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Syntheic oil

It's up to you. There is no magic with sythetic oil. It does not lube parts any better then petroleum oil when both are used in proper temperature ranges.

Synthetic oil has a higher "flash point." That means it can handle extreme heat better. Not usually an issue with any car or truck driven on the road.

Synthetic oil also has more stabile viscosity for use in extreme cold. That IS an issue if you get temps well below zero and want to use the same oil year-round.

Other then that, lube-protection is all about the additives, NOT if the oil is petro or synthetic.
 
I've been using a 15w40 heavy duty for years, from tractors to lawn mowers and all the family vehicle,s. all well over 200,000 miles with 5000 mile oil changes. Bought the wife a new car and went to 10,000 mile changes with a quality synthetic motor oil, I am thoroughly satisfied with the results.
 
Synthetic oil is well worth the price. The molecules are much stronger and can withstand wear that a petroleum oil can"t. I have worked with oil testing in the lab for 25 years and there is a big difference.

(fuelsandlubestechnologies.org)
 
I'm sure you are satisfied, but the same can be said for many people using petro-based oil.

I've got a 87 Chevy Suburban diesel that got 520,000 miles using nothing but petro-based Shell Rotella 15W-40. Doesn't prove a thing except it can be done.

Main issue to anybody is . . . what is the cost versus the gain. I've yet to see anything overwhelming to show synthetic is a major money saver in the long-run, for normal useage. Extreme useage is a different story.
 
No offense, but I regard that as pure hyperbole and BS. Yes, synthetic gives better protection in extreme circumstances that do not normally occur in normal driving.

Show me one actual piece of test data that shows the synthetic oil (not the additive package) that prevents metal wear any better then a petro-oil when used in the proper temp-range.
 
I drove a 85 Cavalier 270,000 miles on the stuff. Never once broke loose an engine bolt short of the valve cover gasket. Used it in my 95 Nissan for 130K, no problems. Used it in my 02 Olds Intrigue 128K so far with no problems. The new Tundra specifies 0w-20, only available in synthetic around here, so it is on it too. I use 15-40 in my tractor and air cooled stuff (gen, lawnmower). I buy the Mobil1 in the 5 quart jug at Wallyworld to try to save money.
I use Purolator Pure One filters based on what I have seen in testing, if available. No proof, just good luck so far.

Aaron

Aaron
 
My neighbor put all synthetic in his Dodge cummins and went up 2 mpg. He is super fussy about all records to this truck and showed me his records. Only problem is that synthetic is more money so he said he never saved any money.
On a Saturn Ion redline, it says the only oil that can be used is synthetic oil. Same with the manual trans in my 2003 Dodge 2500. I have seen where people dont put synthetic oil in and ruins it. So if it is not any better than why do some companies require it for their equipment for warranty?
 
I don't agree with your reasoning. If any company says you HAVE to use something, ergo . . . it has to be the best thing for everybody?? You are not taking into account the many similar long-mile stories when people properly used petroleum oil.

As to whay some companies require syntetic oil? Seems obvious to me. It gives better protection at very wide temperature ranges. That makes it more "fool proof" if some jerk runs oil too heavy, or too light for the weather and ruins an engine. It also enables using a thin oil at getting slight increase in EPA fuel-mileage tests.

As to use in transmissions? Many transmissions do NOT have cooling systems, so the higher flash-point of a synthetic oil makes sense.

As to what Saturn has to say? Aren't they out-of business??

Note I never said that sythetic oil doesn't have certain advantages with certain uses.
 
You might get a little better fuel mileage but I dont know if it would be enough to pay the difference in price even if you only changed every 10,000 miles.Maybe,but it would take some figuring.
 
We got a new Suburban in '07 and it used a quart of oil every 1500 to 2000 miles. We had it in for service several times over what I thought was excessive oil consumption for a brand new vehicle. They could find no leaks or cause for the consumption, but stated that it was within factory specs for oil consumption. My brother in law has a Ford dealership and he also confirmed that such oil consumption was within factory specs for Ford.
I've never had a new vehicle use oil like this and could not accept that everything was OK. However, the Chevy service department recommended switching to synthetic Mobil One. It reduced the oil consumption immediately dropping it down to about a quart every 8 or 9 thousand miles. It has over 70,000 miles on it and everything seems OK. I've always changed my own oil but I've let the Chevy garage do this one at their recommended intervals, so if there is a problem they can't say it's my fault.
 
