I bought my sunfire with 120 000 kms on it, should i use syntethic oil, semi syntehtic or regualr oil. I dont know if its a rumor but i herd if you use synthetic oil in older engines after they are use to regular oil, that some seals could start to leak. So let me know
Thanks

i think youll be alright. but im not sure on that



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It is unlikely that synthetic oil will have any bad effects on the seals in your car.

Sometimes, in older high-mileage engines, "false seals" can develop over time - sludge buildup on parts behind the actual seals, which can actually prevent oil from getting to the seal at all. Synthetic oils have better detergent packages, which could help to remove these "false" seals, now allowing oil to reach the original seal, which is likely damaged and worn out by this time.

Some older engines had different materials used in their seals which may have been incompatible with some synthetics, but this really hasn't been an issue since the 1970's (to my knowledege, anyway).

Synthetics certainly have their advantages, but they don't come cheaply. If you are very dilligent about changing your oil and filter at regular intervals, then the synthetic blends are a decent product - providing better flow characteristics and protection than regular oils, without the full cost of synthetic. I've never really looked into seeing what differences there are between the different "blends", and unfortunately you really don't know what the ratio of the "blend" is. I suspect it's still strongly biased towards the regular oil, but even that has many "synthetic" additives in it these days.

As long as you keep your intervals short, you will likely do just fine with regular oil, unless you drive very aggressively, or live somewhere that it gets very cold (I assume that you're in Canada as well, from the reference to your mileage in km). For the winter, you could use something like Quaker State's Winter 5W30 synthetic blend. According to the numbers they advertise with it, it should flow significantly faster than the regular stuff when it gets well below 0. Probably still not as good as a synthetic, but close, and about half the price.

If you tend to be "forgetful" with your maintenance, then synthetic may be a good alternative though. It will give you some added protection for longer durations. If you plan on extending your drain intervals, you really should consider using an oil analysis service though. If anyone knows of one readily available here in Canada, I'd be interested to know. (I'm in Ontario). Most of the labs which will do analysis for personal vehicles seem to be located in the U.S. - the only ones I've found listed in Canada seem to only be interested in commercial fleets.

So I guess the short answer is - if you want to spend the money on Synthetic - go for it. It most certainly won't do any harm. Odds are though, that if you stick to a good quality 5W30 with regular change intervals, you'll likely be fine that way too. A place I used to work has S-10s with 2.2s in them, and some of them have upwards of 500,000km on them. They get their oil changed monthly (about 5000-7000kms), and always use regular oil. They're driven hard too, so if it works there, it's likely alright for most people.




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stick with reg chances are thats what has been used and as all the reasons john S has stated also.. but once and if you do decide to go syn.. NEVER go back!


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