synthetic vs non-synthetic for HM oil

[dx92beater]

Whenever I have had a vehicle that burns/consumes oil, I have always used dino HM oil (Castrol GTX HM has worked the best for me).

I would like to know if Synthetic HM is as good at reducing oil consumption as non-Synthetic oil.

I have had bad luck with synthetic on higher mileage vehicles that burned oil due to "high detergent action" and new oil leaks.

Do you have any thoughts?

I would like to increase my OCI because I have several cars and most of them are beaters and I would like to save some time and do other things at the expense of a few bucks.

I just find it hard to believe that a Synthetic HM oil would be as good as a dino HM oil at reducing consumption which is still the primary goal.

Thanks

 

[FastSUV]

I used M1 (silver cap) for many years and then switched to M1 HM formula...it did little to affect the leaks or oil consumption...i am going to try a HM dino oil instead (probably both Pennzoil HM & Castrol).

But in my other vehichle, i tried Max-life synthtic-blend 10w30 and MPG dropped and vehicle was more sluggish as compared to Pennzoil dino HM oil...I think dino & HM go hand-in-hand

 

[sako]

I do have a old Toyota that I have used Mobil 1 10w-30 HM in it The car had some oil consumption with this oil. Althouh the car is old & 160,000 miles, the body and interior are in superb condition. This car was well cared for and the extensive maint records leave no doubt. I bought the car from a elderly couple who had bought the car new in 1986. This car has zero leaks and does not smoke. I now am using Mobil 1 10w-30 EP + I can Lubro Moly MoSO2 addit. Less oil consumption using this combo. As to your question, well it may be a case of trial & error

 

[ARB1977]

My wifes Jetta seems to run better with dino. Eventhough it doesnt leak or consume i decided to try GTX 5W30 HM its working pretty well.

 

[Tortured_Soul]

You could get the best of both worlds with a syn blend high mileage oil. I think Valvoline MaxLife or Kendall GT-1 would be a good choice!

 

[Hermann]

I have used both full syn and blend Valvoline HM products. Both did their job of cleaning and conditioning seals. The blend has done real well in my motorcycycle, nearly totally eliminating the leaks on my pushrod tube seals. They just barely weep now, and no cardboard is needed under the bike as there are no drips on the floor anymore.

 

[JohnBrowning]

No you have seal leaks because the OEM used cheap seals in the first place or they have been damaged by over extended oil change intervals with Dino! The synthetic just makes one aware of the already damaged degraded seal!

The oil consumption from ring pack cleaning will go away once the ring area has been cleaned a bit and the rings are properly sealing again after the deposits choking the rings are gone. Since most synthetics today are G-III and have SM additive packages you should not experience much of either. Back when synthetic oil was $4 a quart and could easily go 25,000 miles you had some issues because back then they where all either PAO or Ester based or some combination of the two. Back then they had really beefy additive packages compared to todays synthetics!

So if you have seal issues complain to the OEM or change your dino oil more often.

As for the oil consumption issue I would try to fix the problem not just put a band aid on it. I would first try doing a piston soak with Mola Brew or Lube Control. Then I would keep using the same oil you are currently using but I would add 1 quart of lube control in place of one quart of your regular oil. Drive this for a normal oil change interval but change the oil filter half way through. Top off as needed. This should clean all the deposits out of that engine over the course of that oil change interval. It should loosen that ring back and clean it right out. Now if your seals have not been damaged by the lack of lubrication from all the deposits that have been chokeing them for years then as the cleaning takes place they should plump right back up. If they have dried out and cracked then nothing but a new seal will fix that.

Most consumption issues in domestic cars is either from valve guides and seals that have gone bad or dirty rings and ring lands! If you clean the pistons and the seals sometimes the problem will go away as long as the seals have not been damaged by all the dino oil deposits and drying out.

So now you can just keep on using dino HM oil with no need to even try a synthetic. If you then follow the new label directions on the Lube Control bottle you will never have to worry about deposits again as it will keep that Dino oil from leaving so much of itself behind!

The only way a synthetic can reduce oil consumption other then leaving less of itself behind to damage the parts in the first place is to be more resistant to burning off.


See soft plug, dry rot in automotive seals and detergent and dispersant for a better understanding!Trying to use synthetic thougha s a band aid fix is the wrong way to go. Instead you use it to start with as a preventive measure then once you have 500,000 ont he car and it starts to leak or burn oil then you switch over to the cheap stuff to reduce your cost not the other way around though!

 

[tig1]

Howdy JB,
Many a good engine has been scaped out because the rings have coked up and the owner thought the engine was worn out. Good oil and reasonable OCI from the get go will prevent that.