# Synthetic Oil & Grease



## Giles (Jan 25, 2010)

I am a Mechanic wih 50 years experience. In my opinion Syntehtic would be desireable in extreme driving conditions. Extremely hot, extrenely cold. 
I differ from the vast majority of people in that after 10 or 12K miles, I would not switch to synthetic. The different oils have different "oil seal swell properties" and I will not take a chance.:no: Lots of people do and have no problems.:yes:


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## hyunelan2 (Aug 14, 2007)

My personal opinion is that I like to change my oil more often than I would to see the benefit of synthetics. Sure, they don't break-down as fast and have lubricating qualities that last longer, but gunk in the oil is gunk in the oil. Change it regularly to get all the crud out of the engine and move on.

I might feel different if I put it in a 500hp Corvette or something, but for my normal, everyday cars regular-old dino oil works well for me.


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## nap (Dec 4, 2007)

since Ford decided that synthetic is the only spec'd lube for my differential, I have to run synthetic. I use synthetic in my engines due to their life. I tend to get lazy sometimes and do not change as often as I should. I like the safety margin the synthetic gives me.

I also hang on to my vehicles until they are no longer operable. I cannot compare synthetic to non-synthetic (that would be impossible because each engine is different) so I cannot say synthetic has extended the life of the engines, I can say the engines are generally not the reason the cars are retired.


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## ukrkoz (Dec 31, 2010)

CR-V says 13 000 miles? when did they change this? 
anyhow. i do amsoil only. used to do royal purple, but it's a better product.
i change oil in my wife's RX3-- about every 12 000 miles, maybe 15 000 miles. it comes out cheaper - and better running engine - than doing conventional changes every 5K.
i do my silverado oil changes about the same - 15K. 
i do synthetic oils exclusively on any non-oil taking engine we have. they simply run better.
you need to read this:

http://www.zag.si/~jank/public/bmw/oil_bible.pdf


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## BigD9 (Mar 10, 2011)

ukrkoz said:


> CR-V says 13 000 miles? when did they change this?
> anyhow. i do amsoil only. used to do royal purple, but it's a better product.
> i change oil in my wife's RX3-- about every 12 000 miles, maybe 15 000 miles. it comes out cheaper - and better running engine - than doing conventional changes every 5K.
> i do my silverado oil changes about the same - 15K.
> ...


 
That has been the average mileage when the oil life maintenance reminder display shows 10% oil life is left. The maintenance reminder also shows when a filter needs changing, and tire rotation times are up.


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

It came off the line with it, so I still run synthetic in our 'vette, but disregard the stupid maintenance reminder, and shoot for about 3,000 mile oil changes. Not sure what it would cost to replace that engine, but I've worked too hard to have it, so will do as they recommend, i.e. synthetic oil. As for my pickup and the wife's car, I still shoot for 3,000 mile intervals, which means that my truck may go close to 5,000 miles every once in a while, but use regular, non-synthetic oil in them. I am old school though, so as Giles mentioned, if I was going to run synthetic in anything else, it would be from day one, as I do not believe that running one kind for a while, and then another, is a good thing; too many things that could go wrong with seals, bearings, etc.


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## Leah Frances (Jan 13, 2008)

Blackstone. will test your used oil and make scientific recommendations about change interval. 

I'm all synthetic all the time - but I never let cars go.... our Volvo 240 DL (1986) has had synthetic in it since it's first oil change and has over *450K miles* on it now. When I've bought used cars, I have picked ones with documented use of synthetic over ones without. 

Also, since ya'll know I'm not exactly the queen of checking my oil....:laughing:.... I thought I'd let you know that the Subaru is back in my paddock and it will have a syn-blend of break-in oil for the first 5000 miles, then back to synthetic.


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## ukrkoz (Dec 31, 2010)

BigD9 said:


> That has been the average mileage when the oil life maintenance reminder display shows 10% oil life is left. The maintenance reminder also shows when a filter needs changing, and tire rotation times are up.



what year is it? curious.

reason being, when i bought my 2004 CR-V, it still was recommended 3000 miles oil changes. at that point in time, i had to drive average 1000 miles a week. accordingly, oil changes every 3-4 weeks. 
what was my relief, when i discovered royal purple - and switched to 10 000 miles changes!
hence my curiosity.


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## ukrkoz (Dec 31, 2010)

Leah Frances said:


> our Volvo 240 DL (1986) has had synthetic in it since it's first oil change and has over *450K miles* on it now.


oh, wow!! that's a lot of miles on first oil change. what brand is it?:wink:


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## ukrkoz (Dec 31, 2010)

BigD9 said:


> That has been the average mileage when the oil life maintenance reminder display shows 10% oil life is left. The maintenance reminder also shows when a filter needs changing, and tire rotation times are up.



ok, so they do not have maintenance schedule, but a magic light that tells you when to do it and, better so, when Honda thinks it's time to do it?

_Depending on your mix of city and highway driving, you can expect it to take 8000 miles to possibly as much as 15,000 miles. I'd guess that the typical interval is 12,000 miles. But it's not clear what parameter Honda uses to adjust the mileage interval. IF it's just engine operating hours, miles, engine load, RPM's, # of starts???_


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## polarzak (Dec 1, 2008)

I use regular oil in our cars,, and change it about every 6000 miles or when the oil minder comes on, whichever is first. Never had much use for synthetic
oil, mainly because of price. We had an 88 Buick that had 340,000 miles on it using regular oil. It ran like a charm in extreme cold..-10F to 90F. It would have gotten more miles, but we got a new car.
To me synthetic oil is just a gimmick to extract more money from our wallets.


