HYPER low mi/short trips: conventional or synth?

[SR5]

Nothing wrong with full synthetic every 6 months, that is the maximum care option.

There is no need for a 0W-40, that is too much oil for a car that never gets warm.

Both the 0W-30 & 5W-30 would work fine. I would go the 5W-30 as it is more common and affordable. Neither oil will wear out before it's changed out and it doesn't get cold enough to need the 0W for starting.

Just to give you one more option. Castrol Magnatec 5W-30 semi-synthetic. It has a special additive that clings to the metal surface of the engine and resists draining back to the sump. It works at the molecular level, not the bulk level, but it really does work by all reports. It helps with cold and infrequent starts, which is most of your use. It's a very good oil.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Quartz
Anyway, the only new wrench in the works is that I called up my mechanic and talked for a bit about this thread and the other stuff I've read. He said he strongly recommends against 0w-xx in my case as he thinks it'll be too thin at startup for me, and would prefer I use 5w-xx (synth).

It's just about impossible for an oil to be too thin at startup. Considering that it gets thinner as it warms up, how can it be too thin when it's at its coldest, but not too thin at operating temperatures? Ask your mechanic that, and you'll get a bunch of hand waving in response, I wager.

One may or may not need a 0w-XX, depending upon the climate that one faces. But, a 0w-XX is never too thin a startup because of it being a 0w-XX.

 

[KrisZ]

OP should read the oil university 101. As flawed as it is, it should give him the basic understanding of how oil grades are done. He clearly does not understand what is being discussed here.

 

[Quartz]

Originally Posted By: SR5
Castrol Magnatec 5W-30 semi-synthetic.

Hmm, ok I'll check that one out, thanks.

Originally Posted By: Garak
Considering that it gets thinner as it warms up, how can it be too thin when it's at its coldest, but not too thin at operating temperatures?

That is a good way of wording it actually, lemme run that by him and see if he argues it. He's not impossible to deal with or win over if you have a good point.

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
OP should read the oil university 101.

Link?

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: Quartz
Originally Posted By: Garak
Considering that it gets thinner as it warms up, how can it be too thin when it's at its coldest, but not too thin at operating temperatures?

That is a good way of wording it actually, lemme run that by him and see if he argues it. He's not impossible to deal with or win over if you have a good point.


Why are you running it past him? Aren't you capable of understanding it to the point of dismissing outright his misunderstanding? And it's not "a good point", it has nothing to do with making a point. It's physics and data, not a debate.

Figure it out yourself, it isn't that difficult. All it takes is finding out what the viscosity is of a 5W-40 and a 0W-40 at ambient. I'll give you a hint, they aren't all that different and it's even possible that for two different oils the 0W might be higher.

 

[Quartz]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
Why are you running it past him? Aren't you capable of understanding it to the point of dismissing outright his misunderstanding?

Because he's otherwise a good guy and the only mechanic anywhere near here that I trust not to screw me over. I'm not not about to burn my relationship with him by forcing him to do something he doesn't want to, when everyone here is telling me it probably doesn't matter that much to my car in the first place.

 

[mazdamonky]

Originally Posted By: Quartz
Originally Posted By: mazdamonky
If the manual says conventional is good for one year,

A maximum of one year (or 7500mi, whichever is first). This implies to me that they want you to change it more often than that (although it doesn't say how much more often). That's one of the reasons I'm leaning towards six months.


Every car company and Oil company is going to want you to change it more often. That makes them more money. They want you to bring it back to the dealer to give them money for changing your oil, and the oil company wants you to buy oil from anywhere, they don't care, because that makes them money.

If you are worried about the 12 month "maximum" then change it every 11 months. That is sooner. In reality, changing it every 6 months only costs an extra $20 per year if using PYB with a Fram orange can. I personally, think $20 per year would very much be worth peace of mind.

A synthetic oil change done yourself would be around $30 so if you want to just leave it in for a full year, you are meeting in the middle and only spending an extra $10 per year for peace of mind.

 

[wemay]

Originally Posted By: Quartz
I'm not not about to burn my relationship with him by forcing him to do something he doesn't want to...


Wait, i thought we were discussing oil and oci for your car, not his.

 

[KrisZ]

With all these "obstacles" appearing every time a good suggestion points are made, me thinks this thread is more intended for some sort of oil pilgrimage or just to keep the discussion going, than for making an actual choice for the car and closing this thread.

We might be even dealing with one of the many incarnations of we all know who.

