Alwyn678

if there is any REAL benefit or advantage switching to synthetic oil?

What do you guys think........................

Mike Ward

Not again.

Alwyn678

Sorry do you have a link?

TheSkunkWorks

Mike, such astute observations are why we keep you around.

Wrecked82

There are always new people who have new questions.

Not all are old, tired fartz who are a naysayer.

7T1vette

The advantages of full synthetic (good quality synthetic) vs. good quality organic oil are many and well documented:

Better film strength; longer 'working' life; more heat tolerant; better lubricity; lower oxidation rate; etc, etc.

Some "downsides" [depending on how you look at it]: More costly; smaller molecular size (will find existing leak paths that do not leak organic oil) {Note: Synthetic oil will not CAUSE leakage.}; most synthetic oils do not contain elevated levels of zinc, as needed for older performance engines with highly loaded, flat tappet valvetrains.

There is no question that mechanical component durability and reliability are enhanced when full synthetic oil is chosen over organic oil. Nearly all major auto manufacturers install/recommend synthetic oils for their cars now. And no manufacturer would include more costly materials in their products if they provided no tangible benefit.

Alwyn678

Thanks for taking the time to give me a full explanation. I know that this topic has been covered before but I just wanted to get some additional insight on the reason's why.

I guess my biggest question was the true benefit of synthetic oil on an engine that was run a full life on miles on dino oil.

I am Not a newbie, just have not been aroung for a while

Mike Ward

I got a note from the admins that I was falling behind on points for my annual Mr. Nasty award. Thought I'd catch up a bit and see who'd take the bait at the same time.

Vette5.5

I think a more fair question, would be oil back in the 60's vs todays oils. Any type of modern oil is formulated much better in preventing sludge build up than 60's oils. I've been using syn oil in all my cars for years now. What first sold me on it, is how much easier the car cranks when sitting outside in sub zero weather. I just check for sales on name brands, and stock up on the stuff. My C5 and now C6 spec Mobil 1 in the manual, so what I use. Biggest thing about syn, it's chemically engineered from the beginning to lubricate engines, needing a lower volume of additives. Dino oil contains a larger volume of additives, that tend to wear off a little sooner. Certainly nothing at all wrong with good quality dino oil, especially if you change it at low milage intervals, like most Vette' owners do. Some say switching older engines to syn tends show leaks. If that's the case, engine probably needs all new gaskets anyway. All my engines are either late model, or rebuilt with new gaskets. Never had a problem.

7T1vette

It doesn't matter what oil you used to run in your engine. There is no "residual effect" from the oil you've been using. If you have organic oil in it, the engine will experience whatever benefits/downsides that organic oil provides; likewise, with synthetic oil.

69 Chevy

Not for a guy like me who only puts a few hundred to a few thousand miles on his engine during the spring/summer/autumn driving season. What good does extended drain intervals do when I put in new oil and filter before it gets put to bed for its long winter's nap?

7T1vette

Let me put it this way: Using synthetic oil in an internal combustion engine could provide it with a 30-50% [or more] longer life span. If you assume that an engine is in decent condition {you can't put syntetic oil in a "junk" engine and have it magically tranformed into a long-lived beauty }, that it has always had dino oil in it and you now put synthetic oil in it, the engine will see 30-50% more life for whatever time the synthetic oil is circulating through its "veins".

myoriginal77

Every time I have tried to switch, there has ALWAYS been a leak that was not there before. Sometimes switching back fixed it, sometimes not.

Any good conventional oil should be fine for any car currently using it, and to prevent any issues I would stick with regular oil.


Frank

7T1vette

The leak path was there before. But, the larger molecule dino oil wouldn't "fit" through that 'hole'. With a smaller molecular size, synthetic oil will fit through that hole.

But, that's not the fault of the type of oil; that's the fault of the gasketing which has an "available" leak path. Seal the leak paths properly, and NO oil will leak from it.

chevymans 77

I’m not sure that the molecular structure is smaller with synthetic vs dino oil. Dino oil is more of a range of molecular structure (small to large). This also lends to a higher volatility rate for Dino than synthetic.

Synthetic oil is formulated to be closer to similar size in molecular structure. An example I’ve seen many time is to take different size ball bearings and put them on a flat surface, which would represent Dino oils now take ball bearings close to the same size and that would represent synthetic oil.

Neal

7T1vette

Whatever you think....

billla

Leaks typically come from synthetics having a higher solvency - seals have deposits on them that synthetic oil removes...and a leak results.

Solvency isn't a bad thing - it's the same thing that keeps an engine incredibly clean and sluge-free inside - but it can be a problem with old and/or marginal seals. I haven't see it happen on engines that are still tight and bone dry...but I have seen it on engines that had some very small and pesky leaks that became fairly significant after the switch to synthetic.

With extended drain intervals, the cost is about a wash between synthetic and dino. I won't enter the fray on other benefits, but in engines running a steady diet of synthetics for a period of time I have definitely seen less-than-expected wear and engines that are absolutely spotless inside on teardown.

Z-man

There's no real benefit to switching to synthetic oil for older engines if you maintain your engine properly.

Ralphbf

I used Mobil 1 for years.

I changed oil when the gas mileage fell off.
I was getting 2-3mpg more with Mobil 1 than with Castrol GTX.

I now use Castrol EDGE with SYNTEC. It's suppose to be 7 times slicker than Mobil 1.

Ralph