Which oil for older cars?

[Fabmanrich]

My two daughter's have older cars. '92 Subaru with 170K, and '87 Volvo with 160K. I've been using the dino oil the owners manual calls for. Is there a better choice? Would a snythetic be OK after that many miles? Are the "high milage" oils really that much different then regular oil? I do oil changes at 3k miles.
Thanks,
Richie

 

[Al]

You might just want to stay with dino oils. Oils with the new GF-4 specs are probably better than last year's oils. As far as I know High Milage oils are a bit thicker and have more seal conditioners and a more robust additive package. I honestly don't know if they make sense or not. And as long as you are going with 3K oil changes Synthetics are a waste of time and money.

3000 mile oil changes is too frequent for even Dino oils (in my opinion) But I totally understand the concept of having a daughter. So do whatever you feel comfortable with.

 

[Fabmanrich]

I don't really want to change the routine and cause problems, both cars run great. Was just curious, hearing lots of stuff on this site I never heard before.

Richie

 

[Timothy Ferguson]

So AI or AL I don't know what it really is. What is a good mileage for a dino oil. How long does a good dino last to you?

 

[Steve S]

Is there a problem? why change.

 

[ediamiam]

Depends on what kind of problem you are trying to solve. You don't indicate if any oil is consumed between oci, or the viscosities of the oils , or the oils themselves, or the oil filters being used, or if there is any seepage through gaskets. otw if all is fine, you are doing something right.

 

[Al]

quote:

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Originally posted by Timothy Ferguson:
So AI or AL I don't know what it really is. What is a good mileage for a dino oil. How long does a good dino last to you?

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It depends on the driving conditions, conditions of the vehicle, the weather, etc.

We have seen good dino reports at greater than 6,000 miles and bad ones at less than 3,000. But the same exact thing can be said for synthetic oils. Oil monitor lights on GM vehicles rarely come on before 6000 miles and that's assuming dino oil.

Would I run 6000 miles on a dino oil(without an oil analysis)?-no. I think all other things being equal and with no problems with the car. 5,000 miles is fine. That's jujst an opinion though

 

[biscuitboy]

I am a believer in Pennzoil HM oils. Have used them successfully in two older cars to cure minor oil leaks and blue smoke from exhaust.

 

[Drew99GT]

quote:

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Originally posted by Timothy Ferguson:
So AI or AL I don't know what it really is. What is a good mileage for a dino oil. How long does a good dino last to you?

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Al is spot on. It totally depends on driving conditions and ambient temps. My rule of thumb now is 3,000 mile intervals if you do pretty much all stop and go in winter, 4,000 mile intervals for stop and go in higher ambient temps, and 5,000 miles regardless of ambient temps IF all the miles are highway.

 

[JHZR2]

Id probably use a good HDEO in the volvo - probably chevron delo 400. For the subaru, a good 10w-30, either pennzoil or havoline, unless you do a lot of high RPM driving - then Id probably choose GTX, as I believe its VIIs are more shear-stable.

JMH

 

[Fabmanrich]

The Volvo is short trips back and forth to high school, the Subaru is both-around town at college, to and from couple times a year (2 1/2 hours each way). Tha Volvo doesn't seem to burn any, maybe a few leaks from age. I think the Subaru is starting to burn a little, I have to add a quart between changes.

Not trying to fix any problems, just wondering if there was anything better to help them last longer, would like to get a couple more years from each.

Richie

 

[ediamiam]

Both cars sound like candidates for auto-rx as it may help with the seals on the volvo and oil consumption on the subaru. minimally i would consider a high-mileage oil on the volvo that may help with the leaks. the subaru may also be helped with a high-mileage oil as they tend to run thicker than the dino equivalent.