Synthetic Vs. Traditional Oil - Third Generation Forum
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Is it a good idea to change from a traditional oil to a full synthetic oil? I've heard mixed reviews about making this change. I have a 2004 Sunfire with 22,000 miles (just bought it) and I'd like to run a full synthetic but I want to make sure I won't do any damage to the engine if I make the switch. I've read that some people suggest going to a blend first, then switching to full synthetic to gradually transition the engine. Any help here is appreciated.
No your fine now. The olny problem with synthetic oil is if you have a leak of any sort it will worsen it. If your engine is nive and tight you'll be fine. Besides its supposed to free up about 1 maybe as much as 2 whole HP ! Woo Hoo !!
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Many people recommend many different things when it comes to synthetic VS traditional. If you engine has that few miles then you should be fine. I put full synthetic in an old truck with tons of miles, and that didn't even cause a problem for me. If you feel more comfortable using a blend first then do that, but I'm not sure it's needed.
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This is an old myth, this was true back on some 1980 Olds, but nowadays isnt, it just doesnt seem to die out yet.
- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new
I'm new to the EcoTec engine, but I'm wondering does anyone else notice a slight valve tap on startup. I know it's unrelated, but this is a major reason why I am considering synthetic.
I've always used dino oil in my cars, my '03 cav had 34,000 when i got it. I changed the oil once at 37,000 then at 40,000 went to Mobile 1 full synthetic. No problems and i have 43,000 now. Even got 1mpg better milage. You should have no problems switching with 20,000 on the clock. I would reccomend using dino oil if you just built a new motor or the car is new, until after breakin. Then synthetic would be fine.
Don
my first car was a 1993 sunbird le, i bought it at 161,000 miles i switched it over to full synthetic at about 171,000 miles didnt hurt it at all. no leaks.... i now have a 1999 z24 i switched to full synthetic at 110,000.
Super Tech synthetic( Wal Mart) . It's made by Mobi/ Exxon, $12.84 for 5 quarts.
yea supertec is the f'ing S.Also if you dont shop at walmart autozone also has a off brand synthetic oil. Even thought i f'ing hate walmart the 5 quart jug is pretty f'ing handy. Just pour the f'ing thing right in. And i think the whole you cant switch thing is bull . Its says right on the bottel you can even mix it with regular oil. One time i was broke and i couldn't afford to get synetic so i got super tech regular. And guess what happend.....nothing she ran just f'ing fine. Then i switched back and boom my motor blew up the oil sent the pistons right out of the block they actually shot threw the hood 20 feet in the air as soon as i started the car its was all because i switched back and foruth. LOL JUST KIDDING it was just perfect ! And you people who argue i say this to you if you can't switch then you can never use synetic because the car came with regular. The myth has been busted by me i switched back and foruth and nothing happend so there eat my a$$ with a spoon!!!!
darkblade j
synthetic switching is fine.
i would recomend a pressurized engine flush, if you can find a place in your area that does it. we use the renew system at my work, works great.
i would suggest a 5W50 weight synthetic. its more versitial for all types of vehicles, plus offers better protection when it is hot. (5= cold viscosity, 50= warm)
the lower the cold viscosity, easier cold starts. higher warm viscosity, better protection when it is hot.
synthetic is very good motor oil, but i dont use it cause im changing mine about onceever 2-3 months anyways.
SYNTHETIC DOESNT LAST LONGER!! just remember that. still change it every 5000KM or 3000 Miles.
Injection is nice but id rather be BLOWN!
I use Synthetic oil (03 Ecotec)and I never ad any problem because off it, use that also in my old J's(96, 2.2l) and it still run and have over 230.000 KM. From what I know for sure help with the friction and keep the engine cooler than regular oil. It a bit more expensive, but from my part, I recommend it
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whitegoose wrote:synthetic switching is fine.
i would recomend a pressurized engine flush, if you can find a place in your area that does it. we use the renew system at my work, works great.
i would suggest a 5W50 weight synthetic. its more versitial for all types of vehicles, plus offers better protection when it is hot. (5= cold viscosity, 50= warm)
the lower the cold viscosity, easier cold starts. higher warm viscosity, better protection when it is hot.
synthetic is very good motor oil, but i dont use it cause im changing mine about onceever 2-3 months anyways.
