Oil (Synthetic?)

What kind of oil do you use?

  • Regular

    Votes: 48 21.8%
  • Synthetic

    Votes: 172 78.2%

  • Total voters
    220
I'm switching to synthetic next oil change for my mp5, and then also for my rebuilt engine on my '98 626 after it's broken in a bit more. Can't wait!

Used synthetic oil before in my V6 Diamante and it made the engine verrrry quiet and smooth. The change intervals are also longer too so the extra price you pay is negated.
 
Engine Oil

Mobil 1 5W30

Engine sounds better, and since temps go down to around -40C in the winter here in the North (and up to +32C in the summer), synthetic oil DOES make a difference. Yes it is WAY more expensive, but if you keep the car for as long as I do, I think the extra money IS worth it.

My 1990 Civic Si had only 275000km on it after 10 years and I had used all kinds of additives (Teflon types), but the engine had to be rebuilt so I sold the car...I figure that THAT was a waste of money. Next car was a 2000 Civic EX (4 doors) and only synthetic has gone in the engine and you should hear the difference (now at 94000km, my wife has it now and she has a lead foot...). The Civic EX can still give 40mpg (43 on the highway), my P5 just now is at 38.5mpg (that's 32mpg US).

Oh and BTW, REAL pure Maple syrup from Quebec (so is our beer)is lightyears better than junk like Aunt Jemima...:D
 
Waatdahell, You never figured in the service interval into your calculation. Figure synthetic will last AT LEAST 3 times as longer than dino oil while still giving superior lubrication may be enough to sway people toward syn. And it only costs about twice as much as regular oil.
 
Re: Oil

Mobil 1 5W30 Synthetic.

On Day One with 32Km on the Car I changed to Synthetic. The oil has no impurities and unless your car has many miles on it on regular oil, I urge everyone to spend the extra money and make a switch. If you drive your car in the winter, synthetic oil is alot less likely to turn to "Sticky Goo" in your oilpan. Enjoy
 
Finally switched! at 19,604 miles put in Kendall GT-1 Full Synthetic. That's the only brand that the Firestone Svc Ctrs (yeah, I'm a pay-others-to-do-it-for-me guy) carries (but including tire rotation and taxes etc. it was about $43 total). Very smooth!! WootWoot!

Quickie question for any of you still on this thread:
The Firestone dudes said that the oil's good for 10,000 miles, but do I need to worry about the oil filter getting clogged by that time?

** Edit **
Brian MP5T said:
Mobil 1 5W30 Synthetic.
BTW BrianMp5t, that's one sweet looking car!
 
Last edited:
I use valvoline 10w30, and change every 3k. Just coming off a four year relationship with a Volvo 850 that required premium unleaded and synthetic motor oil. I talked with a Volvo tech who said he would change between 3-4k no matter what type of oil you use. Too many opinions maybe
 
I use Castrol Syntec in the P5, but that might change to Royal Purple next time. Depends on how much the stufff costs around here. Maybe even Mobil 1. That's what we put in the Land Cruiser.

But I have a question. What exactly is the difference between 5w30, 10w30, 5w40, 0w30, and the rest? I know the first number is for the ambient outside temperatures you're driving in, but I'm at a total loss for what the second number desgnates. Anybody?
 
Miller, I run the Royal Purple 5W30 in my msp and p5...it's good stuff...do the same and don't question me.

p.s. the numbers represent the viscosity of the oil above freezing and below freezing.
 
I use full synthetic and change every 3.

I love the retards that use full synthetic and then wait longer than 5k to change the oil. The point of using a synthetic oil is that it doesn't break down as quickly as "dino" oil. When you run the oil that much longer, you are completely negating the point of using synthetic in the first place.

