thanks on the advice stevie..
1. is it worth the money to get that syntec blend??? and how long do i have until the next change??

2. i'm planning on going moble 1.. probably the full syntec.. but 15000, is that wise??.. i'll probably change it no more than 5000..

 

mobile 1 synthetic all the way ......and by the way walmart is cheaper than cosco....and for all of us who has the air suspension package in the ls400 (big boy) ......you can put your suspension on the high setting ........ and there is no need to jack the car up ....you can just lay down and do it your self... .....no pun intended. of course i meant change your oil

 

1. No it's not worth. Change it every 5k like regular motor oil. Sooner if you drive real hard, longer if your a granny

2. Change it at 5000, Mobile used to claim its synthetic lasted longer and only needed to be changed every 15-20k but later they found out it didn't and was damaging to engines so they retracted their claim because of liability issues.

 

Time for a guy who works with oil on a daily basis to chime in here.

I manage a multi-million dollar corporate Jiffy Lube store in Maryland (don't laugh) and have debated with customers time and time again about this topic.

Now a days people really could care less about there cars and will drop whatever into it to make it run so they can get to work in the morning. I talk to 90-100 customers a day on average and it's a 50/50 mix of synthetic and conventional oils.

Yes, conventional oil, while cheap and an easy fix, is ok, it it no where near good for a vehicle driven by most people on a daily basis. While getting your oil changed every 3 to 3,500 miles seems to get the job done it doesn't by any means. My customers that have come to me with brand new cars and used conventional oil, see residue and darkening oil within 3-4 oil changes. We all know that convetional oil breaks down faster and that varies from brand to brand. Over time there is heavy sludge buildup that collects in the pan and in the motor. This buildup reduces engine peformance and causes the motor to work harder. And a harder working motor means you're wasting more gas than you have to. No one wants to sit at that pump more than they have to and spend more money that needed on gas which we all rely on in this day and age.

Onto synthetics. Slick as a babys bottom, KY for your motor. Synthetics are hands down a great idea whoever though of it, but there are some is misconceptions though.

Never ever should you run past that 3500 mark on window sticker. Yes there are engineers out there who work for huge oil companys that say "ohhh our oil will last you 5000 miles before you really need it changed" BS I say. Yes there oil might last that long till it starts breaking down, but you have to factor in that most oil filters don't. I have yet to see an oil filter that did not reach it's full potential at 3500-4000 miles. Oil filters will filter out so much before they need changing. Yes there are brands that have crazy micron filtation that will do it, but you're going to pay a premium as you would for that synthetic oil.

Synthetics will pay for themselves in the long run and I have tons of market research to back it up. They contain polymers that coat the walls of your motor and actually create a barrier that keeps cylinder walls from scuffing and help the engine run smooth in the hardest of running conditions. I have a handfull of customers that have vehicles ranging from a 1987 Chevrolet Corvette to a 2002 Ford F350 both with 130K+ miles on them that have used nothing but synthetic and gotten there oil changed religously and the oil barely looks like a lite caramel color. Both of these vehicles are driven on a daily basis and I see them more than 4 times a year. I have personally driven them both and they both run just as smooth as they did when they came off the showroom floor.

There's no doubt that it's probably the best for you're motor and it's will be better i the long run. but as always it's your car and your desicion. Just look at all the pros and cons in this thread alone. Look at the market research. They all point in a single direction. Now the question is who is the better oil manufacture???

As an added not I know this post just rambles on. I typed it at 2 in the morning after working from 7 to 8 the following day. So I'm sorry if I sounds like and *** and make no sense. Oh and sorry about the spelling mistakes.

 

So are there actually any independent scientific studies showing sythetic oil benefits passenger engines in this 'market research"? If there is any I'd be very interested because all the ones I've seen seem to say otherwise (why would that be?). Something that proves increased wear on engine parts and reduced performance with conventional oils would be nice

Also I thought oil was supposed to get darker with use because that shows it picking up contamintents. ie...doing its job. Most engines I see with 200k+ are cheap compacts or old pickups that the owners used the cheapest oil they could find. Normal oil is already proven to do its job. I've never heard a mechanic say an engine went out because it didn't use sythetic. Regular maintence and conservative driving are what make your engine last the longest, not sythetic oil.

Remember, sythetics have a much higher profit margin compared to conventional oil. Jiffy lube makes more money selling it and reccomending short interval oil changes so of course coporate will tell you its worth it. It's not unheard of for companies to exaggerate their claims that's part of marketing, to make people want to buy your product regarless wether it's beneficial. If you guys are really that concerned about your engines don't beat on your cars and keep the rev's low and acell/decell's gradual. This will most likely be better for your engine than oil changes with full sythetic every 100 miles. Put your saved money towards your next car.

