What Oil do you run?

[Big Jim M]

Ya know? I've not seen any posts anywhere on the net about DON'T use this or DON'T use that oil! Seems to me all oil is the same and everyone is happy with the oil they use.. Soooo why spend extra money? Just put the oil that is on sale in there and the engine won't know any difference from the highest price oil you can find.
I buy whatever is on sale at Jiffylube or WalMart.. My engines last as long as the next guys.
Oil is just oil! With modern production and shipping most all oil comes from the same plant only the cans are different colors.. If it has the API and such printed on the can it does the same as ANY other oil with them markings.
Big JIm

 

[Hahnsb2]

(Good) Synthetics ARE better in MANY ways than dino oil, period.

 

[Big Jim M]

Hahn Tell us a few of the ways.. Outside of a temp rating that is higher than our engines CAN RUN.. what is it that is BETTER? As long as the oil is clean enough and has enough pressure oil is just oil.
Most particularly in our low rpm engines.. Now if I was running at 7 or 8 grand I might consider a higher temp oil.
Don't just read the ads..read on the can.. unless it says different api numbers that your engine requires why throw the money up a dead dogs a$$?

Big JIm

 

[Bob Ayers]

I run Castrol GTX in my gasoline vehicles, Shell Rotella in my diesel.

GEEEEEEZ, aren't there any Scamsoil users? Are you guys staying in the closet?

 

[MAKG]

Big Jim, there are three reasons I can see that would indicate synthetic.

1. Temperature stability. Conventional oil breaks down at about 350 deg F. While the thermostat is FAR below that, the hottest part of the engine in contact with oil is the main bearings, and they get well over 300 deg with hard running. IF there is a problem with temperature breakdown (that isn't just something broken), synthetic may be called for.

2. Pour point. In very cold climates, synthetics have a much lower pour point. Starting a stone cold vehicle with a ridiculously cold oil pan is a bad thing. This only applies if you don't store your vehicle in a heated area and don't have a block heater.

3. Detonation. Mild oil use causes detonation. It's substantially worse with conventional oil than with synthetic.

Having said that, all synthetics are the same. Except Castrol Syntec, which isn't synthetic at all. But it's a fine conventional oil.

 

[stomper]

Stop screwing around with petroleum oil!!!!!!!!!!!
Your just wasting money and sending it out of the country.
I have run AMSOIL in my vehicles for over 30 years and anything else is just a waste of time and money.
When you run a AMSOIL filter and 100% synthetic you can put 25000 miles or one year on it.
Been there done it. At 90,000 on my F150 Super Crew I towed a cargo trailer from SD back to the Pacific NW and ran the crap out of it on the hills. It didn’t use any oil.
Let’s see petroleum do that.
AMSOIL is the ONLY Synthetic manufacture that has every kind of oil or grease you will ever need. You won’t be disappointed.
Stomper

 

[MAKG]

Stomper, so you think Amsoil isn't petroleum, eh?

Did you know "gullible" isn't in the dictionary?

ALL automotive oils -- conventional, synthetic, martian, whatever -- are made from petroleum.

So go break out the fat-in-the-can (Crisco shortening) and try lubricating stuff with that and see how far you get....

 

[Evan]

Stop screwing around with petroleum oil!!!!!!!!!!!
Your just wasting money and sending it out of the country.
I have run AMSOIL in my vehicles for over 30 years and anything else is just a waste of time and money.
When you run a AMSOIL filter and 100% synthetic you can put 25000 miles or one year on it.
Been there done it. At 90,000 on my F150 Super Crew I towed a cargo trailer from SD back to the Pacific NW and ran the crap out of it on the hills. It didn’t use any oil.
Let’s see petroleum do that.
AMSOIL is the ONLY Synthetic manufacture that has every kind of oil or grease you will ever need. You won’t be disappointed.
Stomper

You didn't burn any oil because you had healthy rings and seals. You could have been running any brand of oil.

 

[Big Jim M]

Big Jim, there are three reasons I can see that would indicate synthetic.

1. Temperature stability. Conventional oil breaks down at about 350 deg F. While the thermostat is FAR below that, the hottest part of the engine in contact with oil is the main bearings, and they get well over 300 deg with hard running. IF there is a problem with temperature breakdown (that isn't just something broken), synthetic may be called for.

2. Pour point. In very cold climates, synthetics have a much lower pour point. Starting a stone cold vehicle with a ridiculously cold oil pan is a bad thing. This only applies if you don't store your vehicle in a heated area and don't have a block heater.

3. Detonation. Mild oil use causes detonation. It's substantially worse with conventional oil than with synthetic.

Having said that, all synthetics are the same. Except Castrol Syntec, which isn't synthetic at all. But it's a fine conventional oil.

Just to give an answer to your 3 part statement.

1. So What? If my engine doesn't need a 350 temp oil and cannot USE it why spend the money for a product that I will never be able to use?

2. Isn't ALL 5W oil 5W? How could one 5W pour better than another? Seems the 5W marking says how it will pour...don't it?

3. I have had engines that used more than 1/2 quart of oil for a 20 gallon of fuel fillup.. never had a detonation problem, and I'd call that more than mild useing.