SYNTHETIC DOESNT LAST LONGER!! just remember that. still change it every 5000KM or 3000 Miles.
It's sooooo frustrating when people misinform each other of synthetic oil.
You can switch back and fourth, No Problem!!
You don't need to flush out the old oil.
Only use the recommended weight oil for your car, 5w30. DO NOT USE 5w50.
And YES synthetic oil resists better against thermal breakdown. So you can have extended oil change intervals.
I know for a fact that all saab cars that run mobil one have 15K mile oil change intervals and the older ones on semi-syn run 3K miles each oil change. (except for the subaru 9-2x)
teh Sunfires... (Tom) wrote:whitegoose wrote:synthetic switching is fine.
i would recomend a pressurized engine flush, if you can find a place in your area that does it. we use the renew system at my work, works great.
i would suggest a 5W50 weight synthetic. its more versitial for all types of vehicles, plus offers better protection when it is hot. (5= cold viscosity, 50= warm)
the lower the cold viscosity, easier cold starts. higher warm viscosity, better protection when it is hot.
synthetic is very good motor oil, but i dont use it cause im changing mine about onceever 2-3 months anyways.
SYNTHETIC DOESNT LAST LONGER!! just remember that. still change it every 5000KM or 3000 Miles.
It's sooooo frustrating when people misinform each other of synthetic oil.
You can switch back and fourth, No Problem!!
You don't need to flush out the old oil.
Only use the recommended weight oil for your car, 5w30. DO NOT USE 5w50.
And YES synthetic oil resists better against thermal breakdown. So you can have extended oil change intervals.
I know for a fact that all saab cars that run mobil one have 15K mile oil change intervals and the older ones on semi-syn run 3K miles each oil change. (except for the subaru 9-2x)
wow! some one is angry! first off, un twist ur knickers!
secondly, i sell the stuff. going to a higher weight will not have any effect on the car at all.
5w50 is what we sell at my work because it is a good choice for the bulk selection of cars out there, but if you want to use 5 or 10W30, by allmeans, go ahead. i was mearly suggesting the 50 weight because with the stress put on cars with stop and go traffic, etc, a higher warm viscosity is not such a bad idea.
no, u dont need to flush the old oil out, i was only recomending it. it is better that way, like starting out with a clean pallette to work with. and with switching back to conventional, not a problem, just not recomended. that would be like drinking Crown Royal one night, and paint thinner the next.
BMW recomends synthetic motor oil with most of the vehicles they make, and a 25000 km oil change interval on some of them. now no one in their right mind would do that to their vehicle. now, with your saab, just like any other manufacturer that puts out a maintenance schedule, it is a MINIMUM MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE, meaning this is the MINIMUM you need to do.
now castrol recomends still changing the oil at 5000 km. have you ever seen what motor il looks like after 10000 - 15000+ km??? its usually so black and thick that you could re-tar your driveway if you wanted to. run your oil for as long as you want, but i would still change it every 5000km.
im not misinforming anyone, im just simply giving the person the facts that a person who sell and works with the stuff knows.
if you dont want my opinion, too god damn bad, your getting it anyways!
