Synthetic Oil -> Normal Oil?

[Kirbs17]

Hey guys

I was just wondering if it was possible to switch back to normal engine oil after having a car on a diet of synthetic oil? Im driving a 1999.5 VW Jetta 2.0L, and I've been using ~4 litres of Quaker State High Synthetic each oil chage. Will there be any sort of ramifications if I switch? Any procedures to take first? Thanks

Kirby

[A2VR6]

I think you should be ok. If i recall correctly if you switch from normal oil ---> Synthetic then you might have problems (even then you probably wont have problems), but the other way shouldnt be too bad.

[hockeybronx]

Just a question, why are you deciding to switch back? Just to save money or....?

The only reason I'm asking is because there are so many people on this forum who absolutely swear by Synthetic after getting over 350,000 kms on their engines using it.

I've used Synthetic since my car had about 65,000km on it, and I really have no reason to want to switch back.

[Zero102]

Don't switch.
I've had this argument enough times with enough people...
Stay on synthetic. If it's a money problem, use Mobil 1, and go 10,000km's between changes.

[forkdork]

Kirbs, you should already be doing 16000 KM change intervals, any less is just a waste of money

Mobil 1 Synthetic costs like $29 for 4L + oil filter and you are good for the next 16 000 KM

[Weapon_R]

There should be no reason to worry if you do decide to switch back, but i'd stay with synthetic.

You don't have to change the oil as often, either.

[hockeybronx]

I've been changing my oil every 8,000 kms on Penzoil Full Synthetic 5W-40 European Formula.

Perhaps I'll cut down a bit and go a little longer now.:dunno:

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by forkdork
Kirbs, you should already be doing 16000 KM change intervals, any less is just a waste of money

Mobil 1 Synthetic costs like $29 for 4L + oil filter and you are good for the next 16 000 KM An oil filter won't last you 16,000km even if the oil does.

[barmanjay]

Originally posted by hockeybronx
I've been changing my oil every 8,000 kms on Penzoil Full Synthetic 5W-40 European Formula.

Perhaps I'll cut down a bit and go a little longer now.:dunno:

yes,.. don't switch,.. or you'll have to do an oil change every 3k with reg oil,.. change the filter @ every 6k - from my pal @lexus in vancouver,.. assistant service manager

reg oil is fine,.. just you have to change more often

I'm trying to ween my car into a full synthetic,.. been a year now on semi synth,.. hopefully the initial switch won't cause too much weeping :(

but keep on the synth

keep in mind tho ppl,.. when it breaksdown,.. it beaksdown quickly

every tried burning synth?

it dam near explodes! Doesn't burn black and slow like reg oil.

[heavyD]

Originally posted by Kirbs17
Hey guys

I was just wondering if it was possible to switch back to normal engine oil after having a car on a diet of synthetic oil? Im driving a 1999.5 VW Jetta 2.0L, and I've been using ~4 litres of Quaker State High Synthetic each oil chage. Will there be any sort of ramifications if I switch? Any procedures to take first? Thanks

Kirby

Absolutely. There will be no problems switching back to regular oil. As long as you use a decent quality oil and change your oil at regular intervals you will have no problems. Regular oils have excellent additives these days and since you have the N/A 2.0L you really don't need synthetic anyway. There still is not conclusive evidence that engines last longer with synthetic oil.

[dericer]

Originally posted by heavyD


Absolutely. There will be no problems switching back to regular oil. As long as you use a decent quality oil and change your oil at regular intervals you will have no problems. Regular oils have excellent additives these days and since you have the N/A 2.0L you really don't need synthetic anyway. There still is not conclusive evidence that engines last longer with synthetic oil.

Werd, there is no evidence your engine will last longer in normal driving conditions/habits.

There are several studies on the effects of harder driving and the break down of conventional oils in high heat applications ie. Boosted vehicles or bagging on your car for extended periods.

A big draw back though is while the thiness is great for heat displacement it can cause leaks in some gaskets, especially cork.

6 of one, half dozen of another.


Just my .02

[heavyD]

Originally posted by dericer
Werd, there is no evidence your engine will last longer in normal driving conditions/habits.

There are several studies on the effects of harder driving and the break down of conventional oils in high heat applications ie. Boosted vehicles or bagging on your car for extended periods.

A big draw back though is while the thiness is great for heat displacement it can cause leaks in some gaskets, especially cork.

6 of one, half dozen of another.

Just my .02

His car isn't boosted. Bagging an N/A car isn't going to make a difference as long as you change your oil on a regular basis. On a highly modded car where boost levels, compression, etc. are raised above factory specs, synthetic is recommended as it can withstand higher extreme temperatures but chances are that if a modded engine fails it's because of poor tuning, overstressed parts, or failed mechanical parts, not oil contamination or deposits.

Come on people. How many failed engines do you see that using a synthetic oil would have made a difference? None.

How many Taxi cabs last 500000 kms on regular oil. My dad has run his mini-vans well over 250000 kms on regular oil with no problems. Synthetic oil isn't some miracle fluid that makes your engine indestructable. There really is no need to run synthetic oil in an N/A car. Cars like the Infinity G35 actually recommend not to use synthetic.

[Kirbs17]

Thanks for the response guys. It wasnt a money issue at all, I was just wondering if there would be any damage/ramifications to my engine if I switched. I went out and bought a case of Mobil 1 as someone suggested earlier. Once again, thanks for the info

Kirby

[dericer]

the US Military did a study on the pros/cons of synthetic for their equipment.

Interesting read, but it still refers to vendor finding for fuel economy so that is pretty inconclusive in my books.


http://p2library.nfesc.navy.mil/P2_Opportunity_Handbook/6_II_4.html

[forkdork]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
An oil filter won't last you 16,000km even if the oil does.


Yes it will...... There are TDI guys who change there oil every 15k Miles (24k km). It all depends on the type of driving you do. And there have been a ton of oil analysis' done that prove that the oil is still good after a 16k interval.

VW actually recommends 10,000 mile changes (16 090 KM).

Start changing every 16k. If you don't believe me, search for Oil Analysis results on vortex, there should be some that prove what i'm saying is right.

[Zero102]

forkdork, the problem is that most conventional paper filters will break down and/or plug up before 16,000km's.
Perhaps in some models the filters are indeed designed for such long change intervals, but for 90% of people, this is not the case.

[forkdork]

Yeah, since Kirbs drives a vw 2.0, this is what he should be doing.
Using OEM filters of course...

[Kirbs17]

Yup, its been changed between every 16,000-18,000 kms.

Cars running great on Mobil 1, not really any noticable difference, mind you Im not exactly doing any "high-performance"driving going between the college, my apartment, and work :rofl:

[bobstock1]

I have a 2001 Jetta 2.0l. Unfortunate thing about these cars is they actually go through alot of oil (they don't actually burn it, they seem to 'boil' it). Emissions are fine etc. I have a neighbour who's a mechanic at the local VW service center and he says it's a common issue on that series of engine. I was on regular good quality oil for several years and over the last 12 months have used synthetic. I've gone through more oil. Synth is actually a little better in the winter for starting because it seems to be less viscous at low temps (good on those -40 days) but you go through more in the summer. As far as my local VW service goes, they recommend changes (oil and filter) at 6k with regular oil and 8k with synthetic. The reason I hit this thread is that I'm planning to switch between synth in the winter and back to regular oil in the summer. After reading the posts, there's nothing that says to me I can't do it.