Leaning more twords Synthetic

[RyanZ71]

Well I'm starting to lean more twords putting Synthetic Motor Oil in my 99 Silverado 5.3L. After talking with a trusted friend who races trucks, and seeing some recent info posted on here, I'm leaning twords the Mobil-1 10W30 Synthetic. I am thinking to change it out every six or seven thousand miles seeing how most of my driving is highway with a bit of city driving on the weekends. I asked him about other brands such as Amsoil and although he spoke highly of Amsoil, he stated there is really no advantage of Amsoil over Mobil-1 other then the Amsoil being priced a bit more. He stressed the importance of a good Oil Filter and seems quite satisfied with the AC/Delco line of Filters. Although this topic has been hammered on here many times I'm still interested to hear your feedback on synthetic and how often you change your synthetic out as well as what brand you use and any tips you may have as to switching from regular 10W30 over to Synthetic.

 

Thanks

[2001 HD]

Hi Ryan-Happy Thanksgiving

I've been running M1 since about 4K,now at 42K. I use it because of it's good cold start viscosity (CSK)and it can take a higher temperature before viscosity breakdown. I still change at 3K and switched from 5W-30 to 10W-30. Lube chassis every 3K. I ran it one time until 4K but it didn't look very good when I drained it. I use AC Delco filters, but may switch to M1 Filter as well. Synthetic oil is designed to run longer, but the filter may be bypassing by the time you get 6-7K on the engine oil. I just want to take good care of the engine as I plan on keeping the truck a long time. Oh yeah...its the factory fill for the Corvette engines too.

[frdfandc]

I'm using the 5W30 Mobil 1 synthetic in my 03 Z-71 5.3L. I switched to it during the first oil change at 3k miles. I change it every 3k miles with a new A/C Delco filter.

 

How many miles are on your truck right now??? If you are over 70k miles, i wouldn't really worry about changing over to synthetic. In my previous ride (91 escort) I started using the Valvoline Max Life oil. I did notice a HUGE difference in the Max Life oil compared to the conventional 5w30 that I was using before. My oil consumption went from 1 1/2 qts every 3k down to less than 1/2 qt ever 3k miles, no matter how I drove it. Now since it had over 70k when I bought it I didn't feel like it was worth while to put syn. in it.

 

I would recommend trying the Valvoline Max Life oil if you are over 70K miles before going to Synthetic if you decide to do so.

[Hecktorx]

We have a mobile-1 rep that comes into my work all the time because we use a lot of it in our chillers. I've talked to him about using it in a vehicle and here's what he had to say.

 

He said that if your going to change your oil every 3k miles, syn. oil is a waste of money. He said the main advantage to syn. oil is that is doesn't break down as quickly as a conventional. You can get 9k to 12k miles out of syn. oil before it needs to be changed. He also said that even though you don't change the oil, you still need to change the oil filter every three thousand.

 

I used his recommendations in my last truck and never had any problems. That truck now has 135k miles. I used to change the filter every 3k and the oil every 9k. I would just top off the oil when I changed the filter. I would lose about a quart. That was with a ZR2.

 

Kenny

[MrQuadrasteer]

Hecktorx, cool dog . Kinda looks like my old dog, Smokey ....

 

[JayMan]

My Uncle was a mechanic for the local school board, and back in the late 70's they took part in a Mobil field trial. They used Mobil Delvac 1 in all the school busses (Gas, propane, and diesel motors).

 

They would only change the oil once a year, but would change the filters every month or two. Some of the busses would put on 70-80,000 miles before an oil change. No problem getting +300,000 miles out of the Ford 428 truck motors and +600,000 miles out of the Cat diesel motors.

 

There was never an oil-related engine failure. Though quite a few of the Ford 428's were bending pushrods, but that was due to Ford using the wrong length pushrods to adjust the valvetrain. Ka-BOOM!

 

I was impressed with Mobil's field engineers and their attention to details. My Uncle drove the guy out to our farm for supper one evening and the next week we were running Delvac 1 in all the farm equipment. Though we did change a few seals that were already leaking at 3000 hours.

 

I've also experienced and heard of superior field service from Amsoil. You get what you pay for, and Amsoil does offer their engine warranty if you use their oil and filters.

 

I only change my oil twice a year: Mobil 1 0W-30 in winter, due to our extreme cold temps, and Mobil 1 10W-30 in summer. I change the PF59 oil filter every 3 months or 3000 miles.

