New guy here with a quick question

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VistaBlueGT

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Dec 8, 2009
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Hello,

My name's Jason and I have a 2008 Mustang GT with a pretty big list of mods and 23k on the clock.. she is no longer my DD, is garage kept, and see's only nice weather / weekend warrior use with maybe a dozen or so passes at the drag strip a year. I do not beat on or abuse her and she rarely see's a full throttle blast or high rpm's other then at the track.

I've always run Mobil 1 Full Synthetic 5W20 (0W20 in the winter) sense she hit the 500 mile mark w/ 3,000 mile fluid / filter changes (usually Motorcraft 820s). I know I can go alot longer, but it's been burned into my brain sense I was a kid to change oil at 3k.. maybe you guys can beat that one out of me and save me some $$$.

Anyway.. I've sent the oil away twice to Blackstone labs for testing and it has come back (according to them) great and I could go alot longer on my change intervals with no issues..

Now the question:
I recently added a Whipple Supercharger HO kit and, after some belt issues, she's pushing over 475whp 455trq.. Do I still stick with good old Mobil 1 Full Synthetic 5W20 - 0W20 or should I change to a heavier 5W30 ..5W40?

I'm getting different answers every where I ask, so I'm turning to the experts now. lol

Thanks,
~j
 
Personally, with that level of modification, I'd use a thicker oil. Ford puts 5W-50 in its supercharged hi-perf. vehicles, so I'd at least use a 40-weight oil.

TDT 5W-40 would be a good choice, if you like M1 products.
 
I would use a 5-30 in your application.
There is not a huge difference - just somewhat thicker than 5-20.
There are times when that extra protection can benefit the bearings and other parts with your high HP engine and racing conditions.
You might as well stick with a good full synthetic, as well.
 
M1 High mileage 5w/10w-30 or better yet, a specialised street race oil like redline or some HD amsoil product. Some would say try Edge 5w/10w-30. Most all posts I've read recently are happy with the Edge.
 
Last edited:
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to BITOG!


Two potential issues:

1. More power = more potential for wear
2. Supercharger + more power = more heat

Any sense what your oil temps are like? If they're a lot higher than before, you might want to step up to 5w30 to make sure you can maintain oil pressure and viscosity in bearings and such. Otherwise, stick with 5w-20 for better cooling, fewer hot spots, and less parasitic drag.

Mobil 1 5w-20 is rated API SM, which means it is a really good oil but a little bit light on certain anti-wear additives for emissions reasons. In other words, it's absolutely fine for stock power but stepping up couldn't hurt. Motul, Red Line, and Royal Purple all make 0w-20 or 5w-20 oils that are more focused on wear protection than emissions. I know RLI also makes really good stuff and claims that their oils are as environmentally friendly as API SM requires, but I'm not sure. Either way, I assume you're more interested in protecting your engine than running your catalytic converters for hundreds of thousands of miles, so any of those oils would be good to try if you feel Mobil 1 5w-20 isn't enough for you.

Ford does spec heavier oils for their higher performance engines, but those are also designed for heavy track use (i.e. sustained high oil temps). Unless you're road racing all the time, I think using a more wear-focused oil, maybe in an an xw-30 (again, only if temperatures demand it), should be all you need right now. Drag racing doesn't push temps up too high as far as I've seen, because you have downtime between each run. Come back again when you're making twice the power or start doing road course events, and we'll talk again then.
wink.gif


Whatever you do, OCIs longer than 3,000 miles are OLD news. With your supercharger you don't want to run your oil all the way down, but any half-decent oil should be able to go well beyond 3,000 miles with ease.

Good luck!
 
I would step up to M1 5-30 or M1 0-40. Both are great oils for much longer OCIs than 3000 miles if you chose to do so.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Personally, with that level of modification, I'd use a thicker oil. Ford puts 5W-50 in its supercharged hi-perf. vehicles, so I'd at least use a 40-weight oil.

TDT 5W-40 would be a good choice, if you like M1 products.


problem with that, the GT and GT500 do not have variable timing.
 
Wow, that was fast! Thanks for the replies!

Sorry, I was not monitoring what oil temps were before, but I can't see them being much higher. The Whipple is self contained oil system, so it would just be the additional strain of turning the compressor when I go into boost right?
 
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Personally, with that level of modification, I'd use a thicker oil. Ford puts 5W-50 in its supercharged hi-perf. vehicles, so I'd at least use a 40-weight oil.

TDT 5W-40 would be a good choice, if you like M1 products.


problem with that, the GT and GT500 do not have variable timing.


I thought the GT 3V's had VCT?
 
Originally Posted By: VistaBlueGT
Sorry, I was not monitoring what oil temps were before, but I can't see them being much higher.

What are they now?


Originally Posted By: VistaBlueGT
The Whipple is self contained oil system, so it would just be the additional strain of turning the compressor when I go into boost right?

Horsepower makes heat, too.
 
Not sure. I'll have to see if that is a option to data log with the SCT Livewire I'm currently using.

Quote:
Horsepower makes heat, too.


Duh.. I need more coffee.
 
Originally Posted By: VistaBlueGT
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Personally, with that level of modification, I'd use a thicker oil. Ford puts 5W-50 in its supercharged hi-perf. vehicles, so I'd at least use a 40-weight oil.

TDT 5W-40 would be a good choice, if you like M1 products.


problem with that, the GT and GT500 do not have variable timing.


they do. by GT i was referring to the GT Supercar. i would run a synthetic 5w30 with a motorcraft filter and call it good. where did you get the Whipple from? how are your Fuel/Air numbers?

I thought the GT 3V's had VCT?
 
Oh, sorry. I misunderstood.

I picked the kit up from a fellow member of a Mustang site I'm on.

We had her on the Dyno over at Tillman Speed and after some tweaking by CR the A/F's were around 11.8 across the board.
 
Even with the variable timing, I'd still go TDT 5W-40 or M1 0W-40. The extra heat and strain on the crank/bearing warrants it.
 
I'm not so sure that you should go with a thicker oil. I have an 07 Mustang GT. Do you have cams with a VCT lockout? I you didn;t I would stick to 5w-20, because is relies on oil to function properly. If you disable them, then step up to a thicker oil.

I may be wrong, so someone help us out.
 
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