synthetic oils?

[2000impreza]

i'm almost due for another oil change. i was wondering if is it worth the high price for "real" synthetic oils such as redline, amsoil, motul? over the cheaper castrol/mobil.

[RGAGT]

wouldn't Dish Mobil it is used by the Top Manufatures in there Products and I've heard Nothing but good things about it:D

[2000impreza]

i've heard nothing but good about mobil too. when i was searching for stuff on the net i came across some oil tests. don't know how valid these tests are........

info here:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/oilshear.htm

video's of oil tests:
http://bobistheoilguy.com/videos.html

picture of results:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/videos/bearingresults.jpg

[DSM Power]

I wouldn't call Mobil1 a "low end" synthetic...! :rolleyes:

[2000impreza]

went back and edited my post. sorry didn't know people actually took offence to that.

[Alpine Autowerks]

You should take Amsoil off of you list, I have seen 2 new engines killed buy that junk. It turned into silly putty in the pan. We were making balls out of it and bouncing them on the floor. The fumes disolved every synthetic hose & part in the breather system. 1 guy was an Amsoil dealer !


Mobil 1 !!!! yes
I use it or Lubro Moly ( german product) in every thing I have every owned

[legendboy]

I changed from synthetic to regular oil and my engine started burning badly.....I use regular Honda 5w 30 in my new engine.

[2000impreza]

i just picked up 4L of redline oil today. lol. expensive stuff.

[Alpine Autowerks]

picture of results:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/videos/bearingresults.jpg [/B][/QUOTE]


I love it when snake oil salesman come round with their Timken testers and ask for a sample of the oil that is used in the shop. I give them a litre but with 1/4 to 1/2 gear oil in the bottle. The EP additives from the gear oil protect the sample for being damaged. The salesman ends up hanging all his weight on the lever instead of pressing lightly and wondering why things aren't going like the guy showed him in the hotel room training seminar and why this grease monkey knows more about tribology than him and if he can still get that job with Filter Queen.

The Timken tester is for hardened metals sliding on each other ( like some gears) and not for anything you find in an IC engine.

[2000impreza]

gear oil eh? lol. i'll remember that one.

the longest i've gone between oil changes was i think 7000-8000km's. this was with mobil 1. the oil was very thick and black when i drained it. i'm sure it would have been fine if i changed it at 5000km's so who knows. my next oil change with redline oil i'm going to run it for atleast 7000km's.. see if it will be any different from mobil.

[OMOYYC]

Hey Alpine,

The BMW dealership says I don't have to change oil for 25k. Is that true? I asked them SEVERAL times!

[2000impreza]

25k is a lot especially if you run your car on track.

your oil might last 25K if you drive like a old fart:rofl:

[Alpine Autowerks]

It would be OK with lots of highway driving & a mild climate, Canadian climate should put you on a severe service schedule. I would halve it if you are keeping the car. If it is a lease ... who cares.

[OMOYYC]

Man.. the oil changes are like $120 for my car.. so they say. Can I bring it to you?

[Weapon_R]

I've heard of two people (legendboy and a friend) who have both had serious problems returning to regular oil after using synthetic. Does anyone know why?

[The Raptor]

Yes, you should return to regular oil after using synthetic. Your engine won't be able to handle the change...

[Alpine Autowerks]

Originally posted by Weapon_R
I've heard of two people (legendboy and a friend) who have both had serious problems returning to regular oil after using synthetic. Does anyone know why?


What kind of problems,
Are sure that previous engine problems/wear are being blamed on the type of oil. Synthetic is still just oil... synthetics have less heavy and light ends which flash off or form sludge & less additives (except for the 5w50's which have lots of VI improvers)

[LaughingTiger]

Originally posted by Cwave
Hey Alpine,

The BMW dealership says I don't have to change oil for 25k. Is that true? I asked them SEVERAL times!

25k......Wow I think they want your car to break so they can sell
you some expensive parts..

