short trips, city driving and synthetic oil

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I am wondering *if* synthetic oil is superior to dino for short trips and/or lots of stop and go (city) driving.

Also, if the synthetic oil is superior for these applications, can you tell me why? You can assume the vehicle is in good working condition and is in the 40k range.

I'm not interested in a flame war btw. I tried to search as I would expect this question to have come up. But the search feature sux
 
I think so....wife's cavalier has done this kind of driving since 2003...at 70k, Mobil 1/PP keeps this ecotec running smooth. She is not easy on this car either....


I like that fact that is takes more abuse....
 
syn oil is good under 3 conditions:

(a) a stressed engine (e.g. turbocharged, small displacement with high relative output), that would put a lot of thermal stress (sustained high oil temperature consistently)

(b) extreme cold (e.g. -30C in Alberta winters) and the requirement for low temperature pumpability.

(c) extended drain.

Other than that: there's really not such a need to go with full syn oil.

For short trips it would be wise to change the oil a bit more frequently due to high fuel dilution (engine remains in cold/idle/warm-up phase longer with richer fuel/air mixture) and moisture. In this case: conventional oil makes good economic sense.


So, answer is nope.

Of course: it's your mullah and you can go fancy if you want.

my 2c's worth. My 07 fit and wifey's 04 camry have been on conventional oil (PYB/Q-state green) and we intended to keep it that way until vehicles reached 300k+ each or beyond.

Q.
 
Generally speaking, it can take more abuse than conventional, but extreme severe service will cause synthetic or conventional to be shot in short order.

Great option in the winter even more so. Even if you don't use synthetic year round. Get a robust 0w-XX for the winter(depending on your app)...and of course some vehicles are more prone to oil breakdown(shearing/TBN depletion) than others.

You probably won't have as much deposit wise, as quickly, but formation is still possible and will happen if not serviced regularly.

Critical is the PCV system, including the valve. If attempting to use synthetic out beyond basic service intervals this area is a MUST to monitor.

IMO, it's a reason why a good FSC w/ PEA and idle-flush are being pushed more as 'regular maintenance' these days since intervals are being extended from the factory now. I mean, Amsoil does sort of 'recommend' to sue their own flush before each oil change. I'm not so sure it's not 'just' marketing, but I could be reading into it too much.
 
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If dino and synthetic were the same price which would you buy? For a short tripper synthetic and frequent oil changes is best but it's also a waste of money.

Do you plan to keep the vehicle "forever"? If yes, you might run synthetic.

If you get frequent oil changes and buy alot of oil you might run dino like the oil change specials I buy at Autozone.
 
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Cold starts & short runs will contaminate oil with rich fuel mix during warm-up periods and shorts runs may not burn off fuel vapors & retain more of the fuel contaminates in the oil.
Direct injection engines are lesser effected by short runs.

Extended OCI's would be a bad Idea.
In car oil life monitors will account for shorts runs & and all sorts of conditions if your car is so equipped The OLM should be a trustworthy source to give you the correct change interval.

The oil will break down the sooner and conventional oils will be more economical to service at shorter intervals.
 
Originally Posted By: JosephHarmon
Cold starts & short runs will contaminate oil with rich fuel mix during warm-up periods and shorts runs may not burn off fuel vapors & retain more of the fuel contaminates in the oil.
Direct injection engines are lesser effected by short runs.

Extended OCI's would be a bad Idea.
In car oil life monitors will account for shorts runs & and all sorts of conditions if your car is so equipped The OLM should be a trustworthy source to give you the correct change interval.

The oil will break down the sooner and conventional oils will be more economical to service at shorter intervals.



I think this would apply more to a carburetor car more than a vehicle of today.
 
Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: JosephHarmon
Cold starts & short runs will contaminate oil with rich fuel mix during warm-up periods and shorts runs may not burn off fuel vapors & retain more of the fuel contaminates in the oil.
Direct injection engines are lesser effected by short runs.

Extended OCI's would be a bad Idea.
In car oil life monitors will account for shorts runs & and all sorts of conditions if your car is so equipped The OLM should be a trustworthy source to give you the correct change interval.

The oil will break down the sooner and conventional oils will be more economical to service at shorter intervals.



I think this would apply more to a carburetor car more than a vehicle of today.


It still applies with today's engines. Fuel injection reduced fuel dilution but it did not eliminate it, nothing will, as piston rings never make a perfect seal.

Fuel dilution is still a problem, especially during winter and with lots of short trips, cars run rich on purpose to warm up the catalytic converter and reduce NOX. Emissions take precedence over longevity. The best way to get rid of contaminants is change the oil. In these kinds of conditions it's best to stick with severe OCI schedule as recommended by the manufacturer.
 
reasonable oci`s under these conditions should eliminate any concerns. That is unless the vehicle has other issues of some sort.
 
