Friend uses Synblend/Conv in his 2024 Chevy Trax

[wemay]

He's an old and old-school friend that has always had older vehicles and only used conventional oils. This is his first new car in 30 years.
The Trax has a 1.2L Turbo. Well, we went down the rabbit hole of GM dexos and he falls into the camp that this is a money grab. He also mentioned that GM's OLM will tell him when to change the oil so it doesn't matter whether its synthetic, blend or conventional.

All his previous cars have lasted many years and hundreds of thousands of miles.....who am i to argue. I've shared my recommendations but won't broach the topic again.

Have you had any friends like this?

He likes 5/10w30 but says he'll use 5w20 in this 'small putt putt'.

 

[Glenda W.]

My father only uses conventional. Says he’s never had a problem, and hasn’t. 80+ years old, I’m not arguing with him.

 

[wemay]

My father only uses conventional. Says he’s never had a problem, and hasn’t. 80+ years old, I’m not arguing with him.

Agree 100% with you, @Glenda W.

 

[Nessism1]

Tell your friend that his Owners Manual specifies synthetic 5W-30 oil. It's a turbo engine, and the turbo runs hot. If he sluffs that off, give up.

 

[Oliveoil2]

He's an old and old-school friend that has always had older vehicles and only used conventional oils. This is his first new car in 30 years.
The Trax has a 1.2L Turbo. Well, we went down the rabbit hole of GM dexos and he falls into the camp that this is a money grab. He also mentioned that GM's OLM will tell him when to change the oil so it doesn't matter whether its synthetic, blend or conventional.

All his previous cars have lasted many years and hundreds of thousands of miles.....who am i to argue. I've shared my recommendations but won't broach the topic again.

Have you had any friends like this?

He likes 5/10w30 but says he'll use 5w20 in this 'small putt putt'.

That’s a hard working little engine that would obviously do better with any budget synthetic. But….he’s not doing it any harm by running a syn-blend, which are all really good oils these days. If it makes him happy to save a few shekels…… it’s all good.

 

[Glenda W.]

In his defense there’s a few Dexos 1 Gen 3 approved syn blends.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Synthetic is a marketing term.

That little 1.2 is used in China, Latin America, and all over Asia. Maybe pull a manual from there and see what it says?

 

[We're Metals]

Choosing motor is as much of a debate with friends as it is with strangers on the internet. I'd just leave it alone.

Grade is probably more important than Synthetic/ vs non synthetic.

 

[Slick3914]

And he’s not saving any money. A 5 quart jug of Dexos approved Supertech is only $18.

 

[ctechbob]

Once upon a time I might have engaged in those conversations. Those days are long gone. Half of the time it ended up in me 'helping' (IE doing the work for people). I barely have time to do my own work these days and frankly don't give a toss anymore about how other people treat their own cars.

Even my father in law that's kicking around in a 2016 HRV that needs its CVT fluid changed, don't really care. We'll end up with the car here in a year or two when he stops driving and I'll deal with it then.

--Edit--

Now, if someone asks me, I'll share an opinion on the matter, but otherwise, no.

 

[ka9mnx]

I've pretty much given up advising friends and family. My father once gave me great advice: You don't learn anything if you don't make mistakes (provided you learn from them).

 

[ATex7239]

Yes I know people like this. Gas is gas. Oil is oil. To be fair all of them seem to go on down the road without any issues so I don’t over think it.

 

[TomYoung]

There is no money being saved here. There is just no meaningful difference in price between syn blend and synthetic these days based on a quick perusal of Amazon. Additionally, there is not much of a synblend selection. I think most folks on BITOG are using syn for almost all applications these days, although maybe there are some Crown Vic folks out there still in conventional land and also some folks running air-cooled applications also.

That said, in this case you have a high-strung, turbocharged three cylinder engine. It is subjected to severe duty every time it starts. This old dude should get a clue before catastrophe strikes. Does he think that there are many folks like him running syblend in this application --- no way --- he is on his own! And he is wrong.

 

[wemay]

Tell your friend that his Owners Manual specifies synthetic 5W-30 oil. It's a turbo engine, and the turbo runs hot. If he sluffs that off, give up.

View attachment 293886

I did. He's not budging on the dexos thing, but I misspoke in the original post concerning viscosity. He said he'll use 5w30 , not 5w20. And his reasons for not using an synthetic have nothing to do with price.