I always freaked over this question until I finally took it to my grandfather who is a retired chemical engineer for Texaco. During his 35 year career there he developed cleaners and additives for oils and lubricants, so I'd say the man knows what he's doing.

The gist of what I got from him was this: a fully synthetic motor oil isn't going to make much of a difference over a conventional motor oil in a car. The real difference is seen in the original use of synthetics, jet engines and turbines, where you're spinning tens of thousands of RPMs and reaching temperatures that would destroy a car engine. At the (relatively) low rpms and temps of an automotive engine, you're not going to see any difference between conventional, synthetic, and blended motor oils.

Now, that's the base material. What does matter are the additives that go in the oil. Check and see what's actually going into the oil. Some use more detergents, different detergents, anti-foaming compounds, 'slicking' compounds, etc. That's where there's a real difference to be seen.

All of that is nice and good, but ultimately, as long as it's got the API stamp on it and it's got the correct rating for use in your vehicle, it will work. You can't really go wrong with one brand over the other as long as they all meet standards.

If you're running a turbo, or some other hopped-up engine, it might behoove you to pick a good oil and stick with it, possibly a good synthetic because that turbo is in essence a small turbine.

Also, once you pick a brand and type of oil, stay with it. Nothing's gonna hurt your engine like using a different type of oil every time you change your oil. You've got an alphabet soup of different chemicals floating around in your oil, and mixing two or three different brands (even just the leftovers that are floating around after a good draining) can lead to unintended reactions in the mix. Best to stay with one type.

 

I think Synthetics make a big difference. It did to my car. During my engine's life, I took note of many oils and saw that Synthetics do their job. It's one big debate but most people are sworn to Synthetics.

Check out http://www.bobistheoilguy.com and post your grandfather's story. I would like to see their replies, good or bad.

Furthermore, many people took off their valve covers and saw how clean it is after many uses of Synthetic oil; particularly Mobil 1 and Amsoil products.

 

+1 for picking a GOOD brand you are happy with and sticking to it. Not sure if there's any proof out there to back it up, but basically the common sense reasoning jmans posted is enough to convince me.. (and everyone else I know that loves their car)

P.S. thanks for posting more jmans I have seen the pedo-bear lurking ..
wink1.gif

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Patreezy @ Nov 7 2009, 12:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>+1 for picking a GOOD brand you are happy with and sticking to it. Not sure if there's any proof out there to back it up, but basically the common sense reasoning jmans posted is enough to convince me.. (and everyone else I know that loves their car)

P.S. thanks for posting more jmans I have seen the pedo-bear lurking ..
wink1.gif</div>


http://www.bobistheoilguy.com

If you are happy with a brand, you need to research first.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Patreezy @ Nov 6 2009, 03:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>+1 for picking a GOOD brand you are happy with and sticking to it. Not sure if there's any proof out there to back it up, but basically the common sense reasoning jmans posted is enough to convince me.. (and everyone else I know that loves their car)

P.S. thanks for posting more jmans I have seen the pedo-bear lurking ..
wink1.gif</div>

I agree with with the sticking to 1 brand of oil especially if you run the car hard or use it for racing. Not to say the oil brand was the only cause but i've seen some questionable engine failures on our dirt circle track cars right after we switched to a different brand oil. On most of the engine failures (running hot then rod or piston failures) we had switched to a different brand oil the day before the race. Most of our engines would last 2-4 races then fail and almost every time they failed we had decided to test out a different oil since it was on $ale. Once we switched over to Castrol GTX non syn oil and kept using it, we had no more engine failures and we are past 10 races on most recent engine and its still running strong. Was the oil partly to blame? Maybe..

Back to Tiburons. My 2001 has over 170,000 miles on it and has seen its share of different oils both synthetic and non synthentic and various oil filters. With 5w30 Synthetic oil in the car I was able to notice a slight performance gain and a smoother idling engine. But synthetic oils will find their way out of the engine if you have any leaking seals like around the valve cover area. I also had around 5 HLA's lose oil pressure at the same time creating a very loud knocking sound (way louder than the normal tick our cars have) at all rpm's shortly after switching back to conventional oil due to $.

I ended up replacing all the HLA's and switched to 10w 30 Castrol GTX oil with OEM hyundai oil filters about 20,000 miles ago and the car is still running strong.

That's my current view on Oils.

HTH

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (korean_redneck @ Nov 6 2009, 01:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>.. that's how they sell their oil. It's just normal business. I"m sure Nippon and Eneos oils has their own way of marketing/advertising/selling.</div>

There's a reason no legitimate business relies on income from recruiting new salespeople almost as much as selling the product.

 

i agree with what has been said about sticking to one oil brand, if it works why change it. i use castrol syntec blend on all 3 of my cars and have no problems on any of them.

another importan thing is to use original filter. IMO original filters are much better than any aftermarket one. if it was built by the makers of the car and the engine why not use it.

what i dont believe in is taking your oil over 3k miles. even if it the oil manufacturers say it can go to 15k miles i wouldnt risk it. regular oil changes keep your engine running good and clean. i much rather pay 30 bucks every 2 months than have to rebuild my engine and the hassle that goes with it. to me its just cheap insurance. but that just my opinion

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (i8acobra @ Nov 7 2009, 10:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>There's a reason no legitimate business relies on income from recruiting new salespeople almost as much as selling the product.</div>


And what reason would that be? Rarely would you hear complaints about Amsoil compared to big brand oil/motor oil companies...Amsoil Oil is a legit company; they also invented the Automotive Synthetic Oil..




