Fairfax denizens, do you use regular (conventional) oil or synthetic in your oil changes for a late model car?

What interval in miles do you recommend?

Dealer for my late model (Honda) car wants me to come in every 7,500 miles.

SK

Is convential motor oil still manufactured?

Synthetic is superior in virtually every aspect.

How long are you going to keep said car? Plan on getting rid of it? I drive my cars into the ground and use nothing but Mobil1 every 5k or so.

Why would you spend top dollar for synthetic in a Honda? It's not a high performance vehicle and Hondas are known to go well over 100k on their engines. I would use regular oil and change every 5,000 miles.

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I haven't had an oil change in my car for at least 4 years (50,000 miles). It burns about a quart/month. I just throw a quart in there when it needs it. It has 208K miles and is running strong. Sunoco 5W/40 oil. I think oil changes are bull shit. It's about due though. Every 50K miles is enough for this engine.

I could be wrong but I'm right 99% of the time

synthetic every 7500 is just about perfect, IMO.

nerdy oil boys change their oil not matter the type every 3,200.

:-)

nerdyoilboy Wrote:
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> nerdy oil boys change their oil not matter the
> type every 3,200.
>
> :-)


You don't need to. Most maintenance schedules these days go between 5,000 and 7,500 miles regardless of the type of oil.

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Lloydster Wrote:
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> I haven't had an oil change in my car for at least
> 4 years (50,000 miles). It burns about a
> quart/month. I just throw a quart in there when it
> needs it. It has 208K miles and is running strong.
> Sunoco 5W/40 oil. I think oil changes are bull
> shit. It's about due though. Every 50K miles is
> enough for this engine.

I think I was behind your hooptie yesterday, lots of smoke pouring out the tail pipe right?

My maintenance schedule says once every 12,000 miles or once per year with 0w40 Mobil 1. Half the interval is recommended for harsh conditions. I think for newer engines, this is the new normal.

Mobil 1 Extended Performance. I change it every 3,000 miles because I can afford it. 475k on original motor. Purs like a kitten.

I understand the synthetics can last longer, but what about the oil filter? You're changing that at longer intervals, and it's the same old kind of filter?

Over 180k on my Civic, always used conventional. These days I stick to 5k oil changes, even though it leaks quite a bit.

If it leaks a lot, you can theoretically just change the oil filter and be fine. Still need to change the filter eventually though.

For a longer interval synthetic, you probably do what a "better" filter. That is the advantage of doing it yourself, as opposed to the quick lube shop's $3 special filter.

trogdor! Wrote:
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> I understand the synthetics can last longer, but
> what about the oil filter? You're changing that
> at longer intervals, and it's the same old kind of
> filter?





Yeah, you still need to replace the filter even if you want to keep the same oil in engine.

WashingTone-Locian Wrote:
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> Why would you spend top dollar for synthetic in a
> Honda? It's not a high performance vehicle and
> Hondas are known to go well over 100k on their
> engines. I would use regular oil and change every
> 5,000 miles.





You don't know what you are talking about. No matter what type of car and engine you have, the benefits of synthetic oil can be realized. "It's not a high performance vehicle" is completely irrelevant.

Sysco Kid Wrote:
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> Fairfax denizens, do you use regular
> (conventional) oil or synthetic in your oil
> changes for a late model car?
>
> What interval in miles do you recommend?
>
> Dealer for my late model (Honda) car wants me to
> come in every 7,500 miles.
>
> SK





Synthetic! I was using Royal Purple, but it breaks down too fast. Get some Mobil 1, you will notice a difference after the first 500 to 1000 miles with the new oil.

Something to remember, once you start using synthetic, it is not safe to go back to using conventional motor oil ever again.

eesh Wrote:
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>
> Something to remember, once you start using
> synthetic, it is not safe to go back to using
> conventional motor oil ever again.

Absolutely, 100% not true.

KeepYourDayJob Wrote:
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> eesh Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >
> > Something to remember, once you start using
> > synthetic, it is not safe to go back to using
> > conventional motor oil ever again.
>
> Absolutely, 100% not true.





Synthetic and conventional oil have different effects on an engine's seals, you would know this if you knew what you were talking about.

Absolutely, 100% not true

AND I do know what I'm talking about...

Satanic Mechanic Wrote:
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> Absolutely, 100% not true
>
> AND I do know what I'm talking about...




Of course a mechanic would magically pop up right after I made a post about car maintenance.



Can you give any information on the subject other than saying "100% not true"?

If the car didn't come with synthetic and it has a good number of miles on it I would not change to synthetic. If it is a lower mileage car and only a few years old you should consider the change to synthetic. I had a 10 year old BMW M3 that had always used conventional and changed to synthetic. I started to see some oil spots on the garage floor that never happend with conventional. Synthetic is so slick it may leak where conventional will not. 3K miles later I changed back to the Castrol GT conventional oil I had always used and the spots stopped appearing on the garage floor. My 2005 Corvette I now drive came with Mobil 1 and I will use nothing else in it. I go about 7,000 between changes with Mobil 1 in the Vette.

eesh Wrote:
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> WashingTone-Locian Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Why would you spend top dollar for synthetic in
> a
> > Honda? It's not a high performance vehicle and
> > Hondas are known to go well over 100k on their
> > engines. I would use regular oil and change
> every
> > 5,000 miles.
>
>
>
>
>
> You don't know what you are talking about. No
> matter what type of car and engine you have, the
> benefits of synthetic oil can be realized. "It's
> not a high performance vehicle" is completely
> irrelevant.


