GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Whats everyone's opinion on synthethic blends? Scam or good deal? I've read they use anywhere from 2 to 10% synthetic at the most and the rest is just conventional oil. Also I've read its better to just mix your own. 1 qt of full synthetic, with 3 qts of regular (referring to the base model). Using the same brand of course, (ie, 1 mobil syn + 3 mobil reg, or 1 castrol syn + 3 castrol gtx reg). At least that way you'll have a 25% blend. Any thoughts?

Work out the math... a lot of times the blends are more expensive than just mixing your own.If you don't want to go full synthetic - a blend (either premixed or self mixed) is better than just regular oil.I would agree - 1qt Mobil1 + 3 qt Mobil 5k will be a good mix. More synthetic the better.

scam.. everybody (and I mean everybody on the internet) says blends are garbage.. go synthetic or go with crappy dino..cheers

Ya, sounds good, maybe when I can afford it go, full synthetic, and when times are hard just mix 1 qt with 3 regular. And when times are real hard go all regular,

i remember hearing that once you go synthetic you can't go back?is this true?

Quote, originally posted by Atomb »i remember hearing that once you go synthetic you can't go back?is this true?Huh. I remember hearing the opposite - if you've run your car with dino-juice for a long time, you shouldn't use synthetic. Reason being the engine would "wear" more with dino and the gaps would be too large to keep the synthetic sufficiently distributed.Anybody know more on either of these?

I'm claiming ignorance here. What is the advantage to using a blend over dino or full synthetic other than price?

Quote, originally posted by Mr. Poopypants »I'm claiming ignorance here. What is the advantage to using a blend over dino or full synthetic other than price?That's it. Synthetic tends to coat better and leave less sludge - so running with some is better than none.As far as swapping back and forth, go for it. I've switched high and low milage engines to synthetic and never had a problem (ford, gm, and honda powerplants...) I've also switched back from synthetic to dino, again no problems with leaking, oil pressure loss, or seals.When I empty my garage of dino oil - I'll be switching to mobil1.

Quote, originally posted by binary »As far as swapping back and forth, go for it. I've switched high and low milage engines to synthetic and never had a problem (ford, gm, and honda powerplants...) I've also switched back from synthetic to dino, again no problems with leaking, oil pressure loss, or seals.Yeah, I've done the same with mine... I've gone from Pennzoil 5W30 at every change for 40,000 miles to Mobil 1 for about 10K, I figured I would see if that would help with the various ticks and knocks. I didn't feel the cost was justified, so I then switched to whatever the hell other dino juice the dealer feels like putting in there (and I'm afraid it's 10W40, the dealer claims they don't use anything else, yikes!) I gave up on caring what goes in that engine, nothing is going to help it, at this point it's lucky it even gets changed. What's it gonna do, make the stupid engine knock? Changing the type of oil hasn't killed my engine yet (although I wish something would, under warranty of course) and it has some serious issues...

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »Yeah, I've done the same with mine... I've gone from Pennzoil 5W30 at every change for 40,000 miles to Mobil 1 for about 10K, I figured I would see if that would help with the various ticks and knocks. I didn't feel the cost was justified, so I then switched to whatever the hell other dino juice the dealer feels like putting in there (and I'm afraid it's 10W40, the dealer claims they don't use anything else, yikes!) I gave up on caring what goes in that engine, nothing is going to help it, at this point it's lucky it even gets changed. What's it gonna do, make the stupid engine knock? Changing the type of oil hasn't killed my engine yet (although I wish something would, under warranty of course) and it has some serious issues...Nope, not the least bit bitter.

Car engines are actually very "soft" on engine oils. Talk to motorcycle guys. Their engines share the oil with the tranny gears. Which chews up the oil in record time. Thinning it down to half of it's original viscosiity in 2000 miles. Test done show that synthetics resist this thinning longer and they have superior anti-oxidents to resist sludge, rust, etc. Car engine being just engines are fine with most anything as long as it is changed. Many in colder climate as me, use synthetics in the winter for the anti-oxidents due to condensation forming in the engine on short trips and the synth. flows a little better when cold.

Yeah, what he said!Also, every magazine article on the subject said that full synthetic (Redline, Amsoil, Mobile 1) are best especially if you're hard on the engine. If you are religious about changing your oil every 3k miles and don't drive like a crazy person, then I would use some good inexpensive oil. But I'm not either of those types. So I go with Amsoil or if I can afford it Redline.Another thing, Oil prices go up and down with gas prices. Gas is fairly 'cheap' now so you should stock up for the winter.

I drive alot of miles (4,000 a month) and I have a new vibe. I'm considering using Mobil 1 extended protection which they claim is good for 15,000 miles between changes. This would save me from getting oil chages every month. Anyone hear of this new product?Since I drive so much, I think synth. would be a smart choice even tho it costs more.

Since it's fairly new, I have yet to see a UAO (used oil analysis) for EP over at BITOG. However, there are a few guys with the 1.8L engine who are currently using it...guess we'll just have to wait and see how it performs.If you do try it, please think about having your oil tested at the end of it's run (the only way we can gauge the claims of long-term oils like Mobil 1 and Amsoil is to get UOA's). Good luck.C.T.