I will need an oil change very soon. I am looking to start using synthetic oil. Do I just ask for synthetic at the shop? Or is there a process that is needed to switch over to synthetic?

 

If your car has been well maintained and if you intend to continue with conservative OCIs (within OEMs recommended service intervals) , there is no special process required when switching to a synthetic.

However, if the engine has high mileage; service history of your car is unknown; if it has not been serviced regularly; or if you suspect the crankcase contains abnormal deposits, you might want to consider using one of the various crankcase cleaning products available prior to installing the synthetic oil.

Recommend you monitor your oil level over the service interval to make sure there is no abnormal consumption. Synthetics typically contain more robust detergents and they will eventually clean deposits left behind by petroleum oils. If the synthetic oil becomes prematurely dirty from this cleaning process, oil consumption could increase. Should that happen, you would simply drain the oil and install a fresh fill of synthetics.

Bottom line is that you should be OK to do a direct switch providing your engine has been well maintained; stick with mfgr-recommended OCIs the first couple changes; and keep an eye on your oil level. Your engine will thank you for this :-)

 

get royal purple sir. You will be thankful. Just flush your motor out and drop in synthetic oil/royal purple.

 

As much as I like Royal Purple, I really do, do NOT go over the recommended oil change interval with this oil. As with most synthetic oils, you can go well over the 3k interval, except with the Royal Purple. This sadly decreases greatly the cost efficiency of Royal Purple which is on the higher end of the price spectrum. Still, I love Royal Purple - I use it on ALL of my equipment at work.