Well I've been using pennzoil for quite a while and think its time for a change. What oil do you guys recommend/use?
Oil?
- Thread starter Stang_1973
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I find Pennzoil to be very satisfactory and have used it for hundreds of thousands of miles without a hint of a problem. Others may suggest other brands or synthetics but, as for me, Pennz is still my choice.
Swede958
Founding Member
Store bought... Castrol GTX or Valvoline for the dino oils... Mobil for the synthetics. <- choice of retail parts-monkey
The Swede
The Swede
The SAE grade is more important than the brand. Pennz is fine as are a lot of others, Valvoline, Burmah Castrol, QS, etc. Look at the service grade first, i.e. SG, SJ, etc. Pick any with service grade SG or higher. Pick the weight next according to use. If engine is newer use 5w-30, if engine is older or remanufactured use 10w-30 to 20w-50 according to your seasonal requirement. Using these lower viscosity oils is best for high performance engines...thats what they are formulated for.
I use Amsoil. They are the ones who invented synthetic oil and they say there oil will beat any other oils on the 4 ball bearing test. Check them out at
www.amsoil.com
www.amsoil.com
Blown4.6
Founding Member
For most of us, it's all the same. Just use a dino and save your money. If we were running 7000 rpm turbo charged machines, I'd say you need the extra headroom synthetic provides; but honestly, most of us aren't doing anything that goes beyond what dino can protect against. I use Mobil1 15W50; but, I know I'm wasting my money. For the average street 289 or 351, full synthetic oil is like puting 110 octane fuel in your na 8.5:1 machine. It won't hurt anything, but why waste the money? It's just overkill.
The only things that matter are:
1) that you change the oil when it gets dirty (black=metal=less protection).
2) use a detergent type oil that meets API service SG or higher (as stated before)
3) Use the correct weight for you application (in our case, heavier than you would put in a modern car....I use Mobil1 15W50 year round here in LA in all my "vintage" cars). What a waste!
These things combined with keeping your engine from running too hot or too cold will generally get 100k miles between rebuilds (depending on use).
Also, don't listen to any old timers that tell you synthetic is bad or the old wives tale "once you use synthetic you can't go back to dino...." nonesense!
The only things that matter are:
1) that you change the oil when it gets dirty (black=metal=less protection).
2) use a detergent type oil that meets API service SG or higher (as stated before)
3) Use the correct weight for you application (in our case, heavier than you would put in a modern car....I use Mobil1 15W50 year round here in LA in all my "vintage" cars). What a waste!
These things combined with keeping your engine from running too hot or too cold will generally get 100k miles between rebuilds (depending on use).
Also, don't listen to any old timers that tell you synthetic is bad or the old wives tale "once you use synthetic you can't go back to dino...." nonesense!
6Stang7
New Member
Synthetics oils are not a waste of money. Does it cause a reduction in parenthetic power loss? Yes. Horsepower TV did a test were they dynoed a 00 Camaro SS, then replaced the engine, tranny, and diff with synthetic fluids and then dynoed it again. They got a gain of 8RWHP. There are three other advantages to running a synthetic motor oil. First, it lubricates better then conventional motor oil, which reduces the amount of wear on your engine. Seconded, it has a higher resistance to thermal break down over conventional motor oil, which also reduces the amount of wear on your engine. Finally, synthetic oil doesn’t have wax in it; therefore, it doesn’t leave behind build up while conventional motor oil does. Do these justify the additional cost of synthetic? That’s up to you to decide; however, I run Mobil 1 in my stang and wouldn’t run anything other then a synthetic. Right now I think Mobil 1 in the best, but only because there is speculation as to weather or not Royal Purple leaves deposits.
-Shaun
-Shaun
HistoricMustang
Active Member
RGS0907
New Member
67GTA-FB429 said:
All the synthetic oil makers have web sites about this & they take on other myths & topics as well. Mobil-1 has a good site. They say that there is nothing special that you need to do to switch over. Mobil-1 doesn't recommend extending the time between oil changes which the others do, but at least you can get it at any mobil gas station, Pep Boys etc.
One extra reason for switching over that no one mentioned is that it doesn't drain back into the pan as fast & pumps up quicker when you start it. This was a big factor for me since I probably let my car sit too long between start-ups.
Blown4.6
Founding Member
6Stang7 said:
Yes, synthetic does withstand higher temps before breakdown. Unfortunately, you're engine will never, never, never see such conditions. Not even close. A $2500 pad lock is better than a $5.00 masterlock. But if you're locking a screen door, who cares? That's the point I'm making.
HP tv was advertising synthetic oils on that episode...when they are paid to advertise K&N, low and behold I saw them get 25 extra hp out of their LS1. Then, they added a cold air kit. Voila.....15 more horsepower! That was simply a paid commercial for K&N and then MAC cold air. Anyone who knows anything will tell you K&N might give you 2-4 hp at most, at the top of the rpm range. Cold air, has been shown to do almost nothing on a new car.
If you want to use Synthetic (and I do), go ahead. It doesn't hurt anything. But, the only ture benefit you're getting is an ability to go longer between oil changes as dino oil will oxidise to the point where you need to change it after about a year, regardless of miles. Synthetic will not behave this way. That's why I use it some of my vintage cars. I put like 250 miles / yeare on them. With dino, you don't want to let 8 years go by between oil changes, waiting to get 2k on the clock.
Blown4.6
Founding Member
TheWolf said:
As for this one, there may be something to it. The theory is that synthetic has a tendency to not allow the rings to seat properly and/or as quickly after a new rebuild. It makes some sense; but, I can't say for sure if it has been proven to be the case. Remember "bubba" knows the process of rebuilding engines, but isn't generally well schooled in chemistry, physics or metalurgy. "Bubba" will have all types of theories and wives tales. I nod and smile and act like I'm taking notes. Then, I do just what I want. I've NEVER had any type of problem.
I break an engine in with about 2k miles using dino. Then, generally I switch to Mobil1 15W50 (red).
If I'm using conventional (such as break in) I use Castrol GTX 10w-30. Beyond that I use synthetic. Mobil 1 to be exact. The weight depends on the car. As for not seeing any changes, I've switched two of my cars over to synthetic and have seen a big difference. The engines run smoother, cooler, and my gas mileage goes up. I think the synthetic is worth the extra money.
6Stang7
New Member
Blown4.6 said:
So, let me get this straight. They are doing something speical then??? I mean, you see them dyno it before, then dyno it after. You see the dyno chart and the power increase. Now, maybe I am just guabble(sp) here, but how would they fuge those numbers? If you think about it, you have friction to overcome on A LOT of moving parts, so reducing the friction even a small percentage adds up. The fact that synthetic doesn't leave behind build up in also a very important part of it.
-Shaun
RGS0907
New Member
TheWolf said:
In the winter, I can sometimes let the car sit for two months without a start-up. I know that it's bad, but I just don't get to it sometimes (I've owned the car for about 25 years now). That's why I decided on synthetics...
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