Synthetic Blend or Full Synthetic?
 

The wife's 08 MMH 2-years in service in June--but has only 10k miles on it (changing at 5k intevals regardless of time--don't know if that's good).

Which is better on the hybrids-- the synthetic blend or full synthetic oil?

Also just bought a FRAM charcoal cabin air filter (CF10137) for $14 from rockauto.com. FRAM site lists for 08's, but don't think that's right. Will fit in my 02 Escape though, no problem. Had been looking for a cabin filter that addressed odor as well--this FRAM has the charcoal and baking soda in the element, so we'll see if it works...

Re: Synthetic Blend or Full Synthetic?
 

The Ford brand oil that dealerships use in the FEH is a synthetic-blend. There are lots of people that use full synthetics in there FEH as well.

The '08 FEH cabin air filter shape/design (almost triangular) is different from the 05-06 design (rectangular). There's a thread specifically regarding filters on this site.https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...-thread-15380/

I'm not aware of a cabin filter of for the '08 that has charcoal/baking soda.

Re: Synthetic Blend or Full Synthetic?
 

Ford is running a Motorcraft Full Synthetic oil change under their "works" package...about $20 more than syn-blend. Is it worth it?

Re: Synthetic Blend or Full Synthetic?
 

I'll leave it to greater minds than myself to debate the values of full synthetic in engines that don't specify it as a requirement but I personally have run the Ford synthetic-blend for the first 34,000 miles I've had my FEH. I feel most comfortable running that oil during the warranty period (although I know that any oil that meets/exceeds spec would do). Not sure what I will do outside of that but break even for the $20 over 10,000 miles looks to be about 1MPG more (using the FWD 08 FEH's 32MPG EPA rating).

Re: Synthetic Blend or Full Synthetic?
 

The only real argument for a full synthetic that I can see is when you are in an extremely cold environment and you need an oil that doesn't thicken too much in a cold engine. You can save a little wear and start easier with a full synthetic in extreme cold environments.
I question the value of a much more expensive full synthetic for most of us since we still need to change it according to the Ford maintenance schedules.

Re: Synthetic Blend or Full Synthetic?
 

Don't count on the raw material of the motor oil to affect FE.

If you are like a majority of US citizens and only keep your vehicles for 5 years or less, go with the cheapest oil change that meets the minimum warranty requirements.
If you would like to keep your vehicle for 10+ years and have it last 150,000 miles, 200,000 miles. etc., then using fully synthetic oil will prevent the wear on the engine that often causes failure before it reaches the higher mileages. The text books will say that synthetically derived (coal, wood) motor oil contains certain carbon molecules that are not found in petroleum (crushed dinosaurs) and they lubricate better and don't breakdown as soon.

These blends seem like marketing ploys to make more money. What constitutes a "blend" anyway?........1% synth and 99%petrol ?

Re: Synthetic Blend or Full Synthetic?
 

Thanks all-- I'll go with the blend and save the $20.

Re: Synthetic Blend or Full Synthetic?
 

First, nearly everything on the market is a blend. The only full synthetic is Mobil One and possibly Amsoil. Several years ago when initially changing oil in my Mustang (@ 8 Miles!) I searched the internet. All brands then came up with parafins and such in their MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) which means they are not full synthetics.

I keep my cars for the long haul:
-1992 Suburban 5.7 L @381,000 miles on original engine & Mobil One since ~5,000 miles. It gets 15.5 mpg at 75 mph on the interstates & ~5,000 miles per qt.
- 2001 Mustang Cobra: @251,000 miles on original engine (4.6L DOHC) Mobil One since 8 Miles & it gets 26.5 mpg at 75 on the interstates & ~6,000 miles per qt.

Synthetics protect better by: adhering to cylinder walls longer after shutdown, have a lower friction value (yeah this means they'll give you 1 or 2% better mileage), and pump up in the engine faster on start up.

If you're going to keep one for the long haul there is little choice in my mind: Mobil One (or possibly Amsoil), the rest are fancied-up dino oils.

Go look up the MSDSs for yourself.

Re: Synthetic Blend or Full Synthetic?
 

You're confusing the various oils' basestocks with whether or not they are blends. You also omitted Redline, which is a Group IV basestock.

Re: Synthetic Blend or Full Synthetic?
 

Red Line: true.

Base stocks? To my way of thinking if the base stock is dino oil and it has a synthetic additive package its really dino oil. Mobil took them to court over this some years ago. The courts couldn't figure it out and let them use Synthetic.

As I see it the friction and lifetime wear characteristics will be dominated by the characteristics of the predominant oil in the "Blend."

If you think I have it wrong, lets talk.

Re: Synthetic Blend or Full Synthetic?
 

If we are talking about full synthetic vs a synthetic blend, the question is what is the ratio of synthetic to "dino" in these blends? I'll bet the oil companies won't give these %'s up freely.. So if you want a "blend" why not blend your own to whatever % you feel is worth it, because I guarantee the oil companies are raking it in when they do the blending.. Which was a brilliant marketing ploy... Like Glenn said a blend could be as little as 1% or less full synthetic...
Mike

Re: Synthetic Blend or Full Synthetic?
 

scmike:

The only purpose of blending, at whatever %, is to lower the manufacturing cost and raise the sales of a product by putting "Synthetic" on the label.

So when I was researching these to decide which one to use I looked up the MSDSs. What I found was that if they were 100% synthetic they only mentioned things like esters but that if they were a blend they had to mention paraffins and such. Even Royal Purple mentions paraffins today.

I found only Mobil One, Red Line, & Amsoil were what I felt were 100% synthetic. The advantage, for the long haul, of 100% synthetic is that the dominant wear characteristic comes from the bulk oil, not the package.

There's a reason that my 92 Suburban gets 15.5 mpg at 75 mph (western states speed limit) on the interstate and 5,000 miles per quart with 383,000 miles on the odometer.

In my observation additive packages are more sales oriented than performance oriented. Thus I believe that the additive packages for oil are likely around 5% of the mix. The purpose of a dino oil base with a synthetic package is to improve profit margins.

On a related note:
I buy the least expensive gasoline I can find regardless of brand and have observed that engine performance is brand irrelevant.

...And remember that bulk gasoline is traded back & forth between manufacturers... their additives are added only just before the point of sale (& if you buy gas at "Cheap Charlies" you may get no additives at all). Thus I infer that the only way to get the true benefits of synthetic lubricants is to use one that is really 100% synthetic.