Synthetic oil

I stick to synthetic now and the reason is I ran conventional oil in an AWD car for 127,000 miles, then switched to high mileage synthetic.

The synthetic flushed out conventional oil crud for 3-4 synthetic oil changes and that crud was broken down conventional oil due to high temperatures. That is the stuff that forms the varnish when you look in the oil fill cap.

There were some hot temperatures at times during mountain driving and always changed the conventional on the severe duty schedule, 3800 mile intervals. Oil analysis confirms wear is normal at 160k+ miles. I am running Mobil 1 0W-40 in that car, relatively inexpensive at Wal-mart. If I was going to go for a lower cost I would go for Motorcraft semi-syn which has had good reviews.

For our Ford V-10 I run Mobil 1 5W-20 Extended Performance.

SUKISHORT wrote:
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 worth the extra cost from now on? Thanks for the info.

If you want to run your oil change interval to 10k or more, use a good syn like pennzoil platinum or Amsoil SS either 0-20 or 5-20. IMO, these are two oils at the top of the syn chain right now.

If you want to go with 5k OCI, use whatever conventional that's on sale. I have a 05 hemi also. 186k miles, lot of city/suburban driving. I use a farm and fleet brand 5-20 ( made by Citgo) engine is in great shape.

IMO, there is not a lot of difference in syn and Dino oil. Most syn is made from Dino base stock. Syn is better at extreme high oil temps, but to get to those temps, you will have much bigger issues with your engine. I live in WI, and sometimes see temps at -20f. Dino has protected my engines at these temps, including my cummins that gets 15-40 oil.

I'm not against syn oil, I use it in 2014 that I am using a 10k oci.

Like I said before, the biggest benefit to syn oil for a normal street vehicle is extended oil changes.

Jeremiah,

It's not about blowing up an engine, but 'wearing it out' and that is subjective

Take a compression test to tell if the rings are worn, but won't tell if the
valve train is or not.

Performance is what is reduced and some can't tell the diff, while others can

You can blow up an engine if the lube hasn't been in good order (both schedule
and materials), but some don't blow and just make more noise to then blow up
sooner than later

Can tell when the engine oil needs changing on my Sub's 7.4L. It starts to
consume (doesn't consume a bit between regular changes) and the dash oil PSI
gauge is low and fluctuates. Still doesn't consume at +163K very HARD miles

Every wonder why most folks take care when buying used? Part of that has to
do with the previous owner(s) maintenance (intervals, materials, etc) and how
they drive. Why some have their mechanic check it out and one of the things
most mechanics do is a compression test.

Boils down to personal preferences...I'm on the synthetic side and
change sooner than later. I keep my vehicles for decades and decades

Folks who trade every few years really don't need to worry about this
Even towing heavy. Their downstream owner should worry...

The Mad Norsky wrote:

AH64ID wrote:
The Diesel engines built since Jan 1 2007 are not capable of extended oil drain intervals with their emissions intact.

:h


Hmmmm?

My new Cummins Ram says to go 15,000 miles before oil change.

Mind you, I am NOT wild about that idea. Especially considering they tell me it is just normal old Rotella 15W/40 in the crankcase.

That's an OEM interval, not an extended interval.... :S

In addition, it's up to 15K miles but not to exceed the EVIC oil change notification. That could be as little at 3-6K miles, or as much as 15K miles. Regens are the determining factor in OCI.

DEF has done good things to oil and engines, but regrns still exist.

The 04.5-07 Cummins could also go 15K miles.

AH64ID wrote:
The Diesel engines built since Jan 1 2007 are not capable of extended oil drain intervals with their emissions intact.

:h


Hmmmm?

My new Cummins Ram says to go 15,000 miles before oil change.

Mind you, I am NOT wild about that idea. Especially considering they tell me it is just normal old Rotella 15W/40 in the crankcase.

LOL... I've got HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of miles on good ole Wal-Mart SuperTec 5w20 conventional.... I ran super awesome synthetic in a car that called for it but that is the only one that I strayed from my conventional regiment.

Never noticed any negatives running the SuperTec.. I figure cheap clean oil is better than expensive dirty oil.