Injection is nice but id rather be BLOWN!
darkbladej wrote:yea supertec is the f'ing S.Also if you dont shop at walmart autozone also has a off brand synthetic oil. Even thought i f'ing hate walmart the 5 quart jug is pretty f'ing handy. Just pour the f'ing thing right in. And i think the whole you cant switch thing is bull . Its says right on the bottel you can even mix it with regular oil. One time i was broke and i couldn't afford to get synetic so i got super tech regular. And guess what happend.....nothing she ran just f'ing fine. Then i switched back and boom my motor blew up the oil sent the pistons right out of the block they actually shot threw the hood 20 feet in the air as soon as i started the car its was all because i switched back and foruth. LOL JUST KIDDING it was just perfect ! And you people who argue i say this to you if you can't switch then you can never use synetic because the car came with regular. The myth has been busted by me i switched back and foruth and nothing happend so there eat my a$$ with a spoon!!!!
they don't have that at any of the wal-marts around my area (only 10w-30, not 5w-30)
would there be a problem if i switched from 5w-30 synthetic blend to 10w-30 full synthetic?
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whitegoose wrote:teh Sunfires... (Tom) wrote:whitegoose wrote:synthetic switching is fine.
i would recomend a pressurized engine flush, if you can find a place in your area that does it. we use the renew system at my work, works great.
i would suggest a 5W50 weight synthetic. its more versitial for all types of vehicles, plus offers better protection when it is hot. (5= cold viscosity, 50= warm)
the lower the cold viscosity, easier cold starts. higher warm viscosity, better protection when it is hot.
synthetic is very good motor oil, but i dont use it cause im changing mine about onceever 2-3 months anyways.
SYNTHETIC DOESNT LAST LONGER!! just remember that. still change it every 5000KM or 3000 Miles.
It's sooooo frustrating when people misinform each other of synthetic oil.
You can switch back and fourth, No Problem!!
You don't need to flush out the old oil.
Only use the recommended weight oil for your car, 5w30. DO NOT USE 5w50.
And YES synthetic oil resists better against thermal breakdown. So you can have extended oil change intervals.
I know for a fact that all saab cars that run mobil one have 15K mile oil change intervals and the older ones on semi-syn run 3K miles each oil change. (except for the subaru 9-2x)
wow! some one is angry! first off, un twist ur knickers!
secondly, i sell the stuff. going to a higher weight will not have any effect on the car at all.
5w50 is what we sell at my work because it is a good choice for the bulk selection of cars out there, but if you want to use 5 or 10W30, by allmeans, go ahead. i was mearly suggesting the 50 weight because with the stress put on cars with stop and go traffic, etc, a higher warm viscosity is not such a bad idea.
no, u dont need to flush the old oil out, i was only recomending it. it is better that way, like starting out with a clean pallette to work with. and with switching back to conventional, not a problem, just not recomended. that would be like drinking Crown Royal one night, and paint thinner the next.
BMW recomends synthetic motor oil with most of the vehicles they make, and a 25000 km oil change interval on some of them. now no one in their right mind would do that to their vehicle. now, with your saab, just like any other manufacturer that puts out a maintenance schedule, it is a MINIMUM MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE, meaning this is the MINIMUM you need to do.
now castrol recomends still changing the oil at 5000 km. have you ever seen what motor il looks like after 10000 - 15000+ km??? its usually so black and thick that you could re-tar your driveway if you wanted to. run your oil for as long as you want, but i would still change it every 5000km.
im not misinforming anyone, im just simply giving the person the facts that a person who sell and works with the stuff knows.
if you dont want my opinion, too god damn bad, your getting it anyways!
ok ok ok, havent you heard of mobil 1 extended life it a 15000 mile oil and that is the LONGEST lasting oil that is out there but that doesnt mean that the engine can run for 15000 miles if you research it or like me i have worked at jiffy lube for 3 years you still have to change the oil filter every 3000 miles or on certain bmw's and all cadillacs every 5000 miles so yes in all actuality synthetic oils can run longer because they are man made and dont break down as easily but you DO have to change the oil filter at normal service time only because there is no 15000 mile oil filter out there they all begin to break down and no oil filter will last 15000 miles and some push it with the 5000 but thats when a good oil filter like wix or k&n comes in they are a little more durable than the majority. so in all actuality your both right in certain aspects just not on it all completely!!! i dont want to sound like a jerk im just trying to put the correct information out there for those that dont know about that kind of stuff and not trying to call either of you out on a bluff!!
