M1 0w40 in Ford 5.4 3V - Fuel Economy Difference

[DoubleWasp]

I have used M1 0/40 in my Navigator for the past 10k miles. The 60k miles before that were all run on the spec 5/20. Never had any problems with 5/20. UOA's showed that even my severe duty driving did nothing to cut down the 5/20 or increase wear metals.

Recently, I decided to drop in the 0/40 to quiet the 1250rpm light load cam phaser rattle and because I have plenty of it, being the owner of 2 German cars.

Over the past 10k miles, I have been able to find exactly no evidence that my fuel economy has been impacted in any way at all. Whether it be hand calculations, instant MPG monitor, or average MPG monitor, everything shows I am getting better fuel economy.

The real evidence came this past month on a trip to Tampa. Every single time I go there, I use 3/4 of a tank, driving at 80mph. The past two times I have gone, I have driven at 90mph and didn't even use 3/4 tank getting there. Filling up before I left both times verified that there is no inaccuracy in my gauge. In both instances, I had more than 8 gallons remaining in my tank, where usually there would be less than 7 gallons remaining. Hand calculations of my fuel usage per mile also show slightly better fuel economy now than my driving on 5/20.

Is the phaser rattle gone? Absolutely. Did my fuel economy suffer? No. Do I feel there is a deficiency in 5/20? Also no.

But my engine is definitely not suffering any horror from running a thicker oil.

My UOA will be in soon. Greatly anticipating those results.

 

[gallydif]

interesting...

 

[OneEyeJack]

It's possible that the modern 0w-40 synthetic oil would have been the oil of choice for many more current applications if the push was not on for any little improvement in miles per gallon. Remember that a 0.1% improvement is considered for the whole fleet of cars of a specific model not just one vehicle and one window sticker. It also helps to appear to be doing everything possible to be a good corporate citizen in this brave new world.

It would take a lot of time and money to figure out what the exact difference in wear might be in the real world of day to day operation comparing a 0w-20 oil with a 0w-40 oil, years in fact.

So if there might be a reduction in miles per gallon no matter how slight and the new 20 weight oil holds up enough to get through the factory warranty under difficult conditions then the new 20 weight oils are from the factory point of view, the correct recommendation.

If you frequently trade vehicles it makes no difference.

If you are the type that drives 'em till they drop you might also be using the 0w-40, 5w-40, 10w-40 or 15w-40 oils, anyhow.

 

[splinter]

Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
..Every single time I go there, I use 3/4 of a tank, driving at 80mph.
The past two times I have gone, I have driven at 90mph and didn't even use 3/4 tank getting there..

Nice. Those modular motors get kinda noisy sometimes.

Wait until you're running 20W-50 going 100mph!

 

[Trav]

It didn't blow up and left sitting on the side of the road. Cam phasers still work, the cams still have lobes on them and it still gets the same gas mileage. I am astounded! LOL

 

[userfriendly]

I'm not allowed to leave the hospital grounds until I take my medication and agree to use XW20 engine oil.

 

[SR5]

Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp

I have used M1 0/40 in my Navigator for the past 10k miles…...

But my engine is definitely not suffering any horror from running a thicker oil.


Welcome Brother !!!

If I could only have one oil, it would be a good synthetic 0W-40, and I would use it everywhere.

The last two fills in my car have been 10W-40 semi-synthetic, and I have just sourced a supply of GTL Shell Helix Ultra 5W-40 from a distributor at a very good price. Once I use up my stash (0W-40 synthetic and 15W-40 mineral) I will be using the 5W-40 GTL in everything.

I have come a long way from my 20W-60 days, and I still like the heavy A3/B4 5W-30 oils, which are very close to 40 weights in HTHS anyway. But I have never been convinced that putting a 40 weight in a car engine is like throwing an anchor out the back.

Nothing wrong with the 20 weights, they do have a good track record. It's your car, use what makes you happy, but 40 weights make me happy.

I know I have said this before, but over here (Australia) the 2015 Jeep Patriot with 2.4L 4-cylinder engine is spec'd at 5W-40 (by Jeep Australia), yet in the USA the same engine is spec'd at 5W-20. That says something to me.

 

[DoubleWasp]

Originally Posted By: splinter
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
..Every single time I go there, I use 3/4 of a tank, driving at 80mph.
The past two times I have gone, I have driven at 90mph and didn't even use 3/4 tank getting there..

Nice. Those modular motors get kinda noisy sometimes.

Wait until you're running 20W-50 going 100mph!


I'm tempted to try.

Phaser rattle is a well known issue, but this engine refuses to misbehave, otherwise.

 

[Merkava_4]

Just goes to prove that your chances of having unnecessary mechanical noise increases substantially with thin oil.