<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (krazy_tib @ Nov 7 2009, 07:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I agree with with the sticking to 1 brand of oil especially if you run the car hard or use it for racing. Not to say the oil brand was the only cause but i've seen some questionable engine failures on our dirt circle track cars right after we switched to a different brand oil. On most of the engine failures (running hot then rod or piston failures) we had switched to a different brand oil the day before the race. Most of our engines would last 2-4 races then fail and almost every time they failed we had decided to test out a different oil since it was on $ale. Once we switched over to Castrol GTX non syn oil and kept using it, we had no more engine failures and we are past 10 races on most recent engine and its still running strong. Was the oil partly to blame? Maybe..

Back to Tiburons. My 2001 has over 170,000 miles on it and has seen its share of different oils both synthetic and non synthentic and various oil filters. With 5w30 Synthetic oil in the car I was able to notice a slight performance gain and a smoother idling engine. But synthetic oils will find their way out of the engine if you have any leaking seals like around the valve cover area. I also had around 5 HLA's lose oil pressure at the same time creating a very loud knocking sound (way louder than the normal tick our cars have) at all rpm's shortly after switching back to conventional oil due to $.

I ended up replacing all the HLA's and switched to 10w 30 Castrol GTX oil with OEM hyundai oil filters about 20,000 miles ago and the car is still running strong.

That's my current view on Oils.

HTH</div>


I don't know about Racing engines, but this is the first time I heard someone have engine failures from using Synthetic. I think your engine was just messed up. I have close to 200,000 miles on my engine and I still have no leaks let alone any engine problems related to engine oil. Majority of Synthetic users also noted that their camshafts/valves etc etcs were clean as a whistle after many uses of Synthetics compared to conventional.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AlphaX3 @ Nov 7 2009, 06:22 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>i agree with what has been said about sticking to one oil brand, if it works why change it. i use castrol syntec blend on all 3 of my cars and have no problems on any of them.

another importan thing is to use original filter. IMO original filters are much better than any aftermarket one. if it was built by the makers of the car and the engine why not use it.

what i dont believe in is taking your oil over 3k miles. even if it the oil manufacturers say it can go to 15k miles i wouldnt risk it. regular oil changes keep your engine running good and clean. i much rather pay 30 bucks every 2 months than have to rebuild my engine and the hassle that goes with it. to me its just cheap insurance. but that just my opinion</div>

I do agree that Hyundai Oil filters are very high quality especially for the price($6). Someone cut one open and compared it to expensive Mobil 1 and K and N Filters which are $10-$13. They found that the Hyundai oil filter is made of high quality filters and the filter canister is well-designed.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (korean_redneck @ Nov 8 2009, 11:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>And what reason would that be? Rarely would you hear complaints about Amsoil compared to big brand oil/motor oil companies...Amsoil Oil is a legit company; they also invented the Automotive Synthetic Oil.</div>

You rarely hear complaints from inside a cult. MLM is inherently corrupt. The product should sell itself without the incentive of making money from using and selling the product to others. Even if there's nothing wrong with the oil itself, the fees paid to all of the people in a marketing tree elevate the price of the product. Amsoil is overpriced.

BTW, Standard Oil invented synthetic oil in 1921. Amsoil didn't exist until 1972. Being the first to suggest using it in a car means nothing.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (korean_redneck @ Nov 8 2009, 11:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I don't know about Racing engines, but this is the first time I heard someone have engine failures from using Synthetic. I think your engine was just messed up. I have close to 200,000 miles on my engine and I still have no leaks let alone any engine problems related to engine oil. Majority of Synthetic users also noted that their camshafts/valves etc etcs were clean as a whistle after many uses of Synthetics compared to conventional.</div>

200K? That's it? I have 456,000 miles on Castrol GTX conventional oil.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (i8acobra @ Nov 9 2009, 10:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>You rarely hear complaints from inside a cult. MLM is inherently corrupt. The product should sell itself without the incentive of making money from using and selling the product to others. Even if there's nothing wrong with the oil itself, the fees paid to all of the people in a marketing tree elevate the price of the product. Amsoil is overpriced.

BTW, Standard Oil invented synthetic oil in 1921. Amsoil didn't exist until 1972. Being the first to suggest using it in a car means nothing.</div>

Go to http://www.bobistheoilguy.com. Majority of people have positive UOA with Amsoil. Amsoil is not overpriced. BTW, you can buy Amsoil on the internet as well. Amsoil is not corrupt, you want to know what's corrupt? Quikstar. It's easy to hear complaints in MLM marketing and you rarely hear any from Amsoil. I almost guarentee that Amsoil has less corruption than big oil companies.

seriously, means nothing? When a person finds something and discovers it can be used for something else after reformulation, that can change the world. You have to admit that Synthetic oil for cars changed the automotive world.


[quote]200K? That's it? I have 456,000 miles on Castrol GTX conventional oil.[quote]

DO a UOA, What is the history of the car? did it run conventional its whole life? etc etc etc.