maxnewbie

I have used synthetic oils in my cars for many years and stand by it 100%. The difference in the engine performance is very noticeable (smoother, quieter, higher revs). Below is a right-up I found on the Internet. Judge for yourselves. I hope this helps.

A study of synthetic oil:

----------------------------- SYNTHETIC OILS -----------------------------------

BASICS:

Synthetics are made from basic oil building blocks, ethylene & ester, which are pure and do not contain any of the many impurities of "crude" oils. The molecules can be all of the same size and characteristic, making a more stable and predictable product.

Synthetic oils should be called "pure" oils, but it seems that the word oil is defined as comming from the earth and not dependent upon it's true function.

FACTS: [Much of this information comes from Mobil Oil Company, 1990,'91,'92]

Synthetics ARE compatable with conventional motor oils. The best protection will come from a full belly of synthetic, but conventional's are compatible.

Synthetics are more expensive due to a complicated manufacture process. Normal oils are refined from crude which is plentiful an cheap.

Synth. oils will NOT cause leaks in seals. It is fully compatible with all seals and gasket materials. It does NOT contain large amounts of detergents as do conventional oils.

Synth. oils decrease oil consumption in engines. This is due to the uniform size and characteristics which are predictable to very high temperatures. Conventional oils have non-uniform molecule size and characteristics. The smaller molecules easily evaporate off or are consumed in the combustion chamber, leaving the thicker oil and impurities behind.

Synthetic oils and lubricants were originally made for the military for wide temperature operation. These were successful and they have been used on military vehicles (and the space shuttle) for many years.

Synthetic oils are beneficial for NEW OR OLD motors. Conventional oils allow more metal scoring to occur, which eventually causes loss of compression and high oil consumption. Synthetics can be used from mile 0 to mile 1,000,000. The 1992 Corvette LT1 uses synthetic oil straight from the factory. Synth. oil was the only acceptable choice due to the engine's redesign which eliminated the oil cooler and increased the underhood temperatures. The LT1 warrantee will be voided if synthetic motor oils are NOT used. (Amsoil synthetic did not pass GM's tests, but Valvoline Snythoil, Mobile 1 and GM Goodwrench synthetic oil [Mobile 1 repackaged] may be presently used.)

Synthetic oils easily pass all API standards. Check on the label for details.

Synthetic oils can withstand MUCH higher temperatures before breaking down. Conv. oils turn to 'tar' at temperatures around 450'F. These temperatures are experienced by the piston rings and the turbo charger bearings. Synthetic oils also have virtually no impurities like Ash and Wax which accumulate on engine parts once oils have burned or boiled off.

Synthetic oils stay liquid at much lower temperatures than conventional oils. They are often rated to -65'F, where normal oils are often rated to -38'F.

VEHICLE TESTS:

Recently (1991), four cars where driven under accelerated tests by Mobil. The cars were:

2-Oldsmobile Quad 4's, and 2-BMW 325's.

All four cars were tested over a 200,000 mile range according to standard tests and speed cycling. Two of the vehicles were operated with 7,500 mile oil changes, and the other two with 15,000 mile oil changes. (7,500 miles per oil change was recommended by the manufactures! Yeek! but Mobil was curious to see what 15kmiles per oil change would do.)

Routine maintenace was observed and routine emmision inspections were made. All four vehicles remained fuel efficient, clean running, and trouble free. Over 150 critical motor parts remained within specifications on all four cars. The oil pans and passageways were clean and did not have sludge, tar or varnish. Basically the engines were clean and free of any measureable wear.

SUMMARY:

Synthetics are more advanced than conventional motor oils, but it is difficult to quantify the exact advantages. The specific measureable data, Viscosity Index, Flash Point, etc., show that sythetic oils are superior in the lab. It can be concluded that they are also great performers in the real driving environment. This supposition is confirmed by the fact that GM is exclusivly using syntheticsin their LT1 Corvettes.

Synthetic oils are now being championed by more manufactures, hence it will be seen more, used more and perhaps even become less expensive.

It is my judgement that synthetics will make a large impact on the longevity of Turbo chargers (espcially those which are not water cooled). These types of devices demand clean, high temperature lubrication which is right down syntheticoil's alley.

Synthetics should also greatly benefit cold operation. I have witnessed great cold start capabilities, and hope that I have saved my engine from much cold starting wear. Hence I will keep using the 'stuff' year round.

B.C.

I would also add that for those interested in the nitty-gritty of conventional and synthetic oils, check out www.noria.com. The people that post on this board are quite knowledgeable about oils and I have learned a lot from them. Beware, however, that some of them are Amsoil dealers and will frequently push their products.

Maxwell

No offense, man. I like and use synthetic oil, but everyone should be warned that this seems to be personally published on the Internet. I would be more likely to trust a professionally-published piece (those folks usually have money at their disposal to test products and hire or interview experts) over a write-up like this one.

I'm in no way saying the content is wrong, but I don't trust articles fraught with spelling, grammatical and other language errors. People really do believe that if you can't spell a word correctly, your other information may be bad, too.

Readers beware (of ANYTHING you find on the Internet)