Is there still a case for synthetics?

Pennzoil motor oil
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Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: stchman

If you change your oil every 5K, is the extra $10 for a 5 quart jug really a difference maker?


It is if you have to buy the matching extra quart for top off. $24.97 + $7.74 + $2.70 Tax = $35.41
shocked2.gif


Just buy another jug, pour the top off oil into any clean oil container, mark it with the contents, and use the rest of the jug on your next oil change.

Heck - my wife's 2002 Civic take 3.4 quarts with the oil filter in a change. With a 5 quart jug that's a lot of oil that's left over to top off. I have no problems with a bottle of opened oil that's been stored for less than a year.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: stchman

If you change your oil every 5K, is the extra $10 for a 5 quart jug really a difference maker?


It is if you have to buy the matching extra quart for top off. $24.97 + $7.74 + $2.70 Tax = $35.41
shocked2.gif


+1
 
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: stchman

If you change your oil every 5K, is the extra $10 for a 5 quart jug really a difference maker?


It is if you have to buy the matching extra quart for top off. $24.97 + $7.74 + $2.70 Tax = $35.41
shocked2.gif


Just buy another jug, pour the top off oil into any clean oil container, mark it with the contents, and use the rest of the jug on your next oil change.

Heck - my wife's 2002 Civic take 3.4 quarts with the oil filter in a change. With a 5 quart jug that's a lot of oil that's left over to top off. I have no problems with a bottle of opened oil that's been stored for less than a year.


Agreed, you are letting logic and reasoning get in the way.

Oil in the 5qt just is a lot less per quart than buying single quarts. If you have a Costco membership, they sell 6 packs of Mobil 1 for $26, that's only $4.33 a quart.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: stchman

If you change your oil every 5K, is the extra $10 for a 5 quart jug really a difference maker?


It is if you have to buy the matching extra quart for top off. $24.97 + $7.74 + $2.70 Tax = $35.41
shocked2.gif



Thats a big IF, and, rarely would anyone run syns for just 5K miles. I do even 10K runs with mine. No top offs either.
 
Originally Posted By: stchman
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: stchman

If you change your oil every 5K, is the extra $10 for a 5 quart jug really a difference maker?


It is if you have to buy the matching extra quart for top off. $24.97 + $7.74 + $2.70 Tax = $35.41
shocked2.gif


Just buy another jug, pour the top off oil into any clean oil container, mark it with the contents, and use the rest of the jug on your next oil change.

Heck - my wife's 2002 Civic take 3.4 quarts with the oil filter in a change. With a 5 quart jug that's a lot of oil that's left over to top off. I have no problems with a bottle of opened oil that's been stored for less than a year.


Agreed, you are letting logic and reasoning get in the way.

Oil in the 5qt just is a lot less per quart than buying single quarts. If you have a Costco membership, they sell 6 packs of Mobil 1 for $26, that's only $4.33 a quart.

That's only a coupon special, and then only 5W-20, 5w30, or 10w30.

I do remember seeing something from an O'Reilly circular saying that quarts were available at the same sale price as the 5 quart jug if bought in at least 5 quart quantities. Wasn't sure exactly what that meant. I can't link the circular, but can cut and paste the fine print:

Offer also applies to individual quarts with a 5 quart minimum purchase. Limit 6 jugs or 24 individual quarts.[/img]

The sale price is $14.95 for a 5 quart jug of Mobil 5000. I suppose this means that buying at least 5 quarts I can get it at $2.99/quart. I also seem to recall that they're 5.1 quart jugs mostly at O'Reillys. Or was that AutoZone?
Click to expand...
 
Originally Posted By: stchman

Agreed, you are letting logic and reasoning get in the way.

Oil in the 5qt just is a lot less per quart than buying single quarts. If you have a Costco membership, they sell 6 packs of Mobil 1 for $26, that's only $4.33 a quart.


Correct.

Or if you do need to top off, buy an extra jug of syn cheaply, and use it a qt. at a time.

Not hard to figure this out, IMO.
 
I don't think that there's a good answer to your question.
API SN oils are all very good and all probably have at least some Grp III content.
OTOH, current Grp III synthetics are only a little more expensive than oils not labeled as either synthetic or blend.
The best answer might be to just use what you want.
There are often MIR deals on synthetics that make them cheaper than oils not labeled as synthetic.
I have more than a hundred quarts of "synthetic" I've bought that way, mostly FAR.
OTOH, we see some very good used oil analysis here of "conventional" oil run for long miles, so who really knows?
We have a mod here who ran more miles on a conventional oil than most of us would dream of on any oil with a very clean UOA to show for it.
Use what you'd like and shop for what's cheap.
That's how I've always done it.
 
Thats a good idea, too. I rarely top off (just 1 of 4 of my vehicles need it), But if I do, I might add 1 qt. MC5000 to my M1 or Mobil 1 Extended Performance fill. Why not? less than 5K miles remain by the time I do this.
 
Of course there is a case for synthetics - otherwise Ford's Motorcraft and GM's dexos certification would include straight dino.
 
