I called Mag1 today about SN Plus certification

I asked a technician what had to be done to their oils to make them SN Plus certified. He said they had to make a chemistry detergent change.

Less calcium
More magnesium

I then asked if their synthetic blend would be ok to run in my Mustang ecoboost. He said yes but won't last as long as their full synthetic. I asked how should I leave semi synthetic oil in an ecoboost engine? He gave me the generic "go by your owner's manual". I said the owner's manual doesn't distinguish a difference in oil change interval between the turbo engine Mustang and the V8 Mustang. I don't think any of the other Ford vehicles manuals do either. He said "interesting".

So, I said I change my full synthetic Mag1 oil at 4000-5000 miles. Would it be reasonable to say change the synthetic blend at 3000 miles. He said yes. I also asked would you leave any oil in a vehicle for 10,000 miles or more? He said Mobil 1 has claimed they can do it but, I personally wouldn't. That's a long time and miles and things get too dirty for me by that time with any oil.

I also asked what are the changes necessary for GF6 certification. He said he didn't know yet. I said that's all I need to know for now!

You realize all of his (non-)answers are incredibly "safe" from Warren's standpoint ? He didn't really tell you anything intriguing in the end....

-- What does he have to lose by telling you to change a synthetic blend oil at 3000 miles ? More sales for them !
-- Do owner's manual give an oil change mileage anymore or do they tell you to refer to the oil life monitor ?
-- Mobil 1 saying 10k miles - no skin off their back.

Motorcraft Synthetic Blend is recommended for your vehicle using the OLM. I wouldn't be concerned using MAG1 at that interval.

1, Well, they do have to compete with others so I was expecting him to say between 3000 and some other figure.

2, Yes, 7000-10000 miles for normal commuting with highway driving. No or moderate load or towing. Flat to moderately hilly roads and no extended idling. 5000-7000 miles for moderate to heavy towing. Mountainous or off road conditions. Extended idling, extended hot or cold operation and high engine speeds or loads, engine braking and cornering. 3000-5000 miles for maximum load or towing and extreme hot or cold operation.

3, Yes, no skin off their back!

At what point does idling become extended idling? Two minutes after startup when it's 20 below? Waiting for a 150-car train to pass at five mph?

I bet it changes, depending on the warranty claim.

Originally Posted by Uphill_Both_Ways
At what point does idling become extended idling? Two minutes after startup when it's 20 below? Waiting for a 150-car train to pass at five mph?

I bet it changes, depending on the warranty claim.

Aren't oil life monitors supposed to figure that out? I get that they haven't been universal, but even then it's just kind of a guess.

Doesn't MAG1 share the same dexos cert number as supertech syn?

If they share the same number they have to be substantially similar? How different are they allowed to be?

I don't know about the demos cert number but, have heard on this site that Warren Distribution makes both Mag1 and Supertech. I have read here that some say Supertech has been made by Warren and other times by another manufacturer. Mag1 is Warren Distribution's flagship product.

Originally Posted by BLND1
Doesn't MAG1 share the same dexos cert number as supertech syn?

If they share the same number they have to be substantially similar? How different are they allowed to be?
Warren makes Supertech and dozens of other oils (typically store brands). Mag1 is Warren's own brand. They all share the same Dexos number meaning they are the same oil, just packaged into different bottles.

Originally Posted by Mustangmaster
2, Yes, 7000-10000 miles for normal commuting with highway driving. No or moderate load or towing. Flat to moderately hilly roads and no extended idling. 5000-7000 miles for moderate to heavy towing. Mountainous or off road conditions. Extended idling, extended hot or cold operation and high engine speeds or loads, engine braking and cornering. 3000-5000 miles for maximum load or towing and extreme hot or cold operation.

I couldn't remember what ours said ('14 Fusion) so I just double-checked. The wording you have is pretty much identical but you're either reading it wrong or it's in fact worded differently. Ours says "When to expect the Oil Change Required message" but it still tells you to follow the OLM. It doesn't leave it up to me to determine what is 'extended idling' or 'extended hot or cold operation'. My wife drives it 3-5 days a week to work primarily - 5.6 miles and Google says 13 minutes. My math says that's roughly 30 mph average. Most people (here) will argue that's severe service but the OLM routinely goes 9000+ miles before indicating the oil change is due.

I often Wo Dee if we are A bit too conservative. I would presume there is a safety factor in the olm. I am surprised how far the f150 is letting me go at work. But in reality, most the trips are over 20-30 miles, I don't tow or race it. And it actually gets better mileage at 25 mph on rough roads than at 75 on the interstate.

Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by Mustangmaster
2, Yes, 7000-10000 miles for normal commuting with highway driving. No or moderate load or towing. Flat to moderately hilly roads and no extended idling. 5000-7000 miles for moderate to heavy towing. Mountainous or off road conditions. Extended idling, extended hot or cold operation and high engine speeds or loads, engine braking and cornering. 3000-5000 miles for maximum load or towing and extreme hot or cold operation.

