Synthetic Oil in Vehicles

[ReadDude 0]

So, I know there is a thread going in the AR forum about synthetic oil (Mobil 1) for guns, but I have a question about its original intent.

 

Is it really worth the $3+/quart premium over conventional oil?

 

I have a 2007 Toyota 4runner V8 with 110,000 miles.  So I guess I am asking, do you think it is worth an extra $20 every time I get an oil change (the V8 is 6 quarts). 

 

I am pretty faithful at the doing changes at a regular manufacturer recommended 5,000 miles.

 

The sales guy at the car place clearly loves it (and the additional revenue).

 

 

[Krdshrk 3,878]

Yep - I run synthetic in all of my cars.  DIY oil changes or buy the oil yourself and bring it to some place to have them change it.

 

I do 5K changes but you can go longer with synthetic and a good oil filter - up to 15k.  It doesn't break down or cake up like conventional oil.

[olderguy 0]

I use synthetics in all my cars.  With the Amsoil "25000" oil I run around 10,000 miles on everything but my Turbo Miata.

 

Every time I change I have the oil tested by Blackstone labs and after 10,000 miles the oil is testing very good.  I really don't want to stretch it further, but probably could.  I do not believe the "25000" mile figure.

[FLHX 1]

I use it and have in all my cars. I don't really know for sure if it's that much better for the car or not. I think that if you change the oil regularly with any kind of oil you will have a much better running car. My cars have always last well over 150k miles and I believe that oil changes play a huge part in keeping them running good. So I say use whatever oil you like as long as you change the oil routinely!!

[fishnut 2,358]

The only oil I use in all my vehicles is Mobil 1. But I also do all my own oil changes so for around the cost of paying for someone to change my oil and use cheap products I can do it myself and use the good stuff. In my opinion its worth every penny.

[Heavyopp 167]

Rotella T full synthetic at walmart is usually around $20 a gallon  --  best price I can ever find it

 

1995 suburban -- 219,000 miles     

1992 GMC safari --  160,000 miles        both still driven daily 

[AlDente67 563]

Mercedes uses Mobile1 (or Amsoil) in all cars.  The engine computer monitors the oil and bleeps in when it thinks a change is due, based on driving habits.  Typically 15,000 miles between changes.  But that was on 8.5 quarts in the pan.

 

IMO, if you subscribe to the Jiffy-Lube mantra of "every 3000 miles", it would be a waste, but see what the manufacturer says.

[Holeshot 3]

After vehicle is out of warranty, I use Amsoil and their filter and change it 25k or 1 year whichever comes first.  

 

I used to be a non-believer too, but experience has changed my mind.

 

I run non-synthetic Rotella 15W-40 with GM engine assembly lube as an additive in the race motor.

[dwamp2006 1]

conventional oils are not the same they once were. If your going to change your oil every 3,000 anyway there are no benefits to synthetic over conventional.

[Howard 538]

If you are doing 25,000 mile oil changes it is worth it, if you are changing the oil every 3,000 to 5,000 miles you are wasting your money on the synthetic.  Did you know that many big rig drivers never "change" their oil.  What they do is every "X" miles they change the oil filter and then just top off the oil.

[DL75 0]

Mobile 1 is the best oil we make. How do I know? I know because I work at the refinery.

[liquidskin 3]

Still using dino, try to change it out every 5k. Thinking about getting an oil analysis on my next drain, anyone find them helpful?

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[Babyface Finster 45]

You will not see much (if any) benefit by using synthetics if you are maintaining 5K intervals.  If you want to move out to 10K and beyond you will.

 

Unless your vehicle is a known sludger, I would prefer using any API SN rated conventional and changing it at the filter every 5K.  I like removing the contaminants and combustion byproducts more frequently. I drive over 30K miles a year under less than ideal conditions and have yet to have any engine trouble that could be even remotely traced back to the oil. 

 

If you don't already do it, I would put the extra money into the maintenance items many people neglect like cooling system flushes, transmission fluid changes, brake fluid, etc. 

[Duppie 73]

You will not see much (if any) benefit by using synthetics if you are maintaining 5K intervals.  If you want to move out to 10K and beyond you will.

 

Unless your vehicle is a known sludger, I would prefer using any API SN rated conventional and changing it at the filter every 5K.  I like removing the contaminants and combustion byproducts more frequently. I drive over 30K miles a year under less than ideal conditions and have yet to have any engine trouble that could be even remotely traced back to the oil. 

 

If you don't already do it, I would put the extra money into the maintenance items many people neglect like cooling system flushes, transmission fluid changes, brake fluid, etc. 

