Mineral to Synthetic?
 

Hey Guys!

I have been running on 5w-30 regular oilsince I have had my current1986 auto coupe vette....4 years or so. I want to switch to Mobil 1Full Syn. The Vette has 100,000+ Miles,Is this a good or bad thing, or will it be ok to switch? What do you think? Thanks!

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

I say,why not? Switch to Mobil 1 and have at it,as long it's the same weight oil.With higher miles,we all need whatever extra protection we can get,right? Your friend,Joe.

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

Disagree. Yes, synthetic is better but unless your car specifically calls for it or it has been run on synthetic its whole life or pretty close, I would NOT do it because synthetic has alot of detergents in it and once it cleans out all that gunk in there your going to have some serious oil issues because chances are the seals are worn out. I went with penzoil high mileage **75,000 miles and above** oil and have had no problems yet. Also, stay away from crapstrol**castrol** and other cheap brands! Mobil one and penzoil are pretty much the only ones that I trust except amosoil which is too expensive along with mobile one. But its your car, do as you want. Just my .02. [&:]

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

Black86Vette is right, if you have not been running Synth and your engine's manufacturer does not specify it, then I wouldn't run it. YOU WILL develope leaks, synth WILL find a gap somewhere that dino oil may not. If you don't have an LTx or LSx engine then run what was put in it from the factory.

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

If you had started your car out on synthetic, it would be ok. High mileage engines switched to synthetic tend to use oil more becaause it is a little slicker the conventional oil.[8D]

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

One more thing, Synthetic last longer at higher temperatures than dino but if your engine is overheating the oil isnt gunna protect it past a extent so your paying extra $$ that dont need to be spent or could be put better somewhere else![&:]

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

Ok explain this. I have been using Mobil 1 since the mid eighties with no problems. Back in 2001 I bought my daughter a 1991 Chevy Caviler RS 3.1 with 113,000 miles on it. I changed the oil to Mobil 1 today the car now has 175,000 miles on it goes 5,000 miles between oil changes uses no oil and not a drop on the garage floor. My 1988 C4 when I bought it last Oct. with 28,000 on it was due for a change. The sticker on the windshield said next change due Nov, 1999 or 28,500 miles I also used Mobil 1 in it also does not leak or burn oil.
I have used Mobil 1 in Fords, Mopars, GMs and in my Tractor with NO trouble.
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RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

Sounds promising! Did you switch your vette from regular oil ti Full Syn Mobil one?

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

Yes, The service records showed it always had Valvoline.
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RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

Guess your lucky then or it was run on synthetic its whole life.

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

Crapstrol can air whatever they want. They suck as oil.[&:]

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

Guess your lucky then or it was run on synthetic its whole life.


Nope not lucky car ran on Valvoline 10w30 before I owned it.
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RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

I bought my 87 Vette conv't in 1993 from a Texas oil man and brought it up here to Ontario;he used Havoline Supreme5W-30 during the six years he owned it, and changed oil every 3,000 miles. When I bought the Vette from him it had 97,000 miles on it. I then immediately changed to Mobil 1 synthetic oil and I have absolutely no leaks anywhere. My Vette now has 167,000 km on it and I put an average of 4,000 km each Summer on it. I am a fervent believer of synthetic oil no matter the grade or name of the oil. Forwhatever this info is worth to you. :)

mypetu39

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

The oil argument seems to take on a religous passion every time it comes up. I participate in several boating forums as well as car forums and without a doubt this issue is the most heated. Perhaps it's because it is one of the few things most owners can do themselves.

Do I think that synthetics are better? Sure, put dino oil on a screwdriver blade and squeeze it between your fingers. Do the same with a synthetic and see what happens. That stuff is slippery and the sameprinciple applies to seals. Mech 259 called it earlier....that is what happens to older cars that switch to a synthetic. It doesn't happen all the time, but it happens enough so that owners notice. It's not a myth and it's not normally a big deal.

