Our late summer road trip is fast approaching and will be about 3,500 miles total. I will have under 2,000 miles on my latest oil change (done Feb this year) if I change the oil before we leave. My brain is definitely telling me to do that but what a waste it seems. The oil is really clean as it should be with the 15,000 miles on the car. Would taking the trip on this oil really be detrimental to anything? Should I actually put 5,500 miles on this oil before changing it when we return home? One of the reasons I am even thinking about this is the fact that we took our R/T on that long 6,000 miles trip last year and I never gave it a thought to change the oil along the way. I changed it when we got home. This Coyote is better than the Hemi IMO but like I said, my dino mind says change it. Thoughts????

 

You have 15,000 miles on a 2014 Mustang? Wow.

Me personally, there's no way I'm dumping oil at 2,000 miles. Especially if it's a good synthetic which is all I'll use. Especially especially on a Gen 1 Coyote engine which doesn't have direct injection and doesn't contaminate oil quickly.

Back when I was sending my oil samples off for analysis I learned/confirmed two things for myself: At 7,500 miles the oil still has plenty of protection left in it, and 5W30 has less wear on the engine than 5W20. So, I always buy a 5W30 full synthetic off the shelf and change it at 1 year or 7,500 miles, whichever comes first. I'm at 105,500 miles now and no engine issues.

 

assuming you are using good synthetic oil, and assuming you changed the filter at last oil change, I would not worry about it -- 5500 miles not a big deal in my opinion

 

Absolutely agree I'd change it after the trip!

 

I'M Sure You Check The Dipstick Regularly and If Per Chance You Don't Like What You See There are FORD Dealers Everywhere. My Late Inlaws Would Travel Back & Forth To Iowa From Central California Pulling a Fifth Wheel into Their Early 80's. When The Odometer Showed it Was Time To Change The Oil He Simply Went to the Closest Dodge Dealer in His Ram V-10 Pick Up! I Know Cause I Got Stacks of Receipts For That Very Thing! Truck is Mechanically Sound at 130K on the clock. Its a 95! Has Enough Torque To Pull a Tree Stump & Gas Tank Big Enough to Bankrupt You These Days!

KC

 

Agreed! Wait until after your trip before changing your oil... You should have approximately a total of 5,500 miles driven when you return from your trip... IMO changing your oil now with just under 2000 miles is totally a waste of your hard earned money and completely unnecessary... Most synthetic motor oils don't require changing until reaching approximately 7,500 miles, to begin with anyhow...
Therefore, you'll be just fine to wait until after returning from your trip before changing your oil again...

 

I really thank you for the responses guys. It is deeply appreciated.
I get into these mental lapses from the old days when 2,000 miles oil changes were the way to go. The current present part of my brain said, "Hey, the Dodge did it, why can't the GT?". It absolutely can, and you guys confirmed it. I always use Motorcraft filters and the Motorcraft oil too.

 

We're always here to provide support, Dave!

 

...and your support saved me some $$$ which I truly appreciate. When I changed the oil and filter after the trip, it was really dirty naturally but I'm sure still good for even more miles. It would have been a waste to change it beforehand. The new oil is as clear and nice as can be. The 5.0 was flawless throughout.

 

Always such a pleasure, Dave.

 

One other thing and then I'll let this thread die. I usually buy my oil in advance to have it on hand and I accidentally noticed that one of my 5 quart Ford Motorcraft oil jugs said 5w30 instead of 5w20. Far too long ago for a return and I wasn't sure what to do except eat the loss of the $25 spent on the jug. Fortunately my old brain kicked in and I realized that my Trans Am uses 5w30 .Just because it says Ford doesn't mean I can't use it in my Pontiac. Just changed the oil in the Trans Am yesterday and drove it around a bit. My bear was grumbling but the car wasn't.

 

I think 5W-30 would be fine for the Mustang too, you just might lose about 0.01 MPG

 

As long as the oil is the required grade for your vehicle, it doesn't really matter whose name is on the label, provided it meets the required SAE standards... Therefore, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it...LOL

It's certainly fine for my supercharged Mustang, as Saleen recommends using 5W-30...

 

It Can Be a REAL BEAR to Choose The Right Oil But we Won't STEER You Wrong!

 

I'll second that!