Very true. I stay with OE specs on my cars,The wife's SUV takes 0/40 Mobil 1 and I do the change within 10 to 15 k, My Volkswagen takes 5/30 Mobil 1 and gets a change between 7 to 10 k depending on how hard I beat her. We typically don't change cars until that 200k mark and I know one of my old GTI's is still going well past the 270k mark.

[Malsua 1,422]

2010 or older Turbo Subarus and mobil 1 or Royal Purple have known spun bearing issues.  

 

Rotella T6 is the oil you should run in your older Turbo Subaru.

 

As far as one vs the other, I ran dino in my WRX for the first 70k miles and drained at 2500-3k and I have the service records to prove it..   At that point the turbo failed.  The first thing the dealer said "that's usually due to lengthy oil drain intervals".  Once I dropped the service notebook with 30+ receipts that show it was done at usually 2700 miles, I didn't hear another word.  They just fixed it under warranty.    My WRX has No tune, and is mostly old man highway driving.  

 

I've run T6 since then, no issues to report other than better cold starts, no weird cold weather noises, etc.

 

I've always run Mobile 1 in my 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 and it is what I run in my wife's Civic and I do 10k changes.

[302w 83]

It really depends. 

 

If you're responsible with your oil change, use a good conventional. Running a vehicle since the beginning on synthetics have shown to have great results, but switching to synthetics on an older vehicle can actually cause leaks. On the vehicles I maintain, everything gets conventional. A 2013 lease so I don't care, a 2009 that probably needs cam work (long story, but it ticks at 40k and is a known problem from the manufacturer), a 1993, and a 1973. The 1993 leaks with synthetic and I haven't bothered with conventional in the 1973.

[Shocker 151]

If you are doing 25,000 mile oil changes it is worth it, if you are changing the oil every 3,000 to 5,000 miles you are wasting your money on the synthetic.  Did you know that many big rig drivers never "change" their oil.  What they do is every "X" miles they change the oil filter and then just top off the oil.

 

Diesel is a different animal than gasoline engines

 

BTW, my toyota beater had its oil changed every 3k by my dad. When I bought it from him i went to every 7.5k. Engine is going strong at 196k but everything else is falling apart around it. So pick your poison.

[ReadDude 0]

Seems like a lot of believers here! If I can sum up the responses so far, they are largely in favor of using synthetics, but the primary value is extended oil life between changes. Switching late in life does not appear to have as much value with sludge as compared to full-life usage.

 

I'll probably continue with the synthetics as insurance since I want this car to last another 75K miles.

[thug the bunny 0]

I run Mobil 1 to 10 - 15K but swap out the oil filter and top it up about every 5K. My Silverado 5.3L still hums smoothly at 135K.

[hiker88 22]

I do my own oil change on my Subaru and I thought I was being bad for changing my oil every 4000 mi. I've only used full synthetic every time.

[iCARRY 0]

Old Toyota I had 190k on it using regular oil at 5k mile changes(sometimes 10k)

 

New diesel VW gets synthetic every 10k.

 

I go with the manufactures recommendations.

[AdamM 42]

The most important thing is to change it frequently. I have a friend who was sponsored by Bel-Ray (one of the top performance lube companies) back a long time ago. The cool thing was that he had to send a oil sample after every oil change, which he did after every single race in the car. Of note, after a race at Bridgehampton (a track long gone that was on Long Island) a track that was very sandy, the oil analysis showed a high level of silica (sand) in the oil. What we sometimes forget is that besides the combustion contaminates in the oil there are things that come through the intake and passed the air filter. So what you have in your oil, if you run it for a long time, is a nice polish wearing down the parts. So nothing is better than frequent oil changes, IMHO.

 

Here's another one for you! When was the last time you changed your brake fluid? It seems to be the one thing that people never change. I do it in my sports cars every year and trucks at least every two (worst case) and race car every event or two. Brake fluid is hygroscopic meaning that it absorbs water very quickly. This causes two problems. First it reduces the "boiling point" so if you ever needed to really use the brakes hard for an extended time (e.g. Going down a very steep hill) you can boil the fluid and loose your brakes. Second, the water in the brake components will start to rust and can cause your calipers to seize or fail eventually.

[67gtonut 847]

The most important thing is to change it frequently. I have a friend who was sponsored by Bel-Ray (one of the top performance lube companies) back a long time ago. The cool thing was that he had to send a oil sample after every oil change, which he did after every single race in the car. Of note, after a race at Bridgehampton (a track long gone that was on Long Island) a track that was very sandy, the oil analysis showed a high level of silica (sand) in the oil. What we sometimes forget is that besides the combustion contaminates in the oil there are things that come through the intake and passed the air filter. So what you have in your oil, if you run it for a long time, is a nice polish wearing down the parts. So nothing is better than frequent oil changes, IMHO.