 

Here is a bit of infomation all the european cars come with Mobil one the synthetic oil why would they do that and recommened a 15,000 mile oil change such cars porche mercedes BMW and all the high performace cars costing 100,000 and more all use mobil one synthetic oil. Mobil one in 1990 took 5 BMW's 325 cars and ran them on a fixed rollers to 1 million miles tore down the engines and found that many of the parts were within new engine specs and the rest of the enginer showed very little wear. There are several lexus ls400 with over 600,000 miles and still going using synthetic oil and using SYNTHETIC BLEND IS A WASTE OF TIME run full synthetic oil to get the best performace amsoil and mobil one are the some of the best synthetic oils today.

 

The bmw 15k oil change is bologne. It is all marketing and they do that to lure people into getting a bmw for the "maintenance free aspect of it". I have one which i change every 5-7k and nothing more. The reason they say 15k is that as a consumer you are suckered into thinking the car doesnt need an oil change so often and would lean towards it. Go on the bmw forums, you will see that 90% of the people do not believe in the 15k oil change interval.

 

They DO NOT. Mobil 1 is definitely NOT factory fill in BMWs. BMW fills with their own brand of oil, which is made for them by Castrol. Porsche is the ONLY European manufacturer that fills their line with Mobil 1, at least according to Mobil. But maybe you know more than they do?

Disbelieve all you like, but it's the real deal. The oil in my BMW gets changed every 16,000 miles or so, based on the OBC. On my most recent change, I had the oil analyzed. THEY TOLD ME TO KEEP USING IT. It had sheared down less than a half a grade, there was minimal metal deposits, and the additive package was still sufficient.

Changing it sooner than recommended is a waste of money, nothing more. BMW designs a VERY deep sump (7 liters for my little 2.5L motor), which keeps the oil from getting too hot or circulated anywhere near as frequently as cars with a shallower sump (4.5 quarts would be typical for an engine of this size).

 

I went to the only Porsche dealer here in Mexico City the other day and they were filling those Porsches up with M1 0W40, which is a way better oil than the M1 5W30 from my experience.

BMW most certainly uses Castrol. I am quite happy about this as it is the only place in Mexico I can buy the green German Castrol 0W30 for just under $15 USD per quart.

 

Oil companies change formulation every 2-3 years. This thread is almost 3 years old, so brand specific information previously discussed is outdated.
For example, Mobil 1 5w-30 is no longer synthetic Group IV based, Exxon Mobil also has cut back on amount of acid fighting additives. German Castrol 0w-30 was green couple years ago, now it is gold, both still outperforms Mobil 1 SM rated oil.

 

FWIW I have a bottle of 5W-30 M1 a year or 2 old, not sure, that says Fully Synthetic.

 

You can also find an old newspaper in 2003 that says U.S. went to Iraq to find WMD. Does it mean that is the same political makeup/coverup that keep our troops in Iraq today?

1) Mobil 1 5w-30 2-3 years ago is a totally different product than what is sold in stores, which are Group III based oil
2) Group III based Passenger Car Motor Oil can only be called "synthetic" in the U.S. In Japan and Europe, such practice is false advertising.

Google if you don't know what Group III, and you search on CL. That topic is beaten to death many many times already, at here or other forums.

 

i did a lot of reading about oils and stuff when i was trying all kinds of different oils for my cars.

when a bottle says "fully synthetic" that means it only has to have at least 10% synthetic oil in it. required by law. go ahead and look that one up.

the ONLY company i found that has 100% synthetic is AMSOIL. actually the only oil that has made my tranny better and my engine rev smoothly.

the reason bigger corporations tell you to change oil at whatever time is cause they are thinking of making money by telling you half truths. its not necessarily lying, just kind of telling you part of the truth so that you can make the conclusion that the companies **** is the way to go.

why does bmw do that 15k oil change? think about how long it takes for them to do an oil change. theyre supposed to be doing a flush on it cause the oil has definitley made deposits by then. if your oil change happens in like 15 minutes then theyre not doing **** and continuing to **** your car up. and the average consumer will just go "cool. that was quick"

i've tried red line, mobile 1, royal purple, just name it, i've probably tried it. amsoil isnt even the most expensive and yet, its the best.

but im just some random person on the internet. i dont expect everyone to believe everythign i type. hope some of this stuff helps

 

Have used AMSOIL since 1975 & never a engine problem because of an oil issue. PLUS, oil changes once per year.
I never tell anyone anything bad about dino oils or other synthetics just how great my results have been using AMSOIL. I have many satisfied customers & never a engine problem because of the lubes.

 

This is one subject that always gets a lot of discussion......

I believe the answer is that if you change your oil on schedule (do not extend due to synthetic) and you use a good grade of oil as recommended by the manufacturer, (don't forget the filter), you will make your engine (and manufacturer) very happy.
I also subscribe to the theory that synthetic oil is "better" for my engine and use it, but I don't believe it to be mandatory or necessary, tho it might be better in extreme usage.(cold starting and racing [high temps])

C.