I pretty sure the dealerships use a non-synthetic oil w/ a high
viscosity for the hotter engine of a BMW, and even if they use
a synthetic It'll never last 25k. It's not how the car is built that
will make the oil break down, it's the oils molecular structure
which breaks down when fricion and thermal energy is applied.
Even after the oil is used for a short time, it will still break down
if you let your car sit for a while. Synthetic's are the best oils for
your car (except rotory engines which burn oil), they last from
6000-10000kms. I still change my synthetic oil a 5000km.
Fresh oil brings out the best in your car.

$120 is alot for an oil change, and I heard at the BMW dealer you
have to wait about 3 weeks to get in...
What the best thing to do is go to a fast lube shop were you
can see them work, buy a BMW oil filter from the dealer, this won't
void your warrenty. It'll cost about $40bucks for mineral oil chg and about $60 for syn. chg, but it beats $120

[Weapon_R]

Originally posted by Alpine Autowerks



What kind of problems,
Are sure that previous engine problems/wear are being blamed on the type of oil. Synthetic is still just oil... synthetics have less heavy and light ends which flash off or form sludge & less additives (except for the 5w50's which have lots of VI improvers)

Well Legendboy claimed that his engine smoked after returning to conventional oil. My friend had a talon that ran fine until he switched over to conventional oil, and his engine went downhill from there. It required a rebuild a few weeks later. Coincidence? Might be. But i've heard that it isn't a good idea to do so, although I can't see why since Synthetic oil was meant to do exactly what regular oil does...:dunno:

[Alpine Autowerks]

I,ve seen guys run 24k in less than 1 year in Porsches with Mobil 1 and lots of highway and it drains clean. In frequent long trips it is fine... oil does not braek down...the additives do or they are depleted. thats why oil can be rerefined.

Wankels... I got 330,000 km from my 1st using mobil 1 ... only changed plugs & points... and 1 water pump. Solo raced it too.

Cwave... I would suggest if you do not go more than 1 year or too the track you can go the recomended. otherwise it is relatively cheap to do it @ 12,500

[OMOYYC]

My car comes standard with Synthetics. Apparently the filter is expensive? Dunno.. :dunno:

[slurpeeboy]

if u do the oil changes yourself then using synthetic isn't much more then regular motor oil... (6 litres of mobil 1 for only 26 bucks). Also as soon as i switched from regular motoroil to mobil 1 i noticed that my engine idled a lot smoother and more quietly.

[nookmumracing]

Check the oil, if its dark and dirty change it. Mobil 1 Synthetic is the one for me. $26 for 4 litres, is that normal Marc?

Peace

[REdOX]

Originally posted by slurpeeboy
(6 litres of mobil 1 for only 26 bucks).

Damn that's cheap! Where at???? :hitit:

Anyone know why Mobil1 changed the name of their oil from Tri-synthetic to Supersyn?

Is it just a marketing scheme or what?

[ecstasy_civic]

cwave, the filter for your car is like 40 bucks or so. might be more i forget but, pretty much all oils do the same thing just a few different detergents and thats about it i forget who said it but NEVER EVER use AMSOIL. we sell that shit at work and after a few compaints and other problems were not able to carry it anymore. if you guys are looking for cheaper changes PM me and ill see what i can do to get some deals on product and labour.

ps. yes its just a marketing gimmick by mobil to change the name,bottle and color. along with quaker state 4X4 its the exact same and quaker state high milage just the high mileage is like 4 bucks cheaper a bottle.

[SilverStreak]

According to most of the things I read and a few others using Amsoil I gave it a try. I only have about 1000kms with the stuff so don't know how well it works.

ecstasy_civic, what sorts of complaints did you get about Amsoil at your work?

Alpine Autowerks, can you described why those engines failed due to amsoil? Thanks.

[ecstasy_civic]

different things such as rough idle strange noises. umm poor gas mileage.

