Synthetic Oil

Chev4Ever · October 21, 2001

I know a few people who have been using synthetic oil on there vehicles... Now can i use synthetic in my 4.3?? Will it help the engine at all with wear and tear??? Any pros/cons to look at other than price?

October 21, 2001

I have not been convinced of the synthetic advantage. I have been using Castrol GTX for years in my car, truck, dirtbike, and lawnmower with good results.

But I'm also an old fart that is resistant to change.

Pantera · October 21, 2001

http://www.oilanalysis.com/message_boards/default.asp

All of your questions will be answered.

Yes, synthetic is the only way to go. There are only a few non-syns out there that are really good stuff like Scheaffers but I would go all the way.

Start with Mobil 1 Tri-synthetic and work your way up to Royal Purple, Redline or Amsoil. Don't foget to use a high quality filter with these premium quality oils!

Pantera

Chev4Ever · October 21, 2001

Thanks for the info guys

Thanks for the website Pantera!!

Pantera · October 28, 2001

Chevy4Ever!

Go to Royal Purple's web site and check out their automotive lubes. I am switching to them at 1200 miles and I mean completely. Crankcase, tranny, power steering, rearend,etc.........

Call their hotline and talk to Jared and he will help you in any questions you might have. Better qualified techs and products than Redline oil. And they are API approved so their products will keep your rig in warantee! Redline's will not!!!

Also I found out today that many, and I mean many of the Winston Cup guys are using "RP" Royal Purple in their race cars and their own cars and trucks but they can't say anything about it because they are under a GAG order from their sponsors.

Cool huh?

Anyway don't forget to use a quality filter equal to the oil you chose to use!

Pantera

http://www.royalpurple.com/main.html

CMNTMXR81 · November 1, 2001

First things first, synthetics oils are undisputedly better than conventional motor oils, HOWEVER, their advantages really aren't fully realized unless you push change intervals to extended periods of time or push your engine hard either in terms of towing or racing. If you keep to 2-3k change intervals and drive the vehicle normally (within normal operating parameters) you'll be perfectly fine with a conventional "dino" motor oil as well as having an extra few bucks in your pocket. Of course, if you really want that piece of mind, spend the extra few $$$$ and get synthetic.

What I would like to mention here though is that you should generally break in new engines with dino oils as they tend to have minerals in them that work better as break in continues. After you feel sufficient break in time has passed, you can go to a synthetic.

With the Vortec 4800, 5300 and 6000, they are LS1 derived engines. With experience with the LS1 engines (building them and racing them), LS1's don't fully break in until 6-10k have been put on the odo. Up until that point I'd run a "dino" oil. The same is true for the new generation Vortec motors.

One myth with synthetics is people who switch to them with high mileage vehicles and then noticing oil leaks. They then claim the synthetic "Caused" the leaks. This is NOT true. The synthetic simply being a thinner base oil can seap into nooks and crannies of old wore seals that conventional oil might not be able to. Hence the oil leaking.

With that all said and to sum up, what does CMNT do with his vehicles?

Well the 2500HD is my tow vehicle, so once 6k hits, I'll switch to a synthetic. My Camaro, which I have built the engine and race, I run Mobil1 synthetic. In my Aurora and the Monte Carlo I use plain old Valvoline 5W-30 or 10W-30 (depending on season) "dino" oil for two reason, cost effectiveness (the Aurora take 7.5 quarts) and the fact that all engines get their oil changed at 2,000 mile intervals. My best advice to you is look at your requirements/needs for the vehicle as well as budget, let those guide you.

dougmac · November 15, 2001

I use standard non-synthetic API approved engine oil. I see no need to run synthetic oil. The manufactures have worked with the oil companies to produce oils that protect their engines very well. If you change the oil as recommended by the engine manufacturer your engine should last 200,000+ miles without any type of failure related to the oil not doing its job.

Synthetic oils are superior to conventional oils. However, conventional oils do not fail in the areas that the synthetics are superior. When we look at thermal breakdown, synthetics are more resistant. The internal temperatures inside yoour engine are not high enough to cause breakdown in conventional oil so you really have no net gain here.

Synthetics are also more resistant to viscosity breakdown. The only time you will see viscosity breakdown in conventional oil is under very high temperatures or if the oil is ran beyond its useful life. Once again if you change it at the recommended intervals, you have the same protection as the synthetic oil.

This may lead you to believe you can leave your synthetic oil in for longer than conventional oil. There are two problems I see with this approach.

The first issue is contaminants. Synthetics do not have an advantage when it comes to dealing with contaminants. The additive package is responsible for this job. The additives that are used can be placed in either type of oil. Additives vary based on the manufacturers preference not the type of oil. Added filters will remove some contaminants, but there are contaminates, including soluble contaminants, that cannot be removed by filtering the oil. The only way to remove them is by changing the oil that they are suspended in.

The second issue is additive depletion. Additives go away in time and simply having higher concentrations of additives is not he answer. Some additives can damage your engine if their concentration is too high. To ensure that your engine has the proper level of additives use API certified engine oil.

Heavy duty fleets often use oil sampling to extend drain intervals. Using oil samples to determine the proper drain interval requires a great deal of work. The process involves developing baseline for the wear metals, contaminants additive and total base number. The sampling is done on the specific type engine, operating in conditions that are unique to its vocation. Oil degradation occurs differently for different engine types, some engines are simply harder on engine oil than others. The operating conditions the engine is run in also affects the rate of degradation. A dump truck would certainly be harder on oil than a long haul freight truck with the same engine.

Once the baseline is established the drain intervals are extended and the oil is sampled and analyzed for degradation This requires many samples to develop a enough data to see the point where the oil degrades and accelerated engine wear occurs. This is cost effective for fleets, however, in your personal vehicle it is much more work and expense than simply changing your oil as recommended by the manufacturer.

When conducting oil analysis, if you simply rely on generic thresholds for oil condition you do not get a clear picture of what is going on with your engine oil. You can have higher than normal wear and never have reached these generic thresholds. When you rely on generic thresholds, you will only know when the oil has reached a crisis condition and some damage has occurred.

The engine manufacturers do extensive testing on the properties of the lubricants used in their engines. The is no reason to doubt there recommendations ..... use an API certified engine oil of the viscosity recommended by the manufacturer and change it when they say to.

Doug

FIRECAT · November 20, 2001

I use nothing but synthetics in my vehicles and have never had any problems. I have also changed to extedned drain intervals on my motor oil, with no problems. Don't let anybody push you away from using them, just be sure you properly research them first.

dougmac · November 21, 2001

Quote from FIRECAT, posted on Nov. 20 2001,11:23

Don't let anybody push you away from using them, just be sure you properly research them first.

FIRECAT

I agree synthetic oils are good oils. However, I disagree that the oil can be used safely beyond its recommended change interval. I am interested in how you have come to this conclusion. What do you recommend for change intervals? What "research" do you base your recommendation on? How do you decide if the extended oil change interval has caused accelerated wear in your engine?

Doug