Conventional Motor oil VS Synthetic for Diesels

I am in my mid 60's and have always been a very high mileage driver in my career and with my small 40 acre farm. I have put 300K on multiple diesels. Two of them VW tdi's which called for synthetic oil only.

I have had excellence results with group 5 synthetic oils running 10K oil changes on diesel and gas engines. I occasionally back that up with oil analysis until I am sure I am not pushing the oil to far. I will admit I am doing this 1/2 for convenience sake to cut down on doing oil changes every 3 weeks.

I am running 15W40 Amsoil synthetic in my Ram CTD right now. I'm not paying the prices ar this link because I am an Amsoil dealer for my own use just because I have enough equipment it makes it worth while.

Do a little reading on synthetics oils some are group 3 which aren't that much better the standard dino oils. The best are the group 5 oils and they are of much better quality with better additive packages. Mobil (Delvac), Shell and Cat also have some good quality synthetic oils.

If your looking for big fuel mileage gains, I don't think you will ever see it. At least I haven't anyway.

In 55 yrs of driving and well over 1 million miles between the DW and myself, I have never had an engine fail in any car or truck. Some well over 100,000 and one over 243,000. And I have never used synthetic oil of any kind. Just regular oil changes according to the owner's manual. Good enough for me.

I would say the point is sort of moot. Mercedes has a distinct spec for the oil, and it may not be wise to use something else, either due to particulates, or other properties.

For other vehicles, I've found that synthetic does last somewhat longer. Generators, it actually does a bit of good making them a tad quieter, although that could be imagination. However, since generators are splash lubricated, the oil has to work harder, so might as use synthetic there.

Wrench

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003QHQW8I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Filter

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DRLPP8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

oil

https://www.amazon.com/Valvoline-SynPower-Synthetic-Motor-5W-40/dp/B000GAP428/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490211296&sr=8-1&keywords=valvoline+5-40+synthetic

I was mentioned so let me chime in. I have used synthetic oil in my diesel pick up and had it lab tested .Their recommendations were that based on my usage i should change my oil at 6500 miles. At the time i was pulling a 32ft. trailer with my Jeep inside . Now I pull my Jeep behind me and based on two of my friends who have logged 275k miles and the other 450K miles on this V-10i consider that a good sign to use the Mobil 1 like they do. Neither truck had any engine issues, the 450K did drop a cylinder at the end of it's life. Costco offers Mobil 1 and I stock up when it offers the rebate. Previous gassers ,K-5 Chevy Blazers, both went over 250K without engine issues.One never had the valve covers off.
First and foremost a consistent maintenance program using quality products is absolutely the best extended warranty you could ever purchase. Research available online conducted by independent research has shown comparisons that I trust. I buy good filters, tires and oil and encourage others to do the same or the best you can afford.
Your results AND opinions may vary.......

I'm very sure that your View requires the M-B spec oils and you should find it in your owners manual. If you have an engine failure and non-spec oil is in the engine, your warrantee will be voided.

Start here: https://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/index.php?language_id=1

I got my oil from Amazon, along with the 14-flat wrench for the oil filter and the oil filter itself, fast and less expensively than any where else. I changed my own oil, saving $$$.

Johno02 wrote:
I have used synthetic for as long as it has been on the market. Originally, for the fuel mileage, which I carefully tested and documented. As more syn long-chain polymiers were addeded to conventional, the mileage advantage largely disappeared. Now I use it mostly because an a non-carbon, I feel that it gives me better protection than conventional petroleum based products, and does not seem to break down into filter clogging sludge as bad as conventional oils. But, that's just my opinion, and I urge others to do as they feel best. I know lots of folks that will only use a particular brand or type, and will never even consider using anything else.

Do you remember how much of a mileage increase that you observed?

I have used synthetic for as long as it has been on the market. Originally, for the fuel mileage, which I carefully tested and documented. As more syn long-chain polymiers were addeded to conventional, the mileage advantage largely disappeared. Now I use it mostly because an a non-carbon, I feel that it gives me better protection than conventional petroleum based products, and does not seem to break down into filter clogging sludge as bad as conventional oils. But, that's just my opinion, and I urge others to do as they feel best. I know lots of folks that will only use a particular brand or type, and will never even consider using anything else.

I don't believe that you can purchase a synthetic 15w40 and all 5w40 that I am familiar with is synthetic, never a synthetic blend. We do however sell a synthetic blend 15w40.

Do they specifically call for conventional 15W40, or just 15W40 meeting service grade xxx or something along those lines? I've never heard of a modern engine explicitly specifying conventional motor oil. (5W40 is presumably synthetic, or at least synthetic blend, mainly because conventional oil of that viscosity isn't available.)

I personally would probably use 15W40 synthetic, Mobile 1 or whatever. It's not that much more costly at e.g. Wal-Mart, and spread over 15,000 miles any cost difference is immaterial. That's basically what I do with my car and my Ford-based motorhome--though neither are diesel, and the viscosities are different (as specified by the manufacturers).