YACT: too late for synthetic oil??

[Que-TiP]

my car has 17,000 miles on it, and i wanted to switch to synthetic. would people who actually use synthetic oil please comment on when they started using it (how many miles). I'm sure i can put it in, and if it leaks, then i will know its too late thanks!!

-Alex

 

[Electric Amish]

You'll have no problems, bud.

Why would it suddenly start leaking if it's not currently leaking?

amish

 

[m2kewl]

it's never too late

 

[Que-TiP]

well, my first car had 70,000 miles before i thought of going synthetic, and the seals leaked. its normal from what i understand.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

I changed mine to synth at the 1st oil change, no problems. The only prob will be going back to dino oil.

 

[Electric Amish]

Originally posted by: Que-TiP
well, my first car had 70,000 miles before i thought of going synthetic, and the seals leaked. its normal from what i understand.

Hmm... that doesn't make sense to me unless you changed weights. Maybe someone else here can elaborate on that.

amish

 

[m2kewl]

Originally posted by: Que-TiP
well, my first car had 70,000 miles before i thought of going synthetic, and the seals leaked. its normal from what i understand.

i'd doubt that had anything to do with the oil switch. my friend had an 87 prelude w/133,000 miles and switched with no problems.

 

[Ryan]

I switched to synthetic after 67k miles and have never looked back

 

[Vette73]

Syn is good, esp Mobil1. But it is a waste if you do not plan on keeping the car for at least 60K, and or live in a very cold climate and need a oil that flows better at start up.

But don't use Castrols Syntec, it is not 100% Syn.
And don't use Fram filters.

Other than that you should be good to go.

So if planning on keeping the car for a long time, get some Mobil1 10W30 and change it out.

 

[Pepsi90919]

that's not entirely true about syntec, the new german-imported (it will say so on the back if it's the current batch) 0w-30 is rebadged castrol SLX pao.

 

[Mr N8]

Its actually recommended to wait a few oil changes before going to synthetic. I've actually gotten the best result with Valvoline Synthetic in my Aurora. I bought it with 90k, and have put full synth in since I bought it. It appears that the previous owner used Quaker State Full Synth oil.

 

[Marshallj]

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
You'll have no problems, bud.

Why would it suddenly start leaking if it's not currently leaking?

amish

When an engine gets used, some of the oil will gum up around the seals. This is actually a good thing since it stops the seals from leaking. When you switch to a completely different type of oil like synthetic, it can dissolve that gummed up oil and cause the seals to start leaking.

This is a well known problem.

 

[Electric Amish]

Originally posted by: Marshallj

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
You'll have no problems, bud.

Why would it suddenly start leaking if it's not currently leaking?

amish

When an engine gets used, some of the oil will gum up around the seals. This is actually a good thing since it stops the seals from leaking. When you switch to a completely different type of oil like synthetic, it can dissolve that gummed up oil and cause the seals to start leaking.

This is a well known problem.

Ahhh... I see. Thanks.

amish

 

[Marshallj]

oops

 

[Pilsnerpete]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Syn is good, esp Mobil1. But it is a waste if you do not plan on keeping the car for at least 60K, and or live in a very cold climate and need a oil that flows better at start up.

But don't use Castrols Syntec, it is not 100% Syn.
And don't use Fram filters.

Other than that you should be good to go.

So if planning on keeping the car for a long time, get some Mobil1 10W30 and change it out.

Isn't Marlin great? Big round of applause for Marlin. This guy is always letting people know the evils of using fram filters. You should post that letter again for those that don't believe. But I disagree (more of a question, actually) with you on one point:

But it is a waste if you do not plan on keeping the car for at least 60K, and or live in a very cold climate and need a oil that flows better at start up.

Doesn't 5w/30 synthetic flow the same as regular 5w/30?

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Marshallj

Originally posted by: Electric Amish
You'll have no problems, bud.

Why would it suddenly start leaking if it's not currently leaking?

amish

When an engine gets used, some of the oil will gum up around the seals. This is actually a good thing since it stops the seals from leaking. When you switch to a completely different type of oil like synthetic, it can dissolve that gummed up oil and cause the seals to start leaking.

This is a well known problem.

This is a well known myth.

You don't have problems like that with modern synthetics. Materials incompatibility and the like back when synthetics were first introduced caused problems. If your engine isn't leaking oil now, it won't with synthetic.

If it is leaking oil, then it will leak a bit more with synthetic, since it flows easier.

And to answer your question, absolutely not. You can switch to synthetic at 10k or 100k.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Pilsnerpete

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Syn is good, esp Mobil1. But it is a waste if you do not plan on keeping the car for at least 60K, and or live in a very cold climate and need a oil that flows better at start up.

But don't use Castrols Syntec, it is not 100% Syn.
And don't use Fram filters.

Other than that you should be good to go.