I was driving my Father in laws Express 5.7 van when the crankshaft decided to divorce the connecting rod (at 125k miles mind you)... the ONLY oil he INSISTED on running is Valvoline Conventional 1030... does that mean that the Valvoline was the cause? Nope... That just means that the engine failed.

Never heard of a motor failing, being taken apart and the BRAND of oil being blamed for the failure. Not changing it.. Yep.. oil pump failing.. Yep...

For me... As long as its got the symbol on the jug and its the correct viscosity.. its good enough for me.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

Great post!

Dino is getting better, as are synthetics since I started driving in
the 60's. Synthetics has higher temp ranges, but dino has closed the
gap...still a gap though

So are the vehicles, plus they demand better oils today because of the
higher stress levels they attain

All of the OEM recommendations are for the MAXIMUM length between oil/filter
changes.

Now noodle this: why are there two or more maintenance schedules from
all OEMs I've ever read manuals on?

Normal duty cycle and severe duty cycle. Some call it heavy duty

That the severe duty has shorter change intervals...why?

Now noodle who are on these forums...like Tow Vehicles

Are these folks 'normal duty cycle' folks or better stated users of
their vehicles?

How about the various engine oil analysis firms? They test for metals,
coolant, H2O, acids, etc

Do you know which metal they look for and want more of?

Zinc (ZDDP and the variations) is the main component that helps
increase lubricity. Changes under heat and pressure to become a
phosphate glass film on both mating surfaces to NOT allow it to go
metal on metal'. This is the main ingredient that is consumed by
tough duty and is the main ingredient whether dino or synthetic

A delicate balance, as the lower the activation temperature, the
faster the “Zinc” reacts to form this film...but it poisons CATs. So,
for 'street' oil reduced Phosphorus content and volatility to protect
the SMOG components/system. This has lead to higher change intervals
and longer SMOG comonent/system life span and is for 'regular duty' cycles

Engines pushed HARD needs to have the 'Fast Burn Zinc' to protect
and has a shorter change interval. This is what the Boy Racers use.

Racing oils also has little to no detergent's, dispersant's, etc. Because
they are NOT meant to be left in there long. NOT a good thing for
street use

When to change, and what kind of oil is subjective to the usage,
engine architecture and the biggie...driving style.

Why I add powdered Molybdenum Sulfide (<2 microns) and now Tungsten
Disulfide. Tungsten is even better than Molyb. Plates both surfaces
for when it does go metal to metal. <2 microns because I use filters
that are good down to 5 microns, so it's not filtered out. Another
why PTFE isn't a good thing in ICE's

On that, metal to metal...designed to NOT when in specifications of
the engine/tranny/diff, but in the real world...it does go metal to metal
often enough to actually wear. For if it NEVER went metal to metal,
there would NEVER be any wear

As usual...there is no one size fits all. Folks take this kind of
stuff as out of context absolutes.

Decide where you are in reference to the OEMs specifications and whether
to use the 'regular duty cycle', or 'severe duty cycle' or whatever

Synthetics do have a higher spec, but dino has been closing the gap
for years...there is still that gap between'm...

Maybe someone will discuss 'dry starts'...so many don't believe that
over 40% of ICE's wear is from dry starts...

It's not a sooting problem, it's a fuel problem.

The newer diesel Ford and Dodge pickup trucks use an extra shot of diesel fuel into the cylinders to provide the fuel for the regen process. This process causes unburned fuel to enter the crankcase oil thus the sooting problem This also affects the oil change interval. Recent models of the Duramax have an additional injector in the exhaust pipe for the regen whereby eliminating this sooting problem.

I have used POA formulated synthetic lubricates exclusively in everything I own that requires lubricating since 1986. I figure anything designed to run on petroleum lubes will run better and last longer with PAO synthetics. I may be wrong but the proof is in the pudding. As an example, my Harley has 90k miles on and it runs like new.

The value of synthetic transmission fluid and gear lubes is undeniable. Just ask Allison. In many high stress situations the same can be said for motor oils. Just my 2 cents.