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## BigD9 (Mar 10, 2011)

ukrkoz said:


> ok, so they do not have maintenance schedule, but a magic light that tells you when to do it and, better so, when Honda thinks it's time to do it?
> 
> _Depending on your mix of city and highway driving, you can expect it to take 8000 miles to possibly as much as 15,000 miles. I'd guess that the typical interval is 12,000 miles. But it's not clear what parameter Honda uses to adjust the mileage interval. IF it's just engine operating hours, miles, engine load, RPM's, # of starts???_


Also number of cold starts, average oil temperature, humidity. At least that is what I have been told. Its a 2009 Honda CRV AWD. If you reset the reminder to early you will loose the codes that tell you when its time to perform other maintenance like rear differential oil changes (very very important in the CRV) brake and antifreeze change times.

I wish it did have a maintenance schedule. (Actually I have one courtesy of another forum for everything but the oil)

Funny thing when we bought it, the saleslady insisted we follow the maintenance reminder, and the shop foreman agreed, but we keep getting discount coupons for oil changes saying how important 3000 mile changes are!


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## CoconutPete (Jan 22, 2010)

I started using synthetic in a car once when I was young and eager .... a car I bought w/ 46K miles on it .... a car that had been using regular oil prior to meting me ...... a domestic car!!!! That's the last time I'll ever do that. Remember synthetic is finer and gets into places dino oil can't ..... let's just say it was valve cover gasket time and a bunch of other stuff somewhat soon after!

I use syntetic in the BMW because it calls for it. I do, however change it every 7500 instead of the 15K miles that BMW recommends (it just helps me sleep better)
I use regular in my wife's Toyota because it's free
I use regular in my volvo because it had 60K when we got it and had never used it. It has 125K now and deserves oil every 3K


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## hyunelan2 (Aug 14, 2007)

BigD9 said:


> Funny thing when we bought it, the saleslady insisted we follow the maintenance reminder, and the shop foreman agreed, but we keep getting discount coupons for oil changes saying how important 3000 mile changes are!


Contrary to some common beliefs, dealer's don't make a lot of money from selling new cars. They make a lot of their money from servicing them. Open the owner's manual of your car, it will have manufacturer recommended oil change interval information in it. Usually this interval is much longer than the dealer tells you. The dealer's service department wants you in the door more frequently. If you go the recommended 7500 miles between oil changes, that's only 2 oil changes in 15K miles, where they could be billing you for 5 oil changes if you go in every 3K miles.


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## ukrkoz (Dec 31, 2010)

hyunelan2 said:


> Contrary to some common beliefs, dealer's don't make a lot of money from selling new cars. They make a lot of their money from servicing them. Open the owner's manual of your car, it will have manufacturer recommended oil change interval information in it. Usually this interval is much longer than the dealer tells you. The dealer's service department wants you in the door more frequently. If you go the recommended 7500 miles between oil changes, that's only 2 oil changes in 15K miles, where they could be billing you for 5 oil changes if you go in every 3K miles.



ditto.
dealerships are not repair shops. their bread and butter is low level workforce, short time, high volume items like oil changes, belts, etc. higher profit margin. just like teeth cleaning by your dentists. they hire a bunch of entry level folks and tell you to do it every few mths. or the infamous wisdom teeth. let us pull'm out!

no one in sane mind switches an oil taker to synthetic. every car i buy, and i buy used, is tested for oil consumption. in 2-3 000 miles, you know well enough if it's a candidate for synth, or not. if it takes oil - it's a no go. adding oil is too expensive. we have a 95 eclipse in the family that i will never even get close to synth. but the rest of our cars, and my son's cars - synth only. i do amsoil, he does royal purple, his choice. works great.
otherwise, if you do your oil changes with synth every 15 000 miles - and i do sleep well with that - it is cheaper than to do 5 000 miles with conventional oils. and that is not even the point. the point is - synthetics are plain better lubricants. BMW is not dumm to request synth oil in their engines. best i know, virtually all new models come with synth in them. thereafter, end users start justifying, usually based on $$, this or that. :whistling2:

alot of this is habit, stubbornness, fear, even cultural or reginal inhibitions. y'all know well enough there are chevy and ford areas in the country, or asian ones. i can tell you, from working in five states, that ******* in AL is driving a beat up Chevy or Ford, ******* here in Pacific NW - beat up VW or Civic. even better - an Opel. same goes for oils.


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

I typically run synthetic blend oil in the moderate months. During the 20 years we lived in Minnesota, I always ran full synthetic oil in the winter. The difference in how easily an engine turns over and starts in, -25 degree temperatures, is surprising.

I generally change my oil somewhere in the 5,000 - 7,000 mile range - partly depending on if the oil on the dipstick shows any signs of being filthy.

Basically, I keep our vehicles until they die. Currently, our "newest" vehicle has 136,000 miles & we have one with over 350,000 miles. I plan to keep doing what I'm doing.


I do think that many of the "synthetic versus dino oil" arguments are a moot point. Change your oil and filter regularly, and do the other maintenance on your vehicles in a timely fashion. THAT is the key to getting long life out of the vehicle.


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## rusty baker (Feb 13, 2009)

I am the second owner of a 89 Riviera. 225, 000 miles, still runs like new. Had synthetic when I got it, will not change it now. Still gets 33 mpg hiway.


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