[TheGeneral]

Is synthetic oil worth the extra cost over non synthetic oil? I've been using regular 5w-20 Pennzoil in my mazda3. Regular Pennzoil is dirt cheap in the chicagoland area on sale $.99 a Quart. Mobil 1 is around $25 for an oil filter and 5 quarts on sale.

 

[vsd]

I use synthetic, change it every 10,000 miles and have never had a problem. My Astro van went 500,000 miles on Synthetic, and still runs just fine. Just stay away from Fram filters.

 

[likearock00]

I use Mobil1 Extended performance and change it whenever my DIC tells me to. I've still got the same engine, so I guess it works alright.

 

[RamJet502]

I think its worth it but the most important thing is changing your oil at recommended intervals.

 

[2002 Caddy]

Completely depends on the car, the engine type and engine packaging...

Synthetic oils only provide benefit if you have a high revving tightly packed "hot" motor like ricer turbos...

Synthetics buy you protection against thermal breakdown. LS7? S/C Northstar Ya sure use a synthetic... V6 Minivan? waste of money.
Most domestic engines run just fine on old school Dino juice.

Or to look at it another way, how many oil related failures have you ever had/heard of? Most of the marketing is based on fear and confusion.

 

[Firebird00]

If the car is a used car that did not come from the factory with synthetic oil, then yes it is a waste. No need in switching to synthetic. If the car came with Mobil1 for example then yes stick with it as it does have advantages.

 

[Smaart Aas Saabr]

I use Mobil1 Extended performance and change it whenever my DIC tells me to. I've still got the same engine, so I guess it works alright.

You might get better along in life if you don't just listen to your DIC all the time :lmao::fall:

Mind you I haven't learned how to not listen to it either...

 

[GMC-70]

I use it in the Formula as it spends most if the time in the garage collecting dust. I change the oil once a year when I use Mobil1. I don't know if there is a real difference, but I feel better about leaving in synthetic over long periods of time vs regular oil.

 

[nicolet]

Completely depends on the car, the engine type and engine packaging...

Synthetic oils only provide benefit if you have a high revving tightly packed "hot" motor like ricer turbos...

Synthetics buy you protection against thermal breakdown. LS7? S/C Northstar Ya sure use a synthetic... V6 Minivan? waste of money.
Most domestic engines run just fine on old school Dino juice.

Or to look at it another way, how many oil related failures have you ever had/heard of? Most of the marketing is based on fear and confusion.

If the car is a used car that did not come from the factory with synthetic oil, then yes it is a waste. No need in switching to synthetic. If the car came with Mobil1 for example then yes stick with it as it does have advantages.

what these two said!

 

[moon111]

When doing an oil change, Synthetic to me looks and feels like it hasn't broken down as much. My 3.8 has got over 415k on it and is running strong.

 

[tomcat_cool17]

I used Valvoline 5w30 and change it every 10k, no problems. I drive 95% freeway and change it when I get to 10-20% according to the DIC.

An 2004 Ion using regular oil at 7k intervals went 362k miles before he had any engine problems (the head cracked).

 

[genjy]

I use synthetic motor oil because I know I can leave the oil in for a quite a while... at least 7000 miles between changes.

I like to procrastinate.

 

[Shotgun]

I just changed mine in my 99 GMC this morning. It was 37 miles short of 5,000 using the oil life monitor. It usually runs 4,700-5,000 miles before the indication to change. I use Pennzoil 5w-30 conventional and NAPA Gold filters.

 

[F14CRAZY]

I use my Forester pretty heavily at times so it gets synthetic.

Reatta has received synthetic too...good thing to do when you add a s/c to a non-s/c engine . When "Project GS" is completed I will too...when you're making a hundred or two more HP from a s/c engine it's a good thing to do.

I've used Mobil 1 ATF in my Reatta when it was still an auto.

Forester gets Mobil 1 gear oil in the trans and diff again for its extreme use

 

[377Z]

I only use synthetic as it is very cheap insurance. Analysis by independent laboratories like Blackstone shows synthetics have critical properties such as total base number, film strength, detergent content, etc that are much higher than conventional oils; and run across numerous accounts of a significant reduction in observable wear after a switch to synthetic.

All oils have come a long way, and most of the improved attributes of a good synthetic are unnecessary for most folks. But, its my personal preference.