Are we using true synthetic?

[deaconfan34]

Ok i would like to hear everyones opinions on synthetic oils. I know it has been discussed before i just did not want to search for 9 hours, so dont bug me about the search button, i know where it is.

Ok we have all these "fully synthetic" oils out here. Which ones do you think are "fully synthetic" and which ones do you think are lying?

 

[deaconfan34]

bump

 

[Pretzellogic]

Are you for real?

 

[deaconfan34]

^^about what. wanting to hear about this or the whole not wanting to search thing? No one is answering anyways so its pointless.

 

[SciFiMan]

Really, you can trust the label. If it says its dino, a blend, or a fully synthetic, it is. Get the right weight and then pick your brand. Most here use Mobile 1, probably because it's everywhere on shelfs. Or Royal Purple for the wealthy. Or any of the other shelf brands. Just change it and the filter on time and you'll be fine.

I use Mobil 1 in my Pro and change it every 5000 miles or so, and a synthetic blend in the minivan (whatever brand is cheap that day).

 

[smurfedpro5]

i wase using leading edge but know i use royal purple

 

[apexlater]

Wow, had to bump it 13 minutes later when you got no reply.

I use Mobil 1, manufactures would get into alot of trouble (I imagine) if they advertised full synth and it was not. It's more important about the intervals, to an extent. I personally only use full synth in my car and synth blend in my wife's car.

 

[goldstar]

Ok i would like to hear everyones opinions on synthetic oils. I know it has been discussed before i just did not want to search for 9 hours, so dont bug me about the search button, i know where it is.

Ok we have all these "fully synthetic" oils out here. Which ones do you think are "fully synthetic" and which ones do you think are lying?

Good question. If you define a true synthetic oil in terms of its being constructed from synthesized hydrocarbons derived from API Group IV (polyalphaolefins) or Group V (Polyol ester) base stocks, then no, not all oils labelled as "synthetic", "fully synthetic", or "100% synthetic" are in fact true synthetic oils. If you don't understand what I'm talking about you'll have to do a search because I've written about this before and I'm tired of repeating myself.

As to why many oils can legally be sold as "synthetic" when they do not fit the above definition, go here:
www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=27&article_id=3631

Again, to make a long story short, if you want an oil that is a true synthetic by the above definition, you can choose:
Red Line
Mobil 1
Amsoil
Motul (ester-based oils only as they also make semi-synthetic and mineral oils)

Before anyone says Royal Purple is a great oil, carefully read their website where you'll learn that RP is not even a synthetic by the above definition.

There may be other true synthetic oils out there, and I apologize to any manufacturer that I may have slighted, but I, personally haven't been able to find any besides those I've listed. if you can find more, I'd be happy to learn of them.

 

[LinuxRacr]

Good question. If you define a true synthetic oil in terms of its being constructed from synthesized hydrocarbons derived from API Group IV (polyalphaolefins) or Group V (Polyol ester) base stocks, then no, not all oils labelled as "synthetic", "fully synthetic", or "100% synthetic" are in fact true synthetic oils. If you don't understand what I'm talking about you'll have to do a search because I've written about this before and I'm tired of repeating myself.

As to why many oils can legally be sold as "synthetic" when they do not fit the above definition, go here:
www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=27&article_id=3631

Again, to make a long story short, if you want an oil that is a true synthetic by the above definition, you can choose:
Red Line
Mobil 1
Amsoil
Motul (ester-based oils only as they also make semi-synthetic and mineral oils)

Before anyone says Royal Purple is a great oil, carefully read their website where you'll learn that RP is not even a synthetic by the above definition.

There may be other true synthetic oils out there, and I apologize to any manufacturer that I may have slighted, but I, personally haven't been able to find any besides those I've listed. if you can find more, I'd be happy to learn of them.

This is the same info I got on the matter from my Red Line oil dealer. They put in enough chemicals to pass as synthetic leagally. Nice to know I am not alone with this knowlege. I use nothing but Redline. Been that way for the last 3 years.

 

[akProtege5]

Really, you can trust the label. If it says its dino, a blend, or a fully synthetic, it is. Get the right weight and then pick your brand. Most here use Mobile 1, probably because it's everywhere on shelfs. Or Royal Purple for the wealthy. Or any of the other shelf brands. Just change it and the filter on time and you'll be fine.

I use Mobil 1 in my Pro and change it every 5000 miles or so, and a synthetic blend in the minivan (whatever brand is cheap that day).

I thought you do a oil change every 3000 miles?

 

[Protege52003]

I thought you do a oil change every 3000 miles?

synthetic is made to last longer and it is much more expensive than the dino stuff. if you are going to change every 3K, stick with the dino stuff.

i use synthetic and change every 7-10K (non-FI) for myself.....

 

[Mike R]

I thought you do a oil change every 3000 miles?

Read your manual. 5000 miles with regular oil and using the severe service schedule. Changing synthetic oil at 3K is a waste of money. It's good for 10-15K miles.

 

[goldstar]

I thought you do a oil change every 3000 miles?

According to the '02 FSM, U.S.A. cars under normal driving conditions should have their oil and filter changed every 6 months, 12,000 km or 7,500 miles.

Canadian, puerto Rican and U.S.A. cars operated under Unique driving conditions require oil and filter changes every 4 months, 8,000 km or 5,000 miles.