+1 ...I now use either PP or M1 for all vehicles regardless of OCI :
1) Stays cleaner
2) Better cold start up
3) Higher heat temp ceiling
Originally Posted By: Hyde244
Of course there is a case for synthetics - otherwise Ford's Motorcraft and GM's dexos certification would include straight dino.
 
I might agree with #3, not the first 2. Did mechanic work for many years and got to see the inside of overheated engines on a daily basis.
Several threads on this forum (thin vs. thick) mention the term headroom, or leeway, or safety margin. It is very possible to sludge an engine quickly with old oil and overheating problems. I can see a high end syn holding up a bit better, but, I would rather have a fresh(shorter OCI) fill of name brand 5w30 conventional than the 5/20 syn.
You mention better start up, where? In Georgia?
You mention stays cleaner, show me...........
 
Originally Posted By: SwampDweller
I can see a high end syn holding up a bit better, but, I would rather have a fresh(shorter OCI) fill of name brand 5w30 conventional than the 5/20 syn.

Why? In an engine that is specified to use 5W-20 what does 5w30 bring to the table?
 
Originally Posted By: Hyde244
Of course there is a case for synthetics - otherwise Ford's Motorcraft and GM's dexos certification would include straight dino.


Why do member's insist that Phillips Lubricants PCMO line is something special? Just because the label on the bottle says synthetic blend?
 
My point being that Ford chooses to use a synthetic blend over a regular conventional for their recommended Motorcraft oil. GM's dexos1 certification too prefers synthetic blends and synthetics over conventional.
 
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Originally Posted By: stchman
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
stchman said:
If you change your oil every 5K, is the extra $10 for a 5 quart jug really a difference maker?


It is if you have to buy the matching extra quart for top off. $24.97 + $7.74 + $2.70 Tax = $35.41
shocked2.gif


Just buy another jug, pour the top off oil into any clean oil container, mark it with the contents, and use the rest of the jug on your next oil change.

Heck - my wife's 2002 Civic take 3.4 quarts with the oil filter in a change. With a 5 quart jug that's a lot of oil that's left over to top off. I have no problems with a bottle of opened oil that's been stored for less than a year.


Agreed, you are letting logic and reasoning get in the way.

Oil in the 5qt just is a lot less per quart than buying single quarts. If you have a Costco membership, they sell 6 packs of Mobil 1 for $26, that's only $4.33 a quart.

That's only a coupon special, and then only 5W-20, 5w30, or 10w30.

I do remember seeing something from an O'Reilly circular saying that quarts were available at the same sale price as the 5 quart jug if bought in at least 5 quart quantities. Wasn't sure exactly what that meant. I can't link the circular, but can cut and paste the fine print:

Quote:
Offer also applies to individual quarts with a 5 quart minimum purchase. Limit 6 jugs or 24 individual quarts.[/img]

The sale price is $14.95 for a 5 quart jug of Mobil 5000. I suppose this means that buying at least 5 quarts I can get it at $2.99/quart. I also seem to recall that they're 5.1 quart jugs mostly at O'Reillys. Or was that AutoZone?



The Costco by me now sells the following weights in Mobil 1:

5W-20
5w30
10W-30
Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy 0w30

They don't yet sell the Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy 0w20, but I'm sure they will soon.

With the majority of cars on the road in the USA using 5W-20 or 5w30, Costco is selling what moves.
Click to expand...
 
Originally Posted By: 2010_FX4
Originally Posted By: SwampDweller
I can see a high end syn holding up a bit better, but, I would rather have a fresh(shorter OCI) fill of name brand 5w30 conventional than the 5/20 syn.

Why? In an engine that is specified to use 5W-20 what does 5w30 bring to the table?


It brings leeway, safety margin in case of any heating problems in lieu of CAFE figures. I am not trying to convince anybody, just voicing my observations over several years.

It's about minimizing the chance any high dollar engine damage in case of an overheating problem. Down here, we see a lot of this especially after a car is a few years old and out of warranty.
 
Originally Posted By: SwampDweller
Originally Posted By: 2010_FX4
Originally Posted By: SwampDweller
I can see a high end syn holding up a bit better, but, I would rather have a fresh(shorter OCI) fill of name brand 5w30 conventional than the 5/20 syn.

Why? In an engine that is specified to use 5W-20 what does 5w30 bring to the table?


It brings leeway, safety margin in case of any heating problems in lieu of CAFE figures. I am not trying to convince anybody, just voicing my observations over several years.

It's about minimizing the chance any high dollar engine damage in case of an overheating problem. Down here, we see a lot of this especially after a car is a few years old and out of warranty.


Louisiana is not that hot. Definitely not hot enough for your engine to know the difference to notice the mm difference of a SAE 20 grade versus a 30 grade at operating temperature.

Sorry Louisiana is not experiencing a dramatic increase in engine failures compared to the rest of the U.S.

The test environment for engine testing and the real world testing environment is hotter than what you typically experience in your part of the country.

But we can play armchair engineer if you wish.
 
You may have seen the results of engines overheating but you can't conclude that those results would have differed if 30 weight oil was used instead of 20 weight or if synthetic was used instead of dino.
 
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