Why Synthetic?

[Oilmeup]

Ok, I know there has been a many discussions on synthetic versus dino oil. Lord knows, I have been the victim of Mobil 1, Castrol Syntec GC. And Amsoil. But hey, I have concluded, what is the point? Point #1

There is NO DOUBT that I have an obsession with changing my oil, or keeping it clean I guess would be better terms. I can buy Havoline 10/30 for $1.17 a qt at walmart. Buy 5 of them. Go to Napa and get a Napa Gold filter for $7.00 and change my oil every 2,000 for around $12.00.

So don't get me wrong. I know syntethics would be better if you left them in for a long period of time, but as people had pointed out, they would not go extended drains without an anyalysis done. So again, more money. Again I ask, what is the point.

At the 2,000 mark. I KNOW that I have fresh oil and a great filter.

Frank.

Just for kicks. My favorite dino oils are and not in any kind of order.

1. Havoline

2. Castrol GTX

3 Pennzoil.

and that is about it!

 

[sub_zero]

I understand your satisfation but trust me it is much more fun to buy high quality fluids and extend the interval. Watch it change trust your judgement and then change it at 10 000 km or so, then reap the savings of extended OCI!

 

[Oilmeup]

I just can't do it! I have tried and tried and tired, furthest I got on Synthetic was about 5,000 and couldn't take it anymore.

I guess what started this all off is friend of mine who has two hondas. Just got a new CRV. His old Honda, has over 240,000 miles on it. And you guess it. Dino oil. He would always take it to the Dealer for service to change oil. But, he really doesn't like to work on his cars. I realize this could be due to craftsmanship and other factors. But you just have to wonder sometimes wheather, we are just being to Anal about the synthetic stuff.

 

[slalom44]

I agree completely with your argument, Oilmeup. Your strategy is very similar to mine for my daily driver. However I'd like to add a few comments:

It's nice to have some synthetic in your system when the temps dip below freezing. Since you live in Michigan, I'm sure you can relate.

If you drive your car hard, and the engine sees some extreme temps, then there could be some benefit from a higher flash point.

Looking at various UOAs, I can see some subtle differences between some oils, and the additive packages of some are better than others. That's why I've gone with Schaeffers Supreme in my Garage Queen, since it sits for days on end without being started, and I'll be lucky to put 5000 miles each year on it. If I drove it every day, then I think I'd use your strategy on that car too.

 

[Al]

Well you can change dino oil every 2K or you can change synthetic every 7-12K and the results will probably be about the same. Both cars will run longer than the owner wants them too and the guy changing oil every 8K will have more time to do other things.

I used to believe in the frequent changing thing, but I moved on

Whater you are comfortable with is cool

 

[Mic]

It is kind of like when you pull up to the gas pump. You have 3 choices of octane. What octane you choose to put in your car is up to you. All octane levels will work fine in your car. There are some added benefits to using one octane over the other.
I have run nothing but Havoline dino and Fram filters my entire adult life. I just recently switched my 2 vehicles and my 20Hp Kohler over to M1 SS. I also switched my snowmobile over to synthetic and will be doing the same with my boat next summer.
Dino or synthetic will get you 200K easy on your engine. I had a 188K on my Corolla when I sold it. It is still running like a top. Nothing but dino Havoline and Fram filters.
Whats the point? I like the added benefits.

It's all good,
Jeff

 

[HOndaGuy]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mic:
It is kind of like when you pull up to the gas pump. You have 3 choices of octane. What octane you choose to put in your car is up to you. All octane levels will work fine in your car. There are some added benefits to using one octane over the other.
I have run nothing but Havoline dino and Fram filters my entire adult life. I just recently switched my 2 vehicles and my 20Hp Kohler over to M1 SS. I also switched my snowmobile over to synthetic and will be doing the same with my boat next summer.
Dino or synthetic will get you 200K easy on your engine. I had a 188K on my Corolla when I sold it. It is still running like a top. Nothing but dino Havoline and Fram filters.
Whats the point? I like the added benefits.

It's all good,
Jeff

---

Don't use the octane thing, bc all cars require a certain octane. You would be foolish to run 87 in a premium fuel car since you would experience pinging, and you would be foolish to run 93 in a regular 4 banger that requires 87 bc it won't burn off as well.

 

[Mic]

quote:

---

Originally posted by HOndaGuy:
Don't use the octane thing, bc all cars require a certain octane. You would be foolish to run 87 in a premium fuel car since you would experience pinging, and you would be foolish to run 93 in a regular 4 banger that requires 87 bc it won't burn off as well.

---

HOndaGuy,
You have put me in my place. My 01 Camry 4 banger manual says to use a gasoline with an octane rating of 87 or higher. The certain octane rating for my car ranges from 87 to 91.

I was basing my analogy on the data I have. Is there a better analogy? I am sure that there are many.

By the way, don't..............


Jeff

 

[SteveD2]

I was thinking about switching to synthetic, but I've decided that 3000 or less miles on plain old havoline is just fine...especially when jeep recommends 7500 miles on dino oil for my engine. It is, as others have mentioned, much better for extreme conditions, such as very cold or hot, or towing.

