Billy,
To be honest, I didn't learn that Ford recommended synthetic until my 3rd oil change. I used regular oil the 1st change at 2000, then 3000 miles. Once I read "synthetic" in the owners manual, I switched to full synthetic and let that oil work for me all year long given I drive maybe 5000 miles per year max.
For a new Ford-V10 engine, I would run that oil a full year as I would think Ford follows their own spec and put full synthetic 5W-20 in there. But I would surely do this next thing too.
I always have a very strong magnet on the bottom of the oil filter to capture any metal particles, especially beneficial during the break-in period and exteneded use synthetic oil in combination. I found very strong magnets for this use in discarded computer hard drives. The magnets are so strong, they will draw blood if you get your fingers pinched between two of them. Here is what they look like.
I use a magnet on my Phoenix and my Corvette as both oil changes are once a year with Synthetic. My daily use vehicles, I still use regualar oil changed at closer invervals so I never bother with magnets. There are two magnets in each hard drive.
There are all kinds of magnets sold specifically for oil filters as shown, but I am a cheapskate where it doesn't matter.
