- Joined
- Apr 24, 2021
- Messages
- 22
Hi BITOG’ers, thanks for this site and all the knowledge you’ve shared. You can skip this paragraph and the next two if you just want to get to the oil recommendations part. I came across this site while researching what oil to put in my boat engine, and went way down the rabbit hole reading a ton and losing a bunch of sleep on here over the last week (yes I’m an engineer, ha). Now I know way more than I ever thought I would about oil, although my brain can only assimilate so much knowledge in a week and I’ve just scratched the surface.
Based on what I’ve read, I went to buy some non-manufacturer recommended oils today for my cars. I made the mistake of answering what vehicle I was getting oil for when the oil stocker asked. I had to listen to him go on about how cars in Europe are made differently, engineers know what spec is best (as if engineers ever get to make the final call on business decisions), etc. I got a blank stare when I tried telling him about different additive packs, how viscosity changes with temp, etc. He did agree that it probably wasn’t in an automotive company’s best interests for your vehicles to last a long time. I waited until he started talking to another customer, then grabbed the oils I wanted and hightailed it out of there. It’s funny, it felt sneaking a cookie out of the cookie jar or stealing something.
My wife is also skeptical of doing something different than what the manufacturers say, and isn’t on board with me changing her Toyota Sienna’s oil yet. So I’m hoping I can get some validation from you all on what I selected, or some correction if I’m off the mark. Here’s my plan for vehicles and boat.
Overall objectives: Minimize wear on my vehicles for maximum life, while also balancing oil and gas costs
Location: Washington state
Vehicle: 2012 Ford Expedition
- Mileage: ~200K
- Use: Hardest usage is as a tow vehicle for a 4k or 5k pound boat and trailer. I also try to drive it once a week when it’s not boating season. It only sees a few thousand miles per year, but works hard towing a boat over passes.
- Oil: 0w40 Mobile 1 FS. I thought the Mobil 1 would hold up well in a towing environment, but hopefully not decrease gas mileage or power noticeably since it’s a pretty light 40 weight.
Vehicle: 2007 Ford Freestyle
- Mileage: ~125K
- Use: Daily commuter, get 6 to 8K miles a year
- Oil: I wanted to get Quaker State 5w30 UD, but they only had 5w40 UD or 10w30 UD. I grabbed the 5w40, but may return it and go to another location that has 5w30 UD.
Boat motor: 2009 Yamaha F150
- Useage: Typically low hours, ~50 or so a season. Boat mostly cruises at ~4500 rpm, as well as some time at 5900 rpm to blow things out, and some low sped trolling. - The boat is heavy and the motor is pretty loaded. It sometimes sits for several months in the winter without being run
- Oil: Schaeffer’s 5w40 OTR plus. Specs on this look similar to Rotella T6 which many use successfully in outboards. Schaeffer oil seems to have a rep for being high quality and holding up very well. Plus their moly cocktail sounds really cool. I like the idea of a protective layer being built up to prevent corrosion and protect against wear when the boat is fired up cold after sitting for a while. I'm not sure if their moly works as advertised or if it's just a good sales pitch. This oil may be overkill due to the low number of hours it sees, but I’m more concerned about preventing any corrosion or other buildup in it, as well as avoiding wear when it’s started.
As an aside, I looked at the marine rated FW-C oils, and those jokers share basically nothing about their oils. It’s pretty much a jedi mind trick they’re pulling: “trust us, this oil is what your engine needs.” Unless they decide to be more transparent or I see more VOAs/UOAs on them, I’m not going to risk paying a premium for what may be crappy, cheap oil.
The oils I picked seem to have strong additive packs (moly, ZDDP, etc.), decent HTHS and TBN levels, are known performers with good reputations, and are relatively inexpensive. Please let me know if you think these are decent picks, or if I should be listening to my wife and the oil jockey to stick with manufacturer specs. Do I need to worry about oil film thickness or strength on any of these, especially the boat which may sit for months? Thanks in advance!
Based on what I’ve read, I went to buy some non-manufacturer recommended oils today for my cars. I made the mistake of answering what vehicle I was getting oil for when the oil stocker asked. I had to listen to him go on about how cars in Europe are made differently, engineers know what spec is best (as if engineers ever get to make the final call on business decisions), etc. I got a blank stare when I tried telling him about different additive packs, how viscosity changes with temp, etc. He did agree that it probably wasn’t in an automotive company’s best interests for your vehicles to last a long time. I waited until he started talking to another customer, then grabbed the oils I wanted and hightailed it out of there. It’s funny, it felt sneaking a cookie out of the cookie jar or stealing something.
My wife is also skeptical of doing something different than what the manufacturers say, and isn’t on board with me changing her Toyota Sienna’s oil yet. So I’m hoping I can get some validation from you all on what I selected, or some correction if I’m off the mark. Here’s my plan for vehicles and boat.
Overall objectives: Minimize wear on my vehicles for maximum life, while also balancing oil and gas costs
Location: Washington state
Vehicle: 2012 Ford Expedition
- Mileage: ~200K
- Use: Hardest usage is as a tow vehicle for a 4k or 5k pound boat and trailer. I also try to drive it once a week when it’s not boating season. It only sees a few thousand miles per year, but works hard towing a boat over passes.
- Oil: 0w40 Mobile 1 FS. I thought the Mobil 1 would hold up well in a towing environment, but hopefully not decrease gas mileage or power noticeably since it’s a pretty light 40 weight.
Vehicle: 2007 Ford Freestyle
- Mileage: ~125K
- Use: Daily commuter, get 6 to 8K miles a year
- Oil: I wanted to get Quaker State 5w30 UD, but they only had 5w40 UD or 10w30 UD. I grabbed the 5w40, but may return it and go to another location that has 5w30 UD.
Boat motor: 2009 Yamaha F150
- Useage: Typically low hours, ~50 or so a season. Boat mostly cruises at ~4500 rpm, as well as some time at 5900 rpm to blow things out, and some low sped trolling. - The boat is heavy and the motor is pretty loaded. It sometimes sits for several months in the winter without being run
- Oil: Schaeffer’s 5w40 OTR plus. Specs on this look similar to Rotella T6 which many use successfully in outboards. Schaeffer oil seems to have a rep for being high quality and holding up very well. Plus their moly cocktail sounds really cool. I like the idea of a protective layer being built up to prevent corrosion and protect against wear when the boat is fired up cold after sitting for a while. I'm not sure if their moly works as advertised or if it's just a good sales pitch. This oil may be overkill due to the low number of hours it sees, but I’m more concerned about preventing any corrosion or other buildup in it, as well as avoiding wear when it’s started.
As an aside, I looked at the marine rated FW-C oils, and those jokers share basically nothing about their oils. It’s pretty much a jedi mind trick they’re pulling: “trust us, this oil is what your engine needs.” Unless they decide to be more transparent or I see more VOAs/UOAs on them, I’m not going to risk paying a premium for what may be crappy, cheap oil.
The oils I picked seem to have strong additive packs (moly, ZDDP, etc.), decent HTHS and TBN levels, are known performers with good reputations, and are relatively inexpensive. Please let me know if you think these are decent picks, or if I should be listening to my wife and the oil jockey to stick with manufacturer specs. Do I need to worry about oil film thickness or strength on any of these, especially the boat which may sit for months? Thanks in advance!