azkaty

Ok..I wonder if there is any disadvantage to synthetic oil ( besides cost)

Is there any issue with it not being recommended by Lexus? Sorry for the above typo!

Finally.. how may are using it?
Katy

P.S.

Brought to my attention.. the poll may not be clear in it's intent!
Yes is for-- You do use synthetic
No is for-- You do not use synthetic.
The other two choices should fall in line

TooCoolSC

I'm afraid this poll is simply going to be swayed by what people habitually use....kind of like asking, "Is premium gas REALLY necessary and worth it?"

Some would swear by synthetic oil and premium gas ONLY, while others will swear that regular/mid-grade gas is fine and that non-synthetic oil is just fine (as long as you get regular oil changes).

On all these things, I'm sure both sides could present data showing their position to be correct.

That being said, you can always compromise and go with a synthetic blend of oil. That's what my mechanic usually prefers. He loves Durablend by Valvoline.

mandyfig

Will switch to synthetic on next oil change. Do not know what previous owners used but will be synthetic soon. Currentl oil color and smell looks OK, so will let is ride for a few hundred miles and will fill up with PennZoil Platinums and OEM oil filter (which happens to be the same filter as my RX.

Poqman

Which way do you vote if using a synthetic blend of oil? I use and am happy with the Valvoline synthetic blend.

Freds430

I have always used Mobil 1. I have 140,000 miles on my RL and my mechanic said the engine inside looked new and 55,000 on the SC430. I buy it at Walmart and get the container that holds 4 quarts. On sale, I can ususally purchase it for $22.00. I think with the price of the Lexus it deserves the little bit more for the synthetic. Just my opinion!!!

grabber2

Of course the sythetic is better. Althrough SC430 engine is very good that regular oil with do the job & sythetic is not necessary.
Sythetic will make your engine much more clearner. Its just a matter if you want your engine to be cleaner or not......but in most case, cleaner means smoother and longer lasting engine. But most of us probaly sold/trade-in/totaled before the SC engine die..

scdroptop

iTrader: (1)

I've used both oils on all my cars and I honestly cannot say I've actually seen or felt any difference. But then again to grabber2's point-I've rarely kept a car longer than 2-3 years tops so I couldn't tell you where that car ends up 20 years from now and how it runs. The oldest car I know of that is still around that I used synthetic oil on was a 1991 Honda Accord EX Coupe which had 300k miles on it and ran like a top about six months ago...but then again...what Hondas DON'T go 300k and still run great??

SteadyEddy

iTrader: (1)

Mobil 1 and Castrol are what I have been using in both the Lexi.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Oil change interval is far more important than the kind of oil. Your car will still outlast your ownership even if you use regular dino oil.

mandyfig

I do synthetic but run to 7K miles every change or when I start seeing a change in color of the oil. In my experience the color hardly changes on synthetics. Just an observation. On dino oil, when it hits 5K, color changes to darker and starts smelling burnt oil. JM2C.

This synthetic vs dino can really get out of hand.

Let's just state what we do and not argue, if we can do that, it will be cool.

I am leaning towards running 8K before changing on synthetics based on what I have seen on my cars.

azkaty

Interesting answers!

One question does remain.. is Lexus OK with synthetic? I thought I read some where that Lexus did not recommend the use of synthetics.

Hope I am wrong about that, as I would like to start after my first oil change.

Another thought.. I have read some synthetics are better than others..

Comments on that?

Katy

mandyfig

The oil makers are playing the synthetics game now that they have some of us hooked into this.

Now they are offering "better engine protection synthetics" at a higher price. That's all commerce.

I take advantage of this and buy the regular synthetics at a discount. I always read BITOG for sale, rebate and the like. I do not want to tell you how much oil I have on my shelf. I am a hoarder, LOL!

lugnuts

Synthetic (full/pure, i.e., not a blend) oil has many fabulous attributes versus petroleum based, however, the most important is that it greatly reduces friction over petroleum based lubes. With an engine, transmission, differential, etc., running with less friction, there is less internal wear, runs cooler and oil remains cleaner over a longer period of operation. Normal oil will "boil off" at high temperatures and is a solid block at approximately -55F degrees. Synthetic oil does not boil off (great in the desert) and will "pour" normally well beyond -55F degrees (think great for COLD engine starts). For all these reasons, and certainly for the high temperature attribute, all jet engines (which normally turn in excess of 20,000 rpm) operate on synthetic oil.

In some tests years ago, Amsoil, one of the first pure synthetics on the market, ran diesel powered semis for 100,000 miles after which the engines were removed, torn down and moving parts analyzed. Due to the superior reduced friction traits of synthetic oil, all moving parts of these diesel engines measured "within new part tolerance" after these 100,000 mile tests. One issue with the product is that an engine will not "break in" on synthetic oil due to this reduced friction, thus, it is "broken in" on petroleum oil and then switched to synthetic at the first oil change. It has been heard that new Corvettes are now shipped from the factory with synthetic oil, thus, it is assumed the engines have had some run time on normal oil for their break in.

Synthetic oil also clings much longer to the sides of cylinders and all internal parts longer than petroleum oil, thus, providing much needed initial lubrication during start - a great benefit to SC owners who have a tendency for housing many " hanger queens". For all these many reasons, we've run our vehicles exclusively on synthetic lube products for almost 30 years. Yes., the cost of an oil change is higher, however, due to all the above, change intervals are longer. We use 5,000 miles as our change interval, however, I believe Amsoil advertises a 15,000 mile interval for their product, if you use Amsoil oil filters and make a filter change mid-interval.

Too many benefits of synthetic lubes over petroleum based; is there a "better or best" synthetic? Good question.. What's on sale?

iolmaster

iTrader: (1)

Must be an employee of one of the oil companies that are trying to sell synthetics because that is just garbage. There is no independent credible evidence to support this type of claim. There are numerous studies that are done by unbiased entities that would dispute this.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

At extreme conditions, synthetic may be better, but for a daily driver, the cost isn't worth the 'benefit.' There are cars with 500k+ miles that aren't running on synthetic oil. At that point, it's almost impossible to determine how much longer the car could have lasted with synthetic.

The difference is down to the microscopic level where one will probably not notice any effects nor will the engine's life be cut down by two folds.