synthetic oils

[Andy in NY]

is there any real benifit to using synthetic oils? I was thinking about switching my truck (99 olds bravada with 100k) and the boat (66 merc 50 hp), and possibly the chainsaws too.


i did some checking on the internet, and it seems that there really isnt much of an advantage compared to the extra money.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: synthetic oils

You can go longer without changing it. I just made the switch in my truck because Autozone had a really good sale on Castrol Syntec along with a K&N oil filter. That combination did bring my oil pressure up a little bit at least according to my crappy gauge.

 

[MikDee]

Re: synthetic oils

There's less friction with synthetic oils, figure it out, less heat, less wear, & tear, less carbon, & gunk buildup, better fuel economy, more power, is there really no benefit?

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: synthetic oils

There's less friction with synthetic oils, figure it out, less heat, less wear, & tear, less carbon, & gunk buildup, better fuel economy, more power, is there really no benefit?

Maybe i came across wrong, i understand there is benifet. but is it worth the extra cost? what about the different brands? the wal mart brand full synthetic runs 14 for 5 qts, while mobil 1 is 20 somthing...

 

[JB]

Re: synthetic oils

I switched my Audi Fox to Mobil 1 in 1976 and got an immediate jump in mpg to 36 (from 32).

For 20 years I was suspicious of claims that you could safely go 5,000 to 10,000 miles between changes, so I just continued to change at 3,000 miles.

Then, in 1998, I bought a Mercedes ML320. The book said synthetic only, Mobil 1 recommended. The kicker was that it has an oil monitoring system that tells you when the oil needs changing. For the past 11 years and 235,000 miles I have never needed an oil change (with filter, every time) in less than 10,000 miles, and more often it is 12-13,000 miles.

Is it worth the extra cost? Yes, Andy, for vehicles and 4 stroke whatevers. For 2 stroke outboards, I don't think it is worth the extra bux, but you makes your choices and pays your money.

 

[MikDee]

Re: synthetic oils

I tried quite few, but Mobil one is the best IMO, and it's all I use now! Wallymarts, is just okay for synthetic. I didn't mean to talk down to you,,, it's just my bad day, has been going on for 3 now, and the rain never stops! no boating, no mowing the lawn, no car repairs

 

[wajajaja02]

Re: synthetic oils

merc manual says no to synthetics ?

 

[JB]

Re: synthetic oils

Can you be more specific, wajajaja? I had heard that Merc didn't want synthetics in the 4 stroke outboards because they blamed it for making oil.

 

[marine4003]

Re: synthetic oils

The company's make more money selling THERE brand oil than allowing consumers to pick there own brand..ever notice how the motor manufacturers tout how THERE oil is specially formulated for there specific motor??? thats funny because for years Yamaha made Mercury..nissan/tohatsu made Johnson & evenrude..and each motor has its own specific brand..Ive been racing boats for years, and for the most part a synthetic oil is applied..why? primarily because synthetic holds its viscosity longer than "real" oil,especially in higher temp racing motors, its also a better "carrier" of anti-corrosion elements than oil. Yes it is more expensive,but if it will get you even 100 more engine hours over oil..its worth it.

 

[wca_tim]

Re: synthetic oils

Is it worth the extra cost? Yes, Andy, for vehicles and 4 stroke whatevers. For 2 stroke outboards, I don't think it is worth the extra bux, but you makes your choices and pays your money.

wow, I've never done any side by side comparisons with synthetics in two stroke outboards, but for my 2 stroke motorcycles there was a HUGE difference in performance when properly using high quality synthetic oils...

 

[alumi numb]

Re: synthetic oils

i believe synthetic is better but having said that i also believe it to be a judgement call.
the islander will be on synthetic namely castrol syntec.
now in my dodge cummins i use mobil delvac.
from 04.5 on "3rd injection cycle" it's like these trucks came with soot in the oil pan, it's always black.
so i change every 7500 miles as should and usually a little sooner just to get that soot out.
the thing is it takes 12 qts so you can see synthetic would be very costly.
properly maintained and driven on reg oils they will go a million miles.
mines a 04.5 and as of today it has 74000 miles on it.
so you can see it's going to take some time to roll over 1 million.