Two things:
1. Officer Cartman is correct about the owner's manual. My '98 manual says synthetics are "not recommended." The Ford website said the same thing up until about a year ago, when they switched their terminology. Oddly enough, they stopped recommending against synth at about the same time they introduced a Ford-branded synth oil. Hmmmm.
2. I disagree that we should expect our engines to fail after hard driving. Of course, if I'm running around at redline all day, I'll expect something to happen. However, if I'm at an occasional drivers' school, I expect my engine to hold together, just like the VW's and Hondas that are at the school with me.
If Ford doesn't think the engines can handle a little hard driving, they should put a 4000 RPM limiter on them.