 

[Kompressor]

I think your throwing away unused oil if your changing at 2000 miles, 3000-5000 miles is more reasonable for a dino these days IMO. It's hard to beat a good dino like Chevron Supreme ($1.09 qt.) thats more than up to the task of 5000 mile intervals from an economic standpoint. There are still however, plenty of circumstances where synthetics really shine, for those that drive extremely high miles extented drains could really pay-off in saving time lost to frequent changes, the cold weather starting capabilities are far superior and friction reduction for performance engines are a few benifits to consider. Synthetics aren't the best alternative for many applications, but for others is the only logical one.

 

[Cutehumor]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Oilmeup:
Ok, I know there has been a many discussions on synthetic versus dino oil. Lord knows, I have been the victim of Mobil 1, Castrol Syntec GC. And Amsoil. But hey, I have concluded, what is the point? Point #1

There is NO DOUBT that I have an obsession with changing my oil, or keeping it clean I guess would be better terms. I can buy Havoline 10/30 for $1.17 a qt at walmart. Buy 5 of them. Go to Napa and get a Napa Gold filter for $7.00 and change my oil every 2,000 for around $12.00.

So don't get me wrong. I know syntethics would be better if you left them in for a long period of time, but as people had pointed out, they would not go extended drains without an anyalysis done. So again, more money. Again I ask, what is the point.

At the 2,000 mark. I KNOW that I have fresh oil and a great filter.

Frank.

Just for kicks. My favorite dino oils are and not in any kind of order.

1. Havoline

2. Castrol GTX

3 Pennzoil.

and that is about it!

---

you can lower the cost of your oil change by switching to a supertech filter..are you changing your napa gold oil filter every 2k too?

I agree with your philosophy for the most part except..every 2k is too frequent..I do 3k..since any SL dino can reach 3k..any name brand dino oil on sale I use currently exxon superflo. Synthetic DOES have its place. Extended drains for someone who spends alot of time on the road. I drive max 10k miles a year. three oil changes a year are no biggie for me. Consider this argument: My 10k =3 dino oil changes. a 25k mile driver, changes synthetic 7500 oil intervals-3 syntheic oil changes. so I don't buy it when everyone screams I spend less time under my car...but you DO spend more time in your car than I do

We still do the same amount of oil changes.

Also if I lived in extremely hot or cold weather, synthetic would be in my engine or if I was changing oil for alot of cars

[ November 26, 2003, 11:49 AM: Message edited by: Cutehumor ]

 

[JohnBrowning]

I can agree that conventional oils will protect just fine. I do not use synthetics 100% the application and my goals for that piece of machinery decide what I use. My new car is going to get syntetic for a number of reason relateing to long term durability. My old high millage buick I bought used on the other hand is not getting syntetic year round. It only gets synthetic in the winter and HDDO in the warm months.

If I use nothing but Redline in my new car and I drive about 15,000 miles a year my cost work out like the so. Extended drain 4 quarts of oil @$6 a quart Toyota oil filter $4+ 1 extra quart for top off=$34 a year. If I use Toyota 7500 mile change interval I end up with 8 quarts of Redline @ $6 plus 2 Toyota filters @$4 =$56 dollars a year. If I had to top off any I would probably just use what ever I had on hand for this short of an OCI!

So extended drain of every 12 months or 15,000 miles =$34.

Standard Toyota recomended drains = $56

I would say that this is preety cheap!!!

[ November 26, 2003, 01:31 PM: Message edited by: JohnBrowning ]

 

[edvanp]

I use both Dino & Synthetic in my cars depending on conditions. Example: I'm driving to Florida soon and will be driving 10-12 hours a day. I feel more confident in the Synthetic holding up over the dino on long distance drives. 2 years ago we did nearly 4,000 miles on a 2 week trip out West. 2 of those days were 12-14 hour drives in high temps. Piece of mind. When I got back home and had the oil changed, dino went in because it was going to be driven around locally. My son's 91 S-10 Beater w/ 183k miles on it has full synthetic (NAPA 5w30) in it right now because it's parked outside (we live in michigan) and it will probably be 5-6 months between oil changes. I want an extended drain period and something that will flow well when it's very cold outside. For the summer, dino will go back in.

 

[userfriendly]

edvanp,
Good answer.
You have your reasons to use synthetics when they are needed, and you don't use them when they are not needed
On long summer trips a synthetic oil may save an overheated engine from damage.
In the winter, the engine will crank over and start easier with synthetic engine oil.
You may even save a few bucks on gasoline over several months of cold start cycles.
For casual use in the warmer months, your vehicles do well on dino.
Myself, in the winter, I wouldn't venture east of Calgary without 0W30 in the crankcase.
In the summer on long trips a straight grade SAE 30 or 40 gives me piece of mind without going to a more expensive synthetic.
Time spent under a car for me is theraputic.

 

[TooSlick]

Frank,

The Ill. State Police have been running 15,000 mile change intervals with Royal Purple for the past several years, in hundreds of Ford V-8's. They haven't lost an engine yet due to oil related problems and have saved a ton of money on oil, and labor to do oil changes. They were previously running 3000 mile oil/filter changes with conventional oil.

How do I know this? Let's just say it's my business to know these things. However, you should check it out for yourself and please post your findings ....

TS

[ November 28, 2003, 12:30 PM: Message edited by: TooSlick ]

 

[TooSlick]

PS,

You might also want to find out why the Troy,Michigan police dept uses Amsoil in all 350 of their vehicles ....