Synthetic Oil?

[uchi]

i picked up the truck from the dealer yesterday and the service girl had asked if i do much towing. well not yet i dont and when i start itll just be a bike or two to the race track plus whatever gear i have and then ill use the truck for work here and there. she reccomended synthetic oil changes. now these bastards are double the price but she said the oil and filter is good for twice as long. 10 - 12000 km, not miles, any truth behind that? mostly on the filters part? also she said it would improve gas milage a little, maybe it would as theres less friction blah blah blah. so i figured id ask here. oh and last thing, if i do go the distance, will the dic on my 06 know when the oil is ready for a change or is it pre programmed to remind me at the 5000km mark?

[Chris]

man this is a question that will cause an argument. i used a blend for a while now i run full syn. but advertising says its better so do it lol

[snarkee]

i run synthetic mainly because of the cold winter temps....i change my oil at 6000-7000km and the monitor still is at 50%

 

Synthetic oil changes at the dealer are a rip off here...you know what you are doing so I dont know why you dont do it yourself (i did mine 2 days ago in the driveway without ramps or a jack-15 mins tops)

 

A while back I was at the dealer and they were selling a 5qt jug of 5w30 mobil 1 for $65 ...... earlier that day I picked up the same jug in the states and paid $23 (with money being at par how can you go wrong)

 

btw If it improves mileage i doubt it would be a measurable increase

[mxdirtrider56]

Not going to see an increase in mileage. Lots of people on here use synthetic oil. I am not one of them. GM conventional 10W-30 oil for me. 104,000 miles on my 2005 and over 150,000 on my 94' with no problems. I tow and haul frequently too.

[revrnd]

I've been using Pennzoil Platinum 5W30 since 2000. 100,000 klicks on my 2000 & just sold the '04 w/ 204,000 klicks. Went by the OLS for change intervals. AC filters in the 2000 & WIX for the '04. Back to the ACs for the '11.

 

I've do my own oil & filter changes for the most part. The odd time I've had someone else do it when travelling or weather conditions preventing doing it @ home.

[RB`S Av]

Mobil-1 5w30 & AC PF-48 , i paid $23.50 for the five quart jug & $3.49 for the filter .

[brianf60]

I will run syn. in my new girl as soon as shes due for a change. Mostly because its so cold in the winter here (the syn. flows better cold then reg.) and 2 because I'm a mech. so my oil change will still only cost me $25. But I don't recommend not changing as often. Why push it so far? what about checking the rest of the fluids and everything else on the truck? 10-15 km between oil changes is too long in my opinion...

[Black02Silverado]

Synthetic has advantages over conventional. Basically better flow at really cold temps and better protection in hot climates and doesn't break down like conventional.

 

You could see an increase in mileage. Most don't but some have. It depends on your driving style and location. But most likely you won't see any.

 

That is normal distance driving for conventional oil anymore these days. Synthetic can go upwards to 17,000 km to include the filter.

 

The OLM doesn't know what kind of oil you are using. There is a good thread on here explaining it. It all depends on your driving style, engine starts, engine temp, RPM and a few other things.

 

Either way, conventional or synthetic keeping the oil changed as needed and you will not have any issues.

[txab]

We need to make a sticky on this subject. It get's asked often and the answers never change. We could include the how the OLM works.

 

 

Simple answer. Pick a good quality oil. Use a quality filter. Change it using the OLM as a general guide (I do), or change whenever you feel your at the end of your comfort level. Have an oil analysis run on your oil sometime and you'll find the best interval for your vehicle. Basically I'm running 5,500k to 6000k between changes. I've tested at the 3k mark and at the 6k mark. There is very little difference between the two tests. Says I could easily run about 8k if I remember correctly.

 

And quit paying dealer prices for oil changes.

[mxdirtrider56]

We need to make a sticky on this subject. It get's asked often and the answers never change. We could include the how the OLM works.

 

 

Simple answer. Pick a good quality oil. Use a quality filter. Change it using the OLM as a general guide (I do), or change whenever you feel your at the end of your comfort level. Have an oil analysis run on your oil sometime and you'll find the best interval for your vehicle. Basically I'm running 5,500k to 6000k between changes. I've tested at the 3k mark and at the 6k mark. There is very little difference between the two tests. Says I could easily run about 8k if I remember correctly.

 

And quit paying dealer prices for oil changes.

 

 

+1 on the sticky for this subject.

[uchi]

trust me guys im quite capable of changing my own fluids. for warranty reasons i wont do them on this truck because i need to keep my maintenance receipts to keep the warranty from being voided. luckily gm sad i can get my oil changed anywhere i want as long as i have proof of it incase something ever does go wrong. so ill just bring it to my buddys shop and get it done there for half the price that gm wants. i think the gm service person said they use castrol synth oil, so costco usually has that on sale cheap, so between that and the $4 filter i can get almost 3 oil changes for the cost of one gm oil change. thanks for all the good info guys. i was just curious to see what you thought of the dealers comments more than anything else. actually one question, if towing a heavy load, have you guys noticed lower engine temps with synthetic? i know its coolant based but you get some oil that creates a little less friction in theory the engine temps shouldnt be as high

[pistonslap]

i run synthetic mainly because of the cold winter temps....i change my oil at 6000-7000km and the monitor still is at 50%

 

Synthetic oil changes at the dealer are a rip off here...you know what you are doing so I dont know why you dont do it yourself (i did mine 2 days ago in the driveway without ramps or a jack-15 mins tops)

 

A while back I was at the dealer and they were selling a 5qt jug of 5w30 mobil 1 for $65 ...... earlier that day I picked up the same jug in the states and paid $23 (with money being at par how can you go wrong)

 

btw If it improves mileage i doubt it would be a measurable increase

 

The second last time I bought synthetics (mobile) in Canada it was on sale at wallymart for about 30.00 CAD. I bought some last week and it was $39.00. (Plus the ahole eco fee "and" recycle fee.) Seeing that your in Canada next time check out walmart they sell mobile oils.

[jro909]

vegi oil with a fram filter..best protection ever

[big_dawg74]

i was just curious to see what you thought of the dealers comments more than anything else.

 

Dealers are a for-profit business entity. They are just trying to suck every penny out of you as possible.

[cookeze]

I first used synthetic oil in my Mercruiser years ago and was surprised when I picked up 200 rpm at the prop. I've used synthetic oil in everything since then. I have a Corvette C6 and a BMW 335i that require it and an 8.1 Avalanche that gets 12 mpg in the city and 15 on the road while not burning oil. I also use the Amsoil with added zinc for my flat tappet collector cars. No problem after many, many miles.....