Originally Posted by BurntMusic
Hi all, a relative of mine recently bought a Ford Ranger and it comes with the 2.3L ecoboost (4 popper).
The manual says to use 5w30 and recommends synthetic blend. I found that very odd considering it has a turbo on it. I told him to use a synthetic, and to change it after the break in period of 1000 miles.
Something interesting I noticed is that the manual says "e. If Motorcraft® oil is not available, use motor oils of the recommended viscosity grade that meet API SN PLUS requirements and display the API Certification Mark for gasoline engines", yet the oil the recommended, the Motorcraft 5w30, doesn't seem to be SN Plus certified, at least according to the pictures I saw 🤔
The bottle / jug you viewed was probably of older stock...
Heck, you can even find that Walmart's Super Tech Conventional is SN+ approved:
https://engineoil.api.org/Directory/EolcsResultsDetail?accountId=-1&companyId=10295&resultsUrl=%2FDirectory%2FEolcsResults%3FaccountId%3D-1%26brandName%3Dsupertech
Taken from the second page of search results in the EOLCS
"SUPER TECH CONVENTIONAL 5W-30 SN Resource Conserving, SN PLUS GF-5"
One does not "need" a syn or semi-syn to meet that Ford spec. Nothing wrong with using a syn or semi-syn, but let's not make this mole-hill into a mountain. Don't exaggerate past where the facts take us. Admittedly a syn may last longer in service, but all that depends upon your planned OCI.
Technically any lube that meets the Ford spec (or the API performance designation of SN+) will suffice for the OCI. Says so right in the manual. And there are plenty of conventional lubes that meet SN+ with quality conventional base stocks. Some are even dino oils that are Ford licensed.