[Pole Position]

Just change the god damn oil when it is 3 months old or 4500KM, which ever comes first. :thumbsup:

[Redlyne_mr2]

I use Mobil 1 as well, 10 year old car and the oil still looks like its new when I change it, I oay about 26 as well for 4 litres..walmart, canadian tire etc

[REdOX]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
I use Mobil 1 as well, 10 year old car and the oil still looks like its new when I change it, I oay about 26 as well for 4 litres..walmart, canadian tire etc

Just wondering what you mean by "it still looks like it's new"?
If the oil is doing its job properly it's supposed to change colour. If you're chaning your oil and it still looks new there might be something going on there. But I'm sure you know that already... I'm just wondering what you meant.

[silvercivicsir]

if Mobile 1 is good enough the the AMG mercs, and the 911 and the dodge viper ..... , it's good enough for my civic.. got like 10 4l Jugs of Mobile one in my garage.. I hope oil doesn't go bad..

[ecstasy_civic]

holy shit whered you get all that oil?????? thats alot of money too! lol

[Pole Position]

Originally posted by REdOX


Just wondering what you mean by "it still looks like it's new"?
If the oil is doing its job properly it's supposed to change colour. If you're chaning your oil and it still looks new there might be something going on there. But I'm sure you know that already... I'm just wondering what you meant.

I'm pretty sure that when he changes his oil and the oil still look clean, it is a good thing. I mean you don't want to wait for your oil to go black before changing it do you?

Engine oil's job is to lubricate, and special things depending on the addictives. If there is something wrong with his engine oil, oh I think his engine would have been dead a long time ago.

[REdOX]

Originally posted by Pole Position


I'm pretty sure that when he changes his oil and the oil still look clean, it is a good thing. I mean you don't want to wait for your oil to go black before changing it do you?

Engine oil's job is to lubricate, and special things depending on the addictives. If there is something wrong with his engine oil, oh I think his engine would have been dead a long time ago.

No of course it's not supposed to be black when you change it. But it is supposed to get darker. Oil's job is to not only lubricate but also pick up contaminants from the engine thus making it a different colour when doing its job.

[Pole Position]

But I don't understand how could the oil not be doing its job?

He put the wrong oil in?
Oil was defective?

Please advise.

[T5_X]

Hmmmmm, I change my own oil with cheap stuff, costs me well under 20 bucks a pop and I know that I'm snugging up the filter and plug right. I doubt that my pushrod 6 needs any better :) Don't know about the daytona though, I just put in QS 5-30 :confused:

[REdOX]

Originally posted by Pole Position
But I don't understand how could the oil not be doing its job?

He put the wrong oil in?
Oil was defective?

Please advise.

Hey Howard... like I said earlier oil is supposed to also pick up contamination from the engine thus changing its colour. If it doesn't change colour then maybe there just isn't anything there for the oil to pick up. Even so, it might be something else as well.

[Redlyne_mr2]

Im assuming that by doing regular oil changes and using a high quality synthetic oil very little debris is found in the engine...since its synthetic the heat from a turbocharged engine has not caused it the oil to break down....if I was to fo an oil change every 8 thousand kms im sure it would be much darker

[Pole Position]

Originally posted by REdOX


Hey Howard... like I said earlier oil is supposed to also pick up contamination from the engine thus changing its colour. If it doesn't change colour then maybe there just isn't anything there for the oil to pick up. Even so, it might be something else as well.

Oh yeah I get your point. So exactly what you said, his engine has nothing for the oil to pick up, thus I'm assuming his engine was very clean. That's why he said his oil still liked like new.

:thumbsup:

[redline_13000]

i just did an oil change in my jimmy..put synthetic oil in replacing the conventional..will i be able to go back to conventional without problems? thanks

[Pole Position]

Right now, I have heard mix comments about if going back to conventional oil will be okay.

If I were you, I would play it safe and stick with synthetic. That is unless someone can prove that it is okay to back to conventional oil.