hepcatws6

Conventional vs Synthetic Oil?

To this point I have avoided the switch from conventional to synthetic oil. Since I bought my new car I have been considering the switch to synthetics. I would like to have everyones opinion on the effectiveness of synthetics vs conventional oils. Thanks.

PendragonZ

There is nothing wrong with running conventional oil.

If you want your car to remain reliable and last a very long time though, run synthetic.

98DroptopSS

iTrader: (2)

The biggest factor is less friction, which reduces heat and basically gives you more power. Also many regular oils are parafin (wax) based, which will build up in your engine over time. Spend the extra $ and use synthetic, it will usually give you a slight increase in HP and MPG.

hepcatws6

How often is it recommended to change the synthetic oil?

98redz28

i use mobil 1 an change it every 2500 miles hope this helps

JayLS1-327

iTrader: (2)

I have run Mobil 1 for about 6000 miles with no issues.

exodus

iTrader: (15)

mobil 1 every 3-4k

Patman

It is completely safe to go 6000 miles or one year. If you're doing a lot of highway driving, 10k is safe. Anything beyond 10k I would not recommend trying without getting an oil analysis done to be sure it's safe.

hepcatws6

I just got back from Advance with 6qt.'s of synthetic! I had a feeling that synthetic would last longer then conventional oil. I plan on keeping this motor alive as long as I can. I may switch over to synthetic in my other car which has just reached 190,000 miles and has always been run on conventional.

Thanks to everyone who offered their advice on this matter, I really appreciate it!

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

Don't forget a long life oil filter. I run the K&N HP1007 for 5K miles.

SSCam99

K&N Oil Filter and Red Line Synthetic oil.

ddelallata

iTrader: (2)

ADVANCE? WTF? You don't buy synthetics there unless you are rich. Go to Wal Mart or Target. You save about a buck per quart at these places. OK , may be I'm just stingy , but I'm on a student budget.

Bowtieman4life

iTrader: (1)

You can get a Mobil 1 synthetic oil changes at Walmart for less than buying the stuff at Autozone or Kragen. Its $30 with the works. Liquids are topped off, tire pressure is checked and your carpet is vacuumed. The wait will kill you but I drop it off and come back for it.

I went to synthetic because its a better product and I figured a few extra ponies were good but I just read an artle where they compared three oild. 20-50 conventional, 5-30 conventional and 5-30 synthetic. There was a 1 hp difference between all of them. If money is tight, stay with Castrol conventional. Good Luck!

35thbansheeSS

Synthetic is the only way to go,I change mine every 2k

Tom@SpeedInc

iTrader: (5)

Its not just about synthetic oil lasting longer (that just gives me pieace of mind) I use AMSoil 5w-30 or Mobil 1 synthetic 0w-40 and still change it at 3,000 reguardless, such a small investment. Maybe its a bit overkill. I don't have a big budget either but I always have $50 every 3 months to use the best oil and a KN HP 1007 too.

Patman

Every 2k? Complete waste of money. You're not prolonging your engine any longer than someone who changes their oil every 4k or 6k. You're just needlessly wasting good oil.

Ashtongsr

Agreed.

SAPPER

iTrader: (10)

Well, my 2 cents is I have taken after my father and his father who have been racing and building engines since the 20's. They have run Mobil 1 in everything they owned. Hell, my grandfather owned a Mobil gas station in the 50's. I had personally seen a 300,000 mile LT1 engine torn down that had used either Royal Purple or Mobil 1 during it's life. I have the wear specs here on a sheet. All the wear data is from the stock size; main bngs: .00023, rod bngs; .00153, cam bngs; .00011, cyl walls; .0035/minimal taper change, valve guides; intake: @.0015, exh @.0024.
The exh guide took the real beating out of this motor and was the reason for the teardown. it was blowing a little smoke at start up.
Just remember, never break in a fresh motor with synthetic wait for @ 2-3k miles before change. If any of you were into the vette seen in the 90's, after your first 3k mile service, the dealer added synthetic oil. If anything happened to the motor during the warranty period, they would do an oil analysis and if it wasn't syn oil, it voided you warranty. It was the same for my Impala SS also. I had heard that some dealers did it with the F-cars too.

hepcatws6

Yeah, they are little higher than places such as WalMart or Target for sure, After I bought it I thought that maybe I should have made a trip to another store, but...what the hell, lol. Plus...I have a slight dislike for WalMart anyway, lol.

hepcatws6

Thanks.