Like everywhere people wonder and I'm sure even on here people wonder. What's better for your engine full synthetic or regular oil.
Regular or synthetic oil what do you guys think
- Thread starter dazingla
- Start date
triz
Member
- Apr 22, 2013
- 746
I'm a synthetic guy as you can tell from my signature. True believer that its better on your engine, last longer and offers better protection against thermal breakdown. Yes I know I sound like a Castrol commercial.
You'll get all type of feedback on this subject and this has probably been discussed hundreds of times.
You'll get all type of feedback on this subject and this has probably been discussed hundreds of times.
djthumper
Administrator
I've been a synthetic user for years. I guess it just helps me sleep at night lol, but I know Hardtrailz uses regular and I believe we are around the same miles. It's really all just personal preference. Triz uses amsoil and I use the cheap Wally world brand. Just keep up on changes, you take care of your truck and it will take care of you.
I did the first oil change with regular because thats what the dude said the dealership was using( he bought it brand new back in 04) and now i hear a little bit of a tick in the engine so i might change to synthetic to see if it stops. Same exact thing happened in my old Cherokee and it fixed the problem when i changed to synthetic.
DJones
Member
Amsoil 25,000. I've been having it tested to be sure it really does last 25,000 miles and it does!
I'll post results when I get the current sample tested tomorrow.
I'll post results when I get the current sample tested tomorrow.
I have almost always been a Quaker state conventional oil man. used the high mileage stuff in my 1990 Lumina and it lasted 319,000 miles before the engine went and even then it just had a head gasket problem, but I think it was finally time to let the car go after owning it from 1996 to 2013. in my 2000 Monte Carlo I use the Quaker state 10W30 q horsepower which I believe is synthetic and when we bought the envoy last year, I started using the quaker state high mileage 5w30 in there since it has over 100,000 miles on it. in my 1989 Chevy 1 ton extended cab dually with 454 big block I use 15W40 LE oil. same stuff my grandpa used so when he died and I took the truck over 2 years ago at 73,000 miles I just use the same thing.
tblazerdude
Member
- Dec 4, 2011
- 321
any synthetic is better than conventional. but to get the full use of the oil, and not break the bank you run longer intervals. I use 7k - 7.5k miles. Mobil 1 high mileage. I rarely see the oil change light.
meerschm
Member
- Aug 26, 2012
- 1,079
from the owners manual:
.
If you are in an area of extreme cold, where the
temperature falls below −20°F (−29°C), it is
recommended that you use either an SAE 5W-30
synthetic oil or an SAE 0W-30 oil. Both will provide
easier cold starting and better protection for your engine
at extremely low temperatures
for you, I would recommend the synthetic oil just for the easier starting in cold weather.
.
If you are in an area of extreme cold, where the
temperature falls below −20°F (−29°C), it is
recommended that you use either an SAE 5W-30
synthetic oil or an SAE 0W-30 oil. Both will provide
easier cold starting and better protection for your engine
at extremely low temperatures
for you, I would recommend the synthetic oil just for the easier starting in cold weather.
meerschm said:for you, I would recommend the synthetic oil just for the easier starting in cold weather.
...and fuel economy. GM is starting to use 5W-20 now. So you could use a semisynth such as any 5W-20 Dexos approved oil. Yes, GM is using 5W-20 now.
Wooluf1952
Member
meerschm
Member
- Aug 26, 2012
- 1,079
I would not run to put 5w20 in one of these.
dexos makes a 5w30 for a reason.
from the 2014 silverado OM:
SAE 0W-20 is the best viscosity
grade for the 5.3L and 6.2L
V8 engines. SAE 5W-30 is the best
viscosity grade for the 4.3L V6, and
6.0L V8 engines.
my point here is that the viscosity of the oil recommended is tied to specific engine technologies used.
synthetic is better, but I would stick to the recommended viscosity.
dexos makes a 5w30 for a reason.
from the 2014 silverado OM:
SAE 0W-20 is the best viscosity
grade for the 5.3L and 6.2L
V8 engines. SAE 5W-30 is the best
viscosity grade for the 4.3L V6, and
6.0L V8 engines.
my point here is that the viscosity of the oil recommended is tied to specific engine technologies used.
synthetic is better, but I would stick to the recommended viscosity.
Wooluf1952
Member
meerschm said:
That's what I was thinking. I only chance my oil once a year, so the same oil needs to go through summer and winter temps. 0w-30 might be safe, but not 5w-20.