 

[Quartz]

Originally Posted By: mazdamonky
A synthetic oil change done yourself

Originally Posted By: wemay
Wait, i thought we were discussing oil and oci for your car, not his.

I have no way to do any work under my own car, I can't even GET to the oil filter or drain without a lift. I don't want to [censored] off my mechanic to the point where he doesn't want to work with me anymore, he's both a friend and the only one around I trust. I'll fight him if there's a real chance of serious damage, but not over this.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Quartz
I don't want to [censored] off my mechanic to the point where he doesn't want to work with me anymore, he's both a friend and the only one around I trust. I'll fight him if there's a real chance of serious damage, but not over this.

Again, why even continue with this thread when all you need to do is have him pick your oil, regardless of his oil knowledge or lack thereof?

People have put in good amount of time in this thread to educate you and help you learn, but it seems at the end of the day, you will just do what will not [censored] off your mechanic. I guess that's one way to choose your lubricant, but you could have told us that long time ago.

 

[wemay]

Quartz, all i can say is, if your friendship is predicated on you not upsetting him because of an oil choice... you don't have a friendship.

I'm sure you'll make the right decision.

 

[Quartz]

Originally Posted By: wemay
Quartz, all i can say is, if your friendship is predicated on you not upsetting him because of an oil choice... you don't have a friendship.

It's not a simple case of "upsetting him", relationships are based on give and take and nobody's perfect. If you have to win every argument and fight everyone over every little petty thing you're not going to have many left to talk to. Sometimes your friends are wrong about stuff, just let bygones be bygones and move on.

But this whole issue turned out to be moot anyway- I called him again and it turns out I totally misunderstood what he was getting at last time. He doesn't think the 0w-xx is "too thin at startup", but rather something else. Unfortunately I don't know enough about all this to understand what he IS getting at, so rather than misrepresent him again I'm just going to drop it.

Anyway, I talked with him for a bit about castrol magnatec and the idea of other 'coating' oils (as suggested by SR5). He said he's never messed with them himself but from what he's heard about them he thinks those will be a much better choice for me than a 0w-xx, so I'm going to research that before I make a final choice.

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: Quartz
But this whole issue turned out to be moot anyway- I called him again and it turns out I totally misunderstood what he was getting at last time. He doesn't think the 0w-xx is "too thin at startup", but rather something else.

Anyway, I talked with him for a bit about castrol magnatec and the idea of other 'coating' oils (as suggested by SR5). He said he's never messed with them himself but from what he's heard about them he thinks those will be a much better choice for me than a 0w-xx, so I'm going to research that before I make a final choice.


I think you better stop while you still can.

 

[cmhj]

UGH

 

[SR5]

OK, 6 month oil change intervals, with a name brand oil like Castrol Magnatec, in the factory recommend viscosity of 5W-30, a semi-synthetic oil that is well respected in Ecoboost turbo applications, and good a relationship with a local honest mechanic. Sounds fine to me.

 

[Quartz]

Six months yes, synth yes since that was the popular opinion here, name brand was never a question. I'm still might talk to him again about the 0w issue though just to see if I can't figure out which of us is confused about what or if it's a stupid communication gap. I'm just not going to try and proxy the argument through the forum.

 

[Quartz]

Anyway SR5- do you happen to know offhand any specific informative threads on BITOG where people were discussing magnatec and magnatec-like oils? I'm using the search but searching for 'magnatec' yields a million results and it's taking me a while to go through all of them. I don't want to start a new thread when it looks like people have already gone over it a few times.

 

[5170]

Originally Posted By: Quartz
Anyway SR5- do you happen to know offhand any specific informative threads on BITOG where people were discussing magnatec and magnatec-like oils? I'm using the search but searching for 'magnatec' yields a million results and it's taking me a while to go through all of them. I don't want to start a new thread when it looks like people have already gone over it a few times.


actually, you can use google and just place "BITOG" in front or back of topic you're searching for, i.e., BITOG Magnatec. Its much easier.

 

[SR5]

Originally Posted By: Quartz
Anyway SR5- do you happen to know offhand any specific informative threads on BITOG where people were discussing magnatec and magnatec-like oils? I'm using the search but searching for 'magnatec' yields a million results and it's taking me a while to go through all of them. I don't want to start a new thread when it looks like people have already gone over it a few times.


Here is the link to a thread for the used oil analysis (UOA) of Magnatec 5W-30 in a twin turbo Ecoboost. The engine is known to be hard on oil, and it's a great analysis. At the end there is a link to the follow up analysis which is also very good.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3839330

Also
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4040737

And
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3600576/1