Yes I understand. I to have heard of people running petro oil where it calls for syn. I prefer not to void my warranty.
 
My brother has a '93 GMC K2500 with a 350. It has over 360,000 miles on it. A couple of radiators, alternators, starters, fuel pumps, valve cover and intake manifold gaskets, but never anything related to oil. Truck still runs almost as good as when it was new. Gets same fuel mileage as new. Has never had anything in it since oil was changed first time but Rotella T 15w40. This also was used in 2 '82 Chevy Luv diesels that got parked with over 300,000 miles, because transmissions gave out, and the trucks were rusted out. Neither had ever had the valve covers off. With successes like that, I think we'll stick with what works, as long as it keeps working. I can't see paying extra for synthetic. It's a lot of hype, under normal circumstances and usage, as far as I can tell.
 
About the same here Aaron, '91 V.W. Jetta diesel for me. Always ran syn. in it, at about 100,000 mi. I installed a dual remote bypass filter system. Then did a couple oil analysis gigs that came back good, so I quit changing oil. Drove it until 280,000 only changing the filters and adding new oil to top it off. It was 65 interstate miles one-way to work so I knew it was getting the moisture evaporated.

Don't know if it is still out there racking up miles or not ??

P.S. Hope your knee is better ! I been enjoying reading your posts and seeing the pics of that good 'ol 65.
 
Someone posted this on here several months back. It is a long article, but has lots of information, and is presented well.
It is aimed at motorcycle owners, but does give a good overall description of oils.

Ben
Oil article
 
I will agree with on engine oil. Some trans require synthetic oil. I used mostly petro based oils.
 
No I never said just because a company requires it that it is the best for everyone in every situation. I just know on certain vehicles I own that it requires synthetic to uphold the warranty. Certain heavy equipment is that way to. I have seen people use petro oil and get away with it, and I have seen it cause alot of problems.
 
There are a few advantages to using synthetic lubes.Cold climate regions(upper midwest for example) benefit the most from easier starting of a cold engine and better mileage when using synthetic gear lube in differentials and gear boxes.

I use synthetic in all my winter vehicles and change back to petro based in the summer.
 
Another advantage is that synthetic multi-visc oils do not use polymers. Mutli-visc petro oils do. That is the main reason why some companies do not recommend mult-visc petro oils in certain diesels. When polymers burn off, they can cause deposits that cause piston-ring sticking. That sticking though is usually a minor, very-long engine-hour problem.
 
Hey, maybe I've got it. We have two 91 Jetta diesels. A 2 door and a 4 door. Both have over 300K mile and both have been run on petro Shell Roteall 15W-40 since we've owned them. Only engine repairs have been head gaskets.
 
Not sure who you are referring to, but what has 25 years "experience" got to do with anytthing here. I've got 40 years experience as a heavy equipment and diesel mechanic. Also as a injection pump technician. Also got 20 years experience as a legal researcher and cultural anthropologist.

All of that proves nothing about synthetic oil Verified facts are the same regardless of who is starting them.

Seems you suffer from "false authority" syndrome.
 
Maybe ?? It was a black 4 door, drivers seat back broken and welded in place. I had put one head gasket on it already. Was hoping you wouldn't have to do it again ! I hated those head bolts that you torque, then start counting revolutions on ! Just knew I was gonna twist one off-but didn't.
 
I change the Amsoil synthetic oil in my 1993 Lincoln once a year or about 20,000 miles and it looks about the same when I drain it out. The synthetic oil resists heat around the piston rings better so it doesn't turn into abrasive carbon particles on the cylinder walls like regular oil does. Remember the tv commercial when they put the mobil 1 in a pan on the stove and it didn't burn? The regular oil turns into sludge easier. Take apart an engine with regular oil after a couple hundred thousand miles and the pistons and rings are fairly nasty looking. Synthetic oil engine will be quite a bit cleaner. Under the valve covers on my lincoln looks brand new with over 220,000 miles. Plus I save getting under the car 5 or six times changing oil and it saves the enviroment by using less oil and filters. Saves me money too. $50 bucks for the synthetic change. 5 regular changes would be over $100.
 
