synthetic vs. mineral oil

40th GT

New Member

Apr 7, 2004

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Lawrenceville, GA

Nov 23, 2004

#1

• Nov 23, 2004

• #1

I bought 6 quarts of Mobil 1 with the Motorcraft filter last weekend so I can change the oil during the Thanksgiving weekend. Now I'm hearing all this talk about how "synthetic oil is worthless and mineral oil will be fine as long as it's changed every 3k w/ good filter.." Can anyone justify this? I don't mind spending the extra money if the Mobil 1 will keep my engine trouble-free after 200k+ miles of "spirited" driving. But I don't want to waste any money either. What should I do?

 

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Darkhorse845

Banned

Nov 17, 2004

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Las Vegas,Nevada

Nov 23, 2004

#2

• Nov 23, 2004

• #2

Your not wasting your money! Mobil 1 here also every 2K-3K miles!

 

S

Silvr04GT

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Feb 4, 2002

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San Jose, CA

Nov 23, 2004

#3

• Nov 23, 2004

• #3

Using synthetic is perfectly fine and not a waste of money. Synthetic oil has a lot of neat features, like it keeps your gaskets from drying up. Also it runs cleaner. And if it wasn't good then why heck do they put it in high performance production cars? (i.e. - Our very own 2000 Cobra R and the other's guys Corvette Z06)

 

CanadaStang

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Sep 7, 2003

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Mb

Nov 23, 2004

#4

• Nov 23, 2004

• #4

The remark made about synthetic oil, was in regard to using your vehicle to commute to work when you only live 2 blocks away. It was about condensation/contaminates in the oil from doing so, and how this will happen no matter what oil you use, it was not refering to using synthetic oil under normal driving conditions.

 

Cobra Jay

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Apr 7, 2004

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Motor City

Nov 23, 2004

#5

• Nov 23, 2004

• #5

I've never used Synthetic oil, and never will unless the world runs out of Dino oil.


I've worked on cars(starting out with my dad at about age 9) longer than I've been driving(almost 17 years) and I've never had a problem with an engine. I've only even used Valvoline.

As far as I'm concerned Synthetic oil is and a waste of $.


Just change you oil and filter every 3,000 miles (5,000 MAX highway mileage) and you'll be o.k.

 

twogts4us

15 Year Member

Apr 1, 2004

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Dunedin, FL

Nov 23, 2004

#6

• Nov 23, 2004

• #6

GT JAY said:

As far as I'm concerned Synthetic oil is and a waste of $. .

Click to expand...

So I guess it would surprise you to know that synthetic oil actually frees up horsepower, provides better start-up protection and keeps the engine running cooler.
Synthetic oil, a good filter and scheduled oil changes are cheap insurance.

 

admdavs

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Feb 25, 2004

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Chicago

Nov 23, 2004

#7

• Nov 23, 2004

• #7

twogts4us said:

So I guess it would surprise you to know that synthetic oil actually frees up horsepower, provides better start-up protection and keeps the engine running cooler.
Synthetic oil, a good filter and scheduled oil changes are cheap insurance.

Click to expand...

 

Ryan's 02 GT

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Jul 26, 2004

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Fayetteville, NC

Nov 23, 2004

#8

• Nov 23, 2004

• #8

There are alot of synthetics out there now. If you look at the time Mobil 1 came out it was probably the S#@t to have. But as time has moved on other companies have put their spin on oil. Blends, "high mileage", "4X4", just about everyone has a newer and better oil. Ford says to use Motorcraft 5-20 Syn-blend. From what I have read it is good for probably 90% of us. It is also pretty cheap at Wal-Mart. Mobil 1 is without a doubt the "King" of synthetic oil but is it worth the money? Thats the $6 a bottle question.

 

9

98laseredgt

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Jul 16, 2004

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indianapolis

Nov 23, 2004

#9

• Nov 23, 2004

• #9

ford says to use Motorcraft oil because they make money off of it. i know when i put Mobil 1 in both my Z28 and my GT they both ran noticably smoother and got on average 2-3 mpg better mileage. its really up to each person if Mobil 1 is worth the money. to me it is. to someone who has good luck with conventional oil like GT JAY it may not be worth it. in my opinion conv. oil works well, but synth. oil works better. i chose synthetic because my car sees 5500 rpm about every time i drive it and i wanted something i knew would not break down.

 

twogts4us

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Apr 1, 2004

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Dunedin, FL

Nov 23, 2004

#10

• Nov 23, 2004

• #10

Ryan's 02 GT said:

Mobil 1 is without a doubt the "King" of synthetic oil

Click to expand...

King? Well, it's probably the most popular and is widely available. But there are even better synthetics out there...Amsoil, Royal Purple...

 

CanadaStang

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Sep 7, 2003

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Mb

Nov 23, 2004

#11

• Nov 23, 2004

• #11

twogts4us said:

King? Well, it's probably the most popular and is widely available. But there are even better synthetics out there...Amsoil, Royal Purple...

