3Mach1

HI Boss, right now Im running Mobile 1 but will probably switch to Amsoil in the future. They have a new product out that is supposed to be the mother of all synthetics.

The biggest atvantage of synthetics is longer drain intervals. They do hold up better under extreme conditions as well.

You need to go to http://www.bobistheoilguy.com for information. There are some sharp people over there that really understand this stuff. I have learned a lot myself and doing a oil analysis is the only true way to find out how oil is holding up. Color means nothing!!

Personally, I have run many Ford and GM engines way over 100K on nothing but plain old Pennzoil or Exon Uniflo. I bought a bunch of Exon Uniflo at Big Lots many years back and never did wear out a old Toyota 22r or a Pontiac 2.5 "iron duke" in a s-10. They both just kept plugging along well after I sold them both. I did change the oil at 3 or 4K on each truch though. The Yota made it to way over 200K and lord knows how my uncle treated it. The s-10 is still running to this day as well as far as I know.

Let me say that these trucks never ever saw the rpm's or abuse my Mustang has. They were treated normally. The Toyota did do a crap load of towing though. The s-10 could barely pull a lawnmoore trailer empty and thats no joke!

Im not sure if its worth it or not but running synthetic in my Mustang lets me sleep better at night. For my beaters I dont care. I will tell you that changing synthetic at 3K is like throwing good money after bad. 3K intervals are nothing more than a marketing angle. Its a huge waste of money in most cases. That is why I like the GM oil life monitor. Time after time after time this thing has proven to be reliable and accurate and oil analysis prove that. Thats with dino oil as well. I wish like hell Ford would do something like this. Honda has their version as well now. They both work well.

Anyway, thats my 2 cents. My Mom has an 06 GT and we are changing the oil at 5K or a little more with motorcraft (conaco phillips) and this thing is short tripped to death. She has a heavy foot too at age 74 if you can believe that. Hard take offs and then let off if you know what I mean. She will never keep it long enough to matter so I think we are being conservative. Ford now says 7500 miles is ok. GM says the average oil life monitor goes off at 7 to 8K miles. I think 5K is very very safe on dino oil these days and motorcraft semi synthetic should be good for a few miles further. Your results may vary. Just my 2 cents.

Martimus

Its all good!!

For years I wouldn't go near Penzoil. After all Penzoil historically has had high paraffin concentrations. Is their full synthetic different? I'd think so but then again thats not exactly my field of expertise...

theedge67

The old myth of "all the wax in Pennzoil" is just that...a myth. An old one at that. Maybe 40+ years ago there were some problems with wax in the oil. I don't know. It isn't a problem anymore, and either the conventional or Platinum full syn will be more than adaquate for most users. I am using the Platinum because
#1. it was free after rebate
#2. it has shown very good results on used oil analysis
#3. it is recommended by Terry Dyson, one of the worlds foremost experts on engine oils and used oil analysis.

Knowing what is in the oil after it has been run tells you what kind of wear you are experiencing. When you look at a spectrographical analysis of 20+ metals, and acid/base content, soot, actual viscosity, flashpoint...etc. of the oil, you can tell a lot about what kind of job it is doing.

Terry Dyson is an expert in this field, and has interpreted literally thousands and thousands of analyses. When he says Platinum is the real deal, I trust him. I've never heard him recommend Mobil 1...for what it's worth. Not that Mobil 1 is bad, or even just OK. I believe it is a good oil. I just believe Platinum is a VERY good oil.

My $.02

Glenn

mobil one has a longer life span than penzoil from what I have seen.

Urlosingbd

I use royal purple. Change every 5k. Switched over at 3,000 miles. Car seems to run smooth. Don't know about any hp gains though.

I also switched to royal purple for the trans. Got a 5sped. Shifts feel alot smoother!!

Love the purple!!

Martimus

Sorry to say but this isn't quite correct. Many standard dino-based Penzoil is made from paraffinic crude oil. This is a widely known fact. According to the following web site paraffinic oils contain paraffin wax.

http://www.engineersedge.com/lubrica...finic_oils.htm

Penzoil/Quaker State also acknowledge that their oil is produced from Paraffinic base oils (reference item #4 in the Penzoil FAQ):

http://www.pennzoil.com/site/faq.html
http://www.quakerstate.com/myth_vs_fact.aspx

Now this being said paraffinic based motor oils aren't necessarily bad for engines. Quaker State explains that the wax is removed by a process called dewaxing. For me, however, I don't choose to use them.

Forge

ok, we got milage numbers here, but what about time? I only drive about 3k miles per year (my two year old only has 5130 miles on it). So 8k mile changes would mean i could go years.