The unique properties of true synthetic oils permit extended oil change intervals without degrading their lubrication qualities compared with even the best mineral oils. On that basis, 5,000 miles should probably be considered a minimum figure for oil changes. The trend today in synthetic oils is to develop high mileage oils that far surpass the capabilities of anything previously possible.

For example, Red Line recommends 7,500 mile oil change intervals for cars used primarily in low-speed, low-frquency city driving ( one of the elements in what Mazda refers to as Unique driving conditions), whereas for high speed highway driving 15,000 to 18,000 mile oil changes, with one in-between oil filter change (with top-up), are recommended. Likewise, Mobil has recently developed Mobil 1 Extended Performance oil that is guaranteed to maintain its peak performance for 15,000 miles. Additionally, according to Mobil, no special filters or interim oil filter changes are required. Similarly, Amsoil has some high mileage oils.

How often do I change my oil? Like LinuxRacr, I use Red Line oil and I change it myself every 5,000 miles in order not to have warranty problems. The first year I had my car, my dealer changed the oil at his recommended 5,000 mile intervals. If not for that consideration, I'd probably change it at 7,500 miles, the low end of Red Line's recommendation, even though 90% of my driving is of the higher-speed highway type.

I'm not saying it's necessary but for those of you who use extended oil drain intervals, you might want to consider the V6 626 oil filter as it has ~ 20% more filter capacity than OEM.

 

[skilletrx]

hey guys can i ask a ?

wuts up w/ Mobil 1's Extended perf? can i really run 15k w/o changing my oil and just the filter?

 

[jurgs01]

With a turbo car, I would change my oil every 3K whether I was using a synthetic or not. I use Amsoil for the engine, and redline for the tranny

 

[Captain KRM P5]

i use full synthetic on everything but my rx7 and change the oil every 3000 miles

 

[WillisW555]

I used Mobil 1. If it's good enough for Porsche, AMG, and other expensive makes, it's good enough for my Mazda.

Actually, I read that article about small boutique oil 'blenders' and how it's better because they can tailor the oil to your needs, but that's not going to be cheap.

 

[LinuxRacr]

I see we think exactly alike on this!! I use nothing but the 626 V6 oil filter, and change my oil at about the same interval as you. Most of my driving is on the highway (due to the fact that I work like 50 miles from where I live).

According to the '02 FSM, U.S.A. cars under normal driving conditions should have their oil and filter changed every 6 months, 12,000 km or 7,500 miles.

Canadian, puerto Rican and U.S.A. cars operated under Unique driving conditions require oil and filter changes every 4 months, 8,000 km or 5,000 miles.

The unique properties of true synthetic oils permit extended oil change intervals without degrading their lubrication qualities compared with even the best mineral oils. On that basis, 5,000 miles should probably be considered a minimum figure for oil changes. The trend today in synthetic oils is to develop high mileage oils that far surpass the capabilities of anything previously possible.

For example, Red Line recommends 7,500 mile oil change intervals for cars used primarily in low-speed, low-frquency city driving ( one of the elements in what Mazda refers to as Unique driving conditions), whereas for high speed highway driving 15,000 to 18,000 mile oil changes, with one in-between oil filter change (with top-up), are recommended. Likewise, Mobil has recently developed Mobil 1 Extended Performance oil that is guaranteed to maintain its peak performance for 15,000 miles. Additionally, according to Mobil, no special filters or interim oil filter changes are required. Similarly, Amsoil has some high mileage oils.

How often do I change my oil? Like LinuxRacr, I use Red Line oil and I change it myself every 5,000 miles in order not to have warranty problems. The first year I had my car, my dealer changed the oil at his recommended 5,000 mile intervals. If not for that consideration, I'd probably change it at 7,500 miles, the low end of Red Line's recommendation, even though 90% of my driving is of the higher-speed highway type.

I'm not saying it's necessary but for those of you who use extended oil drain intervals, you might want to consider the V6 626 oil filter as it has ~ 20% more filter capacity than OEM.

 

[goldstar]

I see we think exactly alike on this!! I use nothing but the 626 V6 oil filter, and change my oil at about the same interval as you. Most of my driving is on the highway (due to the fact that I work like 50 miles from where I live).

LOL. Just goes to show, great minds think alike.
(drinks)

 

[deaconfan34]

those are very good points, but the oils you listed are not started from scratch. A true synthetic as the site you gave says that synthetic oil is started from scratch and has no petroleum in it.

Here are a few signs of a true synthetic. The price per quart at the minimum will be $25.
Another thing about them is that you can run the car from time of purchase until it dies on the same oil put in at the first change (if its truely synthetic). A true synthetic oil has the ability to be cleaned. You can take the oil and "scrub" it as my professor likes to say and then put it back in the motor. Of course you change your oil filter too.

Smokey Unik wanted to prove a point (which he liked to do often) about oils. So he used the same synthetic oil throughout the entire season. (hes an old/dead nascar driver if you didnt know.)

So when you are looking at "fully synthetic" oils and it is 6-10 dollars a quart dont be fooled.

I mean i like the stuff thats out now. I personally use mobil one but i am going to get the real stuff for once to see how good it actually is, just because i want to try it.