Synthetic oil OVER DUE?

[jamesgalant]

i have searched and read many post about synthetic oil..my 8g has 156K miles on it and have been changing my own oil with penzoil 10w30 and i heard its reccomended for older engines to use sythetic oil...i was probably gonna use castrol or mobile 1 full synthetic...My g has no leaks and i havent been burning any oil...just need some reassurance or feed back of any reccomendation what i should use 10w30 5w30.. i live in cali....sorry for the noob question...but need your expertise....YOUR help is very much appreciated thanks...

[djakay]

i use 5W30 Mobil 1 live in NY. helps me with cold start, and runs great

[boochieboy]

The "preferred" viscosity for our cars is 5W30 but you're right,,,you can also use 10W30 and being that you're in Cali. I'd probably run 10W30 as well. I live in P.A. and it gets cold as a mofo here in winter (windchill of -21 yesterday) so I just run 5W30 Castrol Syntec year long,,,works fine for me. When I switched over to synthetic I did notice a VERY small leak from the valve cover gasket, but nothing to cry over,,,,,and yes,,full synthetic oil is good for older cars with high mileage-,,,,,,did you read the thread on oil and change intervals?

[GOOSEY2099]

i use 10w40 all year long....

[Kenjuro_2]

I was about to ask this same question. Thanks for the info.

[jamesgalant]

thanks for the feed back fellas...will switch to synthetic when its time...

[xcore]

also try part synthetic.....i think they are better for our cars

[RedGalant2k1]

also try part synthetic.....i think they are better for our cars

Semi-syns are a waste of money. If you go with any quality synthetic oil you should look at AMSoil 5w30 or Mobil One 5W30 (10w30 on higher mileage engines not previously using synthetics).

[732Galant]

So it is recommended to switch to synthetic on higher mileage? I coulda sworn I read on here from several "prominent" members that it was a bad idea to switch to synthetic if you have been using non-synthetic for an extended period of time

[lonestar22]

ive run mobile one synthetic 10w30 since the car had 15miles on it. im currently at 127K and not a single drip of oil anywhere. lifter tick gets loud around the time to change the oil though

[boochieboy]

So it is recommended to switch to synthetic on higher mileage? I coulda sworn I read on here from several "prominent" members that it was a bad idea to switch to synthetic if you have been using non-synthetic for an extended period of time

You can be the most "prominent" member on here and still be misinformed.
The ONLY drawback when switching to a synthetic motor oil in a high mileage vehicle is that you MAY get a leak somewhere that you hadn't seen before,,,or that wasn't as bad before switching over. Synthetics have more detergents in them than conventional oil, and as they clean the engine they may eliminate a clump of sludge or deposit near a gasket that was preventing a leak,,,,,thus,,,,,giving you a leak. Synthetics are also better at start up,,especially in freezing temperatures. Some people even say that they keep your engine cooler and do a better job with lubrication also. One last thing,,,,,you can switch from conventional oil to synthetic, or from synthetic to conventional and back to synthetic again as many times as you want and at ANY time without harm,,,they are fully compatible. Check this link and click on the "ALL ABOUT OIL" video
http://advanceautoparts.com/english/...er_clinics.asp or go to http://castrolsyntec.com/synthetics-411.aspx it may clear up some misconceptions about synthetics.

[boochieboy]

Sorry to double post but before I switched to using synthetic oil I read up on it for probably a good 2 or 3 months,,, so I know what I'm talking about. I just hate to see people afraid to switch to synthetic because of what they heard from some old timer that doesn't know what they're talking about.

[ricky_db]

mobile 1 10W30 FTW

[RedGalant2k1]

So it is recommended to switch to synthetic on higher mileage? I coulda sworn I read on here from several "prominent" members that it was a bad idea to switch to synthetic if you have been using non-synthetic for an extended period of time

They are misinformed, the oil does NOT cause the leaks, leaky gaskets do. As boochieboy already explained conventional oil (commonly referred to as: dino oil) creates more build up and sludge deposits. Much like the arteries in your body they clog in certain spots more than others, whether it be from the oil pump itself to any oil feed lines, to a tiny spec of poorly machined surface inside the engine, or even just heat and varnish build up.

Synthetic oil by nature (as described) keeps the engine cleaner much more effectively and should ALWAYS be chosen over conventional oil when possible. I've serviced my own vehicles for well over 200,000 exclusively with AMSoil or Mobil One (though I much prefer AMSOil), and there is little to no varnish build up, barely any engine wear internally. So again it is just a stigma that the synthetic oil causes the leak, it is a old worn gasket not the oil.

If you do choose to run synthethic oil run a slightly higher viscosity than standard (what I was told by Mobil One and AMSoil directly). For example (like I said above) where you'd normally run 5w30 run 10w30 instead.

Sorry to double post but before I switched to using synthetic oil I read up on it for probably a good 2 or 3 months,,, so I know what I'm talking about. I just hate to see people afraid to switch to synthetic because of what they heard from some old timer that doesn't know what they're talking about.

Its not necessarily a 'old timer' that is giving the advice more than it is someone who 'heard' it from backyard mechanics that are totally misinformed or think they know better than billions of dollars of research and engineering.

[boochieboy]

Thanks REDGALANT,,,I was hoping you'd chime in.

[guynlidia2006]

it would be better to switch to higher mileage oil... it is made for cars with over 75,000 miles... thats what i would use... since you have been using reg oil

[RedGalant2k1]

it would be better to switch to higher mileage oil... it is made for cars with over 75,000 miles... thats what i would use... since you have been using reg oil

A 'high mileage' oil isn't anything special other than a slightly different additive package. And in reality out of all the styles of oil out there those positioned or promoted as semi-syns or 'high mileage' oils are mostly a gimmick. Now I haven't seen any real detail information to necessarily warrant that conclusion, but like I said about semi-syns are useless, you may as well save the money and keep using traditional dino oil.

Not to mention the additive package in most traditional oils is more than adequate when compared to any other non-synthetic grade oil. And for the record the only full synthetic from anyone but AMSoil is Mobil's (as well as Castrol, Pennzoil, and a few other major brands) 0W40 and 5W40 Euro grade oils. Royal Purple is a good choice also for synthetic.

[Gbaby2089]

i live in WI so i should prolly use 5w30, right???

[RedGalant2k1]

i live in WI so i should prolly use 5w30, right???

Yes, 5w30 is more than adequate for 99% of vehicles in the United States today (except diesels and performance cars). The other 1% of vehicles are used in SCCA, USAC, NHRA, NOPI, or some other form of dedicated race vehicle.

[lor_tek]

Just thought I put in my opinion. I know for a fact that synthetic is good for high mileage car. So it is okay for you to switch. Like other TGC member's have stated, it definitely synthetic oil will make your engine healthy in the long run. The only downside, $$$$. Cost just a bit more for synthetic so be prepare. But if you love your car, why not just use synthetic. I'm going synthetic on my next oil change. It's about time for my g to switch.