going from synthetic to dino? (also lowest $ usable filter)

Status
Not open for further replies.
C

columnshift

Joined
Oct 6, 2014
Messages
264
Location
Minnesota
I just picked up a 2003 Honda Accord V6 EX with around 170-180k on it (I forget exactly) and it needs an oil change. I was "warned" that the engine is already using synthetic (or semi synthetic I forget which he said) and "can only be used with synthetic from now on". Is that true? I mean I cant see how otherwise when going from dino to synthetic there'd still be some dino left which if its harmful should be no different than having a little synthetic in your dino oil...

Also what is the 'minimum acceptable oil filter' anyone would recommend? Considering i've seen videos showing that some on the low end (Frams?) are literally worthless or dont even properly filter due to poor manufacturing...


I know synthetic is better but i'm not sure if it's worth the money on an older car. I like the car but don't expect it to run forever and I dont know if the way Hondas did a kamikaze with their 5 speed automatics will show up again. (he says it was either rebuilt or replaced at 100k, but I didn't know if it would show up again as a problem when I neared 200k for instance or how much life I should expect from the transmission. I generally expected the engine to outlive the 5 speed auto transmission which in it's first year seemed to die alot. So I didn't want to waste money.)

FWIW he said he ran normal oil most of its life "then switched to synthetic to preserve what remained of engine life" (which sounds backwards to me, why not prevent the wear in the first place) so I was wondering if his switch to synthetic so late was pointless anyways.
 
Originally Posted by columnshift


I know synthetic is better but i'm not sure if it's worth the money on an older car.


What about Supertech synthetic or Harvest King synthetic? Both of them cost less than the big name conventionals. I'd choose either one of those over a conventional any day of the week.
 
Switch back and forth as much as you like. But in your location a synthetic would prob help with start ups in the morning or in cold temps. Then go back to conventional in the summer if you want. Formula Shell at Home Depot is an excellent oil chock full of additives. Regularly goes on sale for $9.98/5 quart jug.

The more important thing is to do regular drain and fills on the transmission with oem Honda atf. This is easier than doing an oil change since there's no filter to mess with.
 
Last edited:
The Wal-mart house brand oil filter will work just fine, that or the
orange Fram. Both are on the cheap side. No name or off brand filters
are worthless.


My 2¢
 
"can only be used with synthetic from now on". Is that true?

No, that is not true. That is a myth. Use a conventional, no worries.


FWIW he said he ran normal oil most of its life "then switched to synthetic to preserve what remained of engine life" (which sounds backwards to me, why not prevent the wear in the first place) so I was wondering if his switch to synthetic so late was pointless anyways.


I agree with your statement there. To me, my biggest reason to run synthetic is to change oil less often.
 
Many of the Api sn Rated oils now are "semi"syn anyway or they would not pass the tests to get that rating.
 
Mobil 1 runs their rebates twice a year, and a synthetic costs around $12 after a rebate. The same with Pennzoil. At an after-rebate price, it doesn't make any sense to look for conventional oils, unless you need conventional.
 
It's a Honda, it'll probably go 300k on vegetable oil. There's nothing wrong with switching back and forth between the two! And you need to visit the oil filter section, it's been proven many times that FRAM makes a great filter. That or Napa Gold has my vote, I won't buy a filter that doesn't have a silicone ADBV personally.
 
Have never been able to find any professional papers that say synthetics are any better at actual lubrication than a quality dino ... They do offer some advantages at the low and high end of the temp range
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted by columnshift
I just picked up a 2003 Honda Accord V6 EX with around 170-180k on it (I forget exactly) and it needs an oil change. I was "warned" that the engine is already using synthetic (or semi synthetic I forget which he said) and "can only be used with synthetic from now on". Is that true? I mean I cant see how otherwise when going from dino to synthetic there'd still be some dino left which if its harmful should be no different than having a little synthetic in your dino oil...

Also what is the 'minimum acceptable oil filter' anyone would recommend? Considering i've seen videos showing that some on the low end (Frams?) are literally worthless or dont even properly filter due to poor manufacturing...


I know synthetic is better but i'm not sure if it's worth the money on an older car. ...

FWIW he said he ran normal oil most of its life "then switched to synthetic to preserve what remained of engine life" (which sounds backwards to me, why not prevent the wear in the first place) so I was wondering if his switch to synthetic so late was pointless anyways.


1. No, not true, believe it or not synthetic and conventional is oil. You can switch around as much as you want, its just oil, nothing special about either except synthetic is super refined and will be more stable if you abuse your oil change intervals.

2. Any oil filter is fine, I avoid Fram but do buy Walmart branded filters or any name brand on sale.

3. Why on earth do people think synthetic is better? Because it MAY last longer and be able to extend oil change intervals? that MAY be true if you abuse your vehicle and want to extend oil change intervals.

4. Do people think synthetic is better because it is better then conventional in reducing wear? If so they are wrong most times, meaning a greater percentage of synthetic oils maybe be better at preventing engine wear but there are also conventional oils better then synthetics too.

5. USE ANY API oil recommended in your owners manual at any price, including $2.00 a quart oil and change it when you are supposed too, all API rated oils such as SN are all equal unless proven different and no body ever proves one better then the other.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by alarmguy



3. Why on earth do people think synthetic is better? Because it MAY last longer and be able to extend oil change intervals? that MAY be true if you abuse your vehicle and want to extend oil change intervals.




