Does one synthetic v. another matter???!!!

[q2bruiser]

Howdy –

Let me clarify. I am like most of you … sick, demented, OCD type when it comes to auto maintenance. My friends all want to buy my used cars. I’ve been a synthetic user for many years yet have retained dino OCI intervals (3k +-). I’ve tried to go longer but it is inevitable that I will awake in a cold sweat in the middle of the night and trek to the garage and change the oil if it has been over 3k. I just cannot make myself change. Yes, I have seen a therapist about this.

Now that I am hooked on this site it is even worse. I’m currently obsessing about using one particular oil verses another in my new car and all worked myself up about it. I want to use a particular oil but am using something on the manufacture’s “approved” list (BC 5w-40) … and I started thinking. With a 3k synthetic OCI I cannot imagine it matters in the least which synthetic oil, correct viscosity of course, I use. The engine is going to last like a tank.

So, does it really matter?

JKH

 

[Wiley Alexander]

Hi, I am the new guy....I am also work for the
Has anyone ever heard of Royal Purple motor oil??? I started to read many of the coments posted and got really interested in what everyone had to say. There is one aspect being missed when discussing lubricants, and that is, "film strength". That has everything to do with performance and wear protection. There are several ways to achieve film strength.
1) Oil additives (most of which are chlorinated paraffin products) 2) Excessive amounts of Zink and Phosphates added to the additive package of an oil (which makes that oil poison to catalytic converters) 3) Synerlec, which is only used by Royal Purple to provide an extreme film strength barrier. Don't ask me what Synerlet is made of, I don't have a clue. If I did, this oil would be called Wiley Oil. BUT, I know what it does...And the performance is fantastic.

To answer your question....Viscosity has an importance called out by the engine mfg.. Except for the last addition of new viscosity 5w20. Which has nothing to do with wear protection or performance, but everything to do with CAFE rules.(corporate average fuel economy) Auto mfg's are trying to get as much mpg as poss. by running a thin oil...In this case, use an oil that has high film strength. Engine Mfg's allow for a vis. oil that will match with the overall tolerance of the engine. The looser the engine the higher the vis. Always keeping in mind the availability of the oil and API certs. Most use 5w30 or 10w30. Both oils are almost the same vis. The difference is at start up when the engine is cold, 5w30 will flow like a 5 wt. oil and 10w30 will flow like a 10 wt. oil. When at proper working temp. they both operate as a 30 wt. oil. The W means winter....It really means the method used to determine the vis of the oil.
I'm starting to ramble.....I also "got to go".
I'll catch up to you guy's later.....

Wiley

 

[Ugly3]

For 3,000 mile OCIs it makes little to no difference which synthetic oil you use.

 

[Winston]

For 3000 miles OCI's the cheapest synthetic would be the best. (Supertech)

On a serious note, the top contenders seem to be;

Redline, Mobil 1 EP, Castrol GC, Amsoil.

Pennzoil Platinum is the new, untested kid on the block with their new EOP base stock.

 

[bobo]

You, sir, should be bestowed the anal BITOGer of the year award.

Rather than focus on what synthetic oil to use for 3K OCIs, perhaps you should return to the therapist and get some further tinkering (perhaps a lobotomy would be in order)to persuade you to extend your OCIs while still using a quality synthetic oil.

If not your family and friends may end up leaving you to your own devices, lol!

I am switching to Esso XD3 Extra, 0w30, PAO, full synthetic following completion of my AutoRX rinse phase in 1,600 miles. I intend to run it year round (12-month OCIs) and will likely not put on more than 6K, mostly highway miles during that time frame. The car is a 95 Maxima SE, 5-speed, 61K mostly highway miles and is in near-new condition.

I feel relieved that my OCD, dementia and anal retentiveness are far more moderate than yours.

 

[Mitch Alsup]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ugly3:
For 3,000 mile OCIs it makes little to no difference which synthetic oil you use.

---

And excepting Turbo and supercharger applications or track-like driving, it doesn't really mater is you choose synthetic over dino oils. Stay in manufactured recommended grade, and sleep with confidence.

 

[Ken2]

q2bruiser,
You are very right in using one of the recommended oils. VW? Anyway, use that recommended oil, but except in the coldest winter, stretch to the manufacturer's recommended oil drain interval. That same engine in Europe likely has 10,000 to 20,000 mile (mile) oil drain intervals with one of the oils on the European version of that list. Most European drivers spend plenty of time in traffic just like we do.

Winter, if you don't get the engine thoroughly warm each drive, do drain the oil sooner. Also use the best oil filters...Mann or Mahle or Hecht for European cars.

