Synthetic vs. Conventional Oils

[carkid0007]

I have been researching this, and Im aware that there are probably other threads about this, but need a more up to date one. Also have some questions. If you used conventional should you switch over to synthetic ever? Is there more engine wear after a long time of use with synthetic compared to conventional ? I am wondering from your guys experiences not from what you read online.

[aznpoopy]

my personal experience

1995 Nissan 240sx bought in 2001.

i started using mobil1 synthetic. predictably, i started leaking from my oil pan, front main seal, and a little bit on the valve cover. i switched back to regular but it was too late. months later, i resealed all the leaks after wasting alot of money on oil. i went back to synthetic and it didn't leak again.

i use synth on my 240sx now (with another ka24de with new seals).
i also use it on my dd civic which was bought new, no problems there.

engine wise, synthetic is really supposed to be better. i don't think it really matters much for regular driving. for the past few decades, all cars have run on dino oil, and plenty of them went 150k, 200k, or more... etc.

synth vs dino for regular driving... if you have a new car, use synth. if you have an old car thats been on dino for a long time, use dino. or use synth and get ready to replace some oil seals.

imo, what they say is true. dino leaves deposits. yuck. but, those deposits can 'seal up' leaky oil seals. synth runs cleaner and washes those deposits away. that also means your crapped out seals are now going to start leaking. i have no factual basis for this except for the fact that i read it on the net quite some time ago. so take it as you will.

[jr_ss]

The problem about using syn. after you've used dino for years is it's thinner than dino. This is why it causes problems with leaking. I'm not saying it's thinner in viscosity, but it flows better than dino. It has better cooling properties and takes longer to break down. Like already stated, if I had a new car, it would be switched to syn immediately. But for use on a car that's had years of dino flowing through it, stick with dino, unless you plan on replacing all the seals. And I'm sure you're aware of which ones tend to leak the most.

[krustindumm]

The KA in my car has always been run on synthetic (according to the guy I bought it from). I pulled it down at ~130k and there were no deposits. Everything aluminum was a light golden, bearings and cylinder walls were still perfect. I'm sticking with Mobile1 and OEM filters. I tried something else once and the oil was black w/in 2500 miles, usually I run it till 5000 with a filter change at 2500 and it still comes out somewhat clean.

[BigVinnie]

If you used conventional should you switch over to synthetic ever? Is there more engine wear after a long time of use with synthetic compared to conventional ? I am wondering from your guys experiences not from what you read online.


Well over all Synthetic is less viscous. Having less viscous properties than conventional oil, it will free up power in the engine as well has transferring less heat, so technically synthetic can be used for longer durations and filter better than conventional oils. Conventional oils still have gumming compounds found in petroleum, synthetics I don't belive have half as much gumming compounds. I don't believe that synthetic ages or turns over like conventional does. Overall for the price that people pay for synthetic VS. Conventional and the amount of performance and longevity that your engine performs too using synthetics, I believe synthetics are an overall great investment.
Is it bad to switch over??????? Not that I know of.
But people do tell me that you can't switch from synthetic to conventional. IMO I don't know why that would be, but technically I see it as a myth being that I have switched oils before..

[nismoman]

Yeah the switching back thing....def a myth. And if I may add my 2 cents and possibly make the debate more complex. Not all synthetic oils are created equal. In fact not all synthetics are truly synthetic.

[RightWheelDrive]

There is no problem in switching back and forth from dino or synthetic oil. You can even mix them if they both meet the SL(maybe even higher these days) requirements. Synthetic oils are made from used dino oil.

[drifter808]

I just changed my oil to mobil 1 synthetic yesterday. I did notice a difference in performance but it was probably all in my head. The engine does seem to run and rev alot smoother. Damn that oil is expensive though. But only the best for my engine :)

[carkid0007]

Thanks for all the responses, the advice is well taken. I had another friend that said not to use Mobil 1 synthetic, I thought that it was supposed to be one of the top ones....maybe I miss read something some where. He said to use Castrol. Better choice ? or not ?

[Nan Desu Ka?!]

