Anybody got the Block Heater option?

I am thinking about installing one (maybe a pan heater) to get quicker warm up times so I can Regen more in the mornings. I doubt I will get the cost back in fuel savings, but I want to try and maximize my fuel savings anyway.

What about going to 0 weight oil? Ford recomends 5-20, which is pretty thin already, but can we pick up a .5 MPG gain with 0 weight oil? Any thoughts out there in internet land.

Chris Brown
Mendocino County, Ca.
Land of big trees, big trucks and too many f'n tourists.

 

I would stay with the oil Ford has specified to keep your coverages. I'm very concerned with all the starting that the FEH does and hope Ford made some provisions for that. As you know, start-up is where a lot of wear happens in the normal engine because of the oil circulation time. Not sure if the synthetic part of this oil is for staying on the bearing better for start-up reasons.

One other thing, the filter and O-ring cost about $20. Air filters retail for $55. I'm doing the changes myself.

Also, I have not found the new Motorcraft oil WSS-M2C930-A call for in the spec. Not sure if Ford is tring to get rid of the old WSS-M2C153-H first or what is going on. There both Premium Synthetic Blend but maybe the 930-A has the new ILSAC GF4 rating.

 

The Honda Insight uses 0-20W oil. In five years, the oil has not leaked. Until recently, Mobil One offered a 0-20W oil and I hoarded what one store had left upon hearing it was going to be discontinued.

Sorry to be somewhat off-topic.

As far as engine wear goes, being gentle the first few seconds of cranking the engine helps a lot.

An engineer wrote a discontinued book in the late 1970's Drive it Forever. He stated the wear-and-tear of the 1st ten seconds after cranking up a car is the same as 500 miles cruising on the freeway once the engine is warmed up.

 

I've noticed that even though the ICE starts up whenever "starting" the car (with the key), if you're accelerating gently - the way you would normally do to try to maintain EV mode - it uses electric power and not the ICE for the first bit of driving. I believe this is to help make sure the ICE circulates oil before putting load on it.