synthetic oil
Its never a bad time to switch to synth. Most highly suggested is german castrol (gc) 0w30. Make sure it says made in germany on the bottle, otherwise the american made stuff may not be as good. That being said, I am currently trying the new Mobil1 Extended performance 5w30. It looks like it should be a good performing oil for those who dont want to run oil as thick as gc (which is almost a 40 weight).
TECH Veteran
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 4,954
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From: Kent WA
Originally Posted by MeanWS6
Synthetic is the way to go, its fine to switch. I use Mobil 1 with K&N filter. Never tried Amsoil, but hear good things - except for the price
Now, the 5w40 Euro blend is a little more than that, as is the Series 2000 0w30. Euro blend runs $6.65 or so retail, and the Series 2000 oils run $8.70.
Of course, being a dealer, I can do special pricing.
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As long as you change your oil no later than 3K miles between services, then I don't can't really see, a motor wearing any faster than the synthetic user who makes that extra pass down the 1320 every time at the track. This is only what i've heard many of the top ranked performance shops say.
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Staging Lane
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 76
Likes: 0
I would never use a 5w-30. The viscosity ratio between hot and cold is 6 to 1. The base oil is only a 5 weight oil. This means there are a LOT of viscosity enhancers in the oil. These are long polymer chains that degraded quickly in spirited driving.
It is much better to use a 10W-30. The viscosity ratio is down to 3 to 1 with this simple change. The base oil in this case is a 10 weight oil.
If I use a "synthetic" (a group III oil that is no longer an engineered oil), I use a Mobile 1 10W-30. If I use a standard oil (group II), I use Rotella 15W-40.
If you MUST use a 5 weight oil, then use a 5W-40. The oil will break down to a 5W-30 within a few hundred miles of spirited driving. I like Rotella 5W-40 synthetic when a lighter oil is needed for the winter.
By THE WAY. ALMOST ALL synthetic oils are simply mined oils that are further refined. The days of synthetic oils being PAO oils are gone. You can thank Castrol Syntec for that.
AMSOIL does make an Engineered oil and is one such example. Just because an oil says "FULLY SYNTHETIC" on the bottle, does not mean "PAO (Poly alpha Olifin)".
Always get a commercially rated oil (AT LEAST "CI", diesel engine grade) because of the far superior additive package.
Sam.
It is much better to use a 10W-30. The viscosity ratio is down to 3 to 1 with this simple change. The base oil in this case is a 10 weight oil.
If I use a "synthetic" (a group III oil that is no longer an engineered oil), I use a Mobile 1 10W-30. If I use a standard oil (group II), I use Rotella 15W-40.
If you MUST use a 5 weight oil, then use a 5W-40. The oil will break down to a 5W-30 within a few hundred miles of spirited driving. I like Rotella 5W-40 synthetic when a lighter oil is needed for the winter.
By THE WAY. ALMOST ALL synthetic oils are simply mined oils that are further refined. The days of synthetic oils being PAO oils are gone. You can thank Castrol Syntec for that.
AMSOIL does make an Engineered oil and is one such example. Just because an oil says "FULLY SYNTHETIC" on the bottle, does not mean "PAO (Poly alpha Olifin)".
Always get a commercially rated oil (AT LEAST "CI", diesel engine grade) because of the far superior additive package.
Sam.
TECH Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 7,234
Likes: 1
From: Mississauga, Ontario
Originally Posted by samgm2
I would never use a 5w-30. The viscosity ratio between hot and cold is 6 to 1. The base oil is only a 5 weight oil. This means there are a LOT of viscosity enhancers in the oil. These are long polymer chains that degraded quickly in spirited driving.
It is much better to use a 10W-30. The viscosity ratio is down to 3 to 1 with this simple change. The base oil in this case is a 10 weight oil.
It is much better to use a 10W-30. The viscosity ratio is down to 3 to 1 with this simple change. The base oil in this case is a 10 weight oil.
I personally do not see the need for 10w30 anymore, not if you're running synthetics. If you're running conventional, then yes, the 10w30 is more stable, and won't thin out as easily as 5w30 conventional oil will. But when running synthetics, a 5w30 can do everything the 10w30 can, plus it'll flow better when cold. Same with a good 0w30 in fact (although there are some bad 0w30s too, like Mobil 1 0w30, so you've got to choose wisely) So in my opinion, 10w30 synthetics are obsolete.