Wikipedia: same oil change interval synth & dino

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*2001 Tacoma v6 4wd [city driving within SF bay area, CA; less than 7000 mi/yr ; no 4wdriving ; never used synthetic]

I've been learning more about possibly switching to synthetic oil. Many people commented about significantly extending oil change intervals as one of the main benefits of synthetic oil. Wikipedia did mention that, BUT also stated for automotive use, the interval is the same between synthetic and dino oil. I do respect much of wikipedia, but know that it does have outdated/false info. Curious of wikipedia's statement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_oil

"For automotive use, the oil change interval for synthetic oils is the same as for conventional oil, typically 7,000 miles to 10,000 miles following the manufacturer's "severe service" schedule (which is the schedule that covers city driving). Oil needs to be changed because it gets contaminated with combustion by-products that accumulate at about the same rate regardless of oil type."
 
I would take that with a grain of salt. Obviously, some oil companies, including very big oil companies, stand behind their product for extended drains. Of course, there are certain things that have to be taken into account, including application and what's already specified in the first place, and what the intervals are already.
 
All depends on application. If you regularly get the car up to full operating temperature such that moisture and vapors can be driven out of the oil, a synthetic will allow extended drain intervals. Short trips that never let it fully warm up, or severe duty such as towing, dusty roads, or 4wd excursions (this doesn't seem to apply to your driving habits here) suggest a shorter drain interval due to heat or contamination.

How many miles are on the vehicle currently? How often do you change the oil?
 
Your main reasons to switch to synthetics are for better product purity and for extended drain interval

You can review many oil analyses on this website for both types of conv and syn oils.

Enjoy your research
 
Originally Posted By: VeryNoisyPoet
All depends on application. If you regularly get the car up to full operating temperature such that moisture and vapors can be driven out of the oil, a synthetic will allow extended drain intervals. Short trips that never let it fully warm up, or severe duty such as towing, dusty roads, or 4wd excursions (this doesn't seem to apply to your driving habits here) suggest a shorter drain interval due to heat or contamination.

How many miles are on the vehicle currently? How often do you change the oil?


Past handful of several years have been city driving. Drive about 5k mi/yr. I've been horrible at doing oil changes and vow to change oil 1x/year (I should do it 2x/yr though but probably won't) since my DIY oil change about same time last year.

Planning to get a Fumoto type valve drain plug to make things a bit easier and less messy
 
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Seems reasonable.

Oh wait...IF that were true, there goes the main/only advantage of synthetic oil. THE HORROR

So it can't be true, obviously.

Its what the Fukushima people called the possibility of a total coolant failure. UNTHINKABLE.

But if you think about it, (as they probably should have, but didnt want to) it'll probably depend partly on how fast your car dirties it's oil. A really clean runner with little blowby/EGR, or maybe an engine running on gas (meaning gas, not petrol) might be more likely to get some advantage.
 
Oil analysis can tell you a lot about how your engine is doing, and whether you can extend your oil drain intervals. If water and fuel contamination is low and the wear metal counts are within tolerances, you can probably extend your interval beyond one year if you don't drive very much. Toyota claims 7500 mile intervals for normal service. They recommend oil change every 6 months (likely worried about contamination in infrequently driven and short tripped vehicles), but if the analysis comes back good, you can go further.

If you get it up to operating temp on most trips, try going one year and sending in a sample. Decide from there what the best course of action will be.

How many total miles are on the vehicle?
 
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oh, got about 115k miles on the Tacoma


Sounds like a good candidate for some kind of high mileage oil, especially if you notice any minor leaks or increasing oil consumption. Synthetic oil may clean away a layer of sludge around oil seals, causing existing leaks to worsen, or making new leaks appear where only the crud was stopping oil from escaping. They do not inherently cause the leaks, simply expose weak spots that would eventually leak anyway.

High mileage oils contain higher amounts of cleaning agents and chemicals to soften and recondition old seals, which can slow or stop some types of leaks, and prevent others from developing as the vehicle ages. Cleaning action could also help with oil consumption, if the problem is due to fouling in the piston rings allowing excess oil to enter the combustion chambers.

Semi-synthetic or synthetic blend is another option to consider, and most major brands carry syn blend high mileage oils. These may be less expensive than a full synthetic but offer benefits of better engine protection and the capacity for extended oil change intervals compared to a standard conventional oil.
 
Run synthetic and get a UOA.

I would say CA's climate is conducive to getting the extra mileage that synthetic is capable of, but your engine and driving pattern may not allow that.
 
Originally Posted By: Linctex
Originally Posted By: windnsalsa
Oil needs to be changed because it gets contaminated with combustion by-products that accumulate at about the same rate regardless of oil type


Nope.

"Read 'em & weep"

Amsoil SS 5w-20, 62,000 miles, '11 Ford Expedition
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/4578469/

He IS running a bypass filter, though.


Which IS a whole different ball game. Plus there's no control.
 
For 5000 miles per year, use good dino and change it once a year.

If you drive more than that per year, then synthetic makes more sense since you can probably use it for 1 year OCI.
In reality, mild California climate probably will not add benefit to using synthetic like a place with subzero temp other than extended OCI.

This is assuming that synthetic and dino provides similar wear but in the long run, nobody will ever know.
 
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OK, city driving = short trips. SF Bay Area weather tends to be cool and damp (SF Fog). Given our grid-lock freeways and traffic congestion, it means slow driving and lots of stop and go. So cool pan temps (sumps) and on/off throttle, etc. Not good for longevity ...

Oil takes a beating in these conditions. Better to change early and often. At least once a year (fall preferably). Use a high TBN oil and don't sweat the NOAK (cool sumps).

Now Stockton and Sacto, are the opposite. Hot with long runs to just get to 7-11 ... So they burn off most contaminates. Ditto LA.

Me, I'd be all over something like an HM oil in in 5W or 10W-30 and a good filter and just keep on, keepin on. Throw a can of BG109 or MMO in for the last 100 miles or so before the change. Motor will last well over 200,000 miles easy
smile.gif


If you live out by Pacifica, your car/truck will rot from salt air (ocean) long before even a badly maintained engine will die
frown.gif
 
Because I use store branded oils or oil on sale I change it out under 5000 miles. Actually at 3000 miles. I don't use extended OCI oils and don't plan to. Others do and I am fine with that. For me I like to not have an oil gather whatever byproducts of being in my engine and have them cycle through the engine for extended periods of time. I am older and just go by what I have done in the past. I did extended oil changes in the past and it didn't turn out well for me on a couple of my vehicles. So I decided to be more diligent about the oil changes.

I know the oil is vastly better now but I have decided to do the lower OCI because it just works better for me to sleep at night. You and others can do as you like though. I will change my oil at 3000 til I am buried and gone. Part of that is because we drive our vehicles under severe service conditions and both of them specify short OCI because of it.
 
Originally Posted By: Linctex
Originally Posted By: windnsalsa
Oil needs to be changed because it gets contaminated with combustion by-products that accumulate at about the same rate regardless of oil type


Nope.

"Read 'em & weep"

Amsoil SS 5w-20, 62,000 miles, '11 Ford Expedition
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/4578469/

He IS running a bypass filter, though.


In other words.

The premise of this thread is that there is no advantage to synthetic because in normal operation it gets dirty just as fast as conventional.

So you can't logically cite a situation where it doesn't get dirty nearly as fast to contest that premise. If anything, it supports it.

So your "Nope" doesn't fit. "Is the Pope a Catholic" would perhaps fit.

However, your "Read 'em & weep" does fit, sadly.
 
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