Oil Change Intervals
 

So I will be hitting 3,000 mi soon and I know recommended oil for the 5.0 is synthetic blend per Ford. I don't trust the people at walmart or the jiffy lube and I don't feel like taking it to the dealer so I'm going to do it myself. What do some of you all run? I'm planning on doing Mobil 1 full synthetic extended performance. What are some of y'alls oil and filter change intervals on full synthetic? I know Mobil 1 EP is rated at 15,000 mi, not too comfortable with that but maybe 7,500-10,000 mi. What do y'all think?

Oil Change Intervals
 

Ford built and designed this engine, so I believe I should put in it what they recommend. That's just MHO though.

I ran Royal Purple in my Cobra, and in the Porsche... seems to work great. The Vettes get Mobil 1.

Change it every 5k, it's cheaper than buying a new motor

I just passed 3k and have like 70% of "oil life" on the display. Even with Extreme duty and heat, I believe the manual says it should be 7,000-8,000 miles until it gets to zero. But oil is cheap insurance for a healthy engine. So I'm likely to do it on my own as well pretty soon. I think ford recommends 5w20 motorcraft semi synthetic.

Let Ford do it. They will use a Motorcraft filter and use oil that they approve of themselves. That way there's never a question of maintenance. I changed oil at 1k miles, then 5k miles, then every 5-6k miles after that. On both engines, lmao.

I switching to amsoil and changing it every 3k miles.

Re: Oil Change Intervals
 

Hmmm. A range of different answers. See I believe that synthetics are better and maintain their chemical properties longer than conventional, but I dont think filters are meant to do their job for as long as some of these synthetics are supposed to last. I've read several different articles on synthetic lab testing but nothing on filters. I hear the motorcraft one that came from the factory is the best one. I agree changing oil regulary is cheap insurance to keep the motor in tip top shape but I dont see the point in spending money on an oil change if the filter and oil are perfectly fine. Does the oil life monitor actually read the life through a sensor or calculate based on miles and driving style? It sounds like based on what I've heard, Ill just stick with ford recommended oil and filters every 5k.

It's a dummy timer... Don't trust it for anything .... It's mainly for people who are to stupid to know when to change it ..... Ignore that time 100% and do it on a regular cycle ... I do 5000 miles ... Sometimes a little more if I don't get around to it ... This round it will be like 5200-5300...

Do mine every 5k miles, because they are free for another year and half at Town East. Just rolled over 10k so I'll be taking it in for its 2nd oil change soon.

So I changed it a little early (2300mi) with the recommended Motorcraft filter and semi synthetic oil. Now I'm having a ticking issue from about idle-1500 rpm. I've read about people having similar issues on other forums after an early oil change. Has anyone heard of or had this issue? There is a rumor that Ford added some sort of break in additive to the oil from the factory that was supposed to fix this issue.

10w30 will fix it.
I know that when they designed the Cobra they originally intended to use 10w30 but Ford got some kind of grant or discount with something if they switched to 5w20, so that's what the car shipped with. I switched to 10w30. I know several other 5.0 guys who also run 10w30 and eliminated the same ticking noise.

get the oil changed at your dealership....therefore you have the maintenance records for warranty purposes.

do it according to how hard you drive. if you're constantly beating the shit out of it, do it at 3500-4k if you're running synthetic (not royal purple crap). if you granny drive it, you can get away with 5-6k miles between intervals. If you're running royal purple, its a non-detergent oil which means race only. You don't wanna run royal purple for more than 3k miles at a time. I pulled apart an LS1 at 60k miles that ran nothing but royal purple. It looked worse than a motor with twice the mileage running pennzoil. Some royal purple out there does have detergents, but the majority dont. I'd suggest castrol syntec, or if you have to, mobil1. If you're willing to spend the money, buy amsoil. Its the best synthetic oil out there, has amazing detergent properties, and won't hurt anything if you happen to miss the 5-6k mile intervals. Yes its expensive, but more now, is less money spent later

Re: Oil Change Intervals
 

I dont feel I should have to go to the dealer for an oil change. It takes more time, plus I'm still a student. Im not trying to spend more than I have to on something I can easily do myself. Ive worked at a dealer before, I remember most of the time the oil changes were done by some kid that wasnt even a tech. I can save my oreilly receipts and bottles as proof to me using their recommended lubricants and filters. I just want to be sure the ticking doesnt cause damage. It doesnt make sense that the car does it after an oil change when I supposedly replaced it with the same lubricant that it came with from the factory. Why do the track pack cars take 5w-50, is it because they come with an external oil cooler?