I am saying regular oil will serve as well to over 99% of users as synthetic. Which means there is a LOT of money being wasted by guys thinking they are doing their engine a service... thinking they are getting less wear or whatever and all they are doing is giving extra money away.
Big JIm

 

[Big Jim M]

BTW MAKG The post by stomper is common to guys having a favorite oil.. They swear by what they are using no matter what the brand.
And ME on the other hand.. I use any brand and change brands from one change to the next.. Hardly EVER using the same brand twice in a row.. And My vehicles don't leak or use oil nor do the go away any faster than stomper's will.
Big JIm

 

[Hahnsb2]

MAKG nailed it. Synthetic DOES pour better in cold temps. I cant remember at what temp but tests were showing Mobil 1 was reaching the top of the engine 7X faster than conventional. Synthetic in some engines will make it run smoother. I noticed this in my Dad's freightliner with a Cummins M11, riding in the passenger seat there was a HUGE difference from running Delo 400 and switching to Amsoil. My dad's brother who also drove the truck and noticed it was smoother without beign told the oil had been changed. Also noticed a difference by putting amsoil in my buddies Dodge cummins. I noticed a small difference in my 2.9 by using Mobil 1.

I'm currently at 24,000 miles without changing my Mobil 1 in my 2.9, I add a quart about once a month. I'll pull the manifold and valve covers off when I pull it out in a month or 2 and let you know what it looks like inside. It still has 60PSI warm oil pressure at 1500 RPMS like it did when I bought it over 2 years ago. It's actually cheaper to run Mobil 1 this way than conventional every 3000.

They did a test on a Mack truck engine that was brand new. Put a bypass filter on it and ran Amsoil in it without changing it for 475,000 miles. Tore it down and mechanic said it looked comparable to an engine run that amount of miles with regular changes of conventional oil.

 

[koda6966]

I do Pennzoil 10w-30 year round.

 

[Bob Ayers]

Stop screwing around with petroleum oil!!!!!!!!!!!
Your just wasting money and sending it out of the country.
I have run AMSOIL in my vehicles for over 30 years and anything else is just a waste of time and money.
When you run a AMSOIL filter and 100% synthetic you can put 25000 miles or one year on it.
Been there done it. At 90,000 on my F150 Super Crew I towed a cargo trailer from SD back to the Pacific NW and ran the crap out of it on the hills. It didn’t use any oil.
Let’s see petroleum do that.
AMSOIL is the ONLY Synthetic manufacture that has every kind of oil or grease you will ever need. You won’t be disappointed.
Stomper

WOW, you really did sucked into Scamsoil's lies!!!

First off, they only have one oil that is API certified (XL). Scamsoil is only a blender and packager, they buy their base oil stock from REAL oil companies, so they don't manufacture ANYTHING!!

Second, you have to pay an inflated price for their products, because Scamsoil is a MLM company!

Third, they try to say you can run their oil 25K miles to justify the highly inflated price of their products! Did you know that UOA will not detect a sludging condition with oil (from Blackstone Labs)? Matter of fact, even Scamsoil recommends using their ONLY API certified oil, and changing it at the vehicle manufacturer's recommended OCI in vehicles prone to oil sludging:

http://www.smartsynthetics.com/pdf/TSB-engine-sludge-issues.pdf

Audi, and VW have special requirements for oil in their engines, Mobil-1 meets these requirements, Scamsoil DOES NOT!!!

http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/500/vw_tb_17-05-04.pdf

http://dejong947.com/audi/tsb/audi.tb.17-05-01.pdf

 

[MAKG]

1. So What? If my engine doesn't need a 350 temp oil and cannot USE it why spend the money for a product that I will never be able to use?

Temperatures in the main bearings can get up there under heavy use such as towing. But they don't under normal use.

2. Isn't ALL 5W oil 5W? How could one 5W pour better than another? Seems the 5W marking says how it will pour...don't it?

No. "W" specs are viscosity indices at 0 deg C. You can have any pour point below that and meet a winter spec. While modest subfreezing temperatures will likely give you a viscosity close to winter spec for all oils, ridiculous subzero (arctic) temperatures can turn conventional oil into something resembling Jello. But once again, this is for extreme climates. It won't happen in the Lower 48.

3. I have had engines that used more than 1/2 quart of oil for a 20 gallon of fuel fillup.. never had a detonation problem, and I'd call that more than mild useing.

Well, I managed to cure a detonation problem on my former (aged) Bronco II 2.9L with a switch to Mobil 1 and nothing else. It was definitely load related; it wasn't the so-called "lifter tap" people always seem to blame on it. Perhaps there is an issue with "mixture" here.

I am saying regular oil will serve as well to over 99% of users as synthetic. Which means there is a LOT of money being wasted by guys thinking they are doing their engine a service... thinking they are getting less wear or whatever and all they are doing is giving extra money away.
Big JIm

This is almost certainly true. If the engine was designed for conventional, conventional will serve under most conditions. There are a few (recent) engines spec'd for synthetic, though.

 

[Big Jim M]

I am wondering what one would change in designing an engine for synthetic.. What differences would one make that would allow ONLY synthetic oils to be used? Surey one wouldn't allow the mains/rods to acheive higher than 350* on purpose just to disallow dino oils.. One wouldn't make the clearences smaller just to disallow dino oils...
Hmmm.. just what in the hell could be the difference that requires synthetic?

Could it be that there is an incentive from MobileOne? Yeah I have seen the stickers...and never believed a word of them!

As a side note my Ranger has MobOne in it at this very minute.. Son borrowed it to make a trip and upon return washed it and changed the oil to MobOne.. Thinking nothing was too good for HIS Dad!
Big Jim