I've been using Mobil 1 in all my cars since 1993 and have never had an oil related problem with any of them. I drive about 30K per year. Also, at less than $23 for a 5-quart jug at Wally World, it is hard to beat the price!
gmcman
Member
- Dec 12, 2011
- 4,659
Wooluf1952 said:
I would think that using 5W-30 is safer because of bearing tolerances. I'm actually curious as to what makes a motor spec 20W over 30W, could be that 20W wasn't big yet at the time.
I'm also curious as to the rod and main bearing clearance differences thinking that 20W may not allow adequate oil pressure when hot.
Just a thought.tblazerdude said:
Not to burst your bubble, but the oil change light is basically an odometer that takes the air temperature you've been driving through and your driving habits into account. It does not sense the acidity of the oil in the oil pan, nor does it check for metal chips, etc. And it is programmed for the properties of Dino oil, not synthetic
Wooluf1952
Member
Mark20
Member
- Dec 6, 2011
- 1,630
ElAviator72 said:Not to burst your bubble, but the oil change light is basically an odometer that takes the air temperature you've been driving through and your driving habits into account. It does not sense the acidity of the oil in the oil pan, nor does it check for metal chips, etc. And it is programmed for the properties of Dino oil, not synthetic
Actually its a little more involved than that, quite a few parameters go into derating the ideal oil's life. But ElAviator is correct. The system is not a miniature oil analysts system.
You can find a good writeups on the web. I found a good PDF but this tablet makes it difficult to get the URL.
Wooluf1952 said:
If you use too light an oil, you will probably lose a lot of oil to blowby, especially when you are doing things like towing... Even at that, I know a person at work who bought a new Ford Fiesta. She has had the oil light come on a couple of times. Guess what weight of oil the engine uses? She cured it by changing out to 5w-30 oil (with very little effect on fuel economy!).
So ya I put synthetic in today and the ticking stopped. Guess dealership used synthetic and not regular like previous owner said
I have always used synthetic in my TB, and our current second car (Olds Alero). Longer intervals, and everything just seems to run better.
navigator
Member
- Dec 3, 2011
- 504
I think a lot depends on your needs/habits.
I think a quality dino oil with a good filter(don't forget the air filter) that is changed on a regular basis should provide a long life under normal driving. Someone that spends a lot of time in traffic, towing, offroading etc might need to change it more often.
If you are someone that buys new/gently used and keeps them for a few years and trades/sells then I expect you will likely never see the benefits of running synthetic other than possibly in cold starts in cold climates.
If you are one that buys something gently used and keeps it until the wheels fall off then likely synthetic is worth the investment.
I've run synthetic (usually Mobile1) in most of my vehicles since 2003. It just gives me extra peace of mind and I don't have to change it as often.
I think a quality dino oil with a good filter(don't forget the air filter) that is changed on a regular basis should provide a long life under normal driving. Someone that spends a lot of time in traffic, towing, offroading etc might need to change it more often.
If you are someone that buys new/gently used and keeps them for a few years and trades/sells then I expect you will likely never see the benefits of running synthetic other than possibly in cold starts in cold climates.
If you are one that buys something gently used and keeps it until the wheels fall off then likely synthetic is worth the investment.
I've run synthetic (usually Mobile1) in most of my vehicles since 2003. It just gives me extra peace of mind and I don't have to change it as often.
C-ya
Member
- Aug 24, 2012
- 1,098
I bought a '98 GMC C1500 with a 4.3 in 2004 with 140K on it. Had I known I would keep it as long as I did, I would have switched to synthetic immediately. I changed the oil every 4K miles with the cheapest dino oil the store had and an AC Delco, STP or Fram filter. I sold the truck last year with 250K on it when I bought the TB. I am on my first oil change on the TB and I put semi-synthetic in it this time and will switch to full synth the next oil change. I plan on keeping this one for a while, too. 
I really like it so far. It does everything I want it to. It drives great, pulls great, feels great, and looks great.
I really like it so far. It does everything I want it to. It drives great, pulls great, feels great, and looks great.I know how u feel I miss my old Cherokee. Thing had 300* or so clicks on it and it was a beast. Stupid salty roads ate it up . Driving one day and framed cracked lol. Said f*** it and gave it to the junkyard
HARDTRAILZ
Moderator
- Nov 18, 2011
- 49,665
CaptainXL said:
My buddy ran synthtic through his motor(3.8 Jeep) for a few years and averaged 13 mpg, but recently switched to dino to see if it made a difference. Low and behold he is getting over 15 mpg.
I am not a syn oil guy in the motor, but do in my gears n other places. It it needs syn it gets it, but I find zero reason to put in in my engine. Several GM's I have owned have used solely dino and have gotten me over a 1/4 million miles each.