So wouldnt you call yourself an expert? I would call you that. At least an expert in your field that you described. This gentleman said that he has been testing lubricants for years,isnt that good enough proof for you? If I asked you a factual question about injection pumps and you gave me a response, I would take you for your word with out any facts to back it up. Why? because you have experience to back it up
 
Those head-bolts are just plain scary. I've worked on a lot of diesels, but those 1.6 head bolts feel like they're going to snap when you crank on them, back and forth.

I don't even know for sure if ours even needed head gaskets. Our only problem was running too hot in summer weather, not leakage. After I put new gaskets on, they did seem to run cooler, but not what I'd call running cool. I also tried to buy a new radiator but was not able to locate one. New Jetta diesel raditators with no AC are easy to find, but not with AC and the top neck is totally different.

Great little cars but I've never gotten along will with 1st gear being almost in the same place as reverse.
 
I had a 94 Ford pickup that I changed oil on - Mobil 1 - one day when I wasn"t feeling good and partly due to the filter location, I didn"t notice the gasket had come off of the filter (I know I should have checked for leaks before moving the truck). After about 4 miles I started hearing a lot of engine noise - looked & no oil pressure. Had another mile home and figured the engine was toast anyway so drove home. After new oil and filter, it knocked a bit when I started it and then smoothed out. Had maybe 70,000 miles when it happened and I drove it another 50,000 miles with no problems or oil usage. Can"t say for sure it was the synthetic oil but always thought it might have been what saved it.
 
You've watched too many silly Mobil 1 commercials from the 60s.

A good petro oil like Shell Rotella T 15W-40 has a high-temperature flash-point of 415 degrees F.
Rotella single-grade 30W is 450 degrees F. 40W up to 460 degrees F.

Mobil 1 5W-30 Synthetic has a high temperature flash point of 435 degrees F. 10W-30 is 470 degrees F.

Not exactly a huge difference,and neither matters much for cars and trucks driven normally on the road.

Flash point is when oil gets hot enough to turn into sludge. If you car is getting as hot as 415 degrees on the piston skirt, you've got problems.

Now, if you like to fry your oil in a frying pan before you use it, maybe you DO need synthetic.
 
I was driving my 78 Chevy van with a gas 350. Engine overheated so bad the engine siezed, rock solid. Next day, after a good cool down, I broke it loose with a breaker bar and started driving it again. Used it for many more years.

It had 10W-40 Pennzoil petro-oil I'd bought at Walmart for 99 cents per quart.

This, and your story proves nothing about either oil.
 
Knee is doing better. Going back to work on Monday. I am still playing with the 65 and likely will continue to do so until I get it to run so good that I flip it on myself. Thought about switching it to synthetic, but I am going to tune on it with timing and hotter thermostats first.

Good to hear from ya!
Aaron
 
If he stated any actual specs, gleaned from a certified test for a specified oil, yes - that's fine with me. Where are they? I've posted many exact specs taken fron oil endurance and certification tests. Haven't seen much posted by anybody else.

Pour point and flash points are the two big concerns. Some petro oils have higher flash points then some synthetic oils - and I've already posted those figures.
 
"and it looks about the same when I drain it out."


--------------------------------------------------

I can get nondeterginated oil to do that. Think of all the deposits its leaving in your engine if the oil isn't carrying it.
 
Yes, synthetic gives better protection in extreme circumstances that do not normally occur in normal driving.

===================================================


Unless you normally drive a Chrysler product with a 2.7 or 3.7 v6 or a 4.7 V8. Frequent oil changes with synthetic (or frequent vehicle trades) are one of the few ways to avoid massive engine repair costs.
 
Synthetic oil provides superior protection in extreme cold, extreme heat and under extreme pressure.
296,000 miles on a souped Grand National Turbo V6 with synthetic oil.
 
Our old Astro van did something similar. Required a quart every 1500miles when we purchased it used. A couple of oil changes later it uses half a quart of 15W-40 Amsoil over 6000 miles.
 
I am not an expert on oil, I did automatic transmission work for years, and did all the work on pickups used in a coal mine in Montana. At the time they had Chevy trucks with the 4l80e transmissions which had a problem cracking the direct clutch piston. When this happens they lose presure and burn the clutches.When The transmissions with dino fluid came in the fluid was burnt and stinking bad, the transmissions that used synthetic fluid came in with bright red fluid no smell. I am a firm believer in synthetic oils
 
I have a friend who is a powertrain engineer for a major automobile manufacturer. He told me that they ran into a problem with piston rings welding to the pistons under certain conditions. They did a lot of dyno testing and eventually changed piston ring material to resolve the issue. But here's the kicker: He told they discovered they could "turn the problem off just by switching to Mobil 1". That made a believer out of me. I now run Mobil 1 in just about everything.
 
