Greetings y'all,

New around here, though I've been reading the forum for quite a while. Thanks for all the debates, problems and what not you've been posting and replying, great source of help.

Now, I've got a small neverending dilemma for my soon to come oil change, for my 'Panthera', a Focus Mk3 1.6 ti-vct 105hp petrol, 75k km.  

I've always used Formula F 5w-30, with no kind of issues whatsoever. But recently it stopped being produced and got replaced by Ford-Castrol and Ford-Motorcraft. 

What do you guys think of the two?

I've heard goods and bads with regards to Castrol, but not much about Motorcraft.

Is there any difference between the two, quality wise, and which one would be more suitable for the above mentioned car?

I care a great deal about it, so I'm just trying to make sure I use the better if not the best stuff for it.

Thanks a bunch! 

Cheers, 

Teo

Hi Teo and welcome to the Ford Owners Club 👍

Motorcraft of course don't make oil.

So long as the oil you use meets the correct specification for your Ford Focus engine in your country then you can use whatever brand you like.

In the UK Ford recommend the use of Castrol Oil and BP fuel, but I'm sure that will vary depending in which country the car is being sold.

Ford Formula F was made by Castrol and as far as I know Ford engines are developed in conjunction with Castrol Oils, so it would be safer to stick with Castrol.

Motorcraft  oil might also be the same thing under a different brand name but I'm not sure. If it says on the bottle where it is made and it is the same as the Formula F and Castrol then it is probably the same stuff.

Motorcraft is a registered trade mark of the Ford motor company .. oils ..spark plugs ..filters etc

Castrol started selling oil in 1899, Motorcraft in the 1950s, neither are 'flash in the pan' companies. I'd happily use either brand...

14 minutes ago, ferretfloozy said:

Motorcraft is a registered trade mark of the Ford motor company .. oils ..spark plugs ..filters etc

Correct...I worked for Mintex in 1987/8 and one day we had to go to our factory/warehouse in Leeds and I saw the brake pads coming off the production line...half of them went in Mintex boxes and the other half went into Motorcraft/Ford boxes.

These days the Motorcraft brand name is used by Ford to offer a selection of aftermarket parts (mostly service parts and parts that are subjected to wear). The Motorcraft parts are a cheaper alternative to the original Ford (FoMoCo) parts.

Motocraft used to produce their own engine oil but stopped production almost 50 Years ago. Since then the Motorcraft oil is produced by different manufacturers.

The oil that is currently sold under the Motorcraft brand name in Europe is produced by Castrol.

 

 

The Motorcraft 5W30 oil that meets the WSS-M2C913-D specification is basically a rebrand of the old Ford Formula F 5W30 oil that meets the WSS-M2C913-D specification. The only difference between the old Ford Formula F oil and the new Motorcraft oil is basically the label on the can. 

 

I'd also very much like to know the answer to this question. I have an old 2005 Mondeo Ghia X with the 2.2 TDCi engine, that's been happily running for years and over 215,000 miles on Ford Formula F. Now it seems that there's a choice between the Ford / Castrol co-branded oil, and the Motorcraft alternative (which, as has already been pointed out, looks to be very similar to the old Formula F stuff).

Which would be the best oil to use on my ageing Mondeo? 

Regards,

 

Alan.

1 hour ago, Mean Al said:

I'd also very much like to know the answer to this question. I have an old 2005 Mondeo Ghia X with the 2.2 TDCi engine, that's been happily running for years and over 215,000 miles on Ford Formula F. Now it seems that there's a choice between the Ford / Castrol co-branded oil, and the Motorcraft alternative (which, as has already been pointed out, looks to be very similar to the old Formula F stuff).

Which would be the best oil to use on my ageing Mondeo? 

Regards,

 

Alan.

Have a read at the post just before yours. It clearly states that the Motorcraft oil meets the specification of Formula F and is basically a rebrand. There would be no, 'best' to use, they are both fundamentally the same. This is one of those rare cases where you are actually comparing apples to apples LOL Welcome to the forum...

To keep your engine running 'regular' (as used for Mustang's) 🤣