To many people over do it with oil concerns

[SHAJADER]

This is a copy of something i found that may help. "Despite their name, most synthetic derived motor oils (ie Mobil 1, Castrol Formula RS etc ) are actually derived from mineral oils - they are mostly Polyalphaolifins and these come from the purest part of the mineral oil refraction process, the gas. PAO oils will mix with normal mineral oils which means Joe public can add synthetic to his mineral, or mineral to his synthetic without his car engine seizing up. The most stable bases are polyol-ester (not polyester, you fool). When I say 'stable' I mean 'less likely to react adversely with other compounds.' Synthetic oil bases tend not to contain reactive carbon atoms for this reason. Reactive carbon has a tendency to combine with oxygen creating an acid. As you can imagine, in an oil, this would be A Bad Thing. So think of synthetic oils as custom-built oils. They're designed to do the job efficiently but without any of the excess baggage that can accompany mineral based oils."

[Rlockyer]

Originally Posted by SHAJADER

(not polyester, you fool).

Was that really neccessary?

Where did anyone above say polyester?

[SHAJADER]

I didn't write it. That's why I used quotation marks. That is just some info I found and i copied it how it was wrote.

[Rlockyer]

Well.... for one, it's not always the best thing to simply cut and paste from another message board.
The way you presented it appeared as if it was first-hand information, or at least something from a reputable source.

An immature personal insult in the middle of the quote tends to hurt the credibility of the information presented.

[AndyL]

But everyone likes to talk about it....

I use Castrol part synthetic 5W-30, Fram or other cheap oil filter (just to strain out the clinkers and bobbers), and change oil every 5 to 8 K (depending on the weather and my memory).

Biggest gripe - the darn skid pan makes being neat a hassle. I use tinfoil to make a drain path before removing the filter, but sometimes miss anyway.

Oh - I get the Caterpillar factory oil lab to analyze a sample every change. Doesn't matter if I change at 5 or 8 K - each successive oil change in the 68K I've run this truck has showed improved wear and chemistry characteristics.

I might only get 250K out of the vehicle by not using the finest products and procedures, but heck - by then everything else will be more maintenance than I care to deal with.

[SHAJADER]

Rlockler- The info was not obtained from another post. Christopher J Longhurst wrote a FAQ about oil. Type in "The Oil Bible" and you problably will find it. You will also find things written by other people by doing this, none of which I endorse, or claim to be. I also do not read things a then claim to be an expert later, if you read my earlier post that should be apparent. I do apologize for any misunderstanding.

[Joe]

Congratulations Marks Tundra, you started a thread that has been going for two years now. Most individuals posting to this thread weren’t even born when Amsoil first came out with their synthetic products. A few of us were and immediately realized that synthetic products served a very useful purpose. In the early ‘70s if you were fortune enough to have had a 4X4 and unfortunate enough to live in an area where –30F wasn’t uncommon starting late December and going through February, you know that when you parked your vehicle late afternoon or evening, you had better have left the transmission in 2nd gear, as you sure weren’t going to go through the gears in the morning heading out to your jobsite. It took 3 to 4 blocks to warm the gearbox dino grease sufficiently to start shifting gears and it was still pretty stiff. If you had to bust through a snow drift in the morning you had better left it in 4X4 as well, because you weren’t going to shift from 2X4 into 4X4 because the stick would bend long before you could engage 4X4 (I did it once, so I personally know) When Amsoil came out, it was the Cat’s As*, as shifting was like a hot knife going through butter at 0600 dark. Synthetic went in the gearboxes, differentials and motor and I personally know of no individual, nor have I ever heard of an individual experiencing any type of problems using synthetic products. If you have a leak somewhere using dino, well, you’ll lose a little more fluid using synthetic. Extended drains were very common starting in the ‘70s and caused no engine failures or problems, as individuals knew changing filters at regular intervals was the key to keeping the “contaminates” at a safe operating level. There were a lot of skeptics in the ‘70s and there are still a lot of them around today that can’t seem to get it through their noggin’ that running a full synthetic with a good filter and changing that filter every four to six months (depending upon mileage and driving conditions) you can keep driving with that oil for at least 15,000 miles and sleep like a baby doing it. For those skeptics, keep using dino and change every 3 to 7.5K depending upon your comfort level and as long as you live in mild climates your vehicle will probably keep up with mine and others who run synthetic everything and extended oil drain intervals. The cost is the same or less using synthetics, depending upon your interval, so don’t use that as an excuse to not run synthetics. You’re either a synthetic user or you’re not, just like you’re either a slacked jawed liberal or you’re not and it doesn’t seem like education or experience really comes into play in these matters. I just purchased a ’95 Land Cruiser in Denver that was full of Dino when I picked it up. The first morning back at the Pole it was a –8F and the Cruiser groaned a little starting up and for the 1st block driving to warm it up. Upon getting everything warmed up, I returned and changed the fluids to a full synthetic in the engine, both differentials, transfer case and transmission. The Cruiser now sounds like my ’01 Tundra and that sound is akin to a cat purring with a belly full of Robins.

[SHAJADER]

Joe- Could not have said it better myself. I also live in a cold environment during the winter (not quite as cold as -30). There are several reasons why i use synthetic, money or extended drain interval just don't happen to be it.

[Zick]

I'm no chemist, but i can tell you I have used castrol or valvoline (which ever is on sale that week) 10w30 summer, 5w30 spring, winter, fall and wix or fram oil filters(again-what is on sale that week) and change it religiously at 3-4k(ussually closer to 3k) and i have never had a problems after 238k.. In my manual tranny, diffs and transfer case I use 75w90 synth, but i only change that out every 100-150k.. At 3k my oil is brown, not black and not smelling of gas.. That right there will tell you about how much we need snythetic motor oil.. I agree, if tempature extremes are a issue this might be different.. I live in PA so i see winters, but not 30 below zero..

[jake696]

I do live in -30 cold and I run a fleet of courier cars. Synthetic makes no sense for us due to cost and old fashioned 5w-30 keeps us plenty slick. My tire rotations are tied to the 5K LOF and as someone stated earier in this argument...the oil change triggers and pays for the tire rotations on the fleet. If I had synthetic I'd be paying for 2 rotations, as well as making some %$^ing Texas oilman richer...no thanks.

And as far as those -30 mornings on the northern plains? Forget the synth...be sure and plug that baby in at night and then your oil and your heater will be flowing quicker after startup. Nice and toasty...

Don't forget the words of PT Barnum!

[coal miner]

From what I understand, most run of the mill engine oils are full of synthistics anyway. What ever happened to STP? Do they still make it? I agree with the owners manual-use 5w - 30 for most driving unless under extreme conditions. I have a Solara rag top - 06 with just 20,000 miles on it. 10,000 miles is my average miles per year. I use the Am Track Auto Train to come to Florida for the winter. A great way to dravel. Take my rag top with me. Coal miner in Florida.