THE AGE OLD TIRESOME QUESTION

[jrat88]

I know, I know this has been gone over time and time again. My 2001 Silverado with the 4.8l has 133000 miles on it. The previous owner used Mobil 1 from day 1. Do I need to continue to use synthetic in this engine or can I switch to conventional oil? There are no problems with the engine now, good power, smooth idle, no leaks, good compression etc. Just looking for some friendly advice. I plan on changing the oil every 3-5000 miles, would I gain anything by switching to conventional at this point(besides extra pocket change).

[BR DENALI]

I know, I know this has been gone over time and time again. My 2001 Silverado with the 4.8l has 133000 miles on it. The previous owner used Mobil 1 from day 1. Do I need to continue to use synthetic in this engine or can I switch to conventional oil? There are no problems with the engine now, good power, smooth idle, no leaks, good compression etc. Just looking for some friendly advice. I plan on changing the oil every 3-5000 miles, would I gain anything by switching to conventional at this point(besides extra pocket change).

 

Switch if you like. Synthetic oils are far more stable over time especially if you work the truck under extreme conditions and like to streatch out you oil change intervals. Having said that most quality synthetic/petrolium blends are very good and about half the cost. What ever you do use a quality filter. One of the best filters out there I beleive is a NAPA GOLD made by WIX. I read an article last year written by a fella that bought almost every brand filter on the market and cut them open and did a detailed review of how they were built. It covered everything from construction to how much and the type filer media used. It also addressed by-pass valve construction. This fella put a lot of work into it. To make a long story short I no longer use Fram filters. If you do a search on the Chrysler 300C forums for oil filters you should be able to find the link.

[jrat88]

I know, I know this has been gone over time and time again. My 2001 Silverado with the 4.8l has 133000 miles on it. The previous owner used Mobil 1 from day 1. Do I need to continue to use synthetic in this engine or can I switch to conventional oil? There are no problems with the engine now, good power, smooth idle, no leaks, good compression etc. Just looking for some friendly advice. I plan on changing the oil every 3-5000 miles, would I gain anything by switching to conventional at this point(besides extra pocket change).

 

Switch if you like. Synthetic oils are far more stable over time especially if you work the truck under extreme conditions and like to streatch out you oil change intervals. Having said that most quality synthetic/petrolium blends are very good and about half the cost. What ever you do use a quality filter. One of the best filters out there I beleive is a NAPA GOLD made by WIX. I read an article last year written by a fella that bought almost every brand filter on the market and cut them open and did a detailed review of how they were built. It covered everything from construction to how much and the type filer media used. It also addressed by-pass valve construction. This fella put a lot of work into it. To make a long story short I no longer use Fram filters. If you do a search on the Chrysler 300C forums for oil filters you should be able to find the link.

 

 

 

Thanks Denali,

Tell me, if I do decide to go conventional or blend, do I need to flush my engine, or just go directly with whatever oil I choose?

[plainvanilla]

you do not have to keep using Mobil 1.

 

 

Do what you want to.

 

If he was using Mobil 1 and changing every 7500 miles (what the owner's manual says) and you save a little change by going to petroleum basestock oil and cut your drain intervals, I don't see you actually saving much, you will do 3.1 more changes per year if you drive 20,000 per year.

 

Mobil 1 cost about 4.79 per quart here. Conventional oil cost about 2.50 per quart

Based on 6 quarts per change, we can predict the following:

 

 

20,000[miles] / 7500 = 2.67 changes/year = 16 quarts X 4.79= $76.64

 

20,000[miles] / 3500 = 5.71 changes/year = 34 quarts X 2.50= $85.00

 

 

My math may not be perfect, but it's close enough for me to see an economic advantage right off, plus you will be generating about have the waste oil per year, which if you do your own changes, can be a hassle to collect and drop off.

[Black02Silverado]

You can switch back to a regular oil with no problems. Regular oil has come a long way and it can go even farther than 3k. Run a quality oil filter like Wix, Purolator and AC Delco.

 

There have been a ton of advancements in the line of oil filters. AMSOIL's EaO oil filter line is doing really well and is getting very good reviews with oil analysis that I have read online and that was even when the EaO filter was used with just regular oil.