What are all the benefits of synthetic??

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I need to do a little work on my Jeep 4 liter engine, it has 98,000 miles on it, but I will be replacing most of the seals so I'm not worried much about it starting to leak from somewhere. What exactly are all the benefits of synthetic oil? Are there any disadvantages? I still would probably never go more than 5k on an oil change...even though my manual recomments 7500 on dino oil...
 
The best advantage IMO of synthetic motor oil is cold weather pumpability. The biggest disadvantage is cost. At 5k change intervals, conventional oil may do just fine. Decide whatever cost/benefit ratio is best for you.
 
Synthetics two biggest benefits are better cold weather flow and ability to go for longer drain intervals (there are other benefits but these are the biggest)

The only disadvantage is the initial cost per quart. (but you can easily make that up with extended intervals!)

[ October 26, 2003, 05:43 AM: Message edited by: Patman ]
 
Keeping the engine clean I think is a huge benefit that most people forget. My brother's car has 178K miles on it and ran nothing but dino changed every 3k miles. The engine is dirty.
 
quote:

Originally posted by buster:
Keeping the engine clean I think is a huge benefit that most people forget. My brother's car has 178K miles on it and ran nothing but dino changed every 3k miles. The engine is dirty.

True, synthetics do keep engines clean, but also keep in mind that dino oils are getting much better in this regard since the API SL requirements came out. So the gap is closing up in some areas.
 
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It doesn't come out of the ground in the middle east. Reason enough.
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• No paraffin or wax
• Easy cold temperature starting
• Low coefficient of friction
• Excellent gas (or fuel) mileage
• Oxidation resistance
• Clean engine
 
* Better protection from wear and engine deposits - particularly the latter
* The ability to safely run drain intervals several times as long
* Better performance in high/low temps
* Small increase in fuel efficiency
* Reduced oil consumption
* Reduced exhaust emissions
* Synthetic oils - particularly esters - are more biodegradable. A real concern for two stroke oils ....

Tooslick
Dixie Synthetics

[ October 26, 2003, 11:27 AM: Message edited by: TooSlick ]
 
Thanks...I knew I would get alot of answers about this.
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How much of an increase in gas mileage can I expect? 1mpg? 2mpg? 15mpg?
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What about horse power? I should see an increase in that too right? 1hp? 2hp? 5hp? 500hp?
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My customers regularly report gains in fuel efficiency of 3%-5% when using the Amsoil Series 2000 oils. Both the 0w-30 and 20w-50 provide gains when compared to petroleum oils of similar viscosities.

I have seen similar results in my personal vehicles - particularly in VW/Audi engines. People always think I am making this up, but I keep very careful record of fuel consumption.

Dyno testing of the Series 2000, 20w-50 in Winston Cup racing engines generally shows a 2-5 hp increase over a petroleum racing oil. I have data from a dyn test of a 3.0L Ford Taurus engine that showed a 3 hp gain with the Series 2000, 0w-30 over Castrol GTX, 10w-30.

Tooslick

[ October 26, 2003, 03:32 PM: Message edited by: TooSlick ]
 
Synthetics are clearly superior. But since I've typically sold my cars at around 125,000 miles, and any engine using the latest conventional oils can achieve that with ease (assuming reasonable oil change frequency), personally I don't think I could justify spending ~$4/qt for synthetic when cheapo Texaco/Shell/Citgo/etc. can be had for the occasional 50 cents/qt after promotions. Other folks, with high-end engines, longer ownership, extended service, or severe service may rightly come to the opposite conclusion.

[ October 26, 2003, 04:50 PM: Message edited by: TC ]
 
quote:

Originally posted by ZmOz:
*-*-*-What exactly are all the benefits of synthetic oil? Are there any disadvantages? I still would probably never go more than 5k on an oil change...*-*-*-

Well there are many things to talk about here.
IMO, it will suit your 5K changes real fine.
I would not even worry about changing a filter, just do the 5K and drain if that is your plan.
The dis-advantage is the cost for the OCI... and if ever you have a leak issue, it will cost more to service.
 
Would it be possible to drain the oil at around 5k, put it through some kind of filter, and then put it back in the engine for another 1-2k? I mean, I would think I should be able to go 10k with synthetic...but that's just not something I would ever do.
 
quote:

Originally posted by ZmOz:
Would it be possible to drain the oil at around 5k, put it through some kind of filter, and then put it back in the engine for another 1-2k? I mean, I would think I should be able to go 10k with synthetic...but that's just not something I would ever do.

It's mind over matter. If you decide to run synthetic, run the first interval to 5K. Drain. Put fresh in. Do an analysis on the used stuff to see if there is anything going on. If everything's OK, then start increasing the change interval. You could probably easily go 10K. But it's imperative to do an analysis and not blindly run extended drains as some companies profess.
 
ZMOZ,

I'd run Delo 400, 15w-40 or perhaps one of the 5w-40 oils like Rotella T synthetic in this Jeep; given the # of miles.

These Jeep engines generate a lot of iron wear and I think the thicker oil will minimize this.

TS
 
quote:

Originally posted by TC:
Synthetics are clearly superior. But since I've typically sold my cars at around 125,000 miles, and any engine using the latest conventional oils can achieve that with ease (assuming reasonable oil change frequency), personally I don't think I could justify spending ~$4/qt for synthetic when cheapo Texaco/Shell/Citgo/etc. can be had for the occasional 50 cents/qt after promotions. Other folks, with high-end engines, longer ownership, extended service, or severe service may rightly come to the opposite conclusion.

Well if that is the case, you might just as well use synthetic oil, change it once a year and save all the money you spend on the 3000 mile oil changes. You would get the same result for less money. Do the math.
 
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