I was told today by a couple of guys at work that if you start using synthetic oil you have to continue, and can't go back to the regular stuff. Is this true? Why is it?
Motor Oil- Regular/ Synthetic
- Thread starter The Bandit
- Start date
Years ago I bought a used car and wanted to use synthetic oil because I believed it was a better product, retained consistent viscosity at lower and higher temperatures, required changing less often, and was less abrasive on the engine in the long run. The mechanic I took the car to agreed with all of these benefits but advised me against purchasing the more expensive synthetic oil for that particular car. he said that since the car had been running regular oil for a number of years, it would not be good for the engine to change.
I don't know if this is really true (or, if so, why) but I believe the mechanic believed it because he turned down a higher margin sale to give me the advice.
I don't know if this is really true (or, if so, why) but I believe the mechanic believed it because he turned down a higher margin sale to give me the advice.
All BS you can change back and forth if you want. I use Synthetic....you can easily run 10K km intervals. Non synthetic is also fine for many cars, but I feel Synthetic give you extra protection against sludging, Also all my cars have turbos... my bike specs synthetic as well
There is no reason why you can't switch. Any difference you notice would likely be coincidental and a symptom of something that was happening already.
For example if you have a car that's hard on oil or prone to sludge or cook oil due to inadequate cooling or hot spots in the oil passages, the conventional oil won't be as forgiving and there MIGHT be more consequences over a long time - but it's not the switching that CAUSES it, you'd have noticed the same thing sooner with if you ran conventional from day one.
In some cases oil delivery on cold start up might be a split second slower with conventional and you might notice a slight difference - again it's not caused by switching, it just the normal way it would have been with conventional all along.
Since some oil companies won the right to expand the legal definition of "synthetic" , two thirds of the products now labled "synthetic" are not true synthetics, so if you were using one of those, there's even less difference because it wasn't a real synthetic oil in the first place.
For example if you have a car that's hard on oil or prone to sludge or cook oil due to inadequate cooling or hot spots in the oil passages, the conventional oil won't be as forgiving and there MIGHT be more consequences over a long time - but it's not the switching that CAUSES it, you'd have noticed the same thing sooner with if you ran conventional from day one.
In some cases oil delivery on cold start up might be a split second slower with conventional and you might notice a slight difference - again it's not caused by switching, it just the normal way it would have been with conventional all along.
Since some oil companies won the right to expand the legal definition of "synthetic" , two thirds of the products now labled "synthetic" are not true synthetics, so if you were using one of those, there's even less difference because it wasn't a real synthetic oil in the first place.
If the mechanic turned down a higher margin of sales, it would just have been a few dollars, the cost of synthetic is not far from conventional oil these days. On special I have seen synthetic go for $14 for 4 liters. ( I picked up 6 jugs for my new car 18 months ago, will be god for 3 years.)
Synthetic oil :
- Cleans dirt out of an engine better.
- Does not turn to butter in cold.
- Does not break down in extreme heat
Here are two more reasons why you should use synthetic.
All military aircraft and vehicles use synthetic, all airlines and big corporate vehicle fleets use synthetic.
I know a thieving scumbag mechanic that tells me not to use synthetics motor oil or use ceramic brake pads, because it takes away business from his garage.
Couldn't have said it better..... Synthetic is better for the long run - or hard use, but for normal driving and as long as you are changing oil every 5 - 7 km, you would be ok with regular oil.
R2R
There can be issues with seals and gaskets, switching from dino-juice to synthetic, and back again... Back in the early days of synthetics, it was much more of an issue then today.
That said, if you're going to make the investment to go synthetic, then you're probably best to stay that way. I run "regular" oil in all 3 daily drivers, and synthetic in my race engine (Royal Purple)...
Laz
That said, if you're going to make the investment to go synthetic, then you're probably best to stay that way. I run "regular" oil in all 3 daily drivers, and synthetic in my race engine (Royal Purple)...
Laz
why the fuck would one want to change every 5K when one can change synthetic every 10K? That's not only petty but also stupid, isn't it?
Synthetic costs 2x more than dino-juice.
Dino goes on sale regularly, syn rarely.
Dino goes on sale with FREE filter at CT all the time.
Not necessarily true. It might be that the synthetic oil cost more, but might the profit margin is less for the mechanic. Who knows...
For a compact car with a four cylinder engine it makes good sense to use synthetic oil, the engine runs much hotter and needs the extra protection. For any vehicle with a v6 engine and beyond it doesn't make any difference. If you go with synthetic do not cut corners on cost. I use Mobil1 on my 10 year old Civic and it's still running like a top.
I have bought CDN Tire synthetic for as low as $14 for a 4 liter jug. They go on sale often for $18-22 a jug. The Synthetic oil is produced for CDN Tire by a big motor oil producer, it use to be Mobil 1, I think they are contracting else where now. If you buy you oil before you needit, synthetic can cost as lttle or less than dino.
That's because it's not really worth more than $16 and it probably doesn't have more than 15% synthetic stocks. It's been a rebadged Shell oil since at least 2006. There's nothing wrong with it but anything more than $4/L would be overpriced.
One good blend for a decent price that flies under the radar is the Mobil S2000, usually priced between $4.59/L - $5.79/L (costs a little more at CT & W) best price is usually at the Esso on Eglinton & Dufferin.
Its 100% synthetic Formula 1 brand CND Tire brand oil. You have to pick it up when it goes one sale.
Why? A couple reasons really. Changing your oil & filter at shorter intervals allows you to effectively flush out the minute particples of combustion blow-by, droplets of condensation, and the invevitable steel shavings from all the reciprocating friction within the motor itself. Whether it's dino oil or synthetic, all this crap winds up in your oil - and is the primary reason for engine wear - contaminates in the oil. Yes, synthetic has a more stable viscosity & could remain in your engine past 15k km. But why would you want to? It would be like taking a shower with dirty water, or going to see your favorite SP sporting a used condom.
I think it's the flushing of the crap out of your crankcase that brings the benefit from an oil change. With dino oil, it's simply more cost effective.
R2R
