Synthetic oil or not?

[bkrell]

Wal-Mart has three main suppliers for Supertech: SOPUS (Shell), ExxonMobil, and WPP (Warren Performance Packaging, part of Warren Distribution).

[Greybrick]

For Canadian cold weather conditions I've been using ester based Motul 8100 E-Tech Lite 0w30 which has a low temperature pour point of about -75F which means at about the coldest -40F temps we see around here the oil is still a low viscosity liquid and still doing it's work at startup. I've had occasion to start the engine at about -30F without being able to plug in the block heater and the engine with 0w30 turns over and starts very quickly so I think there is less internal engine friction and starter wear than if using thicker oils. The Motul oil also stays a lot cleaner on the dipstick throughout the 12K kms use cycle than other oils I've tried, so I guess that the engine is benefiting from less internal carbon, varnish and sludge buildup, but I'll be pulling a valve cover soon to check that.

http://www.motul-canada.com/

Motul is a French product but there are various US companies coming on stream which don't use petroleum mineral 'dino' oil or natural gas sythesized PAO base stocks;

http://www.getg.com/products/product...=1&ProductID=1

http://www.ultracheminc.com/cat_MotorOils.htm

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[JanGeo]

Synlube 5w50 non-petrolium lubricant typically 8% FE gain and 150,000 mile change interval with 3 special filter changes during that 150,000 miles. Check it once a month for oil level and add if needed with Ad-Oil. Currently 17,100 miles on Synlube and it seems to be working just fine. And when you actually change the Synlube you send it back to them to get it recycled so it is a very Green Lubricant.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by JanGeo

Synlube 5w50 non-petrolium lubricant typically 8% FE gain and 150,000 mile change interval with 3 special filter changes during that 150,000 miles.

Do they give you a plate to screw to your oil fill cap saying "Please consult owner before servicing oil" in case your mechanic gets at it?

[JanGeo]

They give you big laminated stickers that say to not add conventional motor oil - as well as stickers for the transmission lube and power steering lube and a drain plug sticker too that I did not put on the oil pan. Yeah my biggest nightmare is taking it in for some non-related service and has some nut drain the oil out or worse add something to it.

[needmorempg]

Wow! What a wealth of information. I never expected to learn so much from one thread. Thanks guys. I think I'll be making the switch.

[R.I.D.E.]

I read somewhere a while back that Ford changed the pressure relief valves on their engines to limit pressure to 35 psi, the claim was .5 mpg improvement in mileage without hurting engine.

Could also have been related to 5w-30 oils and the concept of better flow with lower viscosity.

Make sense?

regards
badger

[GasSavers_Mark]

Oil is intended to both lube and cleanse. Synthetics may hold up for 10,000 miles, but essentually dirty and/or contaminated oil is being run in a motor for that much longer of a time. Is it logical to believe that everything that has gone into an engine in 10,000 miles is/was contaminiate free?

[nlife]

Check out http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ for actual test results from users just like me and you. They aren't affiliated with any one brand and the independent tests speak volumes (at least to me) about the validity of synthetics over conventional.

Yes conventional oils have increased dramatically, but there are better options available. You're not going to destroy your engine either way IF you at least use the recommended weight.

As for situations where regular oil is better, look no further than engines that burn oil. I made that mistake once and will not do it again. Synthetics do not burn very well. While dino oil doesn't burn very well either, it burns a heck of a lot better than synthetic. Synthetic tends to coat the plugs and cause poor running conditions as well as misfires although at that point, you've got larger problems on your hands than which oil to use.

N

[DracoFelis]

Originally Posted by Mark

Oil is intended to both lube and cleanse. Synthetics may hold up for 10,000 miles, but essentually dirty and/or contaminated oil is being run in a motor for that much longer of a time. Is it logical to believe that everything that has gone into an engine in 10,000 miles is/was contaminiate free?

That mostly depends upon the quality of your oil filtration.

As long as the oil itself can hold up that long (and good quality synthetics can), than the real limitation is the quality of your FILTERS. There is a HUGE difference between say a conventional filter that maybe filters down to 35 microns or so, and something like the Amsoil EAO filters (that can filter down to 10 microns or less, and have much more capacity to hold junk before they fill up).

And for even better filtration (than you can get even with the EAO filters), you can go with "Bypass Filters" (a separately plumbed in micro-filter added to the car). A good "Bypass Filter" can easily filter down to 2 microns or less, getting virtually all of the harmful dirt out of the oil (any soot small enough to be missed by a good bypass filter, is too small to cause much harm anyway).

So with a good bypass system, dirt in the oil is essentially not a problem, no matter how long you run your oil (as long as you change your bypass filters when they fill up with dirt). And with the dirt in the oil problem solved, you then are limited by the much longer mileage interval until the oil itself breaks down. And even with mid-range synthetics, that can easily be over 10,000 miles (and with premium synthetics, it can be 20,000 miles or more).

BTW:
I use both the premium Amsoil EAO filters, and a seperate bypass filter system in mine and my wife's cars. So for both our cars, the oil filtration is top notch (essentially making "dirt in the oil" a non-problem for me). And I also use top rated synthetic lubricants that take a very long time to break down. As a result, I've already got 10,000+ miles on my current oil change, and I still haven't decided when I'm next going to change the oil (likely before next winter, but I may decide not to do it before then), as the oil still seems to be in very good shape. Instead, I simply add a little "make up oil" every couple of thousand miles or so, just to keep the oil sump (dip stick) topped off...