No More Motorcraft at Wal-Mart?
 

Went to the local Wally World, and they don't have Motorcraft motor oil any more. Also they've dropped several of the Motorcraft fiter they handled (including the one for my daily use car).

Happened to go by some other Wal-Marts, and same thing - no more motorcrart oil. (This is in the St. Louis area). Is this a local thing or is Bentonville dropping the Motorcraft oil that this group seems to like?

John S.

Why are you using motorcraft oil/filters in an 8? Rotary engines are much more sensitive to products and quality than conventional piston engines. What I think is that you have a high performace vehicle which you forked out extra money for (unless you are loaded). Just spend a little bit more and go for renowned quality products like Castrol GTX oil and better filters.

This is just my $0.02

FS

As long as the filters / oils pass the same tests as the performance ones and you are changing your oil every 3,000 miles (or less) like most of us are, and the filters aren't known to break, I don't see the problem.

Walmart has stopped carrying motorcraft products. Any left on the shelves is just old stock.

Fullsmoke, you should really check out some UOA's on motorcraft oils.
http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi

Motorcraft 5w-20 semi-syn is one of the BEST oils on the market, especially when looked at from a price/performance standpoint. It routinely shows equivilant numbers to mobil1 supersyn, but at 1/4 the cost. It can't be beat for short interval changes (sub 5k OCI's) It shows good wear numbers from 4 cylinders, to V10 trucks pulling boats in the middle of summer.

Motorcraft filters are also made by champion labs, and are pretty well designed. Just because its associated with a certain "F" company, doesn't mean its "F'd up".

I don't know about you guys, but my dealer told me that the car was manufactured around Motorcraft oil. That is what they used to test them, run them, etc. I noticed that my car burned less oil with the Motorcraft than it did with Castrol GTX, but maybe that was just me.

Yes, you are right...Wal-mart is taking Motorcraft off the shelf everywhere.

Hmmm... I'll look into this. I guess maybe because Ford and Mazda have kind of joined teams now? I've just always been happy with Castrol GTX and have never had a problem, and one of my philosophies is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

FS

I overheard one of the associates telling another customer - who was there trying to buy a Motorcraft filter & oil - that Ford had stopped selling to Wal-Mart. Don't know what the truth is, but guess will have to go to one of the auto parts chains. BTW, the motorcraft filter is for my Taurus (my everyday car, 24V DOHC, etc.).

Weird... So what filter do you use in the 8? :D

FS

I usually buy Motorcraft oil as well. I'm no motor oil expert, but the one thing I have noticed about that oil is that appearance-wise it looks to be more "refined" than other oils I have used. It is very clear in appearance, more clear yellow than hazy brown colored. I had a Ford Probe GT years ago and I always used Motorcraft oil in that engine. At 167k miles, I changed the valve cover gaskets and I could not believe how clean everything was under there. No brown color AT ALL. The engine still had a even 145lbs of compression in each cylinder too. I have ran it in my 8 the past few oil changes, and it seems to be "cleaner" looking by the time I need to change it the next time then Castrol does.

Just my 2 cents worth....

I've also used Motorcraft semi-synth 5W-20 from WalMart for every oil change for 13,000 miles in my 8. I use K&N Gold oil filters rather than any other brand.

If anyone finds another source for Motorcraft 5W-20 that discounts like WalMart, please let us know.

My understanding of WalMart's buying process is only hearsay, but I'm told they're very hardnosed when negotiating price with their suppliers. That and no union for their workers is how they keep prices low.

Could be that Motorcraft couldn't afford WalMart any more.

um most dealers talk right out of their ass

I really doubt it was motorcraft...the service centers at most dealerships put in Mobil if I remember correctly...that is what their contract is for

Mazda japan is where our car is manufactured and created...I HIGHLY doubt they use motorcraft

Haven't done the first oil change yet. Got a coupon from the dealer for an oil & filter change, so will let them fight with the Sumo wrestler installed factory oil filter.

After that, not exactly sure what filter I'll use. Mobile, Wix, ...

Idemitsu is supposedly developing a ROTARY oil in 5w-20 weight, specifically for RX-8 use :D

they already have 10w-30 and 20w-50 rotary oils for the RX-7s :D

*that* would be the ultimate oil to have for the 8 :D

I guess Motorcraft isn't made in east Asian sweatshops and therefore doesn't meet Walmart's high standards.

FYI, auto stores like Advance Auto or Autozone has the motorcraft 5w-20 semi-syn for $2.20 a quart, more in line with other semi-syn oils on the market....

so you pay about $3 more per change than if you bought your oil from walmart, big flipping deal :rolleyes:

If any of you fellows have "wally worlds" around you...they carry motorcraft products for around 1-2 dollars as well.

The big rumor is that motorcraft may stop selling to 3rd parties all together... =/

1. I've been using the Motocraft 5W20 since the first oil change. Did a lot of research on oils and where they come from prior to selecting the product. From my experience and the data I've collected from my own engine's used oil analysis, as well as others' UOA's -- it's definitely a winner.

2. I stocked up on the stuff a while back, buying several quarts @ $1.40 a quart. Haven't looked for it at Wally World lately, so the "no more Motorcraft at Wally World" is news to me -- guess I'll have to find it at Advance or Pep Boys or similar.

3. I also did a lot of research on filters. Among the best are the Mobil-1 and the Purolator PureOne filters. Both are outstanding perfromers as far as design goes, but the PureOne costs half as much (~$5 vs ~$11), and has more filter area, so you can expect better overall filtration with the PureOne. That's what I use and that's what I would recommend. I would also recommend the Mazda filter, also ~$5.

4. The Motorcraft 5W20 "Premium Synthetic Blend" motor oil is, in fact, NOT synthetic. The term "synthetic" is purely for marketing. It's a blend of highly refined, high quality, high performance mineral oils, along with special additive packages. Hardly any oil nowadays, apart from the "boutique" synthetic oils (Amsoil, RP, Redline), is based on "traditional synthetic" PAO (group IV) base stock.

5. I tell everyone to just get an oil to specs in the manual (5W20, ILSAC spec, API Service spec) that meets BOTH the Honda 5W20 spec AND the Ford 5W20 spec -- it's the most rigorous.

Nuff said for now. If y'all want, I can post some of the info I collected when researching this stuff last year.

I found cases of the Motorcraft 5W-20 at a WalMart in Oxford, OH this weekend for a whopping $18.24 each, or $1.52 per qt. Can't hate it.

Motorcraft 5W20 Synthetic Blend
 

Does anyone know what tOil heir local Mazda dealer/service dept.s use for the 8's they service in their shops?? Anyone know what Mazda uses for the Factory fill??

Some have speculated that the factory fill is actually the Motorcraft 5W20. I've not read or heard anything specific, but it's a very reasonable guess. I believe there was a post in this thread or one of the other oil threads saying that they had heard as much from their service techs.