dino oil vs synthetic mpg

I run the 15-40 AMZ/OIL Diesel Signature Series in my Cummins. Oil is still in great shape at 15k with FleetGuard filter. This sample was at 45K on the clock.


Some will say why do a sample every oil change like I have. When I go to sell this these reports will net me a higher price as they can see for a FACT the condition of the engine. The "Universal Average" numbers are averages of 6-7K oil changes. My TBN is strong and the Viscosities are strong along with flash points, these numbers are compared to the oils spec. You can see the previous two samples and how they have improved as the engine breaks in.

Dino oils would not be able to exist in todays engines with out synthetic additives.

ktmrfs wrote:
mfg are slowly switching to synthetics to get the best mileage possible for EPA testing, along with the 0W oils. Now, the EPA test is a short time from a cold start. and they are worried about 0.1mpg differences.

So.... do synthetics improve mileage, yes, but not likely enough that you can tell, and the biggest effect is likely in short trips in cold climates. long trips, less so.

synthetic advantage is more in engine protection and cold temp starting not mpg improvements. and given todays engine longevity, not sure there is a payback. your choice.

Back in the 1960's living in the midwest and not having access to a garage or a way to plug in the block heater when in college, I used conoco DN600 polar start oil in the winter. not sure if it was a synthetic or not, but at -40F my car, and others that used it would crank much faster and usually start better than others running 10W-30 at the same temps.

Manufacturers are switching to lower viscosity to improve fuel mileage.

mfg are slowly switching to synthetics to get the best mileage possible for EPA testing, along with the 0W oils. Now, the EPA test is a short time from a cold start. and they are worried about 0.1mpg differences.

So.... do synthetics improve mileage, yes, but not likely enough that you can tell, and the biggest effect is likely in short trips in cold climates. long trips, less so.

synthetic advantage is more in engine protection and cold temp starting not mpg improvements. and given todays engine longevity, not sure there is a payback. your choice.

Back in the 1960's living in the midwest and not having access to a garage or a way to plug in the block heater when in college, I used conoco DN600 polar start oil in the winter. not sure if it was a synthetic or not, but at -40F my car, and others that used it would crank much faster and usually start better than others running 10W-30 at the same temps.

jerem0621 wrote:
I have used both and have never seen a difference at all.

Now that we have the 2.0 EcoBoost in my wife’s car I probably will run Mobile 1 as I know there is a lot going on with the turbo and “stuff” like Bryan mentioned in his 1.0.

MPG will not be the main driver. I want this car to go to 200k plus.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

well, I've had 6 vehicles with plain dino oils that have gone over 200K miles with the engine still running strong and not using more than a 1 qt of oil in 6K miles. will synthetic extend engine life, probably, but even dino oils seem to work just fine in today's engines. 2 of the engines were turbo.

I read an article about 5 years ago on a hot rod car magazine site where one of their "experts"had written an article on synthetics vs dino. They had done lab testing on numerous brands for both conventional and synthetic. Biggest difference was cold weather starting, heat dissapation, and life span of the oil. One interesting thing they noted was that when they took the engines apart after testing, the synthetic motors had bronzed pistons and sleeves. They figured the oil worked itself into the metal. They then ran the engines with no oil. I don't remember the exact numbers, but the synthetic motors ran quite a long time without oil.

They also said that synthetics should give the appearance of burning oil. The reason is that they have an additive (up to 20% in some brands) the prolong the life of the oil and that the additive burns off.

At the end, the number one rated oil was Mobil 1 followed by............Walmart supertech synthetic!!!!!! (I wonder who makes the oil for Walmart)

The writer said he uses supertech in all of his motors except his 72 mustang which he put Mobil 1 in. From what I gathered, his point for the most part was that all synthetics are good and a few are a little bit better.

"I have been using synthetic oil since 1974...."

Same here, my Dad was the first Dealer in WA. I have never bought AMZ/OIL for mileage increase but I am sure it does help "some". You can thank this company for pushing the others towards Synthetics.

First quart of synthetic back in the 70's cost more than my hourly rate...ever since have only used synthetic. Careful on racing synthetic, as they do NOT have the additive package as street synthetic. As racing has them changing it way sooner that a street setup is expected to change oil

MPG only makes a difference on small displacement ICEs...larger has any gain lost in pumping losses

Personal preference is mainly in higher specifications. Higher film strength, higher temp range, higher shear strength (similar to film strength).

Also not into longer change intervals.

Cheap vs a mechanical issue/failure due to engine oil based whatever

Go with the best engine oil filters too

LMAO, I see there's a lot of fishermen in this thread. :B :R

OP here is the way it breaks down according to CAT.

Savings:

Driver: Up to 20%

Route: Up to 20%

Speed: Up to 12%

Climate: Up to 12%

Fuel: 2.5% (winter blend)

GCW: 8.5% 55K vs 45K

Tires: 2.5%

Idle time: 1.5%


As you can see, they don't even list oil. In fact, in almost all cases CAT does not even recommend syn oil. Lets say you get a 1% savings with syn oil. That's 1 gallon in a 100. At what.....$2.50/ gallon you will save $2.50 but that will be eaten up by the cost of the syn oil and then some.

SCVJeff wrote:
I see significantly better mileage, sometimes in excess of 25% immediately after a synthetic change. But that drops off rapidly with the first tank of gas..~300-400 miles

It's not hype... it just doesn't last

Huh?

A 25% gain just by changing the oil? What brand? I may start changing oil weekly.