No engine will last forever. If you had 24,000 explosions going off every minute on average the phyics of wear and fatigue come into play. You can't do much to extend the design life (roughly 200,000 miles) but you can shorten it dramatically by abusing the engine (fatigue)and not addressing the wear side. There is no question that synthetics play a big role in reducing wear on the rings, bearings, cam and valvetrain.

The argument over whose synthetic is better, I don't have an answer for. I doubt Mobile 1 has paid off the entire car industry, but their product is recommended by a lot of high end manufacturers. The issue seems to be the amount of synthetic that each producer has in their product and how they create the secret formula they use. Without a Federal Trade Commissiondefinition and standardfor the word "synthetic" the argument over whose is better will continue for a long time fueled by the oil producers themselves.



-John


ASE Master Mechanic

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

Ok. Can I set aside the "debate" here for a post? I use to run castrol GTX in my car. Found out it sucks. This time I changed to penzoil High Mileage formula. Teal said that penzoil isnt that great of a oil either. I have no reason not to believe him and from my point of view no it is honestly not the most expensive or well known. Is there a specific type THAT I would benefit from. The ones I am looking at right now are Royal Purple, Mobile1, and amisoil. Amosol is WAY to expensive for me plus I have to order it from there website and that takes to much hassle. Mobile one and royal purple are a toss up. I hear royal purple is good and can add 5 RWHP back to some engines. Just a thought here. Thanks![&:]

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

Please explain how you came up with this decision. (I use to run castrol GTX in my car. Found out it sucks.)[align=left] [/align]

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

Kool. Ill try to switch to that in the future once my oil gets used up a bit....Ill see how the penzoil formula does then empty it and put in some RP. I dont think it will harm to change a little early....

My 92 Vette has 132k on it, and
 

I've run Mobil 1 in it, change between 3 nad 4 thousand miles and no leaks or problems at all. It may have always been on it, but it runs like a top and inside engine looks like new. Its a garage queen all winter here in CT, but come warm weather it gets driven daily. At 132k I expected leaks, but none in the last 3 years.

My sons 80 vette has 189k on it, lets say he drives it hard, but is right there on keeping it running right, and no leaks or problems either. I hear the oil leak story on syn a lot, but we have not seen it in our 2 vetts now or the 2 we had before these. Again, maybe luck.

My wifes Sonata, don't laugh, she bought new, I run Mobil ! in it, but push it to the 7500 miles the book says and it comes out pretty clean. No problems with it and she runs it to SC from CT monthly. I'd rather her beat that then my car. LOL...... Mostly I used it here for the cold weather starts in our cars and trucks for winter but no leaks in summer either.

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

this is interesting!several comments from you guys that certain oils"suck"! Does anyone want to elucidate? Why are some good and some bad and how do you tell the difference?
Dino versus synthetic???
All oils are mineral(dino) based and the synthetics just add more ingredients to a more refined mineral oil.
The only true non mineral oil I know of is a castrol product-Castrol"R" which is a vegetable oil beloved of us aged racers.Don't use it in a modern engine 'tho.
There's some real young guy's posting here with lot's of wonderful opinions garnered from god knows where,certainly not from experience.
For what it's worth here is my ten cents;
I have only ever used castrol syntec in any of my vehicles and that includes aircraft(thats a low ash product) boats cars rv's etc.
When I buy something new I flush it with a flushing oil if available or a 50/50 mix of kerosene and 10/20 oil ,change the filter,fill with cheap crap for ten minutes,drain and new filter andcastrol syntec and one can of DURALUBE.Never seen a problem yet and a lot of the time my ass is ten thousand feet up!
That's a twenty dollar investment in perhaps a twenty grand vehicle.
And at the end of the day always remember that the only accepted lubricant for aircraft is Shell!!

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

castrol=Crapstrol. Its proven mobil 1 is the top brand.....Penzoil is allright. Quakerstate is bull****. I put that in my car and it was like syrup! Synthetics or Dino. Do whatever you wish. Ill stick with dino as its cheaper.[&:]

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

Wondering about going the other way!

