Does Synthetic oil really help?

[finiteguy]

I've been using synthetic oil in my wife's Explorer since we bought it new. It is now 8 years old. Is it bad in general to switch to regular oil? Some people tell me that synthetic is a waist of money.

 

[FIND]

The drain interval for synthetic in general is about twice as long as with conventional, or more. This is what makes buying synthetic worth the money. Furthermore, with synthetic, it doesn't break down as easily under stress, which means it stays more stable, and can therefore hold its additives in suspension longer and better. This means your engine is better protected when you are running synthetic oil, even if your engine occasionally sees severe service conditions.

 

[tower]

Does Synthetic oil really help?

Yes

 

[OneofMany]

If you use it from early on in the engine's life its great. If you switch to it lateron you may encounter oil leaks. switch back to conventional? are you nuts? maybe if you have excessive oil leaks and an already worn out engine.

 

[FIND]

If you use it from early on in the engine's life its great. If you switch to it lateron you may encounter oil leaks. switch back to conventional? are you nuts? maybe if you have excessive oil leaks and an already worn out engine.

None of this is true. Synthetic does not cause oil leaks, and you can switch back and forth as easily as you change underwear. Your engine does not know the difference because for the most part, there is no difference. The only difference between synthetic and conventional is the durability of the engine oil, especially under stress. Synthetics causing leaks is an old wive's tale.

 

[Exproblems]

I've been using synthetic oil in my wife's Explorer since we bought it new. It is now 8 years old. Is it bad in general to switch to regular oil? Some people tell me that synthetic is a waist of money.

I switched to using Mobil 1 oil 2 years ago when I bought my EX, and no leaks from it and the engine appears to run smoother and quieter. I really like the product. On the cost of it, I buy 5 quart jugs of Mobil 1 at Walmart for $26 a jug, so a little over $5 per quart, so it is not anymore expensive to use than brand name conventional oil when you figure in the protection benefits of using it and the longer oil change intervals you can get out of it. Well worth the couple of extra bucks per oil change. I also use it in conjunction with a high quality, long life oil filter. I use the Bosch Distance Plus #D3410 filter.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Sohc v6?

I think synthetic oil extends the life of the SOHC V6 camshaft timing chain related components - more so in cold weather climates than in warm weather climates.

 

[tower]

Synthetic does not cause oil leaks

True but so is this

If you switch to it lateron you may encounter oil leaks

 

[FIND]

True but so is this

No, that isn't true. Switching to synthetic will not reveal or cause leaks. Once again, this is an old wive's tale. In the early 80s, these types of things happened, but lubricants have changed a LOT since then.

www.bobistheoilguy.com

That is a GREAT forum to learn about lubricants and several other car care related subjects.

 

[tower]

Umm OK but I have 2 cars at the house right now that if I put Moblie 1 in them one leaks (rear seal) and the other burns 1 quart every 1k, I changed back to castrol (both 10/30) and both are fine but you believe what you want.