Opinions on Synthetic Oil?

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CC268

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I wasn't sure where to post this...but I am curious to hear your guys' unbiased (if that is possible) opinions on synthetic oils. Based on the research I have done it seems there is a lot more hype behind them. Do they hold up longer? Yes. However....this shouldn't be an issue if you change your oil at the correct times. Clean oil is good oil. Neither me nor my family has really ever bought into the hype of paying $14 a quart for synthetic and we have never had any oil related repairs needed. I noticed there are A LOT of sources out there on the internet that are biased towards one way with no real proof, etc. I could go on about some other things. I think synthetics do have their place in certain situations.

Anyways, that's my view on the whole topic, but I am really interested in hearing a truly educated and unbiased opinion on this topic. I drive a Ford F-150 by the way.

I will say this...I grew up racing and riding motocross and I still ride A LOT and race from time to time (I am a Mechanical Engineering student in college by the way). I raced Intermediate class, which is one below the local Pro class and I am very very hard on my bikes (2010 CRF250R) and I have never used synthetic oils. In fact I run Shell Rotella T from Walmart (it is actually a diesel type oil). I have never had an issue in all the years I have ridden. I will tell you the abuse that motor sees is many times that of my F-150, even though of course the F-150 has many many more miles on it. The same could be said for my full blown race bike (2007 KX250F) back when I was big into racing.
 
Welcome to the forum. First off, if you're paying $14 a quart for engine oil for a Ford F-150, you're getting ripped off.
 
You obviously did not read my post at all haha...I NEVER said I paid 14 dollars a quart for oil, but I know some people who do on Royal Purple, Amsoil, etc...
 
Synthetic oil helps your engine run a little cooler and protects for longer drain intervals. Oils overall have come a long way and the dino choices of today are great. If you're not interested in extended drain intervals and don't live in extreme conditions, dino oil will suit you perfectly fine. It seems you've had no issues with regular oil, so why rock the boat?
 
Originally Posted By: CC268

but I am really interested in hearing a truly educated and unbiased opinion on this topic. I drive a Ford F-150 by the way.



I've driven a half a dozen vehicles (Fords, BTW) past the 250K or even 300K mark without a vehicle teardown. While there has been an oil change or two with synthetic oils (FAR specials or at least severely marked down), all of those miles have been on dino oil, a lot of it with TropArtic oil that is sold around here for $2/quart or less.
Is synthetic good and does it have it's place? Yes, especially with high heat or extremely cold starting temps or if somebody has a long oil change interval. I'd say it all depends on what you do with your vehicles or how long you go with your oil changes.
BTW, my company truck is a Ford F150 with 150K miles and my personal truck is a Ford F250 with currenly 220K miles, neither of which have had any oil related engine problems.
 
Originally Posted By: CC268
but I am really interested in hearing a truly educated and unbiased opinion on this topic.

Unbiased? Come on.. we're all humans here (plus some spiders that don't post
smile.gif
), so we are all biased to some extent.

Quote:
I think synthetics do have their place in certain situations.

That's basically it. If your car is on a variable OCI that can be as high as 15K miles, you should be using high quality synthetic that meets the appropriate spec. You're not going to make it on a low grade mineral, I'm afraid. And as for cost - the price of synthetic is offset by the fact that you don't have to change it as often and you're saving time as well. By the way, top grade synthetic can be had for as little as $5/quart, and that's a regular, not a sale, price.

Welcome to BITOG.
 
For comparing the costs of conventional and synthetic, the best rational I have found is to do a simple price-per-mile comparison of how much you spend per mile of an OCI.

For example, if you are planning to drive 8,000 miles with a $22 synthetic, you would be spending .275 cents per mile. When compared to a $17 conventional driven over 5,000 miles (.34 cents per mile), the synthetic will be the cheaper oil.

Simply put: Synthetics offer an advantage of longer oil change intervals and lower temperature start-up protection. They have also been found to be helpful in protection for variable cam timing and turbo charging. This is in part why Motorcraft and Dexos1 certification are exclusively semi-synthetic and synthetic oils - Ford and GM see advantages to using synthetics over conventional.
 
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Why would you run any oil for 10,000+ miles? Even if it is synthetic it seems to me that that oil would be very dirty? Does synthetic stay cleaner for longer?
 
Originally Posted By: CC268
Why would you run any oil for 10,000+ miles?

