GMAN

I am covered for oil changes through the dealership. Therefore, I am sticking with standard oil over synthetic.

07 RBY

The point I was trying to make was the dino oil isn't in long enough for it to break down. If I waited until 5L or longer, I might consider synthetic. Don't some folks strain it and put it back in?

DanW

I think the point is that even out of the bottle dino oil contains small amounts of wax, sulfur and asphaltic material that can cause sludge and varnishing. Synthetic oil doesn't contain these contaminants. Synthetic oils also flow better at lower temperatures and maintains it's viscosity at higher temperatures.

So, even if you maintain the 3k oil change interval synthetic oil will still give you a cleaner engine and provide better lubrication than dino. Now if it's better enough to justify the price, that's a decision you have to make for yourself.

Speaking from personal experience, I first tried synthetic oil in the late 70s in a GMC van. Don't remember how many miles I had on it when I did the changeover, but I do remember a noticeable drop in engine temperature and it ran much quieter. With the motor sitting right beside me in the van the noise drop was what impressed me most. I've been a believer ever since.

bahadden

i did 6 months of conv oil to break in the rings and other eng parts, the switch to a synth blend, i prefer castrol but thats me.

driley

The original post asked if we have come to a conclusion regarding regular or synthetic oil. The answer is no. This topic comes up on all sorts of forums... RV forums, Ford forums, Jeeps forums etc. Same old debate.

There is no definitive answer accept that everyone thinks that what they are doing is right... otherwise they would not be doing it

I've never know anyone that has a worn out engine. I have had at least 4 vehicles that I have owned since new and put from 75k to 140k on each. None used any oil between changes. All had oil changed every 3000 to 5000 miles. This has all been regular oil, except for a couple of times I tried Mobil 1. I did not notice any difference with the synthetic so I switched back to regular oil.

I would probably run synthetic in any type of high performance engine that is pushed to its limits… but not in any regular passenger vehicle.