Why buy conventional if synthetic costs slightly more?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Aug 19, 2018
Messages
67
Location
Long Isle
I have noticed that conventional oil is only slightly cheaper than synthetic, such as Pennzoil conventional and their synthetic.
So why would anyone buy conventional With the price so close? Even if it’s $10 more, over the OIC, that extra cost would pay for itself in gas mileage as the engine doesn’t “strain” as much with better oil right?
 
Frankly I can usually get full synthetic cheaper on sale or on sale with a rebate.

I just picked up NAPA full synthetic a month ago for $2.99 a quart D1G2.
 
Last edited:
My engines never strained with conventional and my Hyundai Sonata got 35+ MPG i ran 5-7500 mile OCI'S.

it's just the times things change. Unfortunately my cars now take 0w20 so I don't have a choice.
 
Longer OCIs, some engines will shear lesser oils to salad dressing, and the price diff is not much after rebates.

You have to run them longer to get value out of them, in theory.

My car requires a 40 weight and I live in Canada. I only paid $32 or so for a gallon of EDGE 0W40.
 
Originally Posted By: Danno
Cold start improvement would be the main reason for me to buy synthetic, with starts down to -40F.
Would that be dependent on the syns viscosity?
 
1.Product loyalty
2.Old habits
3.Myths ("syn will cause leaks")
4.However close in price, when neither is on sale, Conventional is still cheaper
5. Don't live in extreme climate locales
6. Drive an older car
7. OCI is conservative
8. Owners Manual doesn't call for Synthetic
9. Conventional oil still works fine
 
Havoline, Chevron, Citgo or Shell were common @ $0.50 a qt A/R now $.80..good shelf synthetic $2.00 A/R.. conventional still a better value for N/A motors.
 
Originally Posted By: dblshock
Havoline, Chevron, Citgo or Shell were common @ $0.50 a qt A/R now $.80..good shelf synthetic $2.00 A/R.. conventional still a better value for N/A motors.


What’s n/a motors and where can I possibly get synthetic for $2 per quart
 
The "conventional" is really a syn blend, which it has to be due to more stringent SN standards, and now SN+

Even though it my be slightly cheaper, it is still cheaper. People will still buy the dino to get that last dollar off
smile.gif
 
As said above, Dino is more synblend nowadays so the price difference is decreasing.

The API SH conventional we happily ran the the late 90s for over 100Kmiles, would be treated like a sand and sugar slurry nowadays.

Modern SN/SN+ oils are just that good now.
 
Originally Posted By: danez_yoda
As said above, Dino is more synblend nowadays so the price difference is decreasing.

The API SH conventional we happily ran the the late 90s for over 100Kmiles, would be treated like a sand and sugar slurry nowadays.

Modern SN/SN+ oils are just that good now.




I remember watching WWF and seeing so many Castrol conventional commercials with even the announcers peddling it.
“Castrol GTX” drive hard”

I bought into it. But looking back, a Toyota Paseo with I think 99hp was not really driven hard at all, and i couldn’t really tell the diff between the lot. Capturing the heart in any marketing campaign really drove Castrol back then, today even. I guesss that’s true for most products esp when the substance is not that diff than the rest so. The style sets them apart.
 
I own classic cars that don't like, or need synthetic oils, and there are conventional oils that give more than good enough lubrication for them, they both run quieter and smoother on conventional oils, and i don't see any temperature extremes that would warrant the use of synthetic oils.
 
I thought newer turbocharged cars run coolant thru the turbo for adequate cooling combined with conventional oils it can still handle the job of protecting turbochargers.
 
Why buy conventional? Beater car that uses a lot of oil and it was cheaper than synthetic. There also is the BITOG oil hoarding thing.
whistle.gif


I agree, now I only buy synthetic after rebate. PUP for $15 a gallon what is not to love?

Decided to use up conventional oil hoard in my current car for summer fill. The 10w-30 Chevron Supreme I am running now means engine is very quiet and produced best highway mileage. So the idea of engine straining is not true. In Winter and with deposits in the engine is where synthetic shines. Hyundai likes short OCI's so it probably does not matter.
 
I would use conventional under these circumstances:

1) Classic Car
2) Beater
3) Short OCIs

For most cars I agree that synthetic is best.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top