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No matter how you dice it: moisture and fuel contamination still an issue on vehicles that does mainly short trips, winter or summer.

With that in mind: you still need to change out the oil more frequently to rid of all those contaminants.

Again: you fancy boutique oils or high end oil then by all means, use it. IMHO vehicle body and suspension parts will fall apart long before a properly maintained, conventional oil serviced gasoline automobile long before the engine goes bad due to lubricant failure.

My 2c's worth.

Q.
 
Originally Posted By: Quest
No matter how you dice it: moisture and fuel contamination still an issue on vehicles that does mainly short trips, winter or summer.

With that in mind: you still need to change out the oil more frequently to rid of all those contaminants.

Again: you fancy boutique oils or high end oil then by all means, use it. IMHO vehicle body and suspension parts will fall apart long before a properly maintained, conventional oil serviced gasoline automobile long before the engine goes bad due to lubricant failure.

My 2c's worth.

Q.




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Originally Posted By: tig1
Synthetic oil is superior to dino. Now the question is do you want to spend a few pennies more a day for the synthetic.

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Synthetics/What_Is_Synthetic_Motor_Oil.aspx



Mobil-1 is a very good oil no doubt. But I still see it this way...."a properly maintained, conventional oil serviced gasoline automobile will last a long,long time before the engine goes bad due to lubricant failure."
 
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Originally Posted By: lexus114
tig1 said:
Synthetic oil is superior to dino. Now the question is do you want to spend a few pennies more a day for the synthetic.

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Synthetics/What_Is_Synthetic_Motor_Oil.aspx



Mobil-1 is a very good oil no doubt. But I still see it this way...."a properly maintained, conventional oil serviced gasoline automobile will last a long,long time before the engine goes bad due to lubricant failure."[/quot

I agree. However, some of us perfer a higher quality oil for the slight cost increase. And that isn't a factor considering, like myself, I change every 10K.
 
Originally Posted By: tig1
Originally Posted By: lexus114
tig1 said:
Synthetic oil is superior to dino. Now the question is do you want to spend a few pennies more a day for the synthetic.

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Synthetics/What_Is_Synthetic_Motor_Oil.aspx



Mobil-1 is a very good oil no doubt. But I still see it this way...."a properly maintained, conventional oil serviced gasoline automobile will last a long,long time before the engine goes bad due to lubricant failure."[/quot

I agree. However, some of us perfer a higher quality oil for the slight cost increase. And that isn't a factor considering, like myself, I change every 10K.



Tig my friend, I know you on here long enough to know your oci,and faithfulness to Mobil-1
grin.gif
. I am not second guessing what is/has worked for you for a long time now. My wif`s Benz only ever see`s MB-1 0W40. my car doesnt require Synthetic, (all though I have been using it) Now I want to see how it does on Conventional. And with today`s Conventional being better than it ever was,it should do pretty good. I just wish I could see under my oil cap, (it has that stupid baffle under their) Also, I value your opinion very much. If anybody on here has any kind of experience with Mobil-1.....It`s most definitely you.
grin2.gif
 
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Lexus114,
I think I said before, my daughter had a new 99 RX300 and I always changed her oil and felt the same way about the baffle. Now my grandson has a 2002 Camry with the V6 and it has the same baffle. Can't see a thing in the cyl head. UGH!
 
Originally Posted By: tig1
Lexus114,
I think I said before, my daughter had a new 99 RX300 and I always changed her oil and felt the same way about the baffle. Now my grandson has a 2002 Camry with the V6 and it has the same baffle. Can't see a thing in the cyl head. UGH!



Yup,I hear ya. I even thought about removing it, though some how I feel there would be some kind of negative impact in doing so. What it would be, I have no idea. But it must be there for some reason.
 
Originally Posted By: mozart
... But the search feature sux


I get better search results with Google. At the search bar put in the following

site:www.bobistheoilguy.com

followed by your search terms

Even if a particular site doesn't allow three character search terms (not sure if BITOG does), they will work with Google.
 
Originally Posted By: mozart
I am wondering *if* synthetic oil is superior to dino for short trips and/or lots of stop and go (city) driving.

Also, if the synthetic oil is superior for these applications, can you tell me why? You can assume the vehicle is in good working condition and is in the 40k range.

I'm not interested in a flame war btw. I tried to search as I would expect this question to have come up. But the search feature sux
 
Originally Posted By: DirtMover
Originally Posted By: mozart
I am wondering *if* synthetic oil is superior to dino for short trips and/or lots of stop and go (city) driving.

Also, if the synthetic oil is superior for these applications, can you tell me why? You can assume the vehicle is in good working condition and is in the 40k range.

I'm not interested in a flame war btw. I tried to search as I would expect this question to have come up. But the search feature sux




?
 
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