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Maintenance & Repair Synthetic motor oil
8536 messages, Last post on Nov 21, 2009 at 9:34 AM
You are in the Maintenance & Repair Forum. Your Host is mr_shiftright
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Most folks say that you want to wait until the piston rings have seated before you go to synthetics. But how do you know? Some are saying wait until 6k to 9k miles. I go by how much oil usage I have. If the engine stops using oil, then I feel the rings have seated. So if you have not noticed any oil usage, or oil usage has stopped, I think you can switch. I do believe that most new car engines are pretty well broken in when you drive them off the lot. Engines are manufactured under tight tolerances and very clean conditions. Some cars come from the factory with Mobil 1. |
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| I somewhat remember a consumer reports study done on taxi cabs and engine wear.If I remember correctly the conclusion drawn was that all oils are the same. | |
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1986 Toyota MR-2 with 186,000 miles. Put Mobil-1 in at 3,000 miles and have only changed the oil every 10,000 miles since. Engine still revs to 7,500 RPM in 1st gear quicker than you can shift and only burns about 1/2 quart of oil between oil changes. Had the cam covers off at 180,000 miles to check valve shims, no adjustment needed, and inside of the covers and top of cylinder head were still was as clean as freshly machined aluminum! Now waiting to take delivary of 2001 Acura CL Type "S", hope it lasts as long. Dan |
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IMHO, that study was severely flawed. AFter reading it I found: 1. The study used taxi cabs with freshly rebuilt engines. Engine measurements were NOT done before the study was started, only after, so comparisons were not available and/or published. This would include changes in compression ratios, cylinder wear (size and finish), bearing wear, etc. etc. 2. Cabs are typically driven non-stop. The engines rarely cool-off. A typical consumer vehicle would go thru numerous cold-starts. I'm not trying defend either synth or traditional oils, just pointing out that if a study is to be performed it requires rigorous attention to detail and that the data be published so that real conclusions can be made. |
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| synthetic oil is chemically superior in all ways to hydrocarbon oils. i only would reccomend a premium synthetic such as redline, royal purple or amsoil you won't have any problems with using any of those 3. | |
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So is DOT 5.1 brake fluid, waterless (100% propylene glycol) antifreeze, metal framed construction, sprinkler systems in every home....... It is all cost/benefit. PS. Am running 0W-30 M1 as I traveled to Yellowstone a couple of weeks ago. Great starts even as low as -29deg F. But I will go back to WalMart oil next change as most of the time it is just fine. |
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I own two vehicles, a '99 300M and a Y2K Honda Odyssey. I have been reading this forum with great interest regarding synthetic motor oils. I have never used synthetic. I have always changed oil at 3500 miles or 4 months whichever comes first using Penzoil or Vavoline 5W30 or 10W30 depending on manufacturer specs. I usually put in the area of 75,000 to 80,000 miles on my vehicles before I trade them. My question is what is the value of using synthetics? According to Chrysler and Honda, synthetics are fine to use, but they recommend changing the oil at the same intervals as normal oil. An oil change using synthetic is quite a bit more expensive. It does not seem to be worth the cost if you can't go significantly longer between changes. I have seen posts in this forum where some folks are going longer between changes but the manufacturers say no. As an example, my Odyssey owners manual suggests oil changes every 3750 miles under the stop and go city driving schedule which is how the van is driven. I spoke to my service representative and he recommended the same schedule even if I use synthetic. So why bother? Interested in your responses.
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#26 If your livelihood depended on 3k oil changes(26.67) and the assorted opportunities to up-sell would you advise a 15k oil change cycle (5.33) for the 80k that you would put on your van? Actually your milege is almost perfect to use synthetic oil at up to 3-5x less change rate. |
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Most of the education people obtain regarding synthetic oil and its benefits is, unfortunately, from their dealership or auto mechanic, and people generally listen to them. The synthetic manufacturers are fighting an uphill battle to change mindsets regarding extended oil change intervals? The fossil oil manufacturers, car dealerships, "quick lube" businesses, and mechanics have a vested interest in keeping people on a 3,000 change interval - THEY MAKE MONEY THIS WAY. If you truly want to know what is best for your vehicle in the long run and under cold start conditions start truly educating yourself regarding synthetic oil. FACT: syn oil does NOT chemically break down within the engine envt. There are fleet trucks on the road that run synthetic oil for > 100,000 miles with ONE oil change with better engine protection. You just need to keep the oil clean and that's another story. FACT: syn oil DOES provide better cold start protection (the best benefit IMHO). FACT: syn oil keeps your engine internals clean. etc., etc. If you want further info I advise visiting the Amsoil web site (www.amsoil.com) or Mobil 1 site or find another OBJECTIVE technical source. If you all listen to your dealership, mechanic, ... you will be running to your dealership for an oil change every 3,000 miles. Hope this helps. |
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#26 there is a consumption/environmental slant that even the environmental nazis dont even talk about. Using the #27 example of number of oil changes, my vehicle uses 8 qts, so x 26.67 I would use 213.36 quarts. Using synthetic 8 qts x 5.33 would be 42.64 qts. If you wish to ignore the fact that you are generating 5x more waste,... what can I say? |
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