Synthetic oil
I have a 2005 Dodge 1500. 5.7L Hemi. It has 73000 miles on it. I have kept the oil changes and maint. Very current. I am thinking of changing to a synthetic oil for my next oil change. Is it wort...
Forum Discussion
With my gas powered vehicles I use synthetic motor oil with the car that is driven the most during the year. I have a coupe that is driven less than 8,000 miles a year on average and I do the recommended annual oil change and use dino. No point in changing out the synthetic at 7,000 miles and it too needs to be changed out at least annually.
With my diesel powered truck the oil is changed every 7500 miles as it is used for towing and heavy hauling and this constitutes "severe duty" in terms of the maintenance schedule. With diesel there is also much more of a problem with soot and sludge in the motor oil that are byproducts of burning diesel fuel. The only way to get this material out of the motor oil is to drain the oil and put in new oil. Again, no reason to run synthetic oil when it is going to be changed out every 7500 miles.
Most synthetics for diesel are not available in a 15W-40 grade which is also what is needed for temperatures above 0 degrees. A 5W-40 oil in temperatures above 0 degrees is not going to provide nearly as good protection in warmer temperatures. One is already sacrificing lubrication performance with a multi-grade oil with polymer shear which is most evident when oil is forced into the main bearing journals of an engine.
I do have to give credit to the petroleum industry which has done an outstanding job of brainwashing people into mindlessly buying synthetic lubricants for everything.
With my diesel powered truck the oil is changed every 7500 miles as it is used for towing and heavy hauling and this constitutes "severe duty" in terms of the maintenance schedule. With diesel there is also much more of a problem with soot and sludge in the motor oil that are byproducts of burning diesel fuel. The only way to get this material out of the motor oil is to drain the oil and put in new oil. Again, no reason to run synthetic oil when it is going to be changed out every 7500 miles.
Most synthetics for diesel are not available in a 15W-40 grade which is also what is needed for temperatures above 0 degrees. A 5W-40 oil in temperatures above 0 degrees is not going to provide nearly as good protection in warmer temperatures. One is already sacrificing lubrication performance with a multi-grade oil with polymer shear which is most evident when oil is forced into the main bearing journals of an engine.
I do have to give credit to the petroleum industry which has done an outstanding job of brainwashing people into mindlessly buying synthetic lubricants for everything.
