Thank you.
Which is why I use SuperTech oil. And the synthetic is only a dollar more than conventional!
Premium "conventional" or bargain "synthetic"
- Thread starter mark pruett
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Which is why I use SuperTech oil. And the synthetic is only a dollar more than conventional!
dnewton3
Staff member
You point is valid. Or not. It kind of depends ...
The issue with this thread (and all of them that proliferate this site) is that the conditions are not well bounded, and so just about any answer here is going to be good or bad, simply based on the "what if ..." scenarios.
My tests of bargain dino lubes versus brand name syn was based on using those in a 4.6L MGM. That engine simply does not care about what is in the crankcase; it'll run well with low wear on nearly anything that's API appropriate.
Other engines (forced induction DI engines today) are a bit more finicky. However, just because there's a turbo, doesn't mean you're going to cook an oil automatically. After all, may of these these small turbo engines today have coolant circuits in them to keep the temps managed in the turbo. And as many of us ol-skool diesel guys will tell you, proper cool-down before shut down can make a huge difference. However, it's reasonable to acknowledge that my wife won't be able to remember that on her fourth stop/go trip to the mall and she's likely to turn off the engine when she steps out and not when the engine is "cooled down".
My point? These threads are nearly worthless because there's too many yabutts involved (yeah ... but ...) due to poorly defined conditions.
There is no "best" oil for all conditions.
There's plenty of good oils more most conditions.
4WD
$50 site donor 2024
To me that M1 15w50 was one of the original street/track oils … boss runs it in a Trinity powered Snake …
I'm going with the bargain synthetic. My current fill on the 2.7 and 3.5 EcoBoosts is Kirkland 5w30 synthetic. It's a Dexos oil, so I know it passes some strict testing.
Before joining BITOG, I was all about "which is THE BEST" and now I'm more like "does it meet the specs?" Strange.
Before joining BITOG, I was all about "which is THE BEST" and now I'm more like "does it meet the specs?" Strange.
I would also buy bargain synthetic if it weren't for all the rebates on name-brand oils. My stash currently includes several 5-quart jugs of 5w30 synthetic (PUP and M1 vanilla) and my cost for each jug was less than $14. My most recent oil purchase was a 5-quart jug of NAPA full syn (Valvoline) 5w30 for $8, which was a combination of crazy sale price plus $5 off my first purchase with a new online account (new sign-up). You can't beat that, not even with a stick.
dnewton3
Staff member
Presuming your questions were directed at me ...
I never said that. You may have read into my answers what you wanted to hear, or I didn't do a good job of explaining.
I'm saying two things:
1) type of most BITOG conversations, this thread is nearly boundless because there's enough latitude to say anything can succeed and anything can fail. Open ended questions deserve and get open ended answers.
2) I have proven to myself that in my fleet, given my operational patterns, in my environment, syns did zilch but waste my money. I have run 10k mile and 15k mile UOAs and seen no statistical difference in wear rates in my applications.
I've never, ever said syns were a bad idea; they can be great products when used in the right circumstances. I have repeatedly said, and will continue to espouse, that people here waste money because they change oils far too often, regardless of what base stock is used. They have no concept of wear rates or condemnation limits based on true mechanical criteria. They just "feel" their way through an O/FCI.
Yes. Thank you for clarifying that. I hope that I did not come across in a wrong way...that is never my intent.
The reason we have synthetic oils is thanks to aviation industry and the turbine engine. The invention/engineering of a Synthetic was to meet the demands of the jet age!
Turbine oil review
Turbine Oil Review By Frank Feinburg October 1998 When early gas turbine engines came into use in the 1940's, mineral oils were used as lubrication. These mineral oils quickly...
www.aviationpros.com
That technology trickled down to the automotive world in the 1970s, because Mobil Oil management probably thought it would be a lot more profitable to sell Synthetic Oil to millions of car owners than just 1000s of aircraft. As a result of the availability of synthetics automotive engineers were able to tighten up tolerances and add things like turbos because the Synthetic was available and provided better protection than the old conventional oil. Along with better protection is longer engine life and lower friction.
With more and more complexity like MDS/AFM/DoD, GDI and VVT you should take all the precautions you can because sludge from cheap oils or extended drain intervals can wreak havoc on those systems. A turbo wheel spinning 250,000 RPM will cook conventional oil in short order, anyone running conventional in Turbo should really question their sanity. I can't think of a new car engine that it would be OK to run conventional oil sold in the USA.
The massed produced 3V Ford Triton 5.4 V8 is perfect example of a complex engine where thousands of people cheaped out on the oil with Jiffy Lube $24.99 specials at long drain intervals and experienced the "tick" usually followed by a $6,000 engine replacement! While the 3V 5.4 is regarded as a atrocity committed by the Ford Engineers there's still many on the road with high mileage where the owners did frequent oil changes and used synthetics.
Hardly a worthless endeavor at all!
If you can find a naturally aspirated new car without GDI and VVT then you'll probably be fine running conventional oil and changing it regularly. But why? It's less economical by far with the more frequent oil changes, possibly decreased fuel mileage and decreased bearing life in the engine.
It’s dead Jim.
I buy whatever’s cheapest that meets OEM specs at whatever store I’m at. Sometimes I’ll buy stuff on sale or clearance and have a small “stash”
If conventional meets spec, and I’m at Walmart, super tech conventional it is. I’ll take the 2$ savings from not buying synthetic and grab me some Nathan’s hot dogs on the way out.
vehicle gets what it needs
body gets what it doesn’t need
Bam boom life goes on and odds are I’ll either die in a car wreck or have a heart attack from the hotdogs before the engine dies due to an OEM approved oil causedlubrication failure.
If the OEM says it meets the standards 2-4$ saved is 2-4$ saved.
Plenty of Hemis out there with 100k miles running quick lube conventional 5w20/30 for 5-10k
Plenty of Ecoboosts out there with 100k miles running motor crafts 5w20/30 syn blend and their notorious filter (don’t @ me) for 5-10k
just go by OEM approved oil and you’ll be fine. It’s not hard lol. My engine isn’t sitting in my carport thinking to itself that this Castro’s Ultraclean isn’t as good as Eneos Racing Street.
If conventional meets spec, and I’m at Walmart, super tech conventional it is. I’ll take the 2$ savings from not buying synthetic and grab me some Nathan’s hot dogs on the way out.
vehicle gets what it needs
body gets what it doesn’t need
Bam boom life goes on and odds are I’ll either die in a car wreck or have a heart attack from the hotdogs before the engine dies due to an OEM approved oil causedlubrication failure.
If the OEM says it meets the standards 2-4$ saved is 2-4$ saved.
Plenty of Hemis out there with 100k miles running quick lube conventional 5w20/30 for 5-10k
Plenty of Ecoboosts out there with 100k miles running motor crafts 5w20/30 syn blend and their notorious filter (don’t @ me) for 5-10k
just go by OEM approved oil and you’ll be fine. It’s not hard lol. My engine isn’t sitting in my carport thinking to itself that this Castro’s Ultraclean isn’t as good as Eneos Racing Street.
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