Because it's perfectly fine to do so under certain circumstances. Lots of people are doing it and their engines are not blowing up. Stick around here long enough and you'll eventually get it, or not.
smile.gif


Quote:

Even if it is synthetic it seems to me that that oil would be very dirty?

How do you determine if an oil is dirty? You can't determine it just by looking at it. Oil condition cannot be accurately judged by its color.
 
Originally Posted By: CC268
Why would you run any oil for 10,000+ miles? Even if it is synthetic it seems to me that that oil would be very dirty? Does synthetic stay cleaner for longer?


For today's high-capacity, high-efficiency oil filters, 10K miles is a piece of cake, assuming the engine isn't all sludged up to begin with.
 
Synthetic is just some added margin for most of us. The only people who need it either have harsh conditions such as racing or a turbo or else want to go as long a possible. I sure don't need it in most of my cars (wife's turbo TT is the exception)but I grab synthetic when I can get it on sale and I use it when I want to
smile.gif
 
For the price, OTS synthetics seem like a pretty good deal.
Conventional oil is not typically much cheaper.
Synthetics also should handle temperature extremes more effectively and may be more resistant to forming varnish and sludge.
OTOH, many cars have run many miles on bulk dino and bottom of the line filters with nothing bad to show for it.
You can usually find deals on synthetic, which often makes it less expensive to use than conventional oil for those who buy it at regular shelf prices.
I have lots of various synthetics stashed, so if there is any real advanatage in our cars as we use them, I can reap that benefit while also saving money over the price of what conventional typically costs.
I guess I'm hedging my bets in that I have plenty of cheap synthetic, so I'm saving money over the typical cost of any oil while also realizing whatever benefits synthetic might offer.
 
Originally Posted By: CC268
You obviously did not read my post at all haha...I NEVER said I paid 14 dollars a quart for oil, but I know some people who do on Royal Purple, Amsoil, etc...


That is too much even for those brands unless it is the racing oil. You can get those brands for well under $10 a qt.
 
Originally Posted By: CC268
I wasn't sure where to post this...but I am curious to hear your guys' unbiased (if that is possible) opinions on synthetic oils. Based on the research I have done it seems there is a lot more hype behind them. Do they hold up longer? Yes. However....this shouldn't be an issue if you change your oil at the correct times. Clean oil is good oil. Neither me nor my family has really ever bought into the hype of paying $14 a quart for synthetic and we have never had any oil related repairs needed. I noticed there are A LOT of sources out there on the internet that are biased towards one way with no real proof, etc. I could go on about some other things. I think synthetics do have their place in certain situations.

Anyways, that's my view on the whole topic, but I am really interested in hearing a truly educated and unbiased opinion on this topic. I drive a Ford F-150 by the way.

I will say this...I grew up racing and riding motocross and I still ride A LOT and race from time to time (I am a Mechanical Engineering student in college by the way). I raced Intermediate class, which is one below the local Pro class and I am very very hard on my bikes (2010 CRF250R) and I have never used synthetic oils. In fact I run Shell Rotella T from Walmart (it is actually a diesel type oil). I have never had an issue in all the years I have ridden. I will tell you the abuse that motor sees is many times that of my F-150, even though of course the F-150 has many many more miles on it. The same could be said for my full blown race bike (2007 KX250F) back when I was big into racing.



Given you cannot walk a mile and not run into a Walmart, excellent synthetic oil is available at a very reasonable price. Take your pick, M1, PP, PU, T6. I cannot justify that something like Amsoil motor oil is any better than the brands I mention.

However on other lubricants like gear oil and ATF, I think they are a notch up on the competition and I am willing to pay extra for Amsoil.

If you are going to change the oil at 3000 or 5000 almost any oil thats spec'ed for your vehicle will be fine. But when you extend your OCI is where the need for synthetic comes in.

I will be 18K soon on my Cummins diesel with T6 and I expect the OCI to come back good since it came back good when I did it at 10K or 12K.
 
my sisterinlaw's 98 Avalon with the sludger v6.
I've been putting mobil 1 5w30 with a Wix 51516 (slightly taller than the 51348 that's spec'd), which is only a little bit more oil and a bit more filtering.
It stays in the motor anywhere from 9000-11,000 miles.
I do NOT have to add a quart in between changes. As it drains out, it's not as black as it should be.
my cut open oil filters are clean.
The vehicle is 75% freeway, which lets me sleep at night knowing it's going to be fine.
 
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