oh and as far as the higher weight im neutral on that part because you cant really find a good 5w50 around here without having someone order it cuz no one carrys it but if they did i might consider it but personal preference i run the mobil 1 5000 but still change oil every 3000 miles with my oil filter only because that is how ive always done it on my person vehicles. and one thing i forgot to add is that all the stupid people that run synthetic with 75k+ you should go to a high mileage oil it is a blend but the synthetic will begin to harm your engine.... ok maybe not harm it but it is much thinner and any bad gaskets might start to leak and high mileage oil helps prevent from leaking because it is much more dense.
shawn, u bring up alot of good points. you are completely right about the filters, they cant last that long, and working at jiffy lube, you know what oil looks like when people "forget" to change it regularly.
where i work at costco, we do sell 5w50 by the case, as well as have it in the shop for doing oil changes, for your information.
my sister switched to 5w50 syntec after 220 000 km on her eagle summit / dodge colt and the car runs much better.
i personally still think that oil should be changed every 5000km/3000 miles. thats just the way i am. oil filters are generally good for 5000-10000km i find, but once a filter is old, the filter element inside is kinda useless.
oil, weather conventional or man made, should still be changed on a regular basis. the long life or high mileage oils are tested under lab settings, not so much day to day driving in stop and go traffic.
and here is a tid bit of info, synthetic was created for airplanes and millitary vehicles, introduced for cars about 1970's.
Injection is nice but id rather be BLOWN!
okay, time to dispell some misinformation:
Its not about how long oil "lasts" 'cause let's face it--the stuff doesn't "break".
You may have an oil guarenteed for 800,000 miles, but it doesn't mean a lick of difference because oil is a cleaner as well--it doesn't just luntricate, it cleans all combustion particles, dirt, dust, contaminants, etc, from your engine. As such, you'll want to change it just to get all that grime out of your engine.
Also, synthetic doesn't "cause leaks". This is a huge piece of misinformation. In most dino oils, the mydrocarbon molecules are of various sizes, and are mixed togather to create a product that has a certain viscosity--and possibly polymer chains to have the multiweight oils. Either way, you're going to have some really long chains and some short ones. What happens in dino oils is that the oil will end up coagulating as the longer chains clump together, and you wind up with sludge. This sludge does has a slight bebefit--it can seal some leaks by gumming them up.
Synthetic oil's molecules are all the same size, and as such, it won't gum up. and if it's run in an engine that hasoil deposits in it, it will clean those out, and if you have a leak that is being plugged like that...voila! Now you have a leak that was already there and cause by normal wear and tear, but was previously gummed up with dino oil.
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There is an advantage to the mineral(dino) based oils, the irregular shaped molecular chains are better at catching dirt and dust particles. This can be advantageous if you drive dusty roads on a daily basis. That is also why you find many dirt track racing teams using it.
MObil 1 + ;ucas synthetic stabilizer = i am a happy camper.
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Regardless of what oil you use... what filter you use... etc....
Change it on a regular basis as you're told to... and you won't have any problems.
I use synthetic on my car, because I like to bag on it a lot, I go to the track, I run it hot, cold, etc... the synthetic comes out ever-so-slightly cleaner after 5,000 km's. But then again, I also use the longer PF-59 Delco filter, so it's got more filtering material to get dirty.
The PF-59 will also reduce the back pressure (more filter media) and flow, leaving more pressure and volume to feed the critical parts.
Wow, everyone's so angry just over oil...
I can't really speak on this topic, except to say that my dad's Jetta burned oil very badly. He switched to Valvoline high mileage synthetic (5w30, which I use in the Cavalier) and it barely burns oil at all. Coincidence?
I was happy when I heard my car ran 10s. Then I found out that was 0-60.
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