I run full redline syth. on my KADE... albeit, its rebuilt. As soon as i got the rebuild i used synth from day 1. no leaks, runs like a champ. and redline has a 12000 mi. warranty (or so i was told... ill just wait till it gets black. haha) cant beat it.

[kenversusryu]

supposedly.. your not supposed to use synthetic on a rebuilt engine... and the synthetic oil and can't go back to conventional oil thing is a myth.

Synthetic oil is a lot more splipperier so if you have an oil leak somewhere.. it'll get even worse.. if your engine is pretty old.. forget the synthetic oil... the advantages of synthetic oil isn't all that great to risk your engine.

I used synthetic in my old integra engine and i had to fill a quart every week cuz of leaking and burning oil.. i barely drove the damn the thing.

[carkid0007]

Any idea if there is a standard oil that comes in the SR, because I have an SR and I created this thread because I want to run synthetic in it, but if it had conventional, should I switch to synthetic ? and how can I tell ? all the oil was drained to be shipped of course.

[NI_YON_Zenki]

If you are just now installing this SR, install it with conventional in order to keep the gear movement proper, flush out the system with your next oil change with synthetic, the syn will catch most of the sediment if any that is left behind from the initial oil stage. This will allow your engine to run smoother and abit more to the tuning that you setup, but I warn you synthetics are not for the feint heart, stay up on oil changes especially if you push it on the streets. cause the block will not fail to seize. .. .or spin bearings. .. .or a blown turbine.

[TNathe]

I run full redline syth. on my KADE... albeit, its rebuilt. As soon as i got the rebuild i used synth from day 1. no leaks, runs like a champ. and redline has a 12000 mi. warranty (or so i was told... ill just wait till it gets black. haha) cant beat it.

I was told by my engine builder (Engine Labs of Tampa) to NOT run Synth until the engine was broke in. I guess dino oils allow a better seating of the rings, etc. ???? I dunno but if you have good compression and your car runs good then I don't see an issue.

[Silvia1EightySX]

I was planning the same thing as well, I'm switching to a SR soon. And I was going to run it with mobil 1 synthetic oil from day 1 of install. I've just bought the oil. And I guess my brother did the same with his redtop and he hasn't experienced any problems as of yet. Which has been about a year now. I've heard to not use synthetic with an engine that has been running conventional for a long period of time.

[ranisron]

I run full syn on my altima, dino and/or blend on my 240SX. Last time I used syn on my 240Sx, there was a pretty bad leak, like everyone else stated ^^.

Frequent oil change for the win! It doesn't really matter what types of oil you run...

[Irukandji]

This topic is overdiscussed.

The Verdict?

Synthethic > Conventional Oil

DUH

I've heard the whole "switching oil is bad" myth too many times, but nobody can back it up with any evidence... so I call BS to that myth.

[samms95s14se]

Here are the 4 keys people:

1. Synthetic is better so use it.
2. If it starts leaks...FIX THEM.
3. If your just too broke! Don't Use it.
4. Go back and read steps 1-4 until it sinks in.

Simple!

[scottie]

It was an easy choice for me. My clip came with the last 3 oil changes on it. It has Mobil1 synthetic stickers with mileage written on it and weight. So when i put it in my car i continued the same oil and weight. I have spoken to several engine builders and they all say that synthetic oiled engines have less wear when they break it down. You can usually reuse some items within the engine and it can save some items from damage with its lubricating properties. If it was worse than dino oil, why the hell would they make it? Why would Porsche (German Engineers) who pride themselves on attention to detail use it as a standard? It works. Nuff said.

-scott

[g6civcx]

A quick comment with the engine flush. Sometimes there will be gaps in the engine, and sludge build-up covers up those gaps. When you flush the build-up away, the gashes will be exposed and you may lose oil pressure. There's no way to fix it other than a complete teardown and rebuild. This goes for engine, power steering, transmission, cooling, so on and so forth as well.

So do the flush, but be prepared if something unexpected happens. Sometimes it's just so bad that flushing may actually no more harm than good.