GT Oil Selection
Seeking the correct oil and possible options I asked Mobil if their Mobil 1 full synthetic 5 - 50 met fords wss-m97b51-a1 spec / per owners guide . The reply was NO... it does not .
WHOOOO, quahog!
I would hope that Mobil 1 would NOT meet your cited Ford Specification wss-m97b51-a1, as this is for Motorcraft antifreeze coolant….??? Perhaps a typo on your part, but a significantly different specification from the 5W-50 Motorcraft OIL Specification WSS-M2C931-A/B/C.:facepalm:
Owners have passionate reasons for using a particular oil choice. It’s your engine, your choice. Ford worked with Conoco-Phillips 66 during the engine development phase of our 5.4L supercharged engine to develop the “A” version of this oil. This 5W-50 oil was used exclusively for all endurance and qualification testing and when production released, was the recommended oil by Ford for this (Ford GT) singular application.
Because of perceived catalytic converter fouling tendencies of an oil additive “zinc dialkyldithiophosphates” (often referred to as ZZDP) in the oil, the EPA forced oil manufactures to reduce or eliminate this compound from their oil additive package. Thus the lowered/removed ZZDP formula was rolled to the “B” version.
The Ford engine design team did go back and run limited testing to insure the newly formulated oil would still provide acceptable wear characteristics which is obviously important for customer satisfaction and warranty claims. With the “B” version oil rollout, engine development continued on the (then) new 5.8L Trinity engine in the new GT500 and the Boss 302 5.0L Road Runner engines. The newer version of this Motorcraft oil was used during the development of these new Ford engines. The “B” version oil when released was marketed for both the Ford GT and Shelby GT500 applications.
Although I do not have the specifics on why the Motorcraft 5W-50 oil spec was rolled to the now current “C” specification (see below), I personally am confident that the Ford team continues to evaluate and insure the oil provides the necessary wear/lubrication properties for each engine application. As indicated below, from the Ford Motorcraft Oil site application of the 5W-50 oil is now extended to the Boss 302 engine and though not stated on the bottle label is the Ford recommended oil for the newer 5.2L Voodoo flat-plane crankshaft engine in the GT350/350R.
It may be of future ownership interest that the production release the new twin turbocharged 3.5L engine in the 2017 Ford GT was developed, qualified and the recommended oil usage has been changed to Castrol EDGE Supercar 5W-50. It is well known that Castrol/BP is a major sponsor of the new Ford GT racing program. Just look at any picture of the race car rear. And since the Castrol 5W-50 meets the Ford WSS-M2C931-C spec just as the Motorcraft 5W-50 oil, you now have two choices to use in the 05-06 GT. :thumbsupI continue to use the Ford recommended Motorcraft 5W-50 in my GT. My thoughts are why worry about equivalency and whether this/that oil meets the Ford oil specification. I choose to just use the engine designer’s recommendation and enjoy the drive.
