Why did Ford change to 5W30 on the 2011?

[Siman]

hmmm... Thank you allot for the pic its vary interesting on how they layed it out idk though. It needs to be simpler stock garrett turbo so you can more easily bolt on upgraded turbos. its so ford specific you cant even change out the compressor or the turbine. i guess you can play around with the blades and fans... but its kinda a limited design..

 

[dan kane]

What is the final verdict on the 2010 SHO----5-20 or 5-30 syn motor oil.

 

[RonPorter]

Follow your Owners Manual, to the letter, for both the oil and the mileage intervals. If you have an issue down the road, don't give them a reason to dispute you.

 

[typhoon5000]

Follow your Owners Manual, to the letter, for both the oil and the mileage intervals. If you have an issue down the road, don't give them a reason to dispute you.

Yea, what Ron said.

 

[dan kane]

Thank you Ron for being logical about the oil issue.

 

[itguy08]

It is amazing how Ford is cheapening the Ecoboost for the F150. We got metal valve covers and intake, they get plastic. We have a niceer exhaust manifold, they have cast iron.....

Makes you wonder....

 

[typhoon5000]

It is amazing how Ford is cheapening the Ecoboost for the F150. We got metal valve covers and intake, they get plastic. We have a niceer exhaust manifold, they have cast iron.....

Makes you wonder....

It's not necessarily "cheapening" as you put it, implying poorer quality. In fact, it's just the opposite because it has to pass Ford's Truck durability standards, which are MUCH more stringent than the car durability ones, therefore causing quality to increase, even though part cost might actually decrease.

-With the valve covers, Ford is now able to produce composite materials that outperform or match the performance of the metal ones, but with lower weight and heat retention.

-The intake got redesigned for more low end torque, as it's needed for towing in the F-150. As far as material goes, it's easier to get a smoother surface out of a composite part straight from the mold over having to machine or sand a metal part after casting, meaning better airflow and less cost.

-Finally the cast iron exhaust manifolds are much more durable than the sheetmetal based ones in the SHO, mainly because they are one piece and not two layers welded together. Why do you think they have been used on trucks for decades? The SHO simply couldn't package the cast ones and the F-150 has enough room to allow them.

All in all, if the parts perform at least as good as the parts they are replacing from the SHO to the F-150, why not use them because it means the customer is getting it at a lower cost. From what we heard at the EcoBoost presentation at the Convention, the F-150 will have increased boost and performance over the SHO as well, so if those parts hold up under higher stresses, I don't see the problem.

Sorry if this seems like a bit of a rant, but some people still see composite/plastic parts and assume they are inferior to metal ones, when that is usually not the case. Look at Carbon Fiber as an example. Some composites might not look as pretty as carbon fiber, but than can outperform their counterparts.

 

[itguy08]

I certainly understand the expertise that the composite may be "better" than metal but there have been many gasket failures/leaks on Ford's with composite Manifolds.

They existed on the 99+ Explorer SOHC with them. It's well known that the Escapes with them will need to have them replaced (just did the wife's at only 80k) when they leak.

I'm sure Ford did analysis for them and they will hold up well over the years but I'd also rather have a metal intake manifold rather than the composite. I know when I did the wife's upper/lower intake gaskets on her Escape I was deathly afraid of the composite intakes. They just seemed very brittle and I was afraid of pulling threads out even though I torqued everything to specs.

Maybe it's paranoia, maybe it's me not having a through understanding of the parts, or something else. There was something reassuring about seeing all that metal under the hood of the SHO and EcoBoost.

I'm not sure which is better - composite vs metal, stainless vs cast iron, etc, etc. But either way I hope Ford did its homework!

 

[RonPorter]

Well, I trust that Ford has learned a few thing in the 12 years since the '99 Explorer for the '11 F-150. Besides, a valve cover isn't really under many stresses.

And I have a lot more faith in their durability testing for trucks than for cars. I could see the F-150 EB going to 200-300K miles before a SHO EB.

 

[TRBOSHO]

Well, I trust that Ford has learned a few thing in the 12 years since the '99 Explorer for the '11 F-150. Besides, a valve cover isn't really under many stresses.

And I have a lot more faith in their durability testing for trucks than for cars. I could see the F-150 EB going to 200-300K miles before a SHO EB.

GM has had composite valve covers on some models for quite some time. They held up well and the main reasons were heat retention and reduced valve train noise as they have more of a baffle effect than aluminum or stamped steel.

 

[SHOSKER]

Just had my 2010 in the dealer for 15,000 mile service. They used Motorcraft QSP Premium Synthetic Blend 5-20w. I usually don't have time to wait around at the dealer for an oil change (15,000 miles in 4 1/2 months) so I have been going to the Valvoline Instant Oil change place by my home. They have been using SYNpower full synthetic 5-20.

