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Changed my oil yesterday with Royal Purple 20W-50. Just wondering if anyone else uses the stuff. Just want to know what everyone thinks of it. The guy at NAPA said he uses it and only changes the oil filter every 3000 and tops off, and does complete changes every 12,000 
95 Gl Zetec Atx
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Why 20w-50?
It is best to use 5w-30.
Too heavy a weight of oil can cause less lubrication as the thicker oil does not make it through the oil gallery as easily and may starve areas for oil.
My name is Richard. I was a Contouraholic.
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BEFORE: '99 Contour SE Sport
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I agree 20-50 is a bit heavy. 10-30 would have done just fine in your climate.
Royal purple is a fantastic oil. It rates just behind Amsoil.
2001 Lincoln LS8
1994 Lexus GS300
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Well, i've always been told that if you have alot of miles on your car to use a heavier weight oil. I've always used 20w-50 in other brands of oil and 15w-50 in a mobil 1 since I have 135,XXX miles. Is this wrong thinking?
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20-50 is fine for Texas, just a bit thick for the winter months. I'd step down to at least a 10-40 for winter.
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1994 Lexus GS300
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My valvetrain makes alot of noise in the morning and when the engine is cold. Doesn't thicker oil also help with that? or will lower weight oil help more to quiet it down?
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Originally posted by emartinez13:
My valvetrain makes alot of noise in the morning and when the engine is cold. Doesn't thicker oil also help with that? or will lower weight oil help more to quiet it down?
It does not help. It makes it worse.
Thicker oil takes longer to get flowing. Thinner oil will circulate much quicker on a cold start.
Your engine was specifically designed for 5W30 oil and that oil works well in that engine in all climates. There have been incidents of blowing off the oil filters on cold starts with thicker oil, even 10W30 even in mild winter areas. I still use 5W30 in my SVT with over 190,000 miles on it. I also use 0W20 in my Escape, which has nearly the same engine.
Heavy oil on older engines is "old" thinking. It had some questionable merit when the engine was nearly worn out. It is not good thinking for an engine that has very light wear wear, especially when it was designed for lighter oil to begin with.
Jim Johnson
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Originally posted by emartinez13:
Well, i've always been told that if you have alot of miles on your car to use a heavier weight oil. I've always used 20w-50 in other brands of oil and 15w-50 in a mobil 1 since I have 135,XXX miles. Is this wrong thinking?
Thats what us old dudes did with our Dodge Slant Sixs. I believe it is wise to follow Fords recomondation on oil weight.
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95 Mystique MTX - GONE 395,000 Kms
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Originally posted by Big Jim:
Originally posted by emartinez13:
My valvetrain makes alot of noise in the morning and when the engine is cold. Doesn't thicker oil also help with that? or will lower weight oil help more to quiet it down?
It does not help. It makes it worse.
Thicker oil takes longer to get flowing. Thinner oil will circulate much quicker on a cold start.
Your engine was specifically designed for 5W30 oil and that oil works well in that engine in all climates. There have been incidents of blowing off the oil filters on cold starts with thicker oil, even 10W30 even in mild winter areas. I still use 5W30 in my SVT with over 190,000 miles on it. I also use 0W20 in my Escape, which has nearly the same engine.
Heavy oil on older engines is "old" thinking. It had some questionable merit when the engine was nearly worn out. It is not good thinking for an engine that has very light wear wear, especially when it was designed for lighter oil to begin with.
Yes, this is true. Today's engines have much tighter bearing clearances than cars of the old days (since the EPA wants thinner oil to increase gas mileage). 20w-50 is a sure way to take life out of a Contour engine. I run 10w-40 in mine, and even that can be a tid bit thick in the winter. I do think that 5w-30 is a bit on the thin side too. 10w-30 or 10w-40 is about right depending on your climite and temp.
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WOW I run Mobil 1 0W-40. Almost no rattle from cold, even in cold weather. Good lubrication when it's warm.
'98 SVT Contour, in at least 639 pieces 
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