 

I don't think I would use Mobil 1 0W-30 in summer or in a hot climate, as the HTHS (High Temp High Shear) is a little on the thin side. You have to balance that with a BPT (Borderline Pumping Temp) of -58 F.

 

If it wasn't for the extreme cold I would probably use Amsoil Series 3000 0W-30. The HTHS is far superior to Mobil 1 10W-30, though the BPT is "only" -40 F. It's supposed to be good for 1 year or 35,000 miles.

 

I've thought of running Delvac 1 in the Vortec just so I wouldn't have to keep so many different brands of oil on hand. I know a guy in St George Utah who is running Amsoil AMO 10W-40 with no problems at all in his 2000 Rado Vortec. His motor is almost SILENT.

 

I don't know why you would change the oil every 3-4,000 miles when running a synthetic. It's been researched out of sight that a good synthetic should last at least 9-12,000 miles, though you have to change the filter more often.

 

With a good bypass filter, such as the Amsoil filter head with main and bypass filters, you only change the oil when the Oil Analysis tells you to. A lot of Class 8 highway tractors are run this way and go +200,000 miles between oil changes, with excellent engine life.

 

I've never had a leak running synthetic oil in a new motor or axle. The new Vortec uses Teflon and other synthetic gaskets that should be unaffected by this anyway. I would worry about running a Dinosaur Oil that's chock-full of additives that claim to condition the valve seals.

 

All those additives cause excessive swelling of the seals, then when you stop using them, Leak City. Also, Dino Oil leaves a lot of carbon, varnish, and sludge behind on the rotating surface next to the seals.

 

Doesn't matter how often you change it, Dino Oil high temp properties are poor and in low temp use, the condensation in the oil turns it into a nasty sludge.

 

All that crap builds up on the front and rear seals, and when you change to synthetic, the extra detergents in the synthetic cleans out the gunk, and you suddenly have leaks. So, use a synthetic FROM NEW. Most modern engines are well broken in at 1000 miles unless you drive like a granny.

 

If you're running a Class 8 truck, check out the Eaton Dana drive axle information. If you're running something like the Dana Spicer HP-40 tandem with single reduction, and you have the LMS Hubs, Eaton offers a 3 year/350,000 mile warranty against leaks and failure. But ONLY if you use an approved synthetic.

 

Eaton has a TSB, #TMIB-0130, that warns you must replace the seals if the axle has run more than 5000 miles on Dino gear oil. Otherwise the hubs could leak and pee gear oil all over your brakes.

 

So, everybody think we've beat this dead horse enough?? Me too.

[SilveradoWV]

There is a good oil site called www.bobistheoilguy.com I think! It has alot of info on oil, filters, tranny fluid, gear oil, grease, etc....

 

I personally dont use synthetic engine oil because I like changin my oil every 3000 miles, and the filter. From reading some on bobistheoilguy.com a few of the cheapo brand dino oils dont start to break down until 4000 miles. So I feel safe using the dino and changin it every 3K. I have nothin against synthetics and believe they work great, but not worth the money against dino if you change it every 3000 miles. I agree with the above posts about the filter, I feel unless you have a filter thats specifically rated for extended mileage, the filter could be letting the oil bypass after a while and the synthetic isnt doing any good not bein filtered. I think amsoil makes a filter for lots of miles, would be worth checking out if you plan on using synthetics.

[k1500chevy97]

i switched over to synthetic at 70k miles so far so good

[HiG4s]

If you use non-synthetic and change more often than the factory recommend interval all you are doing is helping the Middle East oil barrons. Even many "Full Synthetics" are hydrocracked from crude oil. Mobil 1, Amsoil, and Redline are true synthetics not from crude oil at all.

I change my Mobil 1 every 8k to 10k. Just change the filter at factory spec.

[JayMan]

HiG4s: Right on!

 

Don't know about you folks, but I'm sick and tired of making the Middle East rich at my expense.

[SilveradoWV]

Not that I want to support the middle east but if you guys are really into that, you would probably be better off with a bicycle. Sounds like just a reason to make you feel better about spending twice the money for syn instead of dino.

[JayMan]

I have a bicycle, great exercise. Also have a nice pair of Rossignol cross-country skiis for wintertime. Since Thanksgiving and Xmas are so close together, I'd weigh 600 lbs if I didn't ski every other day!

 

Since I live 35 miles from the nearest grocery store, it wouldn't be very practical to cycle in for milk and eggs. I also don't think the bicycle would tow 7,200 lbs or haul 1,400 lbs.