Click to expand...

Oh oh, Now there's going to be war

 

luckyae

New Member

Sep 1, 2003

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Manhattan, KS

Nov 23, 2004

#12

• Nov 23, 2004

• #12

Keyword = Royal Purple

Don't forget it.

 

J

jaackal

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May 12, 2003

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NJ

Nov 23, 2004

#13

• Nov 23, 2004

• #13

mobil 1 at sams club 23 bucks for a 6 pack

 

6Stang7

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Jun 1, 2003

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Livermore, CA

Nov 23, 2004

#14

• Nov 23, 2004

• #14

As has been said, synthetic frees up HP, reduces running temp, and provides better protection upon start ups. It also has one key advantage over regular oil, and that is deposits. Regular oil has wax in it, and as a result it will leave behind a waxy build up on motors. Synthetic does not have this problem. And no, synthetic oil will NOT prevent your rings from seating to your cylinder wall. The owner of the shop I worked in has proof of this in his race 347 we built.

 

B

bdcardinal

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Jun 10, 2003

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santa barbara, CA

Nov 24, 2004

#15

• Nov 24, 2004

• #15

jaackal said:

mobil 1 at sams club 23 bucks for a 6 pack

Click to expand...

costco is the same price

 

Cobra Jay

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Apr 7, 2004

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Motor City

Nov 24, 2004

#16

• Nov 24, 2004

• #16

twogts4us said:

So I guess it would surprise you to know that synthetic oil actually frees up horsepower, provides better start-up protection and keeps the engine running cooler.
Synthetic oil, a good filter and scheduled oil changes are cheap insurance.

Click to expand...

Unless you're talking like 20+RWHP give me a break!

 

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98laseredgt

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Jul 16, 2004

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indianapolis

Nov 24, 2004

#17

• Nov 24, 2004

• #17

a friend of mines dad has a drag car they use mobil 1 in and it picked up like 17 RWHP just from the oil. since you have what appears to be no experience with synthetic oil why dont you try it once and see what you think. if you dont like it you can always go back to conventional. would it be a waste of money if you learned something new out of the whole thing?

nate

 

J

Jay99

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Oct 4, 2004

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Sac/Rancho

Nov 24, 2004

#18

• Nov 24, 2004

• #18

when full synthetic first came out it was a disaster, such that you couldn't pay anyone to use it. now the oil companies found the right mixture of additives to thicken up the oil so it deosn't blow past all the seals.

there is always a debate on which is better. full synthetic can withstand higher temps, clean better, reduce friction etc.

I saw a 92 crown vic at ford that was a cab and the owner always came in at 3k for his conventional oil change. the motor had 242,000 original miles and has seen two transmissions and 3 ac compressors. so take it as you will, i can see where some would say its a waste. the end question would be if the cab driver had used full synthetic since day one would he get even more miles out of the motor?
well whjo knows, i stopped working at that ford dealership and never asked anyone if the motor is still going or not. but for it being a cab and having that high of a mileage says atleast something.

whatever you do stay away from penzoil. I think from now on I will take pictures of all the motors we end up rebuilding that has this nice thick layer of wax on its valve train.

oh and yeah not all conventional oils are parafin waxed based - as far as i'm aware its just penzoil =p

 

mcmmotorsports

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Apr 12, 2004

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Danbury, CT

Nov 24, 2004

#19

• Nov 24, 2004

• #19

Guys, say what you want, do what you want, but here is my .02:

I spent $18,000 on a Nascar Modified 364ci 600hp motor back in 1995.
I just picked up a sponsor shortly before we went to the Dyno.
It was for Torco Racing oils. I told him if after we went to the dyno, there was any difference for the better, I would run their product for the season. It was a Full Syn oil. Anyways, the first and second pulls yielded about 585hp. We changed the oil to the Torco and made two more pulls. We got something like 593hp out of it. BUT, and I say BUT, the biggest difference and what made me a believer in Syn's was the oil temp.....it dropped almost 30 degrees just by switching to a full syn. Needless to say, I am a full believer in Synthetic oil.
I run Mobil 1 5w-30 in my '04 GT, have been since 1,200 miles and switch it out at the Factory Recommended interval: 5,000 miles

 

VPStang

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Oct 1, 2002

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bHAM, alabama

Nov 24, 2004

#20

• Nov 24, 2004

• #20

Synthetic is a good idea--i recently just switched in my wife's car cuz it just hit 60K miles. I plan on using synth for the remainder of my ownership. I felt a difference in the way the engine ran. It's a normal daily driver. I plan on changing the oil at 10K miles, and the filter at 5K. I'm using castrol right now--but learned that it's not a full synthetic, but also learned that it had some properties better than a full synth. It still beat out most other synths other than mobil1.

Also as I posted in another thread--go stock up at PepBoys---Mobil 1 synth--buy 3 get 3 FREEEEE.....just buy the coupn calendar for a dollar.....I bought 6 boxes and will probably go back for more....