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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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I've had good luck with synthetic, and if you're going to use it, it's best to start with a new-ish engine (after you've put on a few thousand miles) rather than an old one. The benefits I've noticed after extensive testing are faster warmup from cold, and perhaps slightly better revs from the engine. I believe that all stories of better fuel mileage, greater engine life etc., are not well-founded. What I've come to believe after lots of reading and my own experience is that synthetic is good for EXTREMES of heat, cold and racing, and if none of those things matter to you, regular engine oil will work just as well and give you just as long an engine life. But for frigid temperatures, burning desert, or the race track, synthetic has definite advantages over regular oil. Also, you can extend your oil changes to 5,000 miles with synthetic if you wish. |
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Well said. I have decided to run Delco in my new Silverado. Also ran a PureOne from Purolater. The new upgraded filters from Fram are probably comparable. I forget what Fram calls their newest models.... think they have a band of gritty matl on the outside for wrench friction. Only avail in a few models. Hopefully, non of the filters are having to do much in the normal 3,000 to 5,000 oil change interval. |
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| Yes, the biggest difference you will notice with syn vs dead dino oil is how quickly and effortlessly your car starts in fridgid weather...while everyone else cranks and cranks. Also, engine life/wear over the long haul should be improved, as syn's don't contain negligible amounts of wax (parrafin), unlike conventional oils. I agree with the extended interval change, and if you drive mainly highway miles, you could push it to 7,000. | |
| I have been told that if you run synthetics, your gaskets, and most anything else other than metal the oil touches will swell, and then shrink back if you go back to dinosaur oil, opening pinhole leaks. (Never been brave enough to put syn in my car). Is this true? Synthetic makers swear up and down its not, but I learned long ago not to take a manufacturer's word at face value. | |
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that if you switch back to petroleum based oil from snthetic, you may notice some leaks and even possibly some burning of oil. As long as you stick with synthetic, you will have much more benefits over the petroleum based oils. Same is true switching between different brands of petroleum based oils too though. Different oils have higher or lower concentrations of detergents in them. Swithching often can result in leaks and burning of oil. |
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I hate to break the news to you...but switching viscosities, brands, and dino to synth and back WILL NOT cause leaks. Maybe burning of oil if you go back to dino, but leaks....not. Where do you come up with that conclusion? Please tell us. Use common sense. The reason people say that going to synthetic will cause leaks is because it creates larger leaks in older engines that are leaking to begin with. It just (because of polymer size) makes the leaks seem to appear as new leaks only because these slow caked on dino leaks become really heavy and are therefore considered "new" and "caused" by synth. The only way a synth oil will leak, is if it has a way out of the engine. Simple as that. If the gaskets are good, then synth wont leak out. I dont care how many miles an engine has on it. I bought a 1982 Nissan 720 PU for a beater with 125K on it. It was leak free but the oil was black as night and the truck obviously was not maintained well. I went with Mobil 1 and voila! still no leaks after 175K! Tell me synth causes leaks again. Its entertaining. And if anything, the engine burned LESS oil than before. I asked the guy that sold it to me and he said Id have to put a quart in it per 1k miles. I went 3.5K per change and only put in an extra quart. The guy wasnt too bright. Obviously when you let an engine with over 100K go for 5K+ miles between changes it will start to burn thin, dirty, gas filled oil .
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I have heard this too, and I can tell you its just not true. I have used Mobil 1 since 1988. I have used it in beaters and newer cars (foreign and domestic) and NEVER have I seen it swell gaskets. And I have gone back to regular when I didnt have the extra cash.....no leaks! I used it in my girlfriends 1993 Honda Civic. The car had 25K on it (dino oil) when I put in Mobil1. We collectively put 150K on the car in 3 years and we took the car to Carmax when she bought a new car. The tech that checked the car out said he had never seen a car with that high of mileage so well maintained. Zero valve train noise, clean engine, and near factory compression and leak down. I was beaming. I think the bottom line is.....no matter what you use......just change your oil every 3500 miles. Your engine will love you. |
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For new engines it's best to break them in using conventional oil. With my new engines I change the oil and filter after about the first 500 miles! This'll help drain out the metal/dirt/fibers that are inside the engine. With the 2nd change I go about 2000 miles, then after that I change the oil and filter about every 3500 miles whether it's syn or not! Let's face it, oil can only suspend contaminates for only so long. Oil, even syn is much cheaper than a new engine. One helpful hint for those of you who have a car that uses 10/40 motor oil in the tranny, (Honda's and Acuras come to mind). Before I converted to syn oil I used ARCO's 10/40 graphite oil in our Honda/Acura trannies. It's amazing how much better the car shifted! Almost felt like brand new synchros! |
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| Does anyone know where I can find Valvoline SynPower 5W40. This weight is specified by VW and other European makes but is difficult to find. | |
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I just put Mobil 1 5w-30 oil in my 00 Maxima GLE. One thing I noticed was the color of the oil out of the can. I have used several different brands over the years, primarily Mobil and Texaco Havoline. Mobil oil is generally champagne in color while Havoline is generally darker. I noticed that Mobil 1 looks more like Havoline oil with a darker color. I used PepBoys brand synthetic in my last car. It was Proline Gold, and it was very clear, Champagne color. I guess the additives change the color of the oil. |
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