Is Synthetic a waste of $?

[Gary Allan]

The bottom line is to get your money's worth out for the oil you buy. If the service or the duration of use doesn't justify a synthetic ..then you are wasting money.

It's still subjective. If you can't break the 3k/3m prison without paying for a top tier synthetic ..then it still isn't wasting money for YOU.

 

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted By: ryland
The thing that bothers me about synthetic is that even when the oil companys say that syn dosent cause oil leaks but put syn gear oil in a otherwise fine and non leaking diff and magicly it will leak through the seals. Thats off topic though.

Yes if you change your oil less than you can easily make it worth the money, but if your crazy like me and change it too soon no matter whats in there it probably good to use dino.

Hmm. My 8.8 must not know this. Please don't tell it.

 

[ZZman]

NO it is not really a waste.

Syn oils almost always have a better additive package than conventional oils. They also have a better base oil that is a cleaner/purer product than conventional oils. This makes them better at keeping your engine clean and helping it run in top condition.

They flow better in the cold and handle high heat conditions better.

Is it a waste to eat a $ 20.00 steak instead of a $ 10.00 steak? To buy 10.00 wiper blades when 7.00 blades will work?
To buy a $ 40,000 car when a $ 20,000 car will do?
Depends on who you talk to and what their reasoning is, and what makes them happy and sleep at night.

 

[crinkles]

if you have a ton of dino in your stash, yes, buying synthetic will be a waste.

 

[labman]

I am still running dino, but think it is a wash once paroled from the warranty 3K prison. Pay twice as much and run it twice as long?

 

[daman]

NO, why?

better cold weather performance
handles extreme heat better
can do extended OCI
keeps engines cleaner during an OCI

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: ZZman
NO it is not really a waste.

Syn oils almost always have a better additive package than conventional oils. They also have a better base oil that is a cleaner/purer product than conventional oils. This makes them better at keeping your engine clean and helping it run in top condition.

They flow better in the cold and handle high heat conditions better.

Is it a waste to eat a $ 20.00 steak instead of a $ 10.00 steak? To buy 10.00 wiper blades when 7.00 blades will work?
To buy a $ 40,000 car when a $ 20,000 car will do?
Depends on who you talk to and what their reasoning is, and what makes them happy and sleep at night.


+1 add to it better protection in the event of a belt breaking, or coolant loss (within reason), and you can build a pretty good case for synthetic oil. Then along the lines of what ZZman said, you can buy a Yugo to drive to work, or a BMW, both will get you there. Maybe its the feel good factor that matters to some of us.

 

[ZZman]

Syn oil has more fudge factor too. Since it almost always is a stouter oil it can hold out better in extremes.

Will this matter much for the 3,000 OCI crowd? No

But start running 6-10,000 mile OCI's and the extra protection is welcome.

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: ZZman
Syn oil has more fudge factor too. Since it almost always is a stouter oil it can hold out better in extremes.

Will this matter much for the 3,000 OCI crowd? No

But start running 6-10,000 mile OCI's and the extra protection is welcome.

Well?? dunno about that....i still think it helps with extremes during short OCI.

 

[saberz]

Originally Posted By: JohnBrowning
The problem is that regular oil is almost as expensive as synthetic any more! The margin in price difference is really getting small. In fact Conventional oil now cost's what I was paying for Amsoil and M1 in the 1980's and 1990's so go figure that one out!

If you plan on keeping your car or truck until the wheels fall off then Synthetic makes sense if not then yes you are wasting your money! Think about it what car can not make it 3=5 years on Conventional oil? Heck I know people that only change the oil every couple of years they just keep topping off. They trade in their vehicles every 4-5 years and they could care less if the next owner gets a sludged up engine. I worked with a guy that his uncle in West Virgin I think it was might only change the oil on a vehicle 3-5 times in the course of 120,000 miles. He never had a vehicle fail during that time frame. Sure the next owner got a worn out sludged up beast but his uncle did not care.

Then you have the national average of 9000 miles between oil changes based on information from the National Association of Lube Professionals or something like that! This is based on data collected by places that change oil for a living like Jiffy Lube and other's like them!So if the national average is 9000 miles between oil changes and the national average is what 12K-15K miles a year you do the math not a lot of oil changes being done by most drivers! These types seldom pony up for the expensive synthetic no no no these are the bulk oil users that just tell them to put in what ever it takes??????

When you are like me though and you have vechiles like a 1982 Toyota Starlet and 1986 4Runner and 1987 Toyota Hi Lux all still in the family and still running good synthetic makes a huge difference. So it definately is not a must have. In fact even if I had a vechile that called for synthetic if I had no intention of keeping it past 2-3 years I would not use synthetic in it at all!

In fact even with the modern Corvettes their are two types of COrvette owners. Some that will only use synthetic and some that will not use synthetic at all if you paid them and they still do 1500 mile OCI's! I am not kidding you either.....Synthetic v.s. conventional is almost as much of a hot button topic as abortion or legalized mercy killings etc.....


