need help: What oil does Ford Australia recommend in the modular V8's?

[Geoff]

Well I've been skiing in Australia so it does get cold there in parts. The center, northern parts of the country get to 100 F+ easily on the other hand, and some areas have no speed limits.

My guess is the Aussie version engines have standard oil coolers hence the 10w30 recommendation.

The American V-8s had to modified to run on leaded fuel in '97-'98 when I was there. Not sure if this is still true.

 

[SteveS]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Geoff:
The American V-8s had to modified to run on leaded fuel in '97-'98 when I was there. Not sure if this is still true.

---

Yeah, but that small area of the Snowy Mountains is about the only place where you can find snow Geoff.

The US V8s were never modified to run on unleaded in 97-98. Aussie has 3 grades of petrol (Gasoline) unleaded regular (91 RON), unleaded super (95 RON) and leaded (96 RON) - I might be off with the unleaded super octane, it might be 96 RON.

So the US V8s by law would have had fuel inlet restrictions (19 mm fuel inlet throat) to prevent the use of leaded petrol.

An interesting thing, some of the guys who have older V8s which require leaded fuel, use a 50:50 mix of leaded and unleaded super. The higher base octane of the unleaded super plus the amount of lead from half the leaded, gives a fuel with a higher octane, allowing more advance, able to run higher compression, more power.

[ May 19, 2004, 05:32 PM: Message edited by: SteveS ]

 

[Shannow]

No car sold in Australia since 1987 has legally been able to run on leaded fuel, and the few V-8s that were around at the time were homegrown.

The Cleveland 4-Vs sold in Detomaso Pantera's world wide were at one stage of Australian origin.

I'm not sure where the "converting" V-8s to run leaded came from.

(Steve, that 50:50 mix was good while it lasted, but most of our fuel is now "lead replacement" which is lead free, but with some other stuff (Na/K ??) for the valve seats, and no octane enhancement)

 

[Geoff]

At the time I was thinking about buying a Holden Commodore. I checked Holden's site and apparently some v8's are calibrated to run on leaded fuel, since Holden exports v8 equipped cars abroad. I must have read this back then to mean that the Aussie fuels must have had lead in it.

Yes, skiing was at Thredbo in the Snowy Mountains.

 

[haley10]

quote:

---

Originally posted by sprintman:
And the Holdens are going through 10W30 like you wouldn't believe (ask anybody that owns one)

---

I would figure that M1 10-30 is more shear stable than the 0W-40. How much consumption are we talking about??

 

[mracer]

Let's get back on topic.

Hey, it's nice to know the history of leaded gas in Australia, but can anyone explain why 10w30 is required by Ford in Australia and dealers want to use 0W-40, while in the USA we're supposed to use 5W-20?

Aren't these Ford modular V8 engines the same as the USA versions that must have 5w20?

Does this prove that you cannot hurt a Ford modular V8 in the USA by running 10W30 or 5W-40 if you so desire?

P.S. these are rhetorical questions meant to provoke independent thinking and not blindly accepting government mandates.

[ May 20, 2004, 03:18 PM: Message edited by: mracer ]

 

[darkdan]

Yes it does.

We all know the 5w20 thing is just for CAFE reasons.

But the UOA show good results. Although it's a little bias IMO.

We won't know the long term effects of the light weights for another 5 to 7 years. It could be bad or it could be the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[SteveS]

And from my personnal experience, no matter what Ford USA says then Aussie Ford will make up their own mind what to use.

And Holden weren't much better. I once went present to them a new engine coolant which met the GM spec. The engineers said, "Nice, this would conform to the GM spec, it would reduce coolant system warranty costs such as water pump seal failures." They also said, "But the final decision is made by purchasing who are mandated to produce the cheapest components for the vehicle, and cooling system warranty costs don't come out of purchasing's budget."

bet Ford Aussie have found a cheaper engine oil than the Ford spec 5W-20. And as darkDan said, there is no CAFE requirements in Australia.

 

[Last_Z]

quote:

---

Originally posted by honus402:
2003 Crown Vic Sport
3/4 second knock after sitting for 8 hours 50 to 80 degrees. No knock below 50 degrees.

Ford says knock is "normal".

At 2000 miles, Motorcraft 5W-20 + FL820S
3/4 second knock after sitting for 8 hours 50 to 80 degrees. No knock below 50 degrees.

At 5000 miles, Mobile 1 5w30 + FL820S
Louder 3/4 second to 1 second knock after sitting for 8 hours 50 to 80 degrees. No knock below 50 degrees.

At 8000 miles, Motorcraft 5W-20 + FL820S
3/4 second knock after sitting for 8 hours 50 to 80 degrees. No knock below 50 degrees.

At 11000 miles, Chevron Supreme + FL820S
Absolutly no knock. So quiet you only hear the alternator and idler pullies. And get this, MPG got better by 1 mpg.

I'm sticking with 10w30 Chevron.

---

What's up fellow San Antonian! How 'bout them Spurs!?!?!?