Would changing to dino stop a slow leak???????

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

I doubt it. You can try that sealant that you pour in your oil. That might work. My valve covers leak a little because they are aftermarket and dont fit exactly tight. Bolted them down as tight as they will go without cracking and new gaskets. [&:]

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

try valvoline maxlife designed for older cars with alot of milage it will stop the leaks

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

Ive used Castrol all 16 years of my automobile owning life, and to my personal knowledge of synthetic and mineral oil, iveread that synthetic oil does not deteriorate rubber to the extent in which conventional oil does, No lie, I had a 94 suburban with 140,000 miles that had an intake oil leak that ran down the back of the block and dripped on the ground, switched to castrol full synthetic and within 5 minutes running the motor, it never leaked again. Ive owned somewhere in the area of30 to 50vehicles,Ive used Syntec full Syn for the last 4 years in every vehicle ive owned new and used and never any issues,haveing worked for a brother inlaw with an engine shop,(Not implying to be amaster enginetechhowever, I amcertified a masterauto refinishing paint tech, through I-Car Goldand R&M BASF),found that Mobil would not stand behindANY issues oil related to its use in any customers car.Every used car ive had and replaced the oil in with Syntec, nearly doubles the oil pressure at idle. Ive had outstanding performance with Castroland wont settle for anything less.

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

Well it's wonderful to know that there are at least two of us out there that think the same!I think most of us are on here to learn a bit and swap info that may help each other but I get really exasperated with definative statements:::castrol sucks:: and no explaination of why it does!!If certain posters are garnering knowledge at the rate they seem to be they must be changing oil every thousand miles or racking up 40000 miles a .year. I actually pay a little more for Syntec than i could buy Mobil for here in Florida and I push the envelope,maybe 7500-10000 between changes..I do change filters 'tho @ 2500 and I have blocked off the recirculating gallery in my filter system. There's a Firebird (white)spring in there as well which won't allow the oil pressure to drop below 80 psi so i think I have most of it covered. THEN THERE"S DURALUBE!!!!!

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

:)Yep. Knowledgable guys on here. Mainly in my opinion mech and Leesvette.![8D]

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

Ive had a few friends that Ive converted from mobile 1 to castrol, I can honeslty tell a diffrence in my Corvette haveing owned it now for only 4 days,( 4th vette to date) changed to Castrol full Synthetic and even the idle is smoother, there was a little twitching here and there, almost a some what ruff idle and it is now completely eliminated and my oil pressure is 5 pounds higher at idle and at 55 mph, Ive read up on it and as far as Im concerned Castrol is A+ quality, ive read that it actually softens older dry seals and extends seal life, and reduces anywhere from 30 to 50% of internal friction,well worth the extra duckets. I'll do a little research and post some links. Heres a quiky, not as detailed as the info ive previously found, but still looking. When you pull this up just scroll down.

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/produ...tentId=6030793
This seperates the fact from fiction .
http://www.castrol.com/castrol/gener...tentId=7017050

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/gener...tentId=7008479

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

Hey blackvette,didn't starship tell you to back off??I have no interest in your opinion so leave me be.

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

my 2 cents- you guys should know that shell owns quakerstate, pennzoil, and of course shell. when you shop for oil look at the api label on the back of the bottle. as far as organic is concerned, it all comes out of the same hole in the ground. As far as synthetic goes, while it promises longer severe service intervals, having been in the oil busines for 20+ years i can say only this: oil does 4 things it cools,cleans lubricates and seals. all goodoilshave a high detergent quality. Idon't care what the owners manual or marketing strategy for the diifferent brands say- change you oil every 3 thousand miles. It's a whole lot cheaper than a tank of gas, right?

RE: Mineral to Synthetic?
 

Yea, doesnt matter who makes the oil, just change it as insurance...Synthetic is more slicker and does reduce friction.