synthetic oils?

Question

are synthetic oils as good as they say,for high mileage engines

Answer 1

My opinion...It's a sales ploy......

Your engine lasted that long on "regular oil" right?
So why change to something else?

Answer 2

If your motor has no visible leaks synthetic oil may be a possibility for you. There are several valuable properties that exceed regular motor oil among these are:
The cold pour point is lower. That points to it's ability to pump up to the critical engine parts quicker in cold weather and any cold motor start-ups where 90% of engine wear occurs.
The flash to fire point is higher and will not burn off at high temperatures as readily as convential oils.
The detergent properties keep the internal parts cleaner. Piston oil returns wrist pins and rings benifit from the added protection. * Remenber, the wrist pin lubrication is the splash created by oil escaping from the oil return holes in the pistons and oil escaping from the sides if the connecting rods and mains. Wrist pins receive no oil pressure from the oil pump.
It has excellent anti-gall (wear) properties for the rod, main and camshaft bearings.
Perhaps the most critical area in all motors is where the lifters ride on the camshaft.
Synthetic oil returns to the oil pan quicker and cools the entire motor more efficiently because of its viscosity properties. Lower viscosity oil always carries heat away more efficiently.
It prevents wear in the rocker arm area and helps keep the valve springs running cooler.

Answer 3

I've always been a fan of synthetic oils. Mobil1 is what i use. I'm picky when it comes to buyin stuff cause I'm in sales and i know a lot is just a sales pitch. My understanding is that "technically" speaking, synthetic oil will never break down, but you still have to change your oil because of the particles and debris that get in there. if it was possible to keep your oil 100% clean (which is impossible) then i guess it would be safe to say that you would never have to change your oil again. But of course, no one in the petroleum industry would ever let that happen =) Hope this helps. Food for thought: Lots of brand new sports cars such as the Corvette use Mobil1 as a stock oil.

Answer 4

if the engine uses any oil at all it will use more with synthetic oil as it's not as thick as conventional oil, personally I would stick with the oil that got the engine to the mileage that it has on it now.

Answer 5

Depends on the value of the car Id say....you can pick up a semi synthetic oil from Lidl for less than £7.00 its a good spec & made in Germany ....bargain !!

Answer 6

depends on the engine wear,if wear in the engine is bad minaral oil will be all right,but change every 3000 miles.synthetic oils tend to be thinner.

Answer 7

http://www.amsoil.com/redirect.cgi?zo=1463115&page=performancetests/g1971/index
see how several synthetic and conventional oils fared in ASTM tests including 4-ball wear and NOACK volatility