OTOT: Synthetic Motor Oil?

[eddief]

Decided to go that direction with my new to me Rav. But was wondering if one normally changes oil every 3K miles if synthetic vs dinosaur will make a difference.

[pjm]

Change it every 5K. :) My dealership does a synthetic oil change in my Accord for $49.95, and the fifth one is free. I can't do it myself for that $.

[Ozz]

my auto shop teacher told me....the synthetic oil might last longer, but it gets dirty just as quickly....and it's the dirt that wears out an engine.

ymmv

:beer:

[CNY rider]

Decided to go that direction with my new to me Rav. But was wondering if one normally changes oil every 3K miles if synthetic vs dinosaur will make a difference.

Does your owner manual say to do it at 3K or is that just your habit/preference?

I use synthetic in my Subaru wagon. First change is at 3K, then every 7500 thereafter.
I got 10 years and 100,000 miles out of my last wagon on that maintenance schedule. It was still running strong when I sold it.

[pjm]

Synthetic's main advantage is its ability to hold up to temperature extremes. Won't thicken up in the cold, and will resist break-down at far higher temps than dino oil. Just about all German manufacturers require synth now in all of their engines.

[eddief]

The owner's manual says every 5000 miles, but does not specify synthetic as did my 330i. So if the Rav specifies 5000 miles on regular oil, can I/should I go 7500 or 10000 on synthetic?

[bfd]

my auto shop teacher told me....the synthetic oil might last longer, but it gets dirty just as quickly....and it's the dirt that wears out an engine.

ymmv

:beer:

If you're concern about the "dirt" in the oil, then change the filter more often. On the BMW forums, most people change out their synthetic oil, and filter, every 7500 or so. Those who are really anal will change out the filter every 4000; which is about 2 filter for every oil change.

Note, if you do mostly freeway driving, then even 10k miles between changes is probably ok.

In my car, an old 90 BMW 535i, I still use dino oil, so the oil and filter get changed every 3-4K miles. Good Luck!

[Dave]

I haven't read any exhaustive studies, but Mobil 1 has an extended life version of their synthetic, that's supposed to be good for 15,000 miles or one year.

A lot of experts now recommend up to 5,000 mile change intervals, even with regular oil. I sure wouldn't change synthetic any more often than that. Honda/Accura recommends up to 10,000 mile intervals and most brands allow up to 7500 for "normal" service conditions.

A lot depends on what you're trying to accomplish. I only drive about 8,000 miles a year and rarely keep a car past 50,000 miles, so any extra care I give my engine only benefits the next owner. I'm sure that I could go a whole year between changes and not suffer any problems, but I tend to change every 6 months anyway. I often make my own synthetic blend, using half regular oil and half synthetic. If you drive 20,000 a year or more and hope to get 150,000 or more without a major overhaul, then more frequent changes might pay off.

[chrisroph]

regular intervals, 3-5000 on modern engines under normal conditions.

worth the money, synthetic is more stable, is tougher to shear, maintains viscosity in a wider range of temperatures, and thus lubricates better on start up and when the motor gets viciously hot, like when you are doing the cannonball or passing a bunch of cars on a big grade in the heart of the summer.

[maunahaole]

Break in on dino, then switch to synth.

Don't skimp on the filter - i.e. don't use a fram, as they are junk. If you want to totally geek out on this topic go see www.bobistheoilguy.com. You will then be telling us about oil.

[SoCalSteve]

On my German SUV the books tell me every 10,000 miles. I am planning on keeping this vehicle for a very long time so I change the synth oil every 5,000 miles.

Not sure if I need to, but it makes me feel better.

Just sayin'

Steve

[Ozz]

I guess my point was that you should change the oil at the intervals recommended by the manufacturers, regardless of the oil type.

If you are taking you engine to the limits (as described by chrisroph), then yeah, synthetic probably has an advantage....but for 90% of drivers, I don't think it applies.

[brians647]

my auto shop teacher told me....the synthetic oil might last longer, but it gets dirty just as quickly....and it's the dirt that wears out an engine.

ymmv

:beer:

Yep, that's 100% correct. Today's conventionals are too good to justify going synthetic.

[chrisroph]

http://www.ducatimonster.org/smf/index.php?topic=38314.0

[C5 Snowboarder]

My C5 Corvette calls for Mobile 1 change approx every 10,000 miles, the motor has an oil quality sensor and I just look at my display and change it when it shows the oil has 10% life left.

