Conventional Oil Benefits

Since my family has had MANY dealings with that dealership in the past, I would take anything they say with a large grain of salt! Most "conventional" motor oils are blends anyway, and very few of them are GM Dexos rated nor approved.
 
Originally Posted by Bogdon
Re: https://www.mccluskeychevrolet.com/benefits-to-sticking-with-conventional-motor-oil/

Follow-up appreciated.


From a purely technical engineering standpoint, the article is fatally biased against synthetics in general despite having several accurate assessments contained within.

What truths it contains is negated by the truths it leaves out overall.

First is the term "conventional" oil-in 2020 that almost always means a dino oil base with "synthetic additives"

Given grade III qualifications and SCOTUS rulings, he doesn't clearly define where a "conventional" oil ends and a "synthetic" begins so his comparisons are invalid on that point alone.

He then goes off the rails about engine longevity and gear wear.

Its clearly somewhere between a sales pitch and a personal dislike of synthetics disguised as a legitimate technical article by pretending to present both sides equally and for that reason should be dismissed as junk.
 
This is a goldmine of great quotes!

Quote
There is a common myth that exists about synthetic oils that say that putting a synthetic oil in an older engine can cause the oil valves to crack and cause oil to leak.


Oh my! Please think of the oil valves!

Quote
While synthetic oil generally protects better over a longer time, it flows more smoothly than conventional mineral oils - and for an older engine, this can mean a greater chance of grinding gears.


I knew it! Synthetic engine oil causes transmission problems and grinding gears!
 
Quote
is the damage you won't be doing to your wallet. In many cases, synthetic oils can cost up to twice as much as conventional oils per quart, even within the same brand. For some drivers, this added cost simply isn't worth the added performance power - especially in vehicles that don't require synthetic oil.


I'm sorry but it irks me when people gripe about the cost of oil. Oil is NOT expensive, even boutique brands. Even if you bought one of the most expensive brands and got 6 months out of it, it's still inexpensive. Cars are expensive. Engines are expensive. Oil is not.

No offense to the OP, but this article is garbage. This article is equivalent to a poorly formulated Group I oil with a Noack of 20%.
 
Originally Posted by MrHorspwer
This is a goldmine of great quotes!

Quote
There is a common myth that exists about synthetic oils that say that putting a synthetic oil in an older engine can cause the oil valves to crack and cause oil to leak.


Oh my! Please think of the oil valves!

Quote
While synthetic oil generally protects better over a longer time, it flows more smoothly than conventional mineral oils - and for an older engine, this can mean a greater chance of grinding gears.


I knew it! Synthetic engine oil causes transmission problems and grinding gears!


Don't forget

"older and more experienced engines"

"slower flow of a conventional oil promises better lubrication for aging engines"

Somewhere this could meet the legal requirement of some form of age discrimination.

This article isn't really written good enough to be badly written
 
The bottom line is, it doesnt matter if the oil is conventional or synthetic. Its just oil with the same API ratings.
We sometimes over complicate things. Oil is oil is oil all the same as the API ratings say.

Of course, their are other ratings/approvals, again, just go by the rating/approval recommended by your engine maker and whether it is synthetic or conventional doesnt matter.
 
Originally Posted by bullwinkle
Since my family has had MANY dealings with that dealership in the past, I would take anything they say with a large grain of salt! Most "conventional" motor oils are blends anyway, and very few of them are GM Dexos rated nor approved.


What a coincidence … that dealer had some ZR2's I looked at online just 10 minutes ago. Are they bad news ?
 
"This being said, however, it is still not recommended to use synthetic oil in engines that have experienced significant actions - specifically, those that have reached around 75,000 miles on the odometer. This is usually a signal that the engine is getting older and is more susceptible to wear on its inner gears and moving parts."

WOW! When I bought my F150 at 182k miles and B2500 Van at 162k miles I switched them to synthetic. Oh my, what have I done to those poor engines, transmissions and rear diffs?
 
"Given grade III qualifications and SCOTUS rulings, he doesn't clearly define where a "conventional" oil ends and a "synthetic" begins so his comparisons are invalid on that point alone."

I would like to see these supreme court rulings.
 
Doesn't wet my whistle.. 0w20 regularly available and always pay a reasonable price, napa or super tech full synthetic.
 
We all have "prisms" through which we see things.

I see a "sales pitch" article which is appealing to the poor, overwhelmed American car owner who's victimized at every turn.

"THEY'VE been confusing you and taking your money. We'll protect you".

Synthetic oil = mask. And that's as far into politicizing it as I'll go.
 
Originally Posted by sloinker
"Given grade III qualifications and SCOTUS rulings, he doesn't clearly define where a "conventional" oil ends and a "synthetic" begins so his comparisons are invalid on that point alone."

I would like to see these supreme court rulings.


It was NAD, my oversight. Typed first- looked last

I stand corrected.
 
Originally Posted by Bogdon
Re: https://www.mccluskeychevrolet.com/benefits-to-sticking-with-conventional-motor-oil/

Follow-up appreciated.

I think the news in that link will become slowly outdated this late year.
New specs in 2020 means SP / GF-6 / Dexos1-Gen3 will increase odds any new vehicle coming out of the factory will have full synthetic installed in the engine. New owners manuals will have full synthetic recommendations.... at the minimum. Some might make full synthetic a requirement.
 
There are some information that is not there, for example, when is this write up was done?

Next, stealership always charged an arm and a leg for synthetic, so this article justify why we should just choose conventional.

Next, stealership have a conflict of interest because if the engine last longer, we will not need to BUY a new vehicle as fast.

Although there is a "correct" statement in there (at least in my interpretation) that GM vehicle are mostly last about 100K before it started to have issues, at which time, we can blame it on the use of conventional oil from stealership oil change. LOL!!!
 
Group I and II conventional base oils have a higher pressure-viscosity coefficient making them better at withstanding high shock loads. The greater shear stress in the oil film of conventional base oils also promotes greater additive response (which is why conventional is recommended for engine break-in).
 
Originally Posted by ka9mnx
"This being said, however, it is still not recommended to use synthetic oil in engines that have experienced significant actions - specifically, those that have reached around 75,000 miles on the odometer. This is usually a signal that the engine is getting older and is more susceptible to wear on its inner gears and moving parts."

WOW! When I bought my F150 at 182k miles and B2500 Van at 162k miles I switched them to synthetic. Oh my, what have I done to those poor engines, transmissions and rear diffs?


Lol and I switched a 290k mile 89 Caprice to synthetic and ran it until 335k miles when it got too rusty. Clearly the synthetic oil caused holes in the frame. Lol.

I also run synthetic oil in my 44 year old 350 Oldsmobile V8 and 36 year old Chevy 305 V8 with tons of miles on them. I put 100k miles on the 350 in the past 13 years. Total mileage unknown, but likely well over 200k. I didn't read the whole article, the quotes posted in here are enough to discredit the entire article.

Come to think of it, every engine I've had was high mileage and I switched all to synthetic oil. I don't think I've ever had anything as low as 75k miles.
 
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