500 miles -- change to synthetic oil?
07-10-2007, 01:20 PM
#11
JK Jedi Master
Because there won't be enough friction. "Stop" is hyperbole on my part, but not by much.
In the early 80s a close friend who regularly rebuilds Firebird motors as a hobby rebuilt his wife's 100,000 mile engine in her Oldsmobile. It had been switched to Mobil 1 very early in its life. He was curious if the rumors about no wear with synthetic motor oil were true, so he mic'd every part in the engine. He said virtually component was within new factory tolerances. No wear after nearly 100,000 miles. No wear, no break in.
There's more to that story. After rebuilding the motor he couldn't get the rings to seat in it (now with conventional oil). It was burning oil like crazy. A rep at his parts supplier said he'd had a similar problem after rebuilding a motor that had run Mobil 1. So my friend decided to take his wife's Olds out on the interstate and drive it at high rev's. After several hours, the oil finally stopped burning. His conclusion: Mobil 1 seeps into the walls of the cylinders and reduces the friction dramatically, even after the engine has been rebuilt and the Mobil 1 replaced with conventional oil.
mark d.
In the early 80s a close friend who regularly rebuilds Firebird motors as a hobby rebuilt his wife's 100,000 mile engine in her Oldsmobile. It had been switched to Mobil 1 very early in its life. He was curious if the rumors about no wear with synthetic motor oil were true, so he mic'd every part in the engine. He said virtually component was within new factory tolerances. No wear after nearly 100,000 miles. No wear, no break in.
There's more to that story. After rebuilding the motor he couldn't get the rings to seat in it (now with conventional oil). It was burning oil like crazy. A rep at his parts supplier said he'd had a similar problem after rebuilding a motor that had run Mobil 1. So my friend decided to take his wife's Olds out on the interstate and drive it at high rev's. After several hours, the oil finally stopped burning. His conclusion: Mobil 1 seeps into the walls of the cylinders and reduces the friction dramatically, even after the engine has been rebuilt and the Mobil 1 replaced with conventional oil.
mark d.
07-10-2007, 04:20 PM
#12
JK Super Freak
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I come from a long line of mechanics in my family. We use Castrol Syntec which is half synthetic. Because you really dont need full synthetic in this engine. You really only need full syntheic in a performance engine. (Just my two cents) not trying to start an argument.
07-11-2007, 10:12 AM
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07-11-2007, 12:11 PM
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Are you sure? I am not trying to be argumentative or anything but where did you get that information? Sorry, I am genuinely curious. It just seems really odd to not use some type of break in oil.
07-11-2007, 04:53 PM
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07-12-2007, 03:16 PM
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You can change to synthetic whenever you want. It won't hurt it any. Some cars come from the factory with synthetic oil.
You also don't need to change synthetic (or normal, for that matter) oil every 3K miles either, unless you live in a dust pit. Highway use can routinely get 7500 with no problems, and NYC taxi cab companies were able to get 10K per dino oil change without noticeable differences between engines when they tore them down at the end of their service lives (there was a study).
Still, it isn't expensive for the peace of mind I suppose.
You also don't need to change synthetic (or normal, for that matter) oil every 3K miles either, unless you live in a dust pit. Highway use can routinely get 7500 with no problems, and NYC taxi cab companies were able to get 10K per dino oil change without noticeable differences between engines when they tore them down at the end of their service lives (there was a study).
Still, it isn't expensive for the peace of mind I suppose.