Synthetic vs Conventional motor oil question

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

There is a recent oil analysis on the BITOG site of a 3.5L Impala running 11.5K miles on Pennzoil conventional, and it looked perfectly fine.
Oil is not what it used to be!

Over what duration though, that's the key. 11.5k / year is probably waaay better than 2k / year.

 

[CraigRT]

I think what most are missing here... is what is the age of the car you are driving?

Synthetic oils are noted for not playing as nice with older motors... Kinda like the whole ethanol use in older motors. The gaskets and such were not made with synthetic in mind. Now, I'm sure some of the newer synthetics are formulated for use with older motors...But it your car is ten years old, I'd stick with conventional. If your car is brand new, by all means use full synthetic.

I have a 98 Dakota... I will never run synthetic in it. Have had it since new, and it is not worth having major gasket issues by switching.

Wife has an 05 malibu. Could probably switch to Synthetic, but for her driving, probably not worth the added cost. ( I buy name brand by the gallon on sale anyway. ).

So... I think the most glaring thing you omitted here was the year of your vehicle.

My 96 Saturn has been off and on synthetic for the last 30k... I haven't noticed any problems and your Dak shouldn't either..

 

[CraigRT]

Over what duration though, that's the key. 11.5k / year is probably waaay better than 2k / year.

Ideal conditions...

But the fact some people are scared of going even upto 5k on conventional, and someone goes almost 12, and has proof that the oil was still not completely spent.. It says a lot about modern lubricants.

 

[desy]

I go 18k on synth and change once a yr
07 Versa

 

[WackyDan]

My 96 Saturn has been off and on synthetic for the last 30k... I haven't noticed any problems and your Dak shouldn't either..

The engine in my Dakota was designed in the late 50's early 60's... and while Dodge/Chrysler certainly updated it over the years, I'm not apt to toss synthetic in there.

The engine in your saturn on the other hand was brought to market in the 90's most likely.

 

[WackyDan]

You 1998 Dakota should be fine with synthetic oil though. It was popular by then, iirc.

With the current newer crop of synthetics, probably would be fine... But not then. There have been numerous reports on older engine designs specifically the gaskets/seals that didn't not deal well with the early synthetics... some synthetics of which are still on the market.

 

[LTC8K6]

http://www.allpar.com/cars/stories/shatto.php

632,000 mile 98 Dakota on Amsoil and long intervals.

Don't know which engine you have though. But it probably has the same sort of seals and gaskets.

 

[Throckmorton]

Does overheating shorten the interval? I use Mobil 1, but my Jeep XJ has overheated quite a few times-- going up to 260F. How much does that affect the oil life?

 

[Vette73]

Does overheating shorten the interval? I use Mobil 1, but my Jeep XJ has overheated quite a few times-- going up to 260F. How much does that affect the oil life?

Go to the oil companys web site and they usually have the temps the oil will flash at. Syn does better in higger temps. Its best to not obver heat but a syn oil usually will do better then a lot of Regular oils. But many regular oils today get close to Syn specs in some cases.

 

[Throckmorton]

Looks like the flash point is 471F http://www.srtforums.com/forums/f10/mobil-1-10w-30-vs-5w-30-flash-point-advantage-28729/

I don't know how that relates to breaking down

 

[WackyDan]

http://www.allpar.com/cars/stories/shatto.php

632,000 mile 98 Dakota on Amsoil and long intervals.

Don't know which engine you have though. But it probably has the same sort of seals and gaskets.

Great, except that he modified the oil delivery/filtration system, and upped oil capacity. That certainly played a part in the longevity.

 

[LTC8K6]

Great, except that he modified the oil delivery/filtration system, and upped oil capacity. That certainly played a part in the longevity.

But would have little to do with Chrysler's 1998 gaskets and seals...

 

[WackyDan]

But would have little to do with Chrysler's 1998 gaskets and seals...

Except that he also doesn't address whether the motor was leaking or not... ;P

 

[fleshconsumed]

I'd like to resurrect this thread. I've got 2005 Altima 2.5 with QR25DE I4 engine and about 36K miles on it. It's time for an oil change and I'm thinking about 1) doing my own oil changes from now on, never done it myself before, and 2) switching to synthetic. Main reasons are better starts in winter time and because I could probably get away with 2 or 3 oil changes a year depending on how much I drive. I've read the thread and everybody says it's safe to do, but I'm still extremely nervous about doing it. Is 36 K miles going to be a problem before switching to synthetic? Any issues with nissan engines? Can I still use regular oil filter I've always used before? And any recommendations for inexpensive oil? I do not want to buy super expensive "high performance" synthetic oil, but something good for the money? I've seen some kind of Valvoline synthetic oil at local walmart at $25 for 5 quarts of 5W30, would that do? Or would Supertech Synthetic (walmart branded) or Napa recommendations from the first page work better?

 

[skyking]

I saw 3.50 synthetic on sale this week at Schucks/O'Riellys aroung here, the O'rielly brand. I have dug around and can't find anything bad about the oil. Limit 24

 

[CraigRT]

I'd like to resurrect this thread. I've got 2005 Altima 2.5 with QR25DE I4 engine and about 36K miles on it. It's time for an oil change and I'm thinking about 1) doing my own oil changes from now on, never done it myself before, and 2) switching to synthetic. Main reasons are better starts in winter time and because I could probably get away with 2 or 3 oil changes a year depending on how much I drive. I've read the thread and everybody says it's safe to do, but I'm still extremely nervous about doing it. Is 36 K miles going to be a problem before switching to synthetic? Any issues with nissan engines? Can I still use regular oil filter I've always used before? And any recommendations for inexpensive oil? I do not want to buy super expensive "high performance" synthetic oil, but something good for the money? I've seen some kind of Valvoline synthetic oil at local walmart at $25 for 5 quarts of 5W30, would that do? Or would Supertech Synthetic (walmart branded) or Napa recommendations from the first page work better?