Some people are just too damned cheap. Get a job or something. The oil is a very important part of the car, why would someone cheap out on that?
 
the thing is is that the synthetic doesnt REALLY break down at all, it just gets dirty, and the particles are smaller than the oil filter can remove, so either change it after 5K miles or get a .5 micron filter to clean your oil in a seperate loop from the stock oilcleaning system. if you do this you can run full synthetic nearly forever (overstatement, but making a point)

the drawback is that this would probaly cost more to do than just to do regular 5K mile oilchanges. besides is $25 too much for 4 quarts and a filter? I think not... learn to change your own oil people... save a fortune
 
WaatDaHell said:
Hey Jack, ever heard of a 1983 Honda Accord going 350,000 miles without using Synthetic? Ever heard of a 1980 Toyota truck going 600,000 miles with regular oil? If not, I've driven both and yes they're still running. The way engines are built nowadays, you think we need better oil than what those cars needed? Oh please.........and you don't understand the logic of comparing this to premium fuel? I give up.

premium fuel = costly! 10cents more per liter, plus the ECU isnt programmed for it, and our cars arent even high compression, so whats the point?


oil change, 20 bucks for synetic, guessing about 5-10 for regular.
oil seems more affordable man. The engine wear over time is less = u can keep more power.

Im going synetic once i get a new car


btw Im gonna have to ask a really NEWBIE question... ppl are saying
moblie 5W30
wats the does the 5 and 30 mean?
 
RyanJayG said:
the thing is is that the synthetic doesnt REALLY break down at all, it just gets dirty, and the particles are smaller than the oil filter can remove, so either change it after 5K miles or get a .5 micron filter to clean your oil in a seperate loop from the stock oilcleaning system. if you do this you can run full synthetic nearly forever (overstatement, but making a point)

the drawback is that this would probaly cost more to do than just to do regular 5K mile oilchanges. besides is $25 too much for 4 quarts and a filter? I think not... learn to change your own oil people... save a fortune
Yep, Walmart sells the 5 gallon jobby of Mobil 1 for like less than $17.

Of course now that I work 7 days a week, I just pay the Jiffy Lube people and get my free car wash. I'm thinking of trying Sears Auto next time though, just need an excuse to use my Sears card.
 
BlueMonsta said:
someone tell me how oil grading works!

somethign W something... huh?lol



On every bottle of motor oil there is a seal that gives you three pieces of information:
  • The API service rating
  • The viscosity grade
  • "Energy Conserving" indicator (it either is or it isn't)
The API service rating is a two-letter rating that tells you the type of engine the oil is meant for (gasoline or diesel) and the quality level. See this page for a description of the different ratings.


The viscosity grade (for example, 5W-30) tells you the oil's thickness, or viscosity. A thin oil has a lower number and flows more easily, while thick oils have a higher number and are more resistant to flow. Water has a very low viscosity -- it is thin and flows easily. Honey has a very high viscosity -- it is thick and gooey.

The standard unit used to measure viscosity is the centistoke (cSt). According to this page:
  • Viscosity is ordinarily expressed in terms of the time required for a standard quantity of the fluid at a certain temperature to flow through a standard orifice. The higher the value, the more viscous the fluid. Since viscosity varies inversely with temperature, its value is meaningless unless accompanied by the temperature at which it is determined. With petroleum oils, viscosity is now commonly reported in centistokes (cSt), measured at either 40C or 100 C (ASTM Method D445 - Kinematic Viscosity).
The centistoke rating is converted into the SAE weight designation using a chart like the one shown on this page.


Multi-weight oils (such as 10W-30) are a new invention made possible by adding polymers to oil. The polymers allow the oil to have different weights at different temperatures. The first number indicates the viscosity of the oil at a cold temperature, while the second number indicates the viscosity at operating temperature. This page offers the following very interesting description of how the polymers work:
  • At cold temperatures, the polymers are coiled up and allow the oil to flow as their low numbers indicate. As the oil warms up, the polymers begin to unwind into long chains that prevent the oil from thinning as much as it normally would. The result is that at 100 degrees C, the oil has thinned only as much as the higher viscosity number indicates. Another way of looking at multi-vis oils is to think of a 20W-50 as a 20 weight oil that will not thin more than a 50 weight would when hot.
Here are some interesting links:
 

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