Synthetic oil

Michelle.S wrote:
I guess then we should all run the cheapest Chinese tires we can, because buying more expensive tires is a waste of money. Is that what we're saying here?? It's all about cost and has nothing to do with personal preference?

Michelle has the right analogy...

Had a similar 'discussion' with my then, new father in law in
Boise...an executive in a very large financial corp...he was used to
being 'right', even if wrong...yes men them all below him...

It was over spark plugs. I bought some over $1/ea buck set for their Olds...he
thought outrageous and came back with a blister package of 8 for $1.99...

Threw his away and put in the ones I bought. Mother in law marveled
at how well it ran...even after just having their mechanic tune it up
He finally figured it out when the next time he took out the garbage

Finally figured it out during a party and the discussion from his
Crane Creek country club guests marveling at how he always had the
best liquor and how it is wasted on me, a light, light drinker...

Oh, then the cheap jug liquor would be just as good for them too, right?

Boy did that get them all going...

Same/similar thing here on dino vs synthetic...

I guess then we should all run the cheapest Chinese tires we can, because buying more expensive tires is a waste of money. Is that what we're saying here?? It's all about cost and has nothing to do with personal preference?

I do UOA on my pickup, and used to do it on my wife's 4Runner. The runner is not used for towing or anything difficult, so once I established an OCI I quit sampling.

The diesel probably doesn't need sampled as I change it at 1 year anyhow, but it's nice to know where it's at when I hit 7500 miles. 1 year is 10-12K miles, and I have gone as much as 30K miles on my oil when the truck was my DD, but since it doesn't see much easy use these days it doesn't get to extend as far.

I don't run dino, so I've never sampled it. The cold flow properties of synthetic are enough for me to run it, everything else is a bonus.

Use a calculator, you know how much the oil change costs and how often you change it and how much a synthetic oil change costs and how often you would have to change it.:S

gmcsmoke wrote:
I'd be curious to know how many are getting UOA to prove dino can't make it 5,000 miles and to know when it's time to change the synthetic.

My guess? ZERO. Every time I ask what the UOA said of the people that "know" their oil is bad I never get a response or they say they don't know or don't care. But they sure "know" that their oil is used up. :R

In fact, I would venture to guess from some of the responses in this thread a lot of people on here never had a UOA done or don't even know what a UOA even means.

I've learned one thing; there is a hellofa lot of good oil being thrown away. That keeps a slow economy going good I guess. :B

ksss wrote:
I have/had been a believer in Synthetic engine oil for decades and am registered to sell Amsoil. I have always used it in my pickup engines and some class 8 trucks and heavy equipment that I ran during Winter months. I had a

headgasket go out

on my 5500 GMC. This truck had only 60K on it, but always had Amsoil 15-40. The valve train had a lot more wear on it that it should have given its miles and use of synthetic oil. I ceased all further utilization of synthetic in the engines. I still use Amsoil gear lube in all class 8's and pickup diffs and Amsoil for the automatic trannys. That's my story.

Maybe reconsider your association of root cause...

Maybe it was whatever caused the head gasket to go prematurely that
also created a situation for the valve train to wear faster

I'd be curious to know how many are getting UOA to prove dino can't make it 5,000 miles and to know when it's time to change the synthetic.

AH64ID wrote:
Cummins uses Rotella as the latest factory fill, and from what I have learned its synthetic. The factory doesn't know when or where to truck will end up and the cost difference is cheaper than warranty work for Dino oil in cold environments.

This is what I understood from people that took the Cummins factory tour where they make the 6.7's.

I have/had been a believer in Synthetic engine oil for decades and am registered to sell Amsoil. I have always used it in my pickup engines and some class 8 trucks and heavy equipment that I ran during Winter months. I had a headgasket go out on my 5500 GMC. This truck had only 60K on it, but always had Amsoil 15-40. The valve train had a lot more wear on it that it should have given its miles and use of synthetic oil. I ceased all further utilization of synthetic in the engines. I still use Amsoil gear lube in all class 8's and pickup diffs and Amsoil for the automatic trannys. That's my story.

Cummins uses Rotella as the latest factory fill, and from what I have learned its synthetic. The factory doesn't know when or where to truck will end up and the cost difference is cheaper than warranty work for Dino oil in cold environments.