 

[clindahl]

Not to throw this off topic, but looking at the F150 Eco-Boost Engine is APPEARS that that motor has an external water pump vs. the SHO that has the internal timing chain driven water pump. Just Curious - the motor looks good, want to see it in real life in a truck which is MUCH easier to poke around on

 

[EB_SHO]

The switch to 5W30 in 2011 has nothing to do with durability for the current EcoBoost engine. The SHO (as well as the MKS, Flex, MKT) were switched to 5W30 so that all the EcoBoost engines will use a common oil.

The EcoBoost engine in the F150 will require 5W30 oil because of the extra oil demand caused by the additional cam phasers. Viscosity was increased to maintain the pressure with the increased flow.

You can use either 5W20 or 5W30 in the SHO. There are no hardware changes between 2010 and 2011 that will affect the required oil viscosity.

 

[OldSalt]

The switch to 5W30 in 2011 has nothing to do with durability for the current EcoBoost engine. The SHO (as well as the MKS, Flex, MKT) were switched to 5W30 so that all the EcoBoost engines will use a common oil.

The EcoBoost engine in the F150 will require 5W30 oil because of the extra oil demand caused by the additional cam phasers. Viscosity was increased to maintain the pressure with the increased flow.

You can use either 5W20 or 5W30 in the SHO. There are no hardware changes between 2010 and 2011 that will affect the required oil viscosity.

Do you mind telling us where you got that info? Did you speak to a Ford Tech Rep or what, just curious on the source.

 

[SHOZ123]

Do they include the intake cams now?

 

[Sho'n'tell]

I wanted to share my experience as I don't think everybody at Ford has got the word that the 2011 SHO has gone to a 5W30. On my first, complimentary, oil change at the dealership they used 5W20....even though the owner's manual clearly states 5W30.

This happened on Friday and when I was at home reviewing the maintenance receipt I saw the discrpenancy but by that time the service department was already closed. I am going to contact the service manager tomorrow for an explanation and if I learn anything I will share it with you.

 

[Sho'n'tell]

Just an FYI to 2011 SHO owners; I had my first oil change at the dealership where I bought my Taurus SHO and the service dept. didn't pay attention to the recommended oil (5W30) that was clearly on the oil cap, and is what the owner's manual states should be used to protect the engine and the engine warranty. They put in 5W20. Maybe that is what they are used to because all 2010 Taurus, SHO and non SHO used the same oil.


I returned to the dealership this morning to point this out and they changed the oil to 5W30 immediately without any questions. The car might run just fine on 5W20 but for some reason they have changed the SHO recommended oil to 5W30, which has been well documented in here, but still don't know why....and if 5W20 is ok to use and no big deal why does the owners manual not say that?

 

[mjhpadi]

Man, all this talk of oil changes at 5000-7500 miles scare the heck out of me. I have been using Mobil One for at least 12 years and I change every 3000 both oil and filter. I just can't imagine waiting 7500 miles for oil change. I have heard the the arguments about wasting a full synthetic with 3000 mile oil changes but it's amazing how black the oil looks at changes, and I feel it's a relatively cheap way to keep clean oil in a expensive engine. BTW, I also do trans oil and filter changes at 30K and change fuel filters every 15K.

 

[hammerd]

The 5W20 oil is too thin for the higher HP output of the ecoboost twin turbo engine.
The bearing loads are much higher than the N/A engine has to deal with. So Ford increased the oil to 5w30 to handle the higher bearing loads.

Temp is on the right path but has nothing to do with it as both synthetic 5w20 and 5w30
have the same high temp limits. However synthetic oil has a higher temp limit than does dino oil. That is why they recomend using synthetic oil. The turbos when run hard glow red and introduce a lot of heat into the oil and water jacket. If the oil can not handle the heat it breaks down cokes up and looses its lubricating ability. That then leads to engine damage. So by all means people use 5w30 synthetic oil in the twin turbo version.
By the way not all synthetic 5w30 oils have the same max temp limits some are higher than others. As a rough example Dino oils max temp is around 450F while synthetics are around 620F. Now you can see why they recommend synthetic oil. But some are as high as 650F with additives. Obviously you do not need the best unless you are pushing your engine higher than factory rated power. Then the best you can get is good insurance policy.

 

[hammerd]

They are def Honeywell's. I've talked to the chief turbo engineer on the EcoBoost from Honeywell. Like itguy08 said, they are custom designed for Ford. If you want to see some close up high res pics of the turbos (including cut-aways), I have some on my Flickr account from an SAE event featuring the SHO I went to a while back: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24619344@N06/page4/.

If you think the FWD configured EcoBoost turbos look wierd, you should see the turbos on the EcoBoost F-150 (sorry for the super high res):





In the end, it all comes down to packaging. In the F-150, those turbos almost hug the frame rails. So much so, that they had to put reliefs in the rail for them. They try to make them flow as much as possible, but it's still gotta fit in the car when you build it

Honeywell turbos yuck. Every company honeywell has bought they used the name and cheapened the product. Just like Fram oil filters used to be good before honeywell bought them.