 

Here's another one for you! When was the last time you changed your brake fluid? It seems to be the one thing that people never change. I do it in my sports cars every year and trucks at least every two (worst case) and race car every event or two. Brake fluid is hygroscopic meaning that it absorbs water very quickly. This causes two problems. First it reduces the "boiling point" so if you ever needed to really use the brakes hard for an extended time (e.g. Going down a very steep hill) you can boil the fluid and loose your brakes. Second, the water in the brake components will start to rust and can cause your calipers to seize or fail eventually.

 

 

^^^^^^^^  We have a winner.....

 

I wont enter into this conversation, but I agree here.... 

[EWC88 24]

I have always used Mobil 1 full synthetic since day one, but I always change my oil every 5k.

[fishnut 2,358]

The most important thing is to change it frequently. I have a friend who was sponsored by Bel-Ray (one of the top performance lube companies) back a long time ago. The cool thing was that he had to send a oil sample after every oil change, which he did after every single race in the car. Of note, after a race at Bridgehampton (a track long gone that was on Long Island) a track that was very sandy, the oil analysis showed a high level of silica (sand) in the oil. What we sometimes forget is that besides the combustion contaminates in the oil there are things that come through the intake and passed the air filter. So what you have in your oil, if you run it for a long time, is a nice polish wearing down the parts. So nothing is better than frequent oil changes, IMHO.

 

Here's another one for you! When was the last time you changed your brake fluid? It seems to be the one thing that people never change. I do it in my sports cars every year and trucks at least every two (worst case) and race car every event or two. Brake fluid is hygroscopic meaning that it absorbs water very quickly. This causes two problems. First it reduces the "boiling point" so if you ever needed to really use the brakes hard for an extended time (e.g. Going down a very steep hill) you can boil the fluid and loose your brakes. Second, the water in the brake components will start to rust and can cause your calipers to seize or fail eventually.

It has been my experience that non car people only change their oil regularly. Trans, Brake, and Coolant hardly ever are changed regularly just topped off. I luck out because a good friend of mine is a master tech at a dealer so once a year I have him do an oil, trans, and coolant flush and it costs me a 12 pack that I get to help drink. I also change the brake fluid once a year in all my vehicles. I am a firm believer in preventative maintenance and that is probably why everything mechanical that I own lasts forever. 

[iCARRY 0]

It has been my experience that non car people only change their oil regularly. Trans, Brake, and Coolant hardly ever are changed regularly just topped off. I luck out because a good friend of mine is a master tech at a dealer so once a year I have him do an oil, trans, and coolant flush and it costs me a 12 pack that I get to help drink. I also change the brake fluid once a year in all my vehicles. I am a firm believer in preventative maintenance and that is probably why everything mechanical that I own lasts forever.

Wish someone would do my VW DSG trans flush for a 12 pack. Shit, I would buy them 20 12 packs. Lol

[Krdshrk 3,878]

Yeah - some transmissions are closed systems where you can't change the fluid...

[1LtCAP 4,264]

So, I know there is a thread going in the AR forum about synthetic oil (Mobil 1) for guns, but I have a question about its original intent.

 

Is it really worth the $3+/quart premium over conventional oil?

 

I have a 2007 Toyota 4runner V8 with 110,000 miles.  So I guess I am asking, do you think it is worth an extra $20 every time I get an oil change (the V8 is 6 quarts). 

 

I am pretty faithful at the doing changes at a regular manufacturer recommended 5,000 miles.

 

The sales guy at the car place clearly loves it (and the additional revenue).

synthetic is absolutely worth it. the problem is that you've got 110k already on your car. i've run into a couple instances where i'd install synthetic oil on a high mileage vehicle, at the customers request, and suddenly they've got oil leaks. this is on vehicles that came in being bone dry underneath. i've talked to other mechanics that've had the same situation.......so i tend to not recommend switching to synthetic on a high mileage vehicle.

 

 that all said, i run mobil1 in my 2012 gt

[67gtonut 847]

Yeah - some transmissions are closed systems where you can't change the fluid...

 Oh.... you can change the fluid....   time consuming to get the level right, and the fluid is expensive.

 

And dont go by the manufacturers recs..... they will tell you its lifetime fluid.....  We talk directly to ZF , the company that designs and build these transmissions, and their engineers will tell you directly....  change the fluid.

[bennj 215]

I'm no mechanic by any means, but I do my own fluid changes. Brakes every 3 yrs., differential every 15K, trans. every 35K, coolant every 5 yrs. and oil (with mobil 1 synth) every 5-6K. I order honda fluids online and save some cash, except now it goes to buy ammo.