If pretty much all house brand motor oils are now rated SM and GF-4, why bother to buy anything more expensive or exotic. Shouldn't this oil be more than adequate to take us 100-200,000 miles with 5 K oil changes. How will more expensive oils with different additives make a difference?
SM/ GF-4 Motor Oil
- Thread starter harthamm
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If your going to change your oil at 5K and your engine does not require synthetic. You hit the nail on the head. I can't state this statement any better.
Patman
Staff member
It's true, 5k oil changes with modern conventional oils should be more than enough to get most engines to 150-200k without a problem.
But for those that might want to go longer between changes, or those who drive a bit harder (and see higher oil temps), they will have better luck with synthetics. Also, with some engines that are more sludge prone, you'll want synthetic. And if you live in an area with extremely cold winter temps, and your car is parked outside, you'll definitely want a good synthetic!
But the quality gap between synthetics and conventional has definitely gotten a lot closer in the past few years though.
But for those that might want to go longer between changes, or those who drive a bit harder (and see higher oil temps), they will have better luck with synthetics. Also, with some engines that are more sludge prone, you'll want synthetic. And if you live in an area with extremely cold winter temps, and your car is parked outside, you'll definitely want a good synthetic!
But the quality gap between synthetics and conventional has definitely gotten a lot closer in the past few years though.
Synthetics will help keep things cleaner in my opinion. Less likely to get sludge and varnish, better flow in colder temps, better resistance to oxidation, less likely to shear down.. Theres lots of reasons, all depends on the vehicle, type of driving, climate, etc.
Any SM/GF-4 oil replaced at 7500 mi intervals (or 6-mo) will allow an engine to reach 200k+ miles with minimal buildup and wear.
Agreed with Critique
The syn has bennies, but with the price differential, I'd not be running syn except for the Home Depot scores and the PP 2-for-1 sale just ended at AA. By all means however, if you can get syn for Dino-pricing, DO IT. Then syn is worth it. But not terribly necessary. ESPECIALLY for 5K oci.
Triple_Se7en
$50 Site Donor 2024
I would not use all of em' for 7.5K.... certainly not house brand names.
No, actually, I meant 5000. But Havoline, 5W20 Pennz, QS, I'd have, (and will have) no problem with 7500OCI out of warranty on this car..
Just make sure they meet the requirements for your individual automobile in the owners manual. Coastal 5W-20 evidently does not meed Ford standards for instance.
As to the OCI make sure you stay within warranty requirements until it expires. Critics 7500 mi OCI might cause warranty problems with Ford or Toyota for instance.
As to the OCI make sure you stay within warranty requirements until it expires. Critics 7500 mi OCI might cause warranty problems with Ford or Toyota for instance.
Agreed..And my car recommends 3750, 5000, and 7500 (Hyundai) with API SL GF3/4 Depending on habits.. Curiously enough, I noticed the other day they go back in their recommendations to SH SJ, too. 2005 AccentGT. They also push 5W20 heavily in the book..
Try your house oil for 5000 miles and get an UOA. Look at the silicone. If it's too high, 5000 miles is too long. Look at insolubles. It it's too high, the additives may not be performing. Go back to your favorite brand. If you get a good report, you're right and the house oil works in your engine.
What the #@$%! does silicon have to do with the oil??? If cheap oil shows high silicon after 5,000 miles, it's not the oil, it's dirt ingestion or RTV leaching. If you're getting high silicon levels, you'll get it with buck a quart oil and 10 buck a quart oil.
Alright, I'll give you that one...
, but the original question never referenced warranty at all...My point is, one could use any OTC SM/GF-4 rated conventional oil with the correct sized aftermarket filter at 7500 mi intervals, and their engine would reach 200k+ miles and beyond.
And at the end, their engine will have normal wear and buildup, provided that the oil level was maintained and the engine was free of serious mechanical problems.
Of course, if the person had replaced their oil every 5000 miles, I'll wager that their engine would stay even cleaner, and may experience less oil consumption as the engine ages.
However, for the average consumer, it is unlikely that they will see a realized benefit of changing their oil every 5000 miles instead of every 7500 miles (or the OEM interval).
Silicon has nothing to do with oil quality, but with dirt ingestion and leaching from seal material and casting residue on new engines.
Further, insolubles present mean the engine oil is indeed cleaning and suspending the contaminates within the engine.
Neither of these are indictments of the oil chemistry.
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