 

[sprintman]

mracer we don't have CAFE. A Modular here comes out of a crate from the US. Same same.

 

[DavoNF]

mracer,

Put it this way, I would not run 5W-20 in an engine in Texas in the summer, regardless of what anyone said.

Maybe in a little 4 pot screamer, but even then I would have my doubts.

That is my opinion, backed by HT/HS numbers, and may not reflect the opinion of the management or other members of this board.

Dave

 

[Pro3qtr]

How HOT can a 5w-20 oil handle safetly??

Is that the reason its a Blend to HELP on the hot end of the scale?

 

[Mark in NY]

About 18 months ago I looked around the various country web sites of the automakers and oil companies for recomendations. Ford Contour 2.5L V-6 (Mondeo in Euro and Australia) - what oil are the other guys using?
Well, what I found helped to convince me (info that seemed to agree with the thicker-is-better theory) to abandon the US recommended 5-30. The UK Mobil site had an emphasis on heavier than 5-30 oils. The Mobil of Australia site really was an eye opener. The chart that was presented for my car ( or rather the identical Mondeo 2.5 liter) said the OEM (Ford)required 5-30. Then there was a footnote that said even in light of the OEM specs, Mobil reccommended 0-40 !!!

I began using M1 0-40 in 3 cars and continued for a over a year. Input from one of the experts here (Terry), a handful of my own UOA's and further postings from this site led me full circle, past 5-30 to 5-20 !
The final convincer for me was the posting from one of the guys in Texas. The UOA from his trailer-pulling Ford truck using Motorcraft 5-20 was very good.
I figure if 20 wt is acceptable in that big V-10, it surely will deal with my lighter cars during the daily commute.
You can look at my own UOA's comparing M1 0-40 and Motorcraft 5-20 that were posted here last year. The 5-20 stays.

Now that I have used 5-20 for winter and spring seasons, I cant swear to the actual MPG increase due to the thinner oil. I think there is a minor improvement but to verify I would have to go back to 5-30 or 0-40 and compare. I am not going to bother with that.

And by the way, when I checked the Aussie Mobil site a few months ago, the site had been revamped and I did not see that 0-40 footnote!

 

[Geoff]

I had the 5.4L in a '99 F-150 and used Mobil 1 5w30 from 3000-26000 miles (when I sold it). It had a slight rap/knock at cold startup no doubt due to the fact that it would rev immediately to 1500-2000 rpm at startup, and slowly settle to about 1000 rpm. I also used the 820 filter. I know from research this is by design to help startup emissions but must be hard on the motor. Aside from CAFE, Ford may recommend the 5w-20 to help mitigate the racing startup.

The Aussie versions may not have this racing startup as their emissions requirements are different, so a heavier oil would work fine.

I also had slight piston slap until the motor was warmed up which I hear is common.

[ May 24, 2004, 11:37 AM: Message edited by: Geoff ]

 

[metroplex]

Ask the folks in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait what kind of engine oil they use.

 

[haley10]

quote:

---

Originally posted by metroplex:
Ask the folks in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait what kind of engine oil they use.

---

The Saudi's, Kuwait's and Uncle Sam seem to have unlimited $$$$ Don't know how valid there opinion is for long term wear.

What do they use??

 

[tdi-rick]

quote:

---

The Saudi's, Kuwait's and Uncle Sam seem to have unlimited $$$$ Don't know how valid there opinion is for long term wear.

What do they use??

---

probably this stuff

http://www.q8oils.com

Rick.

 

[Flimflam]

From what I've been told, they use Mobil 1. It is really, really hot down there. The locals have learned through hard-won experience to idle their engines for 10-15 minutes after a long run, before shutting off the ignition, to prevent motor oil "coking up" in the heads. Of course, today with Synthetic oil, there is much less of a need to "warm down" an engine. Still, old habits die hard.

The really rich guys, the Rolls and Ferrari set, they use Motul ester-based oils and Redline.

 

[XS650]

quote:

---

Originally posted by haley10:

quote:

---

Originally posted by metroplex:
Ask the folks in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait what kind of engine oil they use.

---

The Saudi's, Kuwait's and Uncle Sam seem to have unlimited $$$$ Don't know how valid there opinion is for long term wear.

What do they use??

---

Sam uses a lot of HDEO 15w40 qualified under MIL-PRF-2104x, even in multi million dollar combat vehicles. Many of those vehicles in 120F weather don't run their oil any hotter than an abused s-box passenger car on a 90 degree day.

 

[XS650]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Flimflam:
From what I've been told, they use Mobil 1. It is really, really hot down there. The locals have learned through hard-won experience to idle their engines for 10-15 minutes after a long run, before shutting off the ignition, to prevent motor oil "coking up" in the heads. Of course, today with Synthetic oil, there is much less of a need to "warm down" an engine. Still, old habits die hard.

The really rich guys, the Rolls and Ferrari set, they use Motul ester-based oils and Redline.

---

The hot part of Australia isn't as hot as much of the SW US. Ozzies tend towards hyperpole.