To answer your question, yes and no. No they are not worth the extra money if you still change your oil every three thousand to probably even 10 thousand miles. Yes because they do protect your engine better at startup in cold weather. No if you buy cheaper synthetics. Yes if you get the good ones such as Mobil 1 or better yet Amsoil. Yes if you run Amsoil and go the 17.5k severe or 35k normal driving recommended oil change intervals. Yes! Amsoil is guaranteed for those miles when used with their filters. Yes you will save money at those intervals even with the higher initial cost, yes you will use less oil and save time and not use as many filters. Yes, it is that good of oil. Amsoil has a synthetic 75w90 gear oil. You know what that pours like when it is 5 farenheit out? Water! What does Rotella 15w40 pour like when it is 5 farenheit out? Pretty slow, and you have to pump that between your rod bearing and crank. Amsoil and probably other good synthetics still pour like water at that temp. Which do you want to pump into that bearing? From all the reading and personal use I'd say they are worth it almost every time. Not always but usually. In the long run they save more than just money. Plus at least Amsoil is made here in the states in Wisconsin.
 
Never had a 2.7, 3.7, or 4.7. I do have a 98 GrandCaravan AWD with a 3.8 V-6 and love it. Especially like the lack of overhead cams and timing belts. 220K and the engine has been flawless. Always run on Shell Rotella 15W-40. The auto-trans DOES have synthetic oil.
 
I'm a believer.

I had a '90 cavalier with 58k miles when I bought it (first car which wasn't a hand-me-down). It was driven mostly in the city. I would change the oil every 2k miles because it started sounding loose and junky. It started acting like this around 1k miles after an oil change. Then I added a qt of Duralube to every oil change for a while. It didn't seem to help. (Duralube in my opinion is a joke.) I switched to Mobil 1 and started changing oil 3k to 5k miles. The engine was quieter, even when it was close to getting a change.

I had a friend for whom I changed the oil. It was a mid '90s Camry with the engine that was known for oil foaming issues. I started using Mobil 1 in it and the foaming issues went away.

Also, I believe Corvettes, Cadillacs (Northstar), Porches, and some piston engine aircraft require synthetic for warranty.

Now, I only use it in my vacation car. I don't use it in my old pickup because I'm afraid it will start leaking.
 
I found this Consumer Report information very interesting but I don't have a lot of confidence in CR---but have to agree with most of it---
Copy/paste--- http://mysite.verizon.net/vzep121w/ronspitstop/id44.html
 
Actually my car is in a little better shape than the collection of beater suburbans and blazers you put pictures of on here every week. You know, the ones that haven't ran in the last ten years parked in the woods.
 
Costs too much to change often, and don't like the thought of running 10k to 15k with all that dirt in there, even changing filters. I run Valvoline, now high-mileage Valvoline, with a full quart of Lucas, change every 3-4000 miles, up to 452,000 miles, still never been in a shop. I think the Lucas does just as good of a job protecting at start up as synthetic.

Now I do believe the new Dextron VI is one heckava tranny fluid. Never changed it yet, (did change the filter at 250k), and my tranny's hangin in there at nearly half a million miles of constant towing/hauling. Can't tell me there's anything coming out of Asia like my Chevy truck.
 
Yes but I became on a few years after I used the oil. I usually sell to friends and neighbors and credit any commission back to them.
 
Believe it or not, my wife and I actually drive cars and trucks also. We don't walk or ride horses to get around. The ones in our fields are either scrapped due to rust, or parts/project vehicles I've picked up at auctions and seal-bid events.

Not sure what point you're trying to make - or what you are attempting to allude to. We always have five cars/trucks registered, insured, with license plates, being driven, and we rotate from winter-salt-road driving - to summer clean road driving. That's in New York. Also keep one diesel F250 parked in nothern Michigan. The ones we have here that aren't rusty don't get driven in the winter. Some of ours are in excellent shape and I'd like to keep them that way. Do all my own repairs and have never had a car payment in my life.

Glad to hear the vehicle you drive is in better shape then those I've junked. Is that supposed to be surprising?
 
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