bad if the engine oil not sythetic??

[aznbutt3rz]

i changed the engine oil yesterday and i didn't expect it would affect the car if i didn't get sythentic oil. does it affect the car bad?

[SD_GR]

In your owner's manual the specifications for each fluid are listed. Follow those specifications and the maintenance intervals indicated. If the oil you used meets those specs then the source of its base oil or additive package don't matter.

[Aspen700]

what car? did it have synthetic in it before? what did you put in it now?

[Drews]

i changed the engine oil yesterday and i didn't expect it would affect the car if i didn't get sythentic oil. does it affect the car bad?

Once you go synthetic you're not supposed to go back.

[wrx wagone]

Once you go synthetic you're not supposed to go back.

Not true according to any publication on oil I've read.

[brfatal]

I prefer not using synthetic oil.

[Chrisfit]

I prefer not using synthetic oil.

Any particular reason, or strictly preferance?

[Liquidr1]

Once you go synthetic you're not supposed to go back.

myth.

every car iv had i have ran different types of oils. and iv went from dino oil to synthetic and back to dino and its never hurt anything.

[SeattleJeremy]

I prefer not using synthetic oil.

Me too, but that's just because I'm cheap

[brfatal]

Any particular reason, or strictly preferance?

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/faq.php

What's the best oil to use?

Ah, the million dollar question. We are an independent lab, so we don't make recommendations. It has been our experience that oil is oil, and either petroleum or synthetic-based oil will work well for just about any engine.


Come on, you're holding out on me. I should use synthetic, right?

Buddy, you should use whatever you want. Synthetic oil won't guarantee a longer engine life any more than my eating organic food will guarantee I'll live until I'm 90. We here at Blackstone generally use regular petroleum-based oil because honestly, it works just as well for us.

And problems tend to happen when I do use synth.

[Bahamabob]

I switched to syn at 10k, started getting oil use. I also got a little seepage on righthand cam cover. After 30k I switched back to dino. Now I have 133k on engine and it is hardly ever low. I do change oil within 3500 mile each time. Staying with Dino.

[timber]

I have used regular old dino based oil for just about 200,000 miles. Keep it fresh, and you'll be fine. Also, if I remember correctly, SD_GR is an oil guru..so whatever advice he offers, I would take.

[minato]

Synthetic is normally thinner than dino, hence if the engine is worn more oil will find its way past rings and seals, giving the illusion that the synthetic oil caused the leaks. If your engine is well maintained and in good condition switching back and forth is no deal. Synthetic oils hold up better to prolonged heat, and flow better at low temperatures. If you drive in such a manner or conditions that these are frequent factors, then consider the synthetic oil

[SD_GR]

Synthetic is normally thinner than dino, hence if the engine is worn more oil will find its way past rings and seals, giving the illusion that the synthetic oil caused the leaks.

Any two fluids of the same viscosity will, well, have the same viscosity regardless of their source or even composition. Whether an oil is synthetic or not does not make it thinner than another oil.

If your engine is well maintained and in good condition switching back and forth is no deal.

I tend to agree here. The issue is the detergent packages and how good a solvent each oil is. If the old oil coked up crud and that formed a pseudo-fix at the point of a seal or gasket failure, and the new oil dissolves the crud exposing the existing failure, then a leak will develop.

[Donkey]

There is a reason synthetic oil has a higher flashpoint than dino oil. Its all in the MSDS sheets. For turbo application I would absolutely use synthetic over dino due to much higher combustion chamber temps and possible turbo coking issues. Plus the fact that most group IV synthetic can easy handle 7,500-10K oil change intervals.