Me, i change it in the spring when i take it out of the garage and again at the end of the year (about a week from now for me). I change it before winter because i heard you should let the car fully warm up once per week to keep seals and rings in good shape. so as you cna see, i am actaully changing it every 1500 miles with mobil 1. DO i have to? not really sure, but it help me sleeep at night and the hard nights of 9psi takeoffs.

theedge67

So....the oil does not contain wax, since it was dewaxed. Isn't that what I was saying? No wax in Pennzoil??

Rebel73

What is the general sentiment for oil changes on SC cars? I currently use Mobil 1 Synthetic every 4k-5k. I feel it is warranted considering the additional demands on the motor.

theedge67

I would say a full synthetic every 4-5K for a supercharged car would be fine. It does place additional demands on the engine for sure.

Glenn

I would send out a sample around the 5k mark and see what the results were for a s/c ride. I would be willing to bet it still has a lot of life in it.

I believe they say syn oils should be changed once a year for those low miles per year cars. Taylor why do you change oil at the end of the season and then again at the begining of the season. With your low miles per year I am sure your oil would fine untill the spring oil change.
Also can you show me where it states to warm your car up once a week to help with the seals and rings. Thanks

DarkFireGT

You do not want to start it up every week. At the end of a week, the oil has fully drained into the oil pan, and you're dry starting the engine once a week. It's much better to just leave it alone until you're ready to start driving it. Then you're only dry starting it once. And from what I've been reading here, for low mileage, change the oil once in the spring and you're good to go.

Forge

My step dad who tought me most of what i know about cars said he always started the car once per week to keep the rings and seals lubricated. I guess i just figured what he said was right. But after thinking about what you guys said, im not sure if that is the wisest idea. I change it in the fall to make sure on those startups i have the best possibel oil, as it will have a dry startup, so the cleaner the better during this time. Granted he always used Dino oil, which from what i heard breaks dowhn in 3-4 months (or so i heard).

So you think i should just change it every spring and let it sit all winter without starting? I usually take the wheels and tires off, disconnect the battery, put the car on jack stands, drain the gas every month, and start it weekly to full warm up. (yes i put the tires back on and drop it back to the ground before i started it up, too paranoid about having a started car on any jackstands. )

I love my step dad, but whatever is best for my car is what i need to be doing. Let me know where else im messin up

tom281

+1 to that, only start it when you're ready to drive it......

About this thread in general, I have to ask: is it worth it compared to what??? You mean the additional cost of oil? How many times per year do you change it? I mean, think of it like this and I'm only throwing out numbers to give an example:

-Reg oil: $20 per change
-Synthetic: $50 per change
-Diff: $30 per change
Changes per year: 4
Total $$ per year for synthetic: $120

$120 per year is cheap insurance for high quality BLOOD that the engine operates on. Again these numbers for for example only but you get the point........

Use synthetic.

DarkFireGT

Don't need to put your car on jackstands, either. Pump the tires up to 40PSI and you're more than fine. New tires don't get dead spots like old ones did.

RadBOSS

How much time are you really spending on boost. 1%, 10%, 50%. If yours is a daily driver, I suspect time on boost is very low, say compared to someone primarily drag racing the car.

Unless you have an oil report to suggest otherwise, at 5k IMO you are tossing good oil. But Mobil does not mind at all.

RadBOSS

I think your comparison is a very conservative approach. Tossing good oil. I would say 3 - 4 mineral oil changes to every synthetic, with oil filter changes at 3 - 4k intervals (assuming 12k miles per year). So you can have good blood for less if you use it to its full advantage.

Long term, synthetic is better because its properties remain more consistent compared to mineral oils.

Rebel73

How do I go about getting an oil report and how much does one cost? Maybe it is too conservative an approach, but lacking any empirical evidence, I feel it is best to err on the side of caution.

theedge67

Used Oil Analysis companies
www.oaitesting.com $20.85 + tax. Figure anther $2 for return postage...about $25 total.

www.blackstone-labs.com $22.50 + about $2 return postage. This one will only include a TBN test for an extra $10. TBN (total base number) is very important to determining how much additive is left in the oil, and how much longer it can be safely run. If you want to extend out the oil run past 5,000 miles, you need a TBN to see how much longer it can go.

If you want to go for the grand salami (like dad says), www.dysonanalysis.com Terry Dyson is the big daddy in the world of oil testing, but his service comes at a price premium of $60. I would only recommend him if there is a problem with your engine.

Blackstone also includes nice little comments about the engine and oil, but they are pretty worthless comments really. I would stick with the Oil Analyzers then post the results here or on www.bobistheoilguy.com forums. I and several others here that are experienced in used oil analysis can help you decide how much longer the oil can be run.

RadBOSS

There are several oil testing labs around the country. I see the edge67 has cited two. Usually about $25 to test a sample of your oil.

I have been running up to 12'k miles on three vehicles (XR4Ti (>100k), GMC Suburban (>100k) and the 05 Mustang (only 28k so far) from new and have not had any problems.