Thats what scares me about used cars(I will always buy used when I can). Seems like you have to do way more research and work on a used car, go through more hassles financing it etc than a new one.

There are dealers and people out there that take these cars in, and leave em like that. Dealers can have a trade with 25k miles on Conventional, low/no coolant etc and sell it like that to an unsuspecting buyer. And the person trading the car in is under the assumption the dealer will fix it and its not their fault.

 

[UNC017]

Originally Posted By: JohnBrowning
The problem is that regular oil is almost as expensive as synthetic any more!


Only since ordinary Group III conventional oils like PP have been allowed to call themselves "synthetic"

 

[UNC017]

Originally Posted By: Onmo'Eegusee
Originally Posted By: ryland
The thing that bothers me about synthetic is that even when the oil companys say that syn dosent cause oil leaks but put syn gear oil in a otherwise fine and non leaking diff and magicly it will leak through the seals. Thats off topic though.

Hmm. My 8.8 must not know this. Please don't tell it.


Yeah, I've got a whole garage full of differentials, ranging in age from 4 to 44 years, and none of them know that they're "supposed" to leak with the synthetic gear oil in them. Oh, I also have one 60-year-old diff, but it leaks a little even on dino

Just another baseless myth tossed about as if it were fact.

 

[cjhepburn]

I've had two high mileage cars that didn't have leaks until I switched oil brands. If I remember correctly the swithc was from Quaker State conventional to Castrol conventional.
I think it's mainly the additives in any oil conventional or synthetic that try to "clean" out and engine.
The moral of my story is if you only use one brand of oil for a long time (swag, 50k miles) then you need to continue to use that oil.

 

[cjhepburn]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: JohnBrowning
The problem is that regular oil is almost as expensive as synthetic any more!


Only since ordinary Group III conventional oils like PP have been allowed to call themselves "synthetic"

Or is it that synthetic is as cheap as regular conventional oil.

 

[tenderloin]

Over the past 5 years our personal cars have had three major overheating problems. Two with holes in radiator hoses, one with a belt breaking. My teenage children who were driving probably drove longer than they should have with the temp gauged pegged..but after the repairs the engines were fine. The oil looked and smelled like heck, but IMO it did it's job.

Dino might have done the same thing, but I feel the added high temperature protection of synthetic bought a few extra miles of running before damage was done.

Could be wrong, but with the great deals that pop up every now and then on synthetics, the few extra bucks per change IMO is worth it.

 

[Loogie]

I don't think it is a waste of money if you use it for one or more of these reasons:

-Extended OCI (less time spent maintaining the car).
-Severe service (turbos, racing, minivan full of rugrats driving through the desert southwest, etc).
-Low temperature flow.
-Being a loony BITOG'r like myself.

Those appear to be the primary advantages of synthetic.

 

[PT1]

No, if you buy syn oil on sale. I have a 2-300 quart stash of syn oils in the basement with an average cost of about $1.90/qt. Since I buy filters on sale as well, an oil change costs me abou $12-17 for syn oil and a pure one filter depending on the vehicle.

I think paying some dope to change your oil is wasting money.

 

[ryland]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: Onmo'Eegusee
Originally Posted By: ryland
The thing that bothers me about synthetic is that even when the oil companys say that syn dosent cause oil leaks but put syn gear oil in a otherwise fine and non leaking diff and magicly it will leak through the seals. Thats off topic though.

Hmm. My 8.8 must not know this. Please don't tell it.


Yeah, I've got a whole garage full of differentials, ranging in age from 4 to 44 years, and none of them know that they're "supposed" to leak with the synthetic gear oil in them. Oh, I also have one 60-year-old diff, but it leaks a little even on dino

Just another baseless myth tossed about as if it were fact.




Well my jeep leaked or more seeped oil out the diff after I changed to syn at 3000 miles. So does everyother jeep in my jk club im in. I also changed to syn in my dodge ram and that also seeped when it was fine before. Also my honda element slightly weeps a very small amount of oil out of the head gasket with synthetic but dosent with dino. Many others with elements on the element forum I visit have also noticed this. I think its just the nature of synthetics but whatever I'm just a myth spreading story teller.

 

[1 SX]

I will be honest, I use Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 and change out every 5K miles max, and this is for a 1995 FORD TAURUS... So waste, most likely.. But it makes me feel better, and for $25 for the oil and filter, i feel as this is a better investment then going out and buying an Eighth.

 

[Drew99GT]

No, synthetic is not a waste of money, even at $100/quart.

As has been said, synthetic at 30,000 miles is still better then modern conventional in a sealed bottle.

Never listen to the idiots who have squeaky clean engines with 300,000 miles on them using yesterdays conventional. THEY ARE LIARS.

Conventional oil will render your vehicle inoperable in temperatures above 110 degrees or below -10 degrees F. (god forbid you use 5w-20 conventional

)

All the highest mileage vehicles in the world used synthetic oil.

Drink up! Gulp gulp gullible...