into limp mode either.
I don't know what it takes to force that engine into limp mode but if we couldn't do it driving like that I don't k ow what it takes to make it happen.
I'm glad you posted this. My faith in 20 grades grows every time I see something like this.


Our best guess was that to get the RPMs up on the BOSS, they had to cut the oil squirters, and then somebody got nervous about the wristpins, so they specced something a little heavier to be safe. That's just a guess, though. This is an EXTREMLY nice engine internally, especially for a mass production piece. Sure, the pistons are cast, but they're better than the forged ones I remember paying through the nose for ten years ago.

 

[buster]

Nice run! Great results. I wouldn't change anything. Unleashthebeast may tell you to switch to Amsoil though over at the SVT Forums. LOLOL

 

[metalboy]

Hah. I run Amsoil when they give me contingency. Otherwise I go with Mobil, because I can get it cheeep.

 

[SteveSRT8]

I used to spend a lot of time at Homestead and Sebring.

My car has seen oil temps of 300 degrees and the UOA's were fine, no problems at all. Always M1 0W-40 back then, that was the factory spec.

One meet we had a guy show up in a new Charger 6.1 and he swore he was running 20w! We all snickered a bit, but his car never missed a beat. And his oil temps were significantly LOWER than mine.

If you have enough quality oil the lighter viscosity can really do well.

 

[metalboy]

300! Wow. I cut my teeth working on BDAs which liked 200/200 no more and no less.

On a production engine with synthetic I usually let myself get away with 220 water and 250 oil as my Do Not Exceed numbers.

 

[tig1]

I know nothing about this engine or track time, but I do know that M1 0-20 holds up very well in high air temps.

 

[dnewton3]

This UOA shows excellent wear control from the lube and engine package.

And that's what folks often don't stop to think about ...

The engine/lube "package" is very important.

No lube (not even a syn) is going to save a poorly designed or made engine from a shorter lifespan. Conversely, any decent lube can last a long time in a properly designed/made engine.

The Coy motor seems to be very robust in all the right places. People often claim that thinner grades are not as capable, but this is yet another example of that mantra being misplaced. There are some examples showing up here where motors are being run HARD, for many miles, and the sump is holding up well.

I would be curious to see how well a "normal" lube (properly licensed/approved by Ford of course) would hold up in this type use. Given the temps mentioned, I'd expect it would do well also.

 

[buster]

Quote:
The engine/lube "package" is very important.


Good point.

 

[CATERHAM]

Nice report.
M1 0W-20 appears to be a good oil choice for this engine.

I appreciate your comment that you were unable to get the oil temp's higher than 230F during a 30 minute track session.
That leaves one wanting to speculate at what oil temp's the Ford limp mode safeties will kick in; 240F, 250F?

 

[shinyWheels]

Metalboy, what are you using to read the oil temps? Is there is a plug-in for the ODB2 to read it from a sensor or do you have a gauge in the car?