What motor oil would you recommend?

synthetic, synthetic blend, or conventional? why?

  • synthetic

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • synthetic blend

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • conventional

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
On my old truck I switched to mobil 1 synthetic at like 89k. It ran like a top up until I sold it recently with 160k on the clock. It had flying colors on the sniffer and had no wear what so ever. When it's time to change the oil in my grand prix I'll switch it to mobil 1 as well.
 
Mobil 1



Use it in my Accord V6 & it starts like it's mid-summer when it's -10*.



Used it in my '84 Supra (125K+) and an '81 Buick, my last winter beater, than I bought from my ex-father-in-law. He used Mobil1 from day1 & I continued using it. When I sold the car it had over 200K on it & it was running great.



Only downside, if any gasket/seal decides to seep a little it'll turn into a "pay attention to me NOW" leak quickly 'cause it's so thin.
 
Redline if you don't mind the high price, German Syntec if you can find it, or Mobil 1



In that order



Use a quality filter, not that Fram crap.....I would recommend Napa Gold or premium (I forget the name) if you have Napa stores in your area or K&N....There are a few other good ones, but I always go with those and forgot the names of the others. Napa runs about $7 and K&N runs about $10
 
I use conventional Penzoil oil in my 96' Civic.



I'd like to try synthetic but I am afraid of a potential leak b/c it is so thin.



If someone switches straight to synthetic from conventional, are there any steps you need to take to ensure a smooth transition to the new oil type besides the basic fluid/filter change?
 
accordmaniac said:
I would like your opinion on which motor oil that can be readily available at a store is better? for example Castrol, Penzoil, etc. Also i would like to know if you us synthetic, synthetic blend, or conventional oil and maybe even why. I'm asking this because i figured people here would be knowledgeable about this stuff.
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Given that you are willing to spend $5 a bottle and that you want to buy it at a local store like Pepboys, I would suggest Mobil1 0W20. The OE recomends 5w20, but the 0W20 was designed to replace the 5W20. Switching between synthetic and coventional is allowed. The guys who said you cant is because usually older cars seal can leak from synthetics. The reason is because the sythetic molecules are smaller than the coventional one so they can get past the seals. I have not seen this with modern cars built after 1990s, but it does happen in neglected cars. Modern cars produce less carbon and the engines burn so much more efficient that contamination of the oil is much less then it use to be so it is not unheard of oil changes at 10-15K miles with synthetics. Given your an ethusiast and drive in sever coditions I would change the oil at 6-8K miles. A civic is not under extreme loads like an SUV or a high reving sports car so the lengthy interval will never hurt your car. The reason I suggest sythetics is that you are willing to pay for it, it does have better longevity, and flows better so that start up ware is reduced. I say use Mobil1 because they have been making it for about 30 years and it is factory recomended by Corvette , Porsche, and Mercedes AMG. Does that make other synthetic any less worthy? No I think they are probably about the same. FWIW BMW synthetic is manufactured by Castrol.
 
Mmmm, an oil debate! Nothing better for stoking the fires of flaming :D



I just stick to the manufacturers recommended viscocity of a quality ester synthetic. Regular changes are the most important thing IMHO, no more than 6,000 miles for me.



I don't see any problem moving between mineral, semi and fully synth as long as you are doing a full change. All products are rated using the same measurement system. Synthetics just perform more consistantly during their life and under different loads.
 
Spilchy said:
I use conventional Penzoil oil in my 96' Civic.



I'd like to try synthetic but I am afraid of a potential leak b/c it is so thin.



If someone switches straight to synthetic from conventional, are there any steps you need to take to ensure a smooth transition to the new oil type besides the basic fluid/filter change?
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I've done it twice now -- once on an older engine with 50K+ miles, once on an engine with ~10K miles. Never had a problem with a simple 'straight switch'.



However, on the first engine (higher miles) I ended up replacing oil cooler lines along with the switch because they are inherently known to leak. They already had some corrosion and drippage beforehand so I figured I'd replace 'em. Never had any more problems with the 30K miles I put on the engine at that time.



Also as strange as it may seem, you might consider running a crankcase cleaning solution such as sea foam (available at NAPA) depending on how 'dirty' the oil looks around change time. My oil usually stayed clean for its entire cycle so it wasn't needed, but if there's alot of dark sedement you'll want to clean it up some.
 
I fully believe that the "switching to synthetic thing causing leaks" and the "Once you go syn, you can't go back" concepts are myths. This may have been true in the early days, but today's engine are much better.



I've gleaned a lot of information from Bobistheoilguy.com and believe it or not, they are people who put as much thought into engine oils as we do waxes.



The 3,000 mile oil change is a big waste IMHO. The excuse of "it's cheap insurance" is weak at beast. The fact that some people change quality synthetics at 3,000 miles is totally absurd to me. You should get at least 6,000 miles out of a good synthetic. The oil industry and the oil service places have pounded the 3,000 theory into people's heads for years.



Amsoil, Mobil 1, Red Line, Royal Purple, German Syntec, etc. are all high quality oils that offer great protection and life. Mobil 1 is coming out with new Extended Drain oils that can get 10,000 miles easy.



For engine cleaning, I highly recommend Auto-Rx. It is an ester based cleaner that slowly cleans the engine over he course of 3,000 miles or so. I wouldnâ€â„¢t use any other cleaner. I used it last year and noticed the top of my heads were very clean when I changed my rockers.



http://www.auto-rx.com





Two other products that Iâ€â„¢ve read (and experienced) good things about are Lube Control and Fuel Power. Iâ€â„¢ve used Fuel Power. It is a fuel additive added to each tank that boosts mileage a bit, cleans the combustion chamber and improves the energy level of the fuel/air mixture. I just got my jug of Lube Control. It helps oil last longer before breaking down. You can extend your change intervals with both dino and synthetic oils. Itâ€â„¢ll be going into both the Envoy (10,000 miles) and my GP (98,000 miles).



http://www.lubecontrol.com



I have no financial interest in any of these products. The link I provided do not contain any referral codes. I am just a satisfied user who has also seen many good reports about both products.



