Synthetic vs regular oil

[ancientcityRRT]

I just got 1 2000 XLT and I'm going through all the maintenance stuff on it.
I was thinking about going with synthetic motor oil and was wondering the pros and cons about it. Opinions?

 

[koda2000]

I just got 1 2000 XLT and I'm going through all the maintenance stuff on it.
I was thinking about going with synthetic motor oil and was wondering the pros and cons about it. Opinions?

there are no cons. i use Mobil 1. if you buy it at WalMart it's very competitively priced with conventional oil. synthetic oil reduces friction and doesn't break down as quickly as conventional oil. reduced friction = less wear. you will undoubtedly hear many opinions voiced here as to which synthetic oil is best. you'll have to make up your own mind as to which brand to use.

 

[ancientcityRRT]

there are no cons. i use Mobil 1. if you buy it at WalMart it's very competitively priced with conventional oil. synthetic oil reduces friction and doesn't break down as quickly as conventional oil. reduced friction = less wear. you will undoubtedly hear many opinions voiced here as to which synthetic oil is best. you'll have to make up your own mind as to which brand to use.

Anything I have to do before switching like flushing or can I just go with it?

 

[Dave 1955]

Most syns including mobile one has dino oil in it as a base..cracking thing.
Oil has come a long ways babby!
Trouble is that the newer stuff has some of the good chit taken out..or way less of it..zinc and things like that . EPA thing.

It's to the point where bmw won't let me use the newest oils in my bike.

Even the cheapest stuff you can find is good though for your exploder..sj.

 

[koda2000]

Anything I have to do before switching like flushing or can I just go with it?

nothing special to be done. just change the existing oil and filter at operating temp. don't use a cheap oil filter like Fram or STP. the minimum i would recommend is Motorcraft, or WIX. K&N and Mobil 1 are premium filters, but expect to pay a premium price. i use Motorcraft filters.

 

[my98nnj]

Synthetic, Dino, bla bla bla... Keep up with the maintenance on any vehicle and no matter what oil you use it should last a few hundred thou. Then there's issues like the SOHC timing components....

Approaching 250,000 on my Nissan VQ engine. Castrol GTX all it's life.

 

[colintrax]

nothing special to be done. just change the existing oil and filter at operating temp. don't use a cheap oil filter like Fram or STP. the minimum i would recommend is Motorcraft, or WIX. K&N and Mobil 1 are premium filters, but expect to pay a premium price. i use Motorcraft filters.

Wix are a premium filter and considered one of the best lol
Bosch makes a great filter as well.

OP do se research on bobistheoilguy.com way more info then you'll ever wanna know.
Or if you want my opinion on the best. Wix filter or amsoil oil filter with amsoil signature series oil. 5w30

 

[Flash]

Like dave 1955 said - zinc. Find one with zinc in it.
There's nothing special to be done, just fit a new filter.

Like my98nnj said, the SOHC components are important and a good synth oil builds up pressure faster and gets the timing chain tensioners operating correctly sooner.
Your model, the 2000, has the upgraded chain guides afaik, so a regular replacement of the tensioners will keep things going well.

 

[SoNic67]

I use Mobil 1 - oil and filters (synthetic filtration media). Extended the oil change intervals to 10k miles.
There are only pluses with synthetic oils - but some are better than others, some are synthetic just by name. That's why I use Mobil 1.

 

[pcam13]

Use conventional. It's what was spec'd for your explorer so don't change it. I have got 257k on Castrol. What damage has been done is already done. Keep on the 3000 mi OCI and don't worry. Synthetic is just a hype...

 

[colintrax]

Sonic mobile 1 is a group III oil last I heard. It's really only synthetic by name.
Pcam I suggest you do some research. Like I said bobistheoilguy is a good place to start

 

[Dave 1955]

Sonic mobile 1 is a group III oil last I heard. It's really only synthetic by name.
Pcam I suggest you do some research. Like I said bobistheoilguy is a good place to start

A guy who gets it.

Marketing is a huge deal!

Truth also be know there are not a whole lot of oil filter makers out there either.
It's like the batteries..a few companies make them all..can be to diff specs though.

Back on filters- I have cut a lot them apart and I'll use most of them except fram..imo junk...wal-mart tech is better and they are pretty much the same as stp,I forget who makes them.

 

[bluestream1]

Use conventional. It's what was spec'd for your explorer so don't change it. I have got 257k on Castrol. What damage has been done is already done. Keep on the 3000 mi OCI and don't worry. Synthetic is just a hype...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3,000_mile_myth

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/medialink/31600-debunking-the-3-000-mile-oil-change-myth-video.htm

 

[shadowless127]

Ive used Shell Conventional, Penzoil Conventional, Motorcraft Synthetic Blend, and currently Mobil 1 Full Synthetic. I prefer the Motorcraft Synthetic Blend or Mobil 1.

 

[ancientcityRRT]

I'll probably be going with the Mobil...then on to the tranny oil!

 

[Fiveologyjay]

I run Mobil one 15W50 synthetic in my Mustang. I like the Motorcraft if the Explorer but I really hate that I can't get it in the 5 quart jug. That alone might make me switch. That Walmart Synthetic 5w30 is looking pretty good.

 

[Flash]

Use conventional. It's what was spec'd for your explorer so don't change it.

That statement doesn't make any sense.

Even dino oil has improved since his Explorer was made, do you suggest he use 14 year old technology when better is available?

 

[colintrax]

Just a story for you guys who are judging the quality of oil in any way except an oil anylisis.
Before I did some research into oil I was switching between castrol syn tech and mobile 1. I thought the castrol was a better oil because it came out cleaner than the mobile 1. Turns out the castrol doesn't have any detergents and the mobile 1 was cleaning up the mess castrol left behind

 

[drdoom]

Motorcraft synthetic blend is very good. Less than $18.00 dollars for a jug. Really can't go wrong.

 

[my98nnj]

Like dave 1955 said - zinc. Find one with zinc in it.

Rotella T - Diesel Oil has the high Zinc. I use that stuff (as well as many others on the FJR Forum) in my Yamaha FJR1300. The zinc provides better anti shear properties which for bikes, works great because the transmission is part of the engine.