People think synthetic is better because IT IS BETTER. It provides better protection in extreme heat (such as when my Honda overheated a couple of years ago) and provides better protection in extreme cold too. It also provides better protection if you drive your car hard and have elevated oil temperatures. Whether or not you want that extra measure of protection is up to you. (and a lot of people who don't need that kind of protection just enjoy the fact that they don't need to change their oil as often as they would with conventional)
 
Originally Posted by alarmguy
Originally Posted by columnshift
I just picked up a 2003 Honda Accord V6 EX with around 170-180k on it (I forget exactly) and it needs an oil change. I was "warned" that the engine is already using synthetic (or semi synthetic I forget which he said) and "can only be used with synthetic from now on". Is that true? I mean I cant see how otherwise when going from dino to synthetic there'd still be some dino left which if its harmful should be no different than having a little synthetic in your dino oil...

Also what is the 'minimum acceptable oil filter' anyone would recommend? Considering i've seen videos showing that some on the low end (Frams?) are literally worthless or dont even properly filter due to poor manufacturing...


I know synthetic is better but i'm not sure if it's worth the money on an older car. ...

FWIW he said he ran normal oil most of its life "then switched to synthetic to preserve what remained of engine life" (which sounds backwards to me, why not prevent the wear in the first place) so I was wondering if his switch to synthetic so late was pointless anyways.


1. No, not true, believe it or not synthetic and conventional is oil. You can switch around as much as you want, its just oil, nothing special about either except synthetic is super refined and will be more stable if you abuse your oil change intervals.

2. Any oil filter is fine, I avoid Fram but do buy Walmart branded filters or any name brand on sale.

3. Why on earth do people think synthetic is better? Because it MAY last longer and be able to extend oil change intervals? that MAY be true if you abuse your vehicle and want to extend oil change intervals.

4. Do people think synthetic is better because it is better then conventional in reducing wear? If so they are wrong most times, meaning a greater percentage of synthetic oils maybe be better at preventing engine wear but there are also conventional oils better then synthetics too.

5. USE ANY API oil recommended in your owners manual at any price, including $2.00 a quart oil and change it when you are supposed too, all API rated oils such as SN are all equal unless proven different and no body ever proves one better then the other.



The OP has a plethora of filter options, but for my Honda V6 (98 Acura) there are very, very few choices and the best filter available is the Fram OCOD. It also costs $12 for this application, and I can get WIX for $5 wholesale, so I do. (Now recently off shored in South Korea, while the OCOD is still made in USA.) Bargain filters can be found online for a little over a buck, but I'll pay the extra four bucks because I'm a big shot high roller like that. As for synthetic, unless you can present a compelling reason not to use it, I don't see why you wouldn't, given how cheap it now is. But that's just me (although I'm pretty cheap). My 20 year old Acura doesn't leak or burn any oil and I've only ever used synthetic in it. I guess if you're super cheap you can just go with the Super Tech oil and filter. I'm sure it will be fine.
 
[/quote]
The OP has a plethora of filter options, but for my Honda V6 (98 Acura) there are very, very few choices.....[/quote]

NSX?
 
Originally Posted by Patman
Originally Posted by alarmguy



3. Why on earth do people think synthetic is better? Because it MAY last longer and be able to extend oil change intervals? that MAY be true if you abuse your vehicle and want to extend oil change intervals.




People think synthetic is better because IT IS BETTER. It provides better protection in extreme heat (such as when my Honda overheated a couple of years ago) and provides better protection in extreme cold too. It also provides better protection if you drive your car hard and have elevated oil temperatures. Whether or not you want that extra measure of protection is up to you. (and a lot of people who don't need that kind of protection just enjoy the fact that they don't need to change their oil as often as they would with conventional)


You have no proof. I assume you are talking about engine wear by saying synthetic is better, if you are saying you will have less engine wear with synthetic, that is incorrect.

If you are saying that you can abuse synthetic by extending oil change intervals OR cold starts below 0 f degrees I would also tend to agree going synthetic.

So a blanket statement of "extra measure of protection" is not correct if you want the least engine wear. The refining process of making oil into synthetic oil does remove some good anti wear properties of the less refined conventional labeled oils.

Also, all API oils are equal unless proven different.
 
Last edited:
I have no proof? There is plenty of proof out there about the superiority of synthetic. But you've made up your mind so I'm not going to waste my time with you...
 
Superiority ?

Cold starting is "W" grades, regardless of basestock.

hydrodynamic parts separation is viscosity, regardless of basestock.

Boundary is majority additives, regardless of basestock.

Coking and oxidation resistance, I agree there's a level of superiority to synthetics.

But a 15 year old car with 290k km...there's no advantage to synthetics in reality
 
Originally Posted by Shannow


Cold starting is "W" grades, regardless of basestock.



There are no 0w rated oils that are conventional though, so that right there is a big point in the favor of the benefit of synthetics for a good portion of the United States and Canada in the cold winter. It also shows it's superiority in that respect too.

Also, in order to pass a lot of the more stringent specifications, conventional oil just can't do it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

C
Motorcraft synthetic blend vs full synthetic
Replies
7
Views
2K
Rinspeed
A
how decent are the oil filter's at the drive up oil change places?
Replies
15
Views
1K
Chris142
W
Going conventional
2
Replies
36
Views
4K
GMBoy
C
Need Guidance re (hopefully) Non-Synthetic Motor Oil for a '99 Camry L4 (5SFE) Sludge-Prone Engine
Replies
12
Views
721
GSCJR
N
Recommend an oil choice to me - used 2005 Highlander V6
2
Replies
37
Views
2K
nthach
Back
Top