Sorry if I went a bit off topic, but I just had to clear up a few things I saw.
 
Scott P said:
Amsoil, Mobil 1, Red Line, Royal Purple, German Syntec, etc. are all high quality oils that offer great protection and life. Mobil 1 is coming out with new Extended Drain oils that can get 10,000 miles easy.
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that sounds alot closer to amsoil.... nice. Only one problem (for me anyway) -- I don't change my own oil, and those extended drain oils require at least the filter to be replaced ~3K miles if I'm remembering right. :nixweiss
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
that sounds alot closer to amsoil.... nice. Only one problem (for me anyway) -- I don't change my own oil, and those extended drain oils require at least the filter to be replaced ~3K miles if I'm remembering right. :nixweiss
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Actually no, Amsoil has an oil filter that is rated for 12,500 miles and Mobil is also releasing an Extended Performance Mobil1 filter which is supposed to last as long as the Extended Performance Oil. I believe Mobil is saying 15,000 miles for the Extended Performance Mobil1.
 
rjstaaf said:
Actually no, Amsoil has an oil filter that is rated for 12,500 miles and Mobil is also releasing an Extended Performance Mobil1 filter which is supposed to last as long as the Extended Performance Oil. I believe Mobil is saying 15,000 miles for the Extended Performance Mobil1.
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Really? Interesting -- all the amsoil users I know are using K&N filters that they replace every 3K.



I'm getting more and more intrigued... how much more will the new Mobil 1 (my preferred choice) cost? I might just have to switch over to that stuff. :xyxthumbs
 
I think Honda is actually calling for a filter change every other oil change. I think it might actually be in the manual.



Amsoil calls for a filter change and top-off at six months or 12,500 miles. I still run six month intervals. I may try taking the Envoy to 7,500 miles per change once after I change the oil this weekend.
 
I would not recomend using an oil cleaning solutions. These are chemicals that are solvents and they may cause some drying out of the oil seals. This may cause more leaks that so many are concerned with. Also consider that they also may cause some valve guide seals to leak and then you'll have an engine that will burn oil. All oils like Valvoilne or Castrol has detergents in them. If they car has been neglected I would run conventional oil and change them at a 1000 miles for 3 time if you wanted to flush out an engine. The heat combined with the detergents and the short change interval would remove lots of dirt and the quick change would not allow them to heat up and deposit again.



As far as oil filters go I would change them at every oil change. You're down there any way and if you're letting the interval go for 6-8K you minus will.
 
Scott P said:
I think Honda is actually calling for a filter change every other oil change. I think it might actually be in the manual.



Amsoil calls for a filter change and top-off at six months or 12,500 miles. I still run six month intervals. I may try taking the Envoy to 7,500 miles per change once after I change the oil this weekend.
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that being 7,500 or 6 months, whichever comes first, right? I'll probably take my Envoy to 6,000 or 6 months after the first couple oil changes at 3/3,000 intervals -- mainly because I JUST started putting the Mobil 1 5W-30 in it.



Just curious, what oil weight are you running in yours? I assume it's one with the 4.2L I6.... they told me it called for 10W-30 even though the manual and the fuel cap stated 5W (which is what I chose to run anyway) :nixweiss
 
Synergen LTS 3/30 Racing Oil manufactured by Dyson Oil. Their formulation has changed a bit in the past couple of years with the addition of a former Amsoil chemist.



Synergen is a high quality synthetic that really performs well. I also use their fuel conditioner / injector cleaner called Preventalube. The products may not be well known, but they do test out very well.
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
that being 7,500 or 6 months, whichever comes first, right? I'll probably take my Envoy to 6,000 or 6 months after the first couple oil changes at 3/3,000 intervals -- mainly because I JUST started putting the Mobil 1 5W-30 in it.



Just curious, what oil weight are you running in yours? I assume it's one with the 4.2L I6.... they told me it called for 10W-30 even though the manual and the fuel cap stated 5W (which is what I chose to run anyway) :nixweiss
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The Envoy will get about 13,000 miles or so per year, so I figure on six month intervals. The truck has about 11,000 miles on it or so. I ran the factory fill 2,500 miles. I ran the next 3,000 miles on Penzoil 5W-30 dino. The last 6,000 miles or so have been 0W-30 German Castrol. I have a good sized collection of Pep Boys calendars, so I'll be putting 5W-30 Mobil 1 in it for the next interval. This is the wife's truack and she's pretty easy on it. It is the I6 engine. Get a good oil filter wrench if you haven't changed the oil yet. The factory filter was on very tightly.
 
Scott P said:
The Envoy will get about 13,000 miles or so per year, so I figure on six month intervals. The truck has about 11,000 miles on it or so. I ran the factory fill 2,500 miles. I ran the next 3,000 miles on Penzoil 5W-30 dino. The last 6,000 miles or so have been 0W-30 German Castrol. I have a good sized collection of Pep Boys calendars, so I'll be putting 5W-30 Mobil 1 in it for the next interval. This is the wife's truack and she's pretty easy on it. It is the I6 engine. Get a good oil filter wrench if you haven't changed the oil yet. The factory filter was on very tightly.
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heh.... mine's an '02 with 41K miles on it -- but only about 10K on the motor. I don't change my own oil, but I had my mechanic put Mobil 1 5W-30 in it about a week after I got it, or ~1500 miles ago.
 
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