I couldn't remember what ours said ('14 Fusion) so I just double-checked. The wording you have is pretty much identical but you're either reading it wrong or it's in fact worded differently. Ours says "When to expect the Oil Change Required message" but it still tells you to follow the OLM. It doesn't leave it up to me to determine what is 'extended idling' or 'extended hot or cold operation'. My wife drives it 3-5 days a week to work primarily - 5.6 miles and Google says 13 minutes. My math says that's roughly 30 mph average. Most people (here) will argue that's severe service but the OLM routinely goes 9000+ miles before indicating the oil change is due.

Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by Mustangmaster
2, Yes, 7000-10000 miles for normal commuting with highway driving. No or moderate load or towing. Flat to moderately hilly roads and no extended idling. 5000-7000 miles for moderate to heavy towing. Mountainous or off road conditions. Extended idling, extended hot or cold operation and high engine speeds or loads, engine braking and cornering. 3000-5000 miles for maximum load or towing and extreme hot or cold operation.

I couldn't remember what ours said ('14 Fusion) so I just double-checked. The wording you have is pretty much identical but you're either reading it wrong or it's in fact worded differently. Ours says "When to expect the Oil Change Required message" but it still tells you to follow the OLM. It doesn't leave it up to me to determine what is 'extended idling' or 'extended hot or cold operation'. My wife drives it 3-5 days a week to work primarily - 5.6 miles and Google says 13 minutes. My math says that's roughly 30 mph average. Most people (here) will argue that's severe service but the OLM routinely goes 9000+ miles before indicating the oil change is due.

It used to be drilled into people that "most cars are severe service". Of course the drillers were Pennzoil, Castrol, Quaker State, etc as well as the quickie lube places. Trying to find out which extreme a car's driving patterns fit in is silly. It should really be in between.

Of course it doesn't make sense that there are only two possible oil change intervals. The whole 3000/7500 (or sometimes 5000/10,000) numbers were to simplify everything, which only made it more complicated because of doing all the mental gymnastics about how a car was driven to try and fit it into two precise holes. I'm not even sure what rental car agencies did before cars with OLMs. I thought their big selling point (even with the stereotype of renters abusing them) of buying a used rental is meticulous maintenance records.

Originally Posted by Mustangmaster
I also asked what are the changes necessary for GF6 certification. He said he didn't know yet.

Oil blenders won't know it. Additive packs such as GF-6 are R&D'd by additive companies (Infineum, Oronite, Lubrizol, Afton, Vanderbilt, etc.). You can go to their websites to look for that information. Once the GF-6 add packs are available, all Warren Distribution needs to do is to buy the add pack and mix it with the minimum quality of base oil required along with some VII. It's pretty easy to blend oil really.

Originally Posted by y_p_w
It used to be drilled into people that "most cars are severe service". Of course the drillers were Pennzoil, Castrol, Quaker State, etc as well as the quickie lube places....
...and dealers and independent repair shops.

Are you actually equating the old school of thought of oil changes every 3000 miles or 3 months with today's standards of "service service = 3000 mile oil changes" ?

Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by y_p_w
It used to be drilled into people that "most cars are severe service". Of course the drillers were Pennzoil, Castrol, Quaker State, etc as well as the quickie lube places....
...and dealers and independent repair shops.

Are you actually equating the old school of thought of oil changes every 3000 miles or 3 months with today's standards of "service service = 3000 mile oil changes" ?

Not really. Just that marketing was designed to get people to believe they needed to use their services more often than needed. That the owner who drove 70 miles a day to/from work on the freeway was under the impression that a 3000 mile OCI was needed because of weekend 5 mile roundtrips to the closest supermarket. The old 3000/3750/7500 mile regimen was overly simplified because obviously thousands of little variables couldn't fit into two neat little numbers. And a vehicle that was routinely driven cross country could probably do longer than that, which is that a lot of OLMs seem to indicate.

I think I mentioned the old Pennzoil commercial where some owner of large load hauling business was claiming that their 3000 mile changes for their spotting vehicle is why it still worked well at 400,000 miles. In reality it was probably that they gave it so many miles and drove it relatively gently all those miles.

But it's changed. I remember the one place I trusted a lot. They kept on claiming that 3000 mile oil changes were the best thing you could do. And they were a full service shop that had journeyman mechanics do everything including oil changes, where they didn't make much money. But I checked again and they no longer make that recommendation.

Doing oil changes every 3000 miles will never hurt the engine. For a shop, motor oil manufacturer, etc to suggest a car that has the oil changed every 3000 miles will last longer than the same car that gets oil changes every 5000 miles would be pretty bold.