One thing to remember on engines and when to change oil is the quality of a new motor build these days is so well engineered and assembled and they burn much cleaner than yesteryear that oil changes can be less frequent. BMW and Corvette have done well in this area. :beer:

[William]

The PO of my 86 FJ60 Landcruiser had been using syn oil and changing about every 5 G's. It has 240,000+ miles on it and it looks clean as a whistle inside when you open up that oil filler cap and look inside. It started out on dino but at some point he switched it over.

Good enough for me.



William

[zap]

Our MB has an oil quality sensor as well. We schedule an oil change when the dash display starts counting down the mileage to service. I would estimate that on average the syn oil gets changed every 15K. The car has over 100k and all is well.

Syn oils lower viscosity when cold is a big plus and this is probably what reduces engine wear more than anything else.

[rnhood]

240+K miles is decent. Real decent. I have 148K on my Camry, change the oil (synthetic) about every 5K, and it runs as good as ever. Doesn't burn any either.

[WadePatton]

As a turbocharged diesel driver, my preferred method is to install a very high filtration by-pass filter and send oil samples to the lab. Synthetic oil to prevent high-temp break-down at the turbo bearings.

Lab will inform you if you have a problem. Dirt, bearings, lube, coolant--they catch it all. That's how the big fleets do it.

If the filtration systems are working. The oil doesn't need replacing. OEM spin-on filters are akin to tea strainers compared to bypass systems.

IOW, no changes. Just filter changing. And my setup holds 16 quarts. :D

And Fram does suck.

[amg]

My '06 VW Passat with 2.0 turbo motor requires synthetic oil changes every 10,000 miles. VW recommends that the synthetic oil meet their specs. which is listed on the back of the bottle. To my knowledge, the only syn. oil I've found that meets this spec. is Castrol Syntec.

I considered changing the oil every 5,000 miles just to be safe, but given that I only drive 10,000 miles in a year, I figured I'll just do it then. I plan on keeping the car for the long term and I have no reservations with changing every 10,000 miles.

YRMV

[musgravecycles]

Got a '93 FJ-80 in the family thats approaching 320,000 and still running strong.

It's had Amsoil synthetics in it from one end to the other since it was purchased in '95. Oil changed every 24k miles with a filter at 12K...

[Orin]

My '06 VW Passat with 2.0 turbo motor requires synthetic oil changes every 10,000 miles. VW recommends that the synthetic oil meet their specs. which is listed on the back of the bottle. To my knowledge, the only syn. oil I've found that meets this spec. is Castrol Syntec.

I considered changing the oil every 5,000 miles just to be safe, but given that I only drive 10,000 miles in a year, I figured I'll just do it then. I plan on keeping the car for the long term and I have no reservations with changing every 10,000 miles.

YRMV

VW/Audi had problems with 7500 mile recommended intervals on the 1.8T... Do you think the oil or 2.0T engine are significantly different?

I'd drop that interval down or get the oil analysed myself.

Orin.

[jhcakilmer]

Got a '93 FJ-80 in the family thats approaching 320,000 and still running strong.

It's had Amsoil synthetics in it from one end to the other since it was purchased in '95. Oil changed every 24k miles with a filter at 12K...


Hey J, I was waiting for your Amsoil plug! I know you love that stuff. I was talking to a Honda mechanic, and he said that Honda uses Amsoil in all there cars, not sure if that's true, but that's what I was told.

I go every 7k miles, I'm just not convinced that 10k+ miles is really worth taking the risk. Especially in the northern climates, where temperatures change so rapidly....seems as though condensation might disturb the viscosity balance.

[Erik.Lazdins]

In 1990 I purchased a VW Corrado and ran Castrol regular oil in it - On highway trips the digital oil temp gauge typically read 236-240 degrees.

Once I changed to Castrol Syntec the temps dropped nearly 20 degrees in all conditions.

I've used synthetics since.

[Homsie]

I use Redline 10w30 in my 95 BMW M3 and change it once per year or 10k miles. I also change the filter at 5k and top off with a new quart or so.

Check out the Redline propaganda:

http://www.redlineoil.com/whitePaper/motoroils.pdf

James

[romdobe]

My 2004 Porsche 911 goes back to the dealer once a year for Mobil One and a new set of windshield wipers.

[eddief]

if the filter is at the bottom of the oil pan and you change just the filter, just curious, do you unscrew the old one, get splashed with oil like crazy while attempting to screw in the new one?

or am I missing a dork step in the process?

[CNY rider]

if the filter is at the bottom of the oil pan and you change just the filter, just curious, do you unscrew the old one, get splashed with oil like crazy while attempting to screw in the new one?

or am I missing a dork step in the process?

Thanks for asking because I'm not getting this myself. :confused:

[malcolm]

most bimmers have a topside upright filter.