Going back and forth from Synthetics and Dino

[jake75]

In The Columbus Dispatch this week was an article on how to keep a car in good shape for 100,000 miles and above.In choosing oil, Lauren Fix [author of Lauren Fix's Guide to Loving Your Car (St. Martin's Griffin, 2008)] advises buying full synthetics. They "actually will lube the engine better. It's designed for longer life. There are less emissions, so it's greener. There's slightly better fuel economy and better performance," she said. "There are no negatives except it costs a little more."Then Kevin Schappell, founder of autoeducation.com, was quoted "Whichever oil you choose, be consistent over time. That way, you won't mix synthetics and blends, which can cause problems."No examples of what "problems" he was referring to.I am a low mileage user so Dino oil makes sense for me, but aren't the semi-synthetics a blend of synthetic and dino?Also "a little more" is somewhat of an understatement, especially if you are not a do it yourselfer.

[djkeev]

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »In The Columbus Dispatch this week was an article on how to keep a car in good shape for 100,000 miles and above.In choosing oil, Lauren Fix [author of Lauren Fix's Guide to Loving Your Car (St. Martin's Griffin, 2008)] advises buying full synthetics. They "actually will lube the engine better. It's designed for longer life. There are less emissions, so it's greener. There's slightly better fuel economy and better performance," she said. "There are no negatives except it costs a little more."Then Kevin Schappell, founder of autoeducation.com, was quoted "Whichever oil you choose, be consistent over time. That way, you won't mix synthetics and blends, which can cause problems."No examples of what "problems" he was referring to.I am a low mileage user so Dino oil makes sense for me, but aren't the semi-synthetics a blend of synthetic and dino?Also "a little more" is somewhat of an understatement, especially if you are not a do it yourselfer.Well, she's right. They (synthetics) DO lube the engine better. Let me clarify, they provide better lubrication when the engine is cold, stone cold. They do not thicken as "dino" oils do. The molecular structure is also more consistent with them all being very close to the same size unlike "dino" oil.Lubricate longer? That one's iffy. Even Mobil 1 backed off of their extremely long change intervals.All oil continues to lubricate, the problem is that it picks up contamination as it does it's job. The additives also break down with heat and contamination. This is really what the problem is with any auto engine. The oil is still good, works just fine. All the crap in it causes issues.Price? The gap is lessening. I use full synthetic in any new car I purchase. I change it about every 7000 miles, I know they can go longer and they sometimes do, I've done 11,000 but don't like to and didn't plan to. I do indeed do all my own work so I am only looking at material costs. To me, the better cold properties are worth the extra cost.Greener? I can't say, all oil should get recycled and it all goes in the exact same bin. Anyway, contrary to popular belief, Synthetic oil is a derivative of Petroleum just like "dino" oil is. It is just engineered more than conventional oils are.Problems? In the early days of synthetics, there were some seal issues. Today that problem is pretty well gone and of no concern.Well, that's my 2 cents. Others will disagree....strongly. Why not bring up a topic with more misinformation, wive's tales and emotions attached to it next time???Dave

[Cougar Vibe]

This sort of topic has "BITOG Fist Fight!" written all over it.Anyway, I've used dino, I've used synthetics (both the "real" ones and the "fake" ones...see BITOG for that doozy) and I've mixed dino & synthetic. In the end, my engines have never been the problem: It's always transmissions or a combination of high $$$ maintenance items that resulted in my getting rid of the car or truck. Considering how poorly people maintain their engines, it's pretty amazing how reliable they actually are when "abused."So IMO, unless you live in a very cold-weather location, you want to do extended OCI's (like 7.5K+ miles) or you have a very specific situation (sports car w/turbo, you tow a boat/trailer, etc.), synthetics are a waste. Well, unless you are a rebate-hound and get your synthetics at dino prices (like I do/did). My oil change routine for the last few years on the Vibe has been 6mths/7,500 miles...whichever comes first and is most convenient. However, once I get through all the of Pennzoil Platinum and M1 I have, I'm going straight to Chevron Supreme or maybe even 5w20 Motorcraft Blend. I won't run those oils out that far (5K-tops), but I've seen enough 1.8l oil reports to know that such oils are more than adequate. Again, the engine will probably outlast the car...not vice versa.BTW: I don't know where that logic about "less emissions" comes from inre synthetics...other than if she is talking about the refining process itself. If that's the case, I don't know where she gets her info: Synthetic refining is a highly-guarded propriety process...nobody at Mobil, Pennzoil, Redline, Castrol or Amsoil gave her their technical data. Guaranteed.O/T: SN oils are out there now (apparently)...officially "released" yesterday. I wonder: Is an SN dino really a blend now? Or was it always, as SM 5w20's were considered blends? Oy, my head hurts. Guess I'll go (removed) away an hour on BITOG tomorrow and find out...

[jake75]

Quote, originally posted by djkeev » Why not bring up a topic with more misinformation, wive's tales and emotions attached to it next time???DaveI posted that primarily to illustrate how much misinformation is being passed off as objective fact by so-called "experts".

[Sublimewind]

When they are talking about "mixing" synths and blends... Most of that refers to mixing viscosities, and brands... they are all mixed different and the lesser of the 2 oils will usually take the better of the 2 oils, DOWN in quality..

[jake75]

I think the issue is using dino followed by synthetic and vice versa. So we really are talking about a mixture of perhaps the 1/2 quart clinging to the inside of the engine with the 4 quarts added. Personally I doubt if that is any problem, and I have never seen any valid data to prove otherwise. As a person who does not put many miles on a car I have concluded that changing with dino on a frequent basis is probably better than leaving a synthetic in for over a year. We probably drive our Vibe only 4-5 day a week. Those 2-3 days a week that the oil just sits there is not causing any deterioration. The T&C will often sit for a week or so without use.

[vibedrivermatt]

Quote, originally posted by jake75 » Then Kevin Schappell, founder of autoeducation.com, was quoted "Whichever oil you choose, be consistent over time. That way, you won't mix synthetics and blends, which can cause problems."No examples of what "problems" he was referring to.I am a low mileage user so Dino oil makes sense for me, but aren't the semi-synthetics a blend of synthetic and dino?Also "a little more" is somewhat of an understatement, especially if you are not a do it yourselfer.I think the point he's making is if you can when you get an oil change just stick with the same brand/grade oil every time if possible. If you take your car to a shop for dino changes then maybe it's a good idea to ask what brand of dino they're using. You could go back and try to ask them to put the same oil brand they used last time. That might not work if its a place the has one of those oil recyclers though but I'm sure there're some oil change places that use the same name brand oil consistantly- castrol GTX for example. Also I wouldn't think its as bad to switch from one brand synthetic to another synthectic or one dino to another brand dino as switching back and fourth between either kind.If your engine has synth in it and you want to switch to dino it probably not a bad idea to do two back to back oil changes. Do one oil change and filter then drive for 100miles, then do another oil change and fitler to the same dino oil of preference. That way it gets most of the other oil out and your only running on the one you want. Although perhaps you should get a second opinion on that because that may only be needed when going from dino to synth. people who do this when they wanna go from dino to synthetic will usually do so on a new car after they put 10,000 miles on it with dino.

[star_deceiver]

Quote, originally posted by vibedrivermatt » They'll usually want to do this on a new car after they put 10,000 miles on the car with dino. I did it after 500kms of very hard driving.