Dino or Synthetic? - Your real world experiences

[tripleM]

I think most of us here would agree that dino has probably half the service duty as synth (5k vs 10k).

The question usually for me is why do the avg. synth user keep short changing their synth whereas most avg. dino users usually max out on service mileage. Esp. when it is non-extreme circumstances.

Odd that if you have that much confidence in it, you just don't leave that much on the table.

 

[OVERKILL]

Agreed. I fail to see the logic in changing out a synthetic early.

 

[Papa Bear]

Just for the pure joy of changing oil....

 

[oil_spaz]

Here's what makes sense to me (maybe just me):

I have three cars. All average in terms of mileage driven--12k miles/year. Some city driving---some highway. All call for 5w30 year around.

I change by calendar, every three months and don't bother worrying about mileage. Set aside part of a Saturday to do them all. I use a reasonably priced dino during warm weather months figuring they should be able to handle moderate Ohio heat. However I flip for some good 0w30 syn in the cold months because I think getting the oil pumping quickly during cold starts is worth it. I figure changing every three months gets rid of the water, unburned fuel etc., even if I don't take advantage of the greater OCIs of syn.

This strategy doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Plus it gives me piece of mind and I don't need to sweat the details.

 

[BTLew81]

Good strategy...right now, it's YB in the summer, and PP in the winter. Wife's Murano is on a lease, so it gets my cheap after rebate Synpower every 5k. With the price of Synpower after the $10 rebate, I might stash enough for a year or so and run it in both cars.

 

[FZ1]

PP 5-20 every 6 months which is about 3500-4000 for me.

 

[BTLew81]

PP might just be the best off the shelf oil out there. Terry Dyson thinks highly of it as well.

Sure, Amsoil is great and may best PP. I've used it and like it very much. For those of you who like to buy off the shelf, I believe PP is the best thing going. Available and priced nicely at WM

 

[grease_monkey]

Originally Posted By: kingrob
The only time I've ever felt the "need" to run synthetics is to extend the OCI on my old fleet vehicles. I got tired of changing the oil once a month on fourteen vehicles, and synthetic allowed me to safely go three months or so without changing the oil. I was able to stagger the changes to where I was only doing four or five vehicles a month. The cost ended up the slightly more than what I would have got running dino, and the protection wasn't noticeably better than what conventional offered, but I liked the less frequent changes.

Even now the hardest run car in our family fleet is the 06 Sebring, and it gets about 3,000 miles a month put on it. I still rarely run full syn; I feel that a blend like Motorcraft offers sufficient protection for 7-8k miles. I wouldn't take it much further than that based on UOA's, nor would I take the full syns past 9-10k. The extra cost of a full synthetic doesn't outweigh the extra one or two thousand miles that it gives me over a blend.

was that based on an oil analysis program?

 

[y2k345]

-30C this morning and stated not to badly, without being plugged in.

 

[wtd]

I used to run a synthetic(Mobil 1) for about five years in my 98 chevy truck with the 5.7L and did oil analysis on it for about three years. Blackstone Labs recommended staying at 3,000 OCI's based on my analysis results. I switched to Havoline and my analysis results became better and Blackstone said I could extend the OCI's to 4,000 miles.

I continue to use Havoline conventional oil in all five vehicles I own and still no oil related breakdowns. Personally I'm not going to do extended OCI's because oil still gets dirty and gets contaminated during use and that doesn't change whether you use synthetic or not.

The other factor is that most vehicles will fall apart in other areas way before the engine will go out and most people that I know don't tend to keep their vehicles past five years and most trade way sooner than that.

I'm sure synthetics have their place, but I didn't have very good luck with it and it just wasn't cost effective for me to run it. I'm sticking to conventional oil.

Wayne

 

[kingrob]

Originally Posted By: grease_monkey
Originally Posted By: kingrob
The only time I've ever felt the "need" to run synthetics is to extend the OCI on my old fleet vehicles. I got tired of changing the oil once a month on fourteen vehicles, and synthetic allowed me to safely go three months or so without changing the oil. I was able to stagger the changes to where I was only doing four or five vehicles a month. The cost ended up the slightly more than what I would have got running dino, and the protection wasn't noticeably better than what conventional offered, but I liked the less frequent changes.

Even now the hardest run car in our family fleet is the 06 Sebring, and it gets about 3,000 miles a month put on it. I still rarely run full syn; I feel that a blend like Motorcraft offers sufficient protection for 7-8k miles. I wouldn't take it much further than that based on UOA's, nor would I take the full syns past 9-10k. The extra cost of a full synthetic doesn't outweigh the extra one or two thousand miles that it gives me over a blend.

was that based on an oil analysis program?


Yes.

 

[zulu]

This is like debating religion.

Every side can make a strong case, but neither is truly right... or wrong.

Do whatever makes you sleep well at night.

 

[StevieC]

Just interested in an educated debate...

 

[SilverC6]

Originally Posted By: zulu
This is like debating religion.

Every side can make a strong case, but neither is truly right... or wrong.

Do whatever makes you sleep well at night.


Well said.

It does have everything to do with what we believe.

I don't think you could make a mistake with any SM/GF-4 rated motor oil.

Well, at least everything except Kendall....and maybe Motorcraft....and Valvoline, it causes some problems....and Mobil 1 doesn't even meet GL-4....

So I guess you would be okay with YBP or PP.

That at least gives you two options.

 

[StevieC]

hehehe

 

[aquariuscsm]

From my experiences,dino seems to run smoother in the engine,while synthetics seem to run better in the gears.

 

[ZZman]

My cars appear to turn over easier in the winter.

Varnish in my engine was cleaned up with Syn Oil.

 

[oil_spaz]

I like to use synthetic (M1 0W-30)in the winter for easier cold starts since I park outside. The rest of the year I use any reasonably priced dino. Other than cold starts, my vehicle really doesn't see anything that I would classify as severe service.

I believe synthetic is better, but I just don't feel I need it in the summer.

I use this approach for three cars which are all well over 100k miles and running well.

 

[StevieC]

Good info. Thanks you guys...

 

[Liquid_Turbo]

Probably gonna get flamed for this..

But..moral of story: Doesn't matter what you use!!