So if planning on keeping the car for a long time, get some Mobil1 10W30 and change it out.

Isn't Marlin great? Big round of applause for Marlin. This guy is always letting people know the evils of using fram filters. You should post that letter again for those that don't believe. But I disagree (more of a question, actually) with you on one point:

But it is a waste if you do not plan on keeping the car for at least 60K, and or live in a very cold climate and need a oil that flows better at start up.

Doesn't 5w/30 synthetic flow the same as regular 5w/30?

No... synthetic oils will remain fluid to a much lower temperature than conventional oils. Good synthetics are pourable to -60F.

They will, however, have the same viscosity at temperature - 30 weight.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: Pilsnerpete

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Syn is good, esp Mobil1. But it is a waste if you do not plan on keeping the car for at least 60K, and or live in a very cold climate and need a oil that flows better at start up.

But don't use Castrols Syntec, it is not 100% Syn.
And don't use Fram filters.

Other than that you should be good to go.

So if planning on keeping the car for a long time, get some Mobil1 10W30 and change it out.

Isn't Marlin great? Big round of applause for Marlin. This guy is always letting people know the evils of using fram filters. You should post that letter again for those that don't believe. But I disagree (more of a question, actually) with you on one point:

But it is a waste if you do not plan on keeping the car for at least 60K, and or live in a very cold climate and need a oil that flows better at start up.

Doesn't 5w/30 synthetic flow the same as regular 5w/30?

Syn flows better at cold temp. The 5 is the weight and yes a 5 SHOULD flow the same as a Syn 5, BUT the syn will be more close to a 5 overall while a reg. might be between 5-7 (random numbers).

So a Syn can flow better because all of it is the same size and weight.

But Mobil1 has a 0W30 if you live in VERY cold areas.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Pilsnerpete

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Syn is good, esp Mobil1. But it is a waste if you do not plan on keeping the car for at least 60K, and or live in a very cold climate and need a oil that flows better at start up.

But don't use Castrols Syntec, it is not 100% Syn.
And don't use Fram filters.

Other than that you should be good to go.

So if planning on keeping the car for a long time, get some Mobil1 10W30 and change it out.

Isn't Marlin great? Big round of applause for Marlin. This guy is always letting people know the evils of using fram filters. You should post that letter again for those that don't believe. But I disagree (more of a question, actually) with you on one point:

But it is a waste if you do not plan on keeping the car for at least 60K, and or live in a very cold climate and need a oil that flows better at start up.

Doesn't 5w/30 synthetic flow the same as regular 5w/30?

Syn flows better at cold temp. The 5 is the weight and yes a 5 SHOULD flow the same as a Syn 5, BUT the syn will be more close to a 5 overall while a reg. might be between 5-7 (random numbers).

So a Syn can flow better because all of it is the same size and weight.

But Mobil1 has a 0W30 if you live in VERY cold areas.

It isn't just beneficial for cold areas(It's a must in that case), but it also makes the engine easier to start, and helps with lubrication in the few minutes that the engine is cold.

 

[Rickr]

A kind of unrelated question:

I have a Toyota with 150K miles. I've heard lots of ads about high-mileage oils (example Valvoline MaxLife). Does anyone know if these oils are beneficial, or just a marketing gimmick?

 

[Wolverine27]

NM

 

[Pilsnerpete]

I just saw a bottle of Mobil1 0w/40 for European cars at CsK (checker, schucks, kragen) and wondered what it was cause I'd never seen it b4 so I asked the guy that was there stocking the oil. He said it was "special use". I was like, "oh, really.." Very ignorant about that apparently.

But it is a waste if you do not plan on keeping the car for at least 60K, and or live in a very cold climate and need a oil that flows better at start up.

So synthetic is better. Ok, just didn't understand that. Looks like you said it's a waste if you don't keep the car or you live in a cold place.

 

[Wolverine27]

Originally posted by: Rickr
A kind of unrelated question:

I have a Toyota with 150K miles. I've heard lots of ads about high-mileage oils (example Valvoline MaxLife). Does anyone know if these oils are beneficial, or just a marketing gimmik?

I'm wondering the same thing. Also, would it be better to use a "high-mileage" oil for older vehicles or just switch over to full synthetic?

 

[edfcmc]

Here is the place to go for all your questions about motor oil, synthentic oil, filters etc.

Bobistheoilguy.com

 

[Marshallj]

Originally posted by: Eli
[
No... synthetic oils will remain fluid to a much lower temperature than conventional oils. Good synthetics are pourable to -60F.

They will, however, have the same viscosity at temperature - 30 weight.

Actually, that's what the first number in the oil weight is... the cold (winter) weight.

5w-30 synthetic should behave the same in the cold as 5w-30 conventional oil. They should both be 5 weight in the cold. If an oil was thinner, then it wouldn't be "5w-30", it would be "0w-30"