 

Since I only change the oil once or twice a year, it's actually CHEAPER using a synthetic versus dino oil. The extra engine protection is just an added bonus. Some of my commercial equipment has gone 4 years between oil changes and the motors are perfect.

 

European market cars, such the VW Bora turbodiesel, have oil change intervals of 2 years or 50,000km (30,000 miles) using a synthetic oil from the recommended list. Their cars seem to last forever.

 

For some reason, here in North America Mobil does not recommend extended oil change intervals. Despite the fact that Mobil 1 meets the European ACEA A1/A3/A5 extended-drain requirements (Depending on viscosity grade).

 

Amsoil has always recommended extended drains and I would have no issues going the maximum recommended drain interval.

[Black02Silverado]

You can say that this topic has been talked to death.

 

I have been running the 0w-30 Series 2k AMSOIL in my truck since 4k. No problems so far and been running extended drains per oil analysis. This past one I have 10k on the oil and filter and it still has a great TBN of 10. The Total Base Number is a good indication of how your additive package is holding up. This package is the main part of the life of the oil. The TBN on a fresh bottle of the 0w-30 is 12. I even cut my filter open and it looked great. No build up and even the Filtermag that I use had a collection of fine dust on the side of the can where the magnet was.

 

I currently have 43k on the truck and it runs great. In this last 10k on this oil I did not have to add any oil at all. I have been please with the AMSOIL oil and filters. One of these days when I hit the lottery I will put the bypass system on.

 

Mobil 1 and AMSOIL are close in comparison. There are differences. I have read on BITOG site that a bunch of the LS1 indiviuals have switched to AMSOIL from Mobil 1 because it slowed and in some cases stoped their oil consumption. This is probably due to the fact that over time AMSOIL will thicken to a light 40w oil. This last analysis I had done on my oil confirmed that. Mobil 1 thins out, but I have read here lately that Mobil has tweeked their formula again so it might do well now.

 

Also the German made 0w-30 Castrol oil is a true POA group III oil and it has been getting rave reviews in the used oil analysis (UOA) section of BITOG site. You can tell it is made in Germany because it states that right on the bottle.

 

If you change your oil every 3k then there is no need to use synthetic other than the added benefits when living in the extreme cold for the protection at start up. Any regular SL rated oil will work fine. Again the UOA section on BITOG is a great reference to look at on what oils hold up better than others.

 

A friend of mine had 350k on his 88 Toyota SR5 with the V6, 33x12.50 Yokahoma tires, running Catrol GTX 10w-30 and a Fram filter. He changed his oil every 3k on the numbers. Most of his miles were highway on the Jersey Garden State Parkway.

 

It is all a preference of what you want to do. Some have great results with Mobil 1 others with Redline and AMSOIL. Every vehicle is different. Just have to find what works best for you.

 

Right now my routine of 6months or 12,500 mile oil filter changes, which ever comes first and one year 25k oil changes which ever comes first have been working well for me. Have stayed in Orlando over 3 weeks taking my daughter for medical treatments, in the dead of Summer and had no problems with the 0w-30 Series 2k oil.

 

I also enjoy the 19mpg I get on the highway, running synthetic might play a part in this but then there are others getting the same running regular oil. I would like to think my running AMSOIL has a part in it.

 

I stated when I first posted on here a year ago, that I can be a test bed per say. Running AMSOIL with extended drains and see how my truck holds up. Since it will be at least another 12 years before I can afford a new vehicle, my mileage should be close to 300k by then. More to come, Stay tuned.

[JayMan]

Well, I think it's rare for a motor run on conventional oil to put on a huge number of miles, especially in a very cold or a very hot climate. It's quite common for a motor run on synthetics to seem to last forever.

 

A lot of folks who run very expensive commercial engines (Class 8 tractors, skidders, large farm equipment) have switched to synthetics, thanks to the EPA-mandated engine redesign.

 

Unless you like polished liners, broken rings, and an expensive rebuild.

 

Black02Silverado: Just have to accept that some folks refuse to believe they can go +10,000 miles between oil changes. When you do that, the synthetic is CHEAPER than dino oil every 3,000 miles. Your TBN's are great!

 

Their Grampa used a 30 weight mineral oil and changed it every 1,500 miles. Their Dad used a 10W-30 and changed it every 2,500 miles. I use a synthetic and change it every 6,000-12,000 miles, which is based more on seasonal climate than true need. Otherwise I'd happily go +12,000 miles.

[gmcjoe]

Hey Ryan,

 

I've been running it for about 60K now, love it

 

I have read about switching over on higher mileage engines though, what do you have on your truck?

 

 

Joe