For other usages, yes the brand of synthetic oil makes a big difference. "Synthetic" only tells us the Group of the base oil (not I or II). It doesn not tell us the quality of the base oil nor the quality of the additive package.


Ken

 

[LarryL]

You have forgotton the most important thing about oci's. If when you jack up your car to change the oil and the drain plug is no longer the lowest point in the sytem because of the angle, you must lower the car back down after removing the drain plug, before you rinse out the system with a few ounces of extra new oil before jacking the car back up to finish the job. If you don't you might suffer from oil lackadosis. Oil lackadosis does not show up on a uoa and can destroy your engine. Oil lackadosis is one of the major causes of sludge in the modern engine. This information is available no where else, only on bitog.

 

[hounddog]

Took a year and had some failed attempts but I broke the 3k oil interval.Started with a 1985 Chevy Caprice Classic.305 4bbl.Bought with 85k and started using Amsoil full syn 10w30.Changed filter every 7500 with a top off and a OCI of 25k.Rolled that auto 100 miles a day 5 days a week.Sold it with 252k and a timing chain replacement at 225k.(plastic top gear fell apart)Ran great, same or better then when it had 85k.It broke my 3k habit!

 

[MGBV8]

Synerlec® is Royal Purple's proprietary, lubricant technology that strengthens the oil to provide unmatched performance and protection. It also creates an ionic bond that adheres to metal parts for continuous protection, even after shutdown. Synerlec® is the cornerstone of Royal Purple's automotive products.

My guess would be that Synerlec is ester based.

The issue of additive bleeding/leeching from metal surfaces is one of the reasons Best practice states stick with the same oil to minimise cross-mixing of additive packages. Whilst oils may be compatible in their loosest sense, often the performance of the adpac may be reduced when mixed with another supplier's adpac, especially if ester chemistries are involved.

 

[Pablo]

If you are changing synthetic oil at 3K, you will simply not have an oil related failure. You can use an oil that meets or exceeds and has been indpendently tested to the VW standards.

 

[1bioguy]

Lackadosis!

 

[q2bruiser]

You guys are great. I use the OEM filters as well. I would like to try GC verses BC but the viscosity range is different than recommended (0-30 vs 5-40).

Well, maybe there will be an anti-maintenance drug in the future ... something like Syn-sac, Oil-oft, ... anything to get me past 3k.

Time will tell.

James

 

[My442]

Royal Purple had erratic oil pressure readings in my Olds 442. I drained it and replaced it with Shell Rotella.

The oil pressure was higher and more stable.

It seems that RP thins oil when hot.

 

[BigAl]

quote:

---

Originally posted by q2bruiser:
Howdy –

Let me clarify. I am like most of you … sick, demented, OCD type when it comes to auto maintenance. My friends all want to buy my used cars. I’ve been a synthetic user for many years yet have retained dino OCI intervals (3k +-). I’ve tried to go longer but it is inevitable that I will awake in a cold sweat in the middle of the night and trek to the garage and change the oil if it has been over 3k. I just cannot make myself change. Yes, I have seen a therapist about this.

JKH

---

The question is: Are we helping each other out here, or enabling each other's demise?

At 3k you can use any brand of synthetic or conventional oil and your engine will probably outlast you.

See how easy it is for me to give reasonable advice to OTHERS? If I only could believe it myself . . .

 

[q2bruiser]

I believe this site definitely falls under the "enabling" category.

 

[BUBBA0420]

qrbruiseron't let them give you a hard time
about changing oil. Clean oil never hurt and
engine. I don't use synthetics but I do change
my oil every 2000 miles. Yea it's overkill but
even good Dino is cheap.

 

[Dad2leia]

BUBBA0420, I would NEVER give anyone a hard time about changing the oil. I change full blown "gourmet" synthetics at 5000 miles or sooner, so "enable" me all of the way baby...

 

[z917990]

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one who uses synthetics and has not yet gotten on the extended OCI band wagon. I have gotten better, though. When I first started working on cars in the late 1970's, the "common knowledge" around car shops was that oil "broke down" after (wait for it) 500 miles. 3000 mile OCIs were considered pushing the edge of the envelope if the car was operated in severe conditions, so I never exceeded 2000 mile OCIs. And I continued that habit, using dino, until recently. Now, almost 30 years later, I started using Mobil 1 5w-20 in my 2003 Accord, which I acquired in January. I have just started to push myself a bit past the 3000 mile mark, but it is tough! So, I will probably try to make small steps up to the 5000 mile OCI mark and, *** willing, I will not have a panic attack

 

[Ugly3]

You guys better not get a vehicle with an OLM in it. You will have a stroke before the change indicator comes on!