I don't want my engine to just survive, I want it to thrive and run at close tolerances, there is a difference between existing and living. I also want a clean, leak free engine compartment and dirty oil will find its way past seals. My Explorer when sold at 195K with 6k synth changes and premium filters had not so much as a stain or sludge anywhere on the block, timing case or pan 9never power washed either) The guy who bought it was amazed by looking under it it had 195K and 12 years on it. Mainly because the oil stayed clean, so the seals stayed clean and oil didn't slip by.....like I said, cheap, easy...why not?

 

Amen, brother! And if you're happy, I'm happy.

Heh heh, if everyone would just admit that they do what they do simply because it makes them happy then we'd all be much.....happier

Problem is....tee hee hee.... we want to prove that *our* reason for being happy is the better than the *other guy's* reason for being happy. Talk about a fool's errand, eh?


Happily yours,

DD

 

I change mine every 30k miles. Doesn't everybody ?

Cheers
DD

 

I'll be honest in my explorer I never changed it, the only reason the trans got changed is I had to put a ECP solenoid in it. That was 50% of my non-maintenance causing 50% of my maintenance!

 

Whether an engine will burn oil or not is largely down to wear (particularly bore wear) and how aggressively the vehicle is driven and not so much whether it's filled with regular or synthetic.

I don't hang about on open roads but my X308, XK8 4.0 litre and XK8 4.2 litre never needed the oil topping up between services.

This still didn't stop me checking the oil and other fluid levels every week!

Graham

 

What you need to know about oil:

No oil in crankcase = BAD

Oil in crankcase = GOOD



BTW, my opinion is to use syn if you do track days due to higher temps, otherwise regular is fine. YMMV.

 

Norm for President.

He's the 'big picture' guy.

Graham

 

I won't put my faith in a manufacturer's recommendations if that same manufacturer designed a car that can spray hydraulic fluid in your lap and need the crappy tensioners changed out.

 

Heh heh, then you'd probably have zero faith in any recommendations from any manufacturer. I'm hard pressed to think of *any* car builder that doesn't have a few notable flub-ups in their past


Cheers
DD

 

+1. Cars + m/cycles + small airplanes all have some issues that need sorting.

Have faith, brother, trust the manufacturers when it comes to maintenance schedules.

 

At long last some sense!

 

Ah. Doug. Nice reassurances. I'm ever hoping that my baby will last forever...

A girl can dream, yeah?

Sandy

 

I understand that in many cases better oil isn't needed - but synthetic is a better lubricant. I don't see any downside to it other than a very minimal extra cost. It could save me a rebuild in certain circumstances. It might allow the engine to last an extra 50k miles. It improves gas mileage and performance slightly. Seems like an easy choice to make.

 

Except that there is NO data that supports these claims.

And here we go again............

 

I have never understood why some people care so vociferously as to the choice of oil that someone else makes for their own car, for their own reasons.

Personally, to me, it's YOUR CAR and you can put whatever oil in it that you want to, and you can even change it on the schedule that YOU choose.

 

I'm sure the factory specs are good but I wonder how that changes with time (add a decade+, a hundred grand on the ODO or more, etc). Hence these 'high mileage' flavors. Amirite?


Nonetheless, I got burned in my Volkswagen days of factory recommended timing belt change intervals of 105k, and watched other guys and gals discover in horror that theirs had snapped at 70k, 80k, etc. Regularly. The best advice is to do exactly what we're doing here- crowd source it.


My happy interval is 5k, which may be overkill, but the even better advice is that oil is cheap insurance. Old advice from my Dad. My indy shop also told me the same thing about dino juice so that's what I'm running (it was my first change, a week after I bought it, 11 mos ago). I've only put about 3k on it since, and while it gets driven regularly enough usually, I'm going by mileage over time. If it sat for years, that'd be another story.


I think I did a 7500 mi. interval on a previous car, but I would break out in night sweats...

 

Which of these statements do you disagree with:
1. Synthetics do not break down as fast as conventional oils under high temps (the basis for my saving a rebuild statement).
2. Synthetics extend engine life
3. Synthetics improve gas mileage (this one could be debated but many large fleet operations use synthetic because their numbers show they gain 1-3%).
4. Synthetics increase horsepower.

This article from Car Craft addresses all of these issues. If one article is not enough I can find plenty of others: Synthetic Versus Conventional Oil- Car Craft Magazine

All that said - I'm no expert. Use whatever makes you happy. Peace.

 

I might as well chime in lol....

Up here in the nothern part of the continent we can have cool mornings and a hot day in Aug. I use synth in my girl as it flows much more easy when it s cool out. Better protection at start up is where I feel the synth is a better way to go.

I also use synth in my Hayabuse and both of my KTMs. Snowblower, lawnmower, Generator amd chainsaw also get it. Only my 66 MGB gets special 20w50 dino oil.

The truck and Journey are our all season vehicles are synth which is so much better when starting at -40.

I stock up on oil when its on sale and the couple of extra bucks provide me peace of mind.

 

The main advantage of synthetic. Lower viscosity @ lower temps = more flow = less wear at the time most wear occurs. All the rest is icing on the cake.