Does oil make a difference

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Lonnie

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If you have a new vehicle and follow manufacturer's oci and use an API cert engine oil of of the correct viscosity, does anyone have any evidense that there is a difference in the life of the engine, say for 100k miles if you use a buck a quart Chevron or the most expensive synthetic engine oil. I'm not talking about uoa's, or how it feels or the noise the engine makes or extended oci's or oil economics, just the 100k life cycle. Lets also say moderate weather and good driving habits, 50/50 city, highway driving and 12k miles a year.
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Lonnie - this is the multimillion dollar question.

For 100K my vote is that it doesn't matter at all. The average person does nothing dramatic to maintain their car and the vast majority seem to go to 150K with no 'engine wear' issues.

Past say, 150K? Who knows.
 
Yes, the difference would be how long you can leave the oil in before having to change it. Longer OCI's with the expensive sythetic vs the cheaper oil. If you're going with a 3,000 OCI, use the cheap stuff.
 
100K is not a life cycle. If your saying you only care about 100k miles then I would say use the cheapest stuff. To me, my good summer vehicle I'm fixing up this winter(1984 Cutlass) is going to be on the road for at least a million miles and I'm sure there would be a difference in how long before the engine needs to be rebuilt if you use synthetic instead of dino. I don't know what % wear difference it would be but there would be a difference for sure. There are gasoline engines out there that can last over 1,000,000 miles (mostly V8's) under the right conditions. If you take 1,000,000 miles and take a % of that lifespan off by using cheap oil then it could amount to quite a bit. If the rebuild is going to be fairly expensive then I'd say the better oil is worth it.
 
Depends on the manufactures recommended OCI, oil specifications, and if the engine has any design faults. Internal coolant leaks or known sludger. GM 3.1 or Saab 2.3 for instance might create some issues with standard 7500 mi OCI and Dino.

If you follow the manufactures recommended oil specificatons and OCI for your driving conditions in most cases you will be fine. No real difference in engine life span.

If you do something silly like Porsche recommmended 20,000 mi OCI on Advance Auto Parts 10W-40 Dino you are going to have problems.

BTW 100k isnt even to middle age for most modern engines.
 
My 1984 Cutlass even has an manufacturer OCI recommendation that is much higher than what I feel comfortable going with. IIRC under normal driving conditions it says to change the oil by 7500 or 10000 miles or something crazy like that. I will stick with severe service (3k miles) or 5k miles maximum with good oil.
 
Ask tge Saab owner that got a million miles out of his engine with nothing but Mobil-1! Sure it makes a difference but 100K is nothing and is easily attained with the cheapest api aproved oil for you application! Same thing is true with cars as it is with people!! You can eat heavily proscessed foods that will meet the minium requirements of the FDA or you can eat unprossed organic foods with the same macro and micro nutrients. Wich do you think is better for you? Quality of life is just as important as total life expectancy. The same holds true for a car or truck!
 
Based on my own experience and the fact my pops Blazer is at 200,000 miles, has the same oil pressure that it did when it rolled of the dealer lot, was squeaky clean inside at around 150,000 miles when the engine was popped open for gaskets, hardly uses any oil between changes etc. etc. etc., and mostly on.............OH MY GAWD PENNZOIL
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, I'd say it's practically laughable at this point to think your gonna get a million miles out of an engine with synthetic vs say 600,000 miles with dino. Engine failure do to something catastrophic is more likely to occur, and even if it didn't, I'd say modern conventional oil is equal to synthetic (arguably better??? based on UOA) in terms of wear control. Couple bottles of Auto-RX every hundred thousand to keep the rings cleaned out, which will still be an issue even with synthetic IMO, and your good to go. The suspension, other parts of the drivetrain, the body and chassis, rust etc. etc. etc. is gonna get you past 300,000 more likely.
 
I don't think synthetic provides better wear protection except at extreme cold temperatures. Like my work truck(superduty '02) that is sitting outside idling in -35 degree weather right now.(Ow30 Delo) and has been living this rough life for 60k miles and many more hours, averaging 100 hours per 1k miles. But I digress.

In my own vehicles I run Conventional motor oils at the factory recomended intervals. Having experimented with synthetics in the past and using them at work I see no advantage to them in my persoanl vehicles.
 
Dude, that's just gotta suck when the highest temp in the next 14 days is 10 below. I guess if you're prepared it's probably kind of fun!! Except for no sunlight.
 
I read an article form a guy, with a neon. He ran over some kinda rock, got home, and found that his oil filter was ripped=off from underneath! Drove home 6 or 7 miles, and inspected his enigne, he was also a mechanic. AMAZINGLY, no damage was done to pistons, bearings ect!!!! Oil he used, Mobil 1 5w 30.
 
I would have see that engine tore down and inspect the crank/rod journals before I bought no damage. I bet the crank needs turned when it comes rebuild time. However I do believe the engine was still in operational condition.

PS I have seen the same thing done with 1980's era Chevron Group I 10w30 in a Small Block Chevy.
 
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I don't #@$%! outside.. thank you so much I like to keep my wee wee but using a styrofoam coffee cup with the plastic lids if I have hot coffee in it and walk 100' from the door to my truck any liquid that is spilled is frozen and stuck to the cup).
Just got back from a a few jobsites..and then had to refuel. Brrrrrrr. It takes a long time to pump 25 gallons of diesel when your toes are gettin cold. It shuts down alot of critical hydraulic equipment such as cranes and Manlifts. Trucks start blowing main seals etc.. The best thing to do is just leave them running so they don't get cold soaked at -30 and colder. In this situation I think oil matters and I have heard so reallly awesome cold starts that would make most BITOGers squirm with pitty for the machinery. I should post some UOA's I have come accross of stationary equipment (power backups) that is on manual two week start rotations. Those are very interesting.
 
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