Synthetic or conventional?

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Hello. This is my first post here. Im a new user but have frequently visited the site before. Anyway,syn or conventional? The car is a 2004 toyota camry 3.3 v6. Up until now the car has has been serviced every 5k by toyota. Now with almost 80k ill be doing it. I know that the main reasoning for most using syn is extended oci. I just like the fact that syn keeps an engine cleaner, and leaves behind less buildup. Lasting longer is an added bonus. With conventional 3k oci would be fine, but would it leave behind more buidup than syn. I would prob stay at 5k oci on syn. At 80k is syn even a good idea? I know the history of the v6 mz engine being prone to sludge and want to keep her as clean as possible.
 
Originally Posted By: boosted427notch
I just like the fact that syn keeps an engine cleaner, and leaves behind less buildup.

I'm not sure I'd necessarily agree with this generalization. Depends on particular oil. Depends on particular application, IMO.

Welcome to BITOG, by the way!
 
If you got a notorious "sludger" I'd stick to regular conventional oil.....and maybe use something like MMO, or Seafoam in the crankcase every "other" OCI, for 3k miles....
 
If you ran an engine to 200k with synthetic oil at 5k oil changes. Then take the exact same engine ran to 200k with a good quality SN dino oil at 5k oil changes. Making all other variables the same. I dont really think you could tell the difference if you opened the engine for a look inside. Some may disagree, but thats just my opinion.
 
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Originally Posted By: MuzzleFlash40
If you ran an engine to 200k with synthetic oil at 5k oil changes. Then take the exact same engine ran to 200k with a good quality SN dino oil at 5k oil changes. Making all other variables the same. I dont really think you could tell the difference if you opened the engine for a look inside. Some may disagree, but thats just my opinion.
I could just as easily say that the syn engine would be cleaner JMHO. I don't think we would actually know though unless we did it. Is the glass half empty You, or half full me....

I run syn and would do it if I were in your shoes. I would run some Auto-RX first though. Or maybe run a quick flush and then a short run of dino oil before switching to the syn oil. Good luck
 
Id use conventional oil honestly. I've seen engines personally opened up and as long as the oil changes were always done at a reasonable time you wouldn't tell the difference . There have been people go over a million miles in an engine with dino oil so it must be good. Synthetic is the best bet in some cases but not all.
 
Oilboy123 I would say you were right if the OCI was 10k. If your were sticking with 5k oil changes i'd say there is more evidence in my favor. I've never seen an engine opened up and been able to tell if it was syn or dino used if the engine was properly cared for.
 
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If most of your trips are more than 10 miles and once in a while doing 30-40 miles or longer trips, then conventional SM-SN oil with 5k OCI will keep your engine clean, no need to use synthetic with that short OCI. Your mileage per year is about 10k miles, 80k miles in 8 years, you can do 2 oil changes per year in fall and spring.
 
What would you like to use?
You don't tell us how the car has been used in its 80K, but since it has had 5K oil changes and since you don't live in an extreme climate, the engine is probably pretty clean internally.
If you want to use syn, you can actually spend less coin, since there are almost always MIR deals on offer which are more generously tilted toward the higher-end oils.
If you want to plan 5K changes on syn, you also have the option of going well beyond that if it is convenient to do so.
I personally usually use syn because it ends up cheaper on a net basis (after MIRs), aside from the fact that it is probably a better product.
If it becomes desirable to extend the interval due either to personal time constraints or really foul weather, the syn product allows this with no worries.
 
I would say synthetic as its just better oil. You can go to say 7500 OCI with high quality synthetic oil. Any many go longer but I am being conservative. If you do the oil changes yourself and buy the 5 QT jugs at Walmart, you are talking about $10 extra for synthetic oil. Well worth it in my book. If you don't want to change the oil yourself, find a good independent shop and have them do it. You can even (probably) bring them your favorite oil and filter. Just avoid a Jiffy Lube.
 
I would only use synthetic for specific high temp applications. I used to be a synthetic only kind of guy until my company dropped $250K on an oil analysis program. Now I use Castrol GTX in the 10 quart box. I would only use real PAO oil for Turbo or other high heat applications. When I use nitrous I use mineral oil and change it out at the end of the day. In short a good mineral oil with a premium filter changed out at 4K or 3 months OCI will do just fine for the daily driver. Why spend more money for similar wear numbers?
 
Originally Posted By: MuzzleFlash40
If you ran an engine to 200k with synthetic oil at 5k oil changes. Then take the exact same engine ran to 200k with a good quality SN dino oil at 5k oil changes. Making all other variables the same. I dont really think you could tell the difference if you opened the engine for a look inside. Some may disagree, but thats just my opinion.


^^This^^
 
Here is my opinion on the 3.3. I have found that it likes Synthetic oil better. Mine definitely performs better on Synthetic (more pep) You may not notice this as much, because you have a lighter vehicle. My RX is HEAVY, and the motor needs any advantage I can give it. Also, (JMO) run a few oci`s of PU if you can get it. You will be amazed how fast the oil darkens, and the crud that comes out. Mine, just like yours, was serviced @ the dealer for the first 59k of its life. And it runs much better now, than it did when I first got it. If you decide to stay with Conventional oil, VWB,and GTX were the only two I found that run good in mine. btw,the 3.0 was the cavity creep motor. I recommend changing your pcv valve too asap.

Ryan
 
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^^^^ I was timed out ^^^ but I also want to add the cold engine,and cold weather performance is much,much better on Synthetic oil. And I pull steep hills here after work,so trust me, it`s a whole lot better with synthetic in the crankcase.
 
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I know it`s been discussed into the ground, but hey, we have new people here and it`s still fun!
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