is Synthetic essential in Turbo engines?

[FCD]

So a guy in a facebook group about Ford Capris i'm in is building a Turbo engine for the street , he posted a question in the group asking if it's a must to use a full synthetic , this has sparked a big convefsation and people have suggested that he should use M1 15w50 full syn , and others have suggested what most of us run which is Valvoline Vr1 20w50 conventional, so is it a must to use synthetics in a turbo engine or does the turbo completely destroy conventional oils? He's running an oil cooler too and about 12 psi of boost on a blow through carb setup

 

[tojo1968]

The Ford Ecoboost engines are FF with MC Synblend. IMO a coventional would work if it meets the specs. I would shorten the OCI vs a full synthetic.

 

[FCD]

I think he's planning to do 1 year oci's on conventional or 1 and a half or 2 years on synthetic

 

[Andrew1972]

I have a Subaru turbo engine ej255 and its run conventional every 4K for 200k miles and still has original turbo.

With an old car like that and a carb fuel will contaminate the oil and short oci is in order whether synthetic or conventional. A carb with turbo is akin to running an untuned modified modern motor.

 

[Chris142]

Most of the semi trucks are using Dino oil

 

[ecotourist]

I put 285,000 Km (178,000 miles) on the oil cooled turbo of my '86 Volvo 740 Turbo without a problem, using conventional oil changed every 3 months. I sold it to a friend who drove it for 5 more years without a problem.

So, synthetic oil is not essential, but it's still a good idea.

 

[62Lincoln]

What kind of turbo set up is your friend going to use? Are the turbo's bearings oil cooled or cooled with the antifreeze solution of the engine? The older turbo set ups used oil cooled bearings, and if that is the case with your friend, he should absolutely use synthetic. Turbos went to coolant cooled bearing years ago, but your friend's set up blowing through the carb sounds like it could be an older rig.

 

[TTK]

Similar for me on a 760 Turbo Volvo. But those Air Research turbos were heavy duty.

 

[FCD]

Yeah it's an old school oil cooled turbo, i was thinking that the bearing could shear a conventional oil pretty badly

 

[abycat]

I'm running dino in my 6.0 psd. 25psi boost with an oil cooled turbo. It has 300000km with the original turbo. Oil temps sit from 85c to 100c. For the summer I will run a syn though. my truck beats up oil pretty good though.

 

[Olas]

If he can take the time to let the turbo cool before switching off, a mineral oil should be ok but for the extra margin of safety a sun would be a better idea.

 

[6starprez]

Not essential but better for handling the heat and a cleaner engine, i.e. varnish.

 

[Kestas]

Ever since I had to deal with turbo coking issues in oil passages during project development, I insist on using synthetic in turbo applications. Maybe not necessary now, but old habits die hard.

 

[FCD]

So it's either coventional on a short oci or full synthetic, the guy seems to have already said that he'll use synthetic which is a good idea since the engine is like brand new inside , including all seals and gaskets

 

[wemay]

Not essential on factory set-ups where the Turbo is water cooled, oil cooled, or cooled by both. Not being familiar with your Facebook friend's set up makes it difficult to make any recommendation.

 

[marine65]

I'm not an oil expert.
But I am convinced synthetic oil is the way to go in all engines.
Lets look at it this way.
Conventional oil about $15.00 for a 5 quart jug.
Synthetic oil about $23.00 for a 5 quart jug.
$8.00 difference.
How much is an engine worth?

 

[wemay]

Originally Posted By: marine65
I'm not an oil expert.
But I am convinced synthetic oil is the way to go in all engines.
Lets look at it this way.
Conventional oil about $15.00 for a 5 quart jug.
Synthetic oil about $23.00 for a 5 quart jug.
$8.00 difference.
How much is an engine worth?


So you're saying Conventional will ruin the engine? How so?

 

[HerrStig]

Synthetic oil will have an extra margin of safety.

 

[marine65]

Originally Posted By: wemay
Originally Posted By: marine65
I'm not an oil expert.
But I am convinced synthetic oil is the way to go in all engines.
Lets look at it this way.
Conventional oil about $15.00 for a 5 quart jug.
Synthetic oil about $23.00 for a 5 quart jug.
$8.00 difference.
How much is an engine worth?


So you're saying Conventional will ruin the engine? How so?


Conventional oil will not ruin an engine.
Synthetic for the small dollar increase is just better in my opinion.

 

[Garak]

Lots of OTR diesel engines have turbos and use conventional. So, synthetic is obviously not "essential."