i have almost 60k on my car, and was wondering if i can change the oil to syn.

 

Personally, I wouldn't do it at that mileage. You should really only switch over if you have less than 30K miles (and that's pushing it).

One thing to note is that if you do switch, you can NEVER switch back.

 

That's not true at all. There's no reason why you can't switch back and forth. 60k is not high mileage either. I've changed over cars with 3x that mileage with no issues.

The issue isn't mileage per se, but whether or not the car has been neglected maintenance. If the car has had oil changes on reasonable intervals and doesn't leak oil already, there should be no problem changing it over.

 

The synthetic oil leak is the biggest myth around.

It will not cause any leaks. However, most synthetic oils contain more detergents, which WILL remove build ups, which may be stopping some leaks. That is very unlikely, but that is how the myth started. If you run into that problem, you had a bad seal or gasket, and would have found that out sooner or later no matter what oil you use.

 

My car was 11 years old and had 68k miles when I switched to synthetic (I even did a motor flush beforehand *gasp*). The engine is fine, and the synthetic oil helped quell my VTCs.

 

you can switch to synthetic at any time.

Sythetic oil leak is not a myth. Synthetic oil is thinner than regular oil. If you have bad/old/worn out gasket, synthetic will leak dropwise; depending on how bad your gasket is. At 60k, you should be fine though.

 

I have also successfully converted vehicles to synthetics with over 100K on them. As others have stated, the success depends on how well the car was previously maintained.

 

That's another myth. It MAY be thinner at room temperature. But not at it's rated temp. A 10w30 is a 10w30 no matter what, well as long as it is an SAE oil. (which if it is going in your car it better be) Oil is rated at 2 different temperatures. At -13 degrees, this it the lower number, and at 212 degrees, this is the higher number. If it does not have a viscosity of 30 at 212 degrees SAE will not allow it to be rated and sold as a 10w30 oil plain and simple.

If the oil thickness was different you'd have varying oil pressures depending on the oil BRAND and type, even if it was the same "viscosity."

 

hmm i was just about to change the oil on my max..for the first time!! haha

im a illiterate car person...learning...would it be ok to switch to synthetic with 112k miles? my mom babied the car, gotten oil changes every 3k - 4k miles...im at 4k miles right now so i need to change fast...would it be ok to switch to synthetic? are there any improvments or drawbacks?

 

Given your oil history, there is no reason to stop you from switching to a synthetic.

 

You're close. The xW designation is determined by a few things. There is a limit on maximum thickness in both cold pumpability and viscosity. 0W oils are measured at -35C, 5W at -30C, 10W at -25C, 15W at -20C and 20W at -15C.

When at 100C, in order to carry the 30 wt. grade, the viscosity has to be between 9.3 and 12.5 cSt. You can have thinner and thicker oils and have them both be rated as a 30 wt. Where synthetics really shine is their ability to maintain their rated grade as temps. start to climb over 100C.