Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
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
|
Replying to: ruking1 (Dec 25, 2007 1:17 pm) |
|
|
Replying to: shipo (Dec 24, 2007 11:00 pm) I really need you guys' suggestions to make the decision in order to have a peace of mind.
|
|
|
Replying to: dchen2003 (Dec 28, 2007 12:48 pm) I have a friend that has a Toyota Camry with 458,000 miles!! (mostly freeway in a daily long (obviously) commute. First the good news. On late model engines NO causing of oil leakage due to switching from conventional to synthetic oil. Caveats: 1. need to make sure there are no existing leaks that are obscured by the conventional oil. If there are, then get the source/s of the leak/s fixed. (you should anyway regardless of the conventional vs synthetic change issue) Synthetic oil is less inclined to so called "plug" minor leaks like conventional oil might. 2. while Toyota denies this, make sure there is no engine sludge formed already in the 33,000 miles of operation using conventional oil. The dealer or yourself can perform the inspection. If you have a good relationship with your dealer, they might even do the inspection free of charge. Use the lowest viscosity recommended by your oem owners manual or technical data. So for example if it recommends 5w30 to 10w30, use the 5w30. 0w30 viscosity also will do (given it meets the other specifications) . I would run a MINIMUIM of the oem recommended OCI like for example 7,500 miles. Most dealers in this above example would recommend 3,000 to 5,000 mile OCI's. For example, I personally have no issues running (on a 2004 Honda Civic with a 10,000 mile oem recommendation with 5w20 conventional oil) 20,000 miles with Mobil One 0w20, 5w20 oil.
|
|
|
Replying to: ruking1 (Dec 28, 2007 1:12 pm) 1. How do I check the leaks that are plug by the conventional oil? The only thing I do is to check the oil level. The level doesn't change at all since last time I changed the oil 3000 mi ago. 2. I check my engine just by opening the the oil cap and peeking into it. Is it enough? You mentioned to check if there is sludge inside th engine, how does this relate to switching to synthetic oil? (if there is sludge I can switch or if there is no sludge I can switch) 3. The OCI I do with conventional oil is 3000 mi, because most of my driving is cold start in the morning and drive less than 2 mi, cold start again in the afternoon and drive from campus back to my apartment. If I switch to Mobil 1 what OCI do you suggest under the same condition?
|
|
|
Replying to: dchen2003 (Dec 28, 2007 1:38 pm) 2) Don't worry about the sludge either. 3) With such a short drive cycle, I'm not at all sure that I'd even bother changing to synthetic oil. In fact, were I in your shoes, I'd definitely opt for something like Havoline 5W-30 and stay with the 3,000 mile OCI. Keep in mind; I am a dyed in the wool advocate of synthetic oil, so for me to recommend that you stay with conventional is very much against my nature. That said, I think in your case conventional oil is the better bet. Best Regards, Shipo
|
|
|
Replying to: shipo (Dec 28, 2007 1:48 pm)
|
|
|
Replying to: dchen2003 (Dec 28, 2007 2:09 pm) So for example, I would have no issues so called "extending" even conventional oil. Indeed I ran the first full 10,000 miles OCI (as recommended by the OEM) on the Honda Civic, again 5w20 CONVENTIONAL oil. If all you wanted to do was to run YOUR full recommended OCI, then run the recommended conventional oil. So in that sense I would be in full agreement with Shipo. No real sense in "wasting" money, time, and resources.
|
|
|
Replying to: ruking1 (Dec 28, 2007 4:12 pm)
|
|
|
Replying to: dchen2003 (Dec 29, 2007 4:24 pm) |
|
|
|
about changing to synthetic after 3 oil changes? i have a 06 civic and an 07 odyssey - both of which i changed to synthetic right after the 5000 mile break-in period with "break-in" oil from the factory.did i do something wrong? what kind of damage might i have done?btw - it was royal purple for the civic (now at 30k) and castrol syntec for the odyssey (now at 15k)?is 5w20 what i should be using? (recommended for both) (I CHANGE OIL AT 5K no matter what)what brand of synthetic oil is best for these cars?(WE ARE THE SPANISH INQUISITION!!!)
|
|
You are here:
Forums
Maintenance & Repair Synthetic motor oil
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
