Crown Vic

I have a 2003 Crown Vic. 108,000 mi this will be my first oil change. Not sure what kind of oil was used before this, but it was well maintained. Would I be safe to use 5W-30? What would be recommended? Also, would I be able to put P235-60 16's on the car? How wide of a tire can I go with, without creating rubbing issues? Thank you!!!

For oil, always use a high quality oil 5W-30 in the modular engines. No, don't go out and buy the most expensive. As long as the oil manufacturer meets the car manufacturers recommendations, it is okay. Yes, the Tech Hi-Mileage oil that Walmart sells will work okay, if you keep up the 3000 to 4000 mile oil change schedule.

Oil filters are a different problem.Tests have shown over and over that FRAM oil filters for Ford vehicles do not meet the manufacturers recommendations. More people have had problems with FRAM filters coming apart internally (paper shredding) on Ford modular engines. The majority of national engine builders will tell you to use the Ford filter from the dealer. Lots of times Ford has the oil filters on sale, so it might be a good idea to buy a half dozen.

Many of the national oil change places refuse to use FRAM filters because of breakdowns. Try OEM filter from the dealer, AMSOL, or Bosch filters. They have the largest filtering areas and are not made from cheap paper. (Some of the cheap oil filters have recycled newspaper as the filter element.)

Here is a nice study of the oil filters. http://wetwesties1.tripod.com/oilfilterstudy/index.html

Tires are a great topic that lots of people have opinions on. Go to www.crownvic.net to read the write-up they have on tires and wheels. I have a 1997 CV and put 245/45 ZR 19 tires on 19" x 8" with no problems. I have seen larger wheels and tire combos on CV, GM, and TC at shows.
Try going to various forums about CV, GM, and TC to see what some guys are putting on. As long as the overall diameter of the replacement tire is within 5% of the OEM tire, you will have no problem. Here's a company that can help you. http://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Tire-Size-Calculator

Have fun.

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I have a 2003 Crown Vic. 108,000 mi this will be my first oil change. Not sure what kind of oil was used before this, but it was well maintained. Would I be safe to use 5W-30? What would be recommended?

I have been using Motorcraft Semi-synthetic 5W-20(as it says to use in the car) with a Motorcraft filter in my '05 for a few years now with no issues, no missing oil
The one time I used Mobil 1 I lost a fair amount between changes and had to add after 1000 miles or so to not have any issues.

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Also, would I be able to put P235-60 16's on the car? How wide of a tire can I go with, without creating rubbing issues? Thank you!!!

If you are riding at stock height, that size tire should be fine but your speed and odometer will be off by 1.8%. You can fit a 255 tire up front with no rubbing issues on the right wheel. You can fit a 285 tire out back too.

I should have mentioned this before as well. I've read a few different forums about changing the oil in CV's with the 4.6L. Some say 6qts, some say 6.5. How much do you guys usually use?

I run Motorcraft oil 5w-20 and filer in my CV. The oil filter choice is the key. I don not run Fram oil filters at all.After I bought my car the dealership changed the oil and used an off brand filter. On start up hot or cold the lifters would make noise. Changed the oil and filter with Motorcraft and noise went away. I run a Fram filter on my 67 Mustang with a manual oil pressure gauge. It dropped the pressure 5-10 lbs. Took the filter off and installed a FL1a and oil pressure come back up where it was before.