New here....Synthetic or not?

[Rthemi2]

I will try to make this short. I drive a:
'05 Dodge Ram 4x4 w/ 5.7 Hemi.

Illinois weather ranges from the 90's in the summer to single digits in the winter.

I tow a 18' boat, a 16' utility trailer, and a 20' old travel trailer occasionally.

I am old school as far as oil. I have never had a problem with cheap Fram filters and popular conventional oils (pennzoil, castrol, etc.) I have used Castrol gtx exclusively since the break in oil change and change it every 3000 miles.

My questions are raised due to my usage of the truck. I don't drive it daily. It has 42,000 miles in 4 and a half years of use. It might not hit 3000 miles for 6 months at times.

I was thinking about changing to Royal Purple 5w20 and a Purolator Pure One filter. Would it be safe to use this combination with 6000 mile and 8-10 month intervals? The cost would be about the same with me changing the oil myself as opposed to a shop doing the work with conventional oils.

Thanks!

 

[Cup of Joe]

That would be safe. My only question would be what does the owners manual recommend for oil weight when towing? Is it still a 5w-20 or something in the 30wt range?

 

[Bill in Utah]

First of all

welcome!

How about best of both worlds?

Change the oil yourself every 6 months with ANY 5w-20 oil?

In the end your engine will not know the difference. In fact it may be better off if you have a lot of short trips on the truck (like mine).

Take care, Bill

 

[lipadj46]

There are 2 camps here, syn and dino, and both are firmly entrenched. I like syn because it can be gotten so cheap these days. Split the difference and buy the Motorcraft 5w20 semisyn from Walmart for $11 per 5 quart jug.

 

[PT1]

I was with you until you said Royal Purple...

No matter what anyone here says...Castrol Edge 5w30 is your 6-8000 mile 12 month oil with a Pure One filter. It is a very thin 30w (almost 20w) and is made for longer extended drains.

 

[coffee]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
First of all

welcome!

How about best of both worlds?

Change the oil yourself every 6 months with ANY 5w-20 oil?

In the end your engine will not know the difference. In fact it may be better off if you have a lot of short trips on the truck (like mine).

Take care, Bill


+1

 

[Greggy_D]

Originally Posted By: Rthemi2

Illinois weather ranges from the 90's in the summer to single digits in the winter.



I probably have close to the same weather as you. I run syn from December to April for the winter. Dino the rest of the year.