All I have to say to you is, you are way overthinking this.
I use synthetic sometimes in my VQ35 (Nissan Maxima) and often also conventional. Just pick and oil that meets the grade and use it.

The Napa made oil is quality, as it is made by the same people who make Valvoline. Nissan engines (at least the VQ series) like Valvoline products.

 

[BUTCH1]

Over what duration though, that's the key. 11.5k / year is probably waaay better than 2k / year.

I have the 3.5 in my Malibu, these engines are really easy on oil, low compression, moderate output, pushrod design..

 

[IcePickFreak]

I wouldn't really worry much about switching between conventional and synthetic unless the vehicle is pretty old or high mileage. Like mwmorph said, synthetic will leak a bit easier than conventional is the motor/seals are old and tired.

I'm right around 8000 miles on Mobil 1 Synthetic on my G8 GT (5w-30w). The OLM currently reads 18% oil life remaining. I'm changing oil tomorrow and sending a sample off to Blackstone Labs for analysis. I still need to pick up the oil so I've been contemplating switching to the German Castro Syntech 0w-30w for the winter and sending that to Blackstone as well on the next oil change to see what they come up with.

 

[CraigRT]

I wouldn't really worry much about switching between conventional and synthetic unless the vehicle is pretty old or high mileage. Like mwmorph said, synthetic will leak a bit easier than conventional is the motor/seals are old and tired.

I'm right around 8000 miles on Mobil 1 Synthetic on my G8 GT (5w-30w). The OLM currently reads 18% oil life remaining. I'm changing oil tomorrow and sending a sample off to Blackstone Labs for analysis. I still need to pick up the oil so I've been contemplating switching to the German Castro Syntech 0w-30w for the winter and sending that to Blackstone as well on the next oil change to see what they come up with.

Must get pricey putting synthetic into a G8 GT!
That thing has like an 8 or 9 quart sump doesn't it?
I think that car would love 0w30 Syntec. Great oil.

 

[thescreensavers]

You guys know that syntec M1 Pp are highly refined oils they are not trurely synthetics. So if you say you run syntec you are just running 80% highly refined oil with 20% POA additives. It runs well in my engine and is only 30 bucks with a good filter

 

[sdifox]

You guys know that syntec M1 Pp are highly refined oils they are not trurely synthetics. So if you say you run syntec you are just running 80% highly refined oil with 20% POA additives. It runs well in my engine and is only 30 bucks with a good filter

I run this

http://www.liqui-moly.de/liquimoly/produktdb.nsf/id/e_1856.html


Viscosity class : 5W-40
Density at 15 °C : 0.850 g/cm³
Viscosity at 40 °C : 86 mm²/s
Viscosity at 100 °C : 14.1 mm²/s
Viscosity index : 170
Flash point : 222 °C
Pour point : -45 °C
ASTM colour : 3,5
Ash, sulphate : 1.2 g/100 g

 

[IcePickFreak]

Must get pricey putting synthetic into a G8 GT!
That thing has like an 8 or 9 quart sump doesn't it?
I think that car would love 0w30 Syntec. Great oil.

Came out to just under $99 for the oil (went with 0w-30 Castrol) and filter, it holds 8.8qts but I picked up an even 10. I thought I still had a filter but hell if I know where I put it, surely someplace I wouldn't forget.

It's not really too bad because it was actually 8,821 miles that I had on it since the last change and the old oil still wasn't completely black. I did have to add some oil during that time, approximately 1/4qt, but that's pretty much what I pulled out of the catch can - hence why I grabbed 10qts just to have some extra on hand.

 

[CraigRT]

Came out to just under $99 for the oil (went with 0w-30 Castrol) and filter, it holds 8.8qts but I picked up an even 10. I thought I still had a filter but hell if I know where I put it, surely someplace I wouldn't forget.

It's not really too bad because it was actually 8,821 miles that I had on it since the last change and the old oil still wasn't completely black. I did have to add some oil during that time, approximately 1/4qt, but that's pretty much what I pulled out of the catch can - hence why I grabbed 10qts just to have some extra on hand.

That's cool.
Many people would agree that going farther on a car with a massive sump such as yours, is no big deal. I would say you could probably do 10K on the German Castrol, if not more.
I wish my Nissan had a sump that big. It burns oil so it would be nice to not have to worry if its running on 3L instead of its max of 4.

 

[Throckmorton]

I'm going to get an oil analysis. I ordered a kit from Blackstone.

I changed my filter last weekend to try to fix my leak, so I poured oil out from the old filter. Hopefully it comes out to the 3.5oz they need... I really want to see how well Mobil 1 does after 4000 miles, with several overheatings, and a lot of stop and go.

 

[Throckmorton]

You guys know that syntec M1 Pp are highly refined oils they are not trurely synthetics. So if you say you run syntec you are just running 80% highly refined oil with 20% POA additives. It runs well in my engine and is only 30 bucks with a good filter

I've read that Mobil 1 is real synthetic, made from ethanol or something.