 

[Turk]

There's your proof.

Thin to win? That's for Poker. Not always for oil.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I noticed no difference in fuel economy with 10w30 in the focus. It was noisey on cold mornings though.

Wasn't smoother either

 

[Shannow]

Miller88, how cold was cold, compared to the MRV and CCS values of a 10W...and what was the oil ran previous to it for comparison ?

 

[robertcope]

Interesting. I've been tempted to run M1 0W40 in the Expedition; it's the only car I own that doesn't get M1 0W40 and it would simplify things to just carry a single oil at the house.

robert

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Trav
It didn't blow up and left sitting on the side of the road. Cam phasers still work, the cams still have lobes on them and it still gets the same gas mileage. I am astounded! LOL


Me too! LOL

 

[rslifkin]

I'm not surprised by the result. In a decent size truck / SUV, the difference in mpg from thicker oil is so small relative to all of the other inefficiencies that you'll never be able to pick it out of the general measuring noise.

In a car that gets 70 mpg, it might be a detectable difference, however.


Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Just goes to prove that your chances of having unnecessary mechanical noise increases substantially with thin oil.

I don't want to know what the Jeep's valvetrain would sound like with something thinner than the 5W-40 I've been running in it... It's already a V8 shaped sewing machine with the current cam setup (back off the throttle doing 60 and you can hear the valvetrain from the driver's seat with the windows closed!)

 

[Kuato]

IMO the 0w20 helps mpg for the short tripped high idle time vehicles found in city traffic.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
Miller88, how cold was cold, compared to the MRV and CCS values of a 10W...and what was the oil ran previous to it for comparison ?


I have run many oils in this engine. A few different 0w-20s , 5w-20 synblend (Motorcraft) and 5w-20 conventional (Mobil Super, Pennzoil Yellow Bottle).

Temperatures were dropping into the high 30s Farenheit. I was due for an oil change and had the 0w-20 so that's what I put back in.

The oil was Peak Conventional.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
I have used M1 0/40 in my Navigator for the past 10k miles. The 60k miles before that were all run on the spec 5/20. Never had any problems with 5/20. UOA's showed that even my severe duty driving did nothing to cut down the 5/20 or increase wear metals.

Recently, I decided to drop in the 0/40 to quiet the 1250rpm light load cam phaser rattle and because I have plenty of it, being the owner of 2 German cars.

Over the past 10k miles, I have been able to find exactly no evidence that my fuel economy has been impacted in any way at all. Whether it be hand calculations, instant MPG monitor, or average MPG monitor, everything shows I am getting better fuel economy.

The real evidence came this past month on a trip to Tampa. Every single time I go there, I use 3/4 of a tank, driving at 80mph. The past two times I have gone, I have driven at 90mph and didn't even use 3/4 tank getting there. Filling up before I left both times verified that there is no inaccuracy in my gauge. In both instances, I had more than 8 gallons remaining in my tank, where usually there would be less than 7 gallons remaining. Hand calculations of my fuel usage per mile also show slightly better fuel economy now than my driving on 5/20.

Is the phaser rattle gone? Absolutely. Did my fuel economy suffer? No. Do I feel there is a deficiency in 5/20? Also no.

But my engine is definitely not suffering any horror from running a thicker oil.

My UOA will be in soon. Greatly anticipating those results.

It's a 5.4L in a heavy vehicle, the oil's effect is going to be next to non-existent and this aligns with my experience as well. I've run 5w-40, 0w-40, 5w-30, 0w-30 and 5w-20 in our Expedition and none of the oil choices ever had any appreciable effect on fuel economy.

 

[buster]

An oil's coefficient of friction is also a factor. They are not all the same. I'd assume being it's also used as a racing oil, the 0w40 is pretty good at reducing friction.

I've been running M1 EP 5w30 in the Skyactiv 2.0 and have not noticed any reduction in fuel economy either. In fact, I recording the high mpg ever using the 5w30.

What I did find interesting is the oil level is a tad (and I mean a very very small amount) lower with the 5w30 than the majority PAO 0w20 EP.

The NOACK of the EP 5w30 per Amsoil white paper is 8.5%. The EP 0w20, being majority PAO is probably around 9-10% if I had to guess and compare to AFE which PQIA tested at 10%.

However, there are some engines that you really DO notice an engine sluggishness when moving from a 20 grade to a 40 grade. It's often the little 4 bangers with low torque it seems.

The Honda 2.4 was sluggish on a 40 grade and much more responsive on a 20 grade.

 

[maximus]

Slow down,bro!

If you drove at speeds closer to the speed limit, your MPG would improve substantially.