Most people don't keep a car more than 100,000 miles. If you do routine maintenance using conventional oil it's not going to significantly adversely impact the performance of a Honda. I've driven many cars for more than 100,000 miles and I've never had a major issue using conventional oil.

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http://bible.cc/1_corinthians/13-11.htm

eesh Wrote:
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> Satanic Mechanic Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Absolutely, 100% not true
> >
> > AND I do know what I'm talking about...
>
>
>
> Can you give any information on the subject other
> than saying "100% not true"?

Google is your friend. We're not going to bother convincing your lazy ass of something we know to be true.

KeepYourDayJob Wrote:
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> Google is your friend. We're not going to bother
> convincing your lazy ass of something we know to
> be true.






That's an interesting way of saying you don't know.....

eesh Wrote:
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>
> That's an interesting way of saying you don't
> know.....

Funny, I could cite multiple sources on the web, but it's not worth my time, considering you probably wouldn't believe them either.
Check #4 here. or look here.

See, you don't really know it all, or are Valvoline and Mobil1 not an authoritative enough source for you?

eesh Wrote:
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>
> That's an interesting way of saying you don't
> know.....

Because it's so much fun making you look stupid, Look at Myth #4 here.

LOL! Two of those sources you link state that synthetic oil does not have longer service intervals than conventional oil, which is bullshit.


Also, two of your sources, while they say it is safe to switch between conventional and synthetic oil, it is dependent on the quality of the conventional oil being used.


Try again.


What is your next source of information? Yahoo answers?

Older cars tend to weep oil when synthetic oil is used. Gasket material has improved dramatically in the last few decades, and newer cars can handle synthetic oils with no problems. If you use synthetic oil in an older car, and it did indeed, weep oil from gasket edges, you can absolutely go back to dino oil with no problems.

All oils are compatible. You can run with a half-synthetic, half-dyno mix, no problem, if you want to.

Motorcycles tend to have issues with synthetic oils, due to the fact that most of them use oil-bath clutches, and synthetic oils might make them slip. Motorcycle-specific synthetic oil is designed to avoid this slippage problem.

With motorcycles, as with cars, older vehicles tend to weep oil due to the gasket material. Harley Davidson has specific cut-off model years in which they recommend that you do not use synthetic.

The benefits of synthetic: less friction at start-up. more constant viscosity (but not necessarily light years better than conventional oil). Less breakdown of lubrication components, etc, etc.

For my own personal vehicles, I still use conventional oil, mainly because I tend to have shorter oil change intervals. And...synthetic oil is damned expensive.

Manufacturers are tending towards much longer oil change intervals, and many of the oils specified by manufacturers may not in the future be available as dino oils...examples would be the 0-20w, 0-30w range oils...

Bottom line...if you're feeling flush, and tend to stretch out your oil change intervals, go with synthetic. If not, conventional oil is fine...

eesh Wrote:
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> LOL! Two of those sources you link state that
> synthetic oil does not have longer service
> intervals than conventional oil, which is
> bullshit.

No, they are basically saying that using synthetic does not mean you should exceed the car manufacturer's recommended interval. Big difference.

>
> Also, two of your sources, while they say it is
> safe to switch between conventional and synthetic
> oil, it is dependent on the quality of the
> conventional oil being used.
>
>
Well, no shit, dumbass. Using shit oil is never a good idea.

Since you're such an expert, where's your source to back up your bullshit? I at least pointed you to the oil companies' websites. I would certainly listen to them before you.

KeepYourDayJob Wrote:
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> No, they are basically saying that using synthetic
> does not mean you should exceed the car
> manufacturer's recommended interval. Big
> difference.


Okay....they don't want you to exceed the manufacturer's interval because it could void the warranty. They say this for liability reasons.


Royal Purple can go up to 18k miles between changes before any engine damage occurs. Can you find a vehicle manufacturer that says it is okay to go 18k miles between oil changes?





> Well, no shit, dumbass. Using shit oil is never a
> good idea.



Don't backpedal now.


> Since you're such an expert, where's your source
> to back up your bullshit?


I don't need to. I know what I know, you are the one desperately Googling for answers.



> I at least pointed you
> to the oil companies' websites. I would certainly
> listen to them before you.



That's a good thing. You should never use Fairfax Underground as your sole source of research.


Look, it is pretty clear all this is new to you. You are obviously just trying to take an opposing view to whatever I say. Stick to something you know.

eesh Wrote:
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>
> Okay....they don't want you to exceed the
> manufacturer's interval because it could void the
> warranty. They say this for liability reasons.

Agreed

>
>
> Royal Purple can go up to 18k miles between
> changes before any engine damage occurs. Can you
> find a vehicle manufacturer that says it is okay
> to go 18k miles between oil changes?
>

What's your point?

>
>
> Don't backpedal now.
>

No backpedaling here. It simnply says a synthetic can be replaced by a quality conventional oil - the crux of the argument.

>
> I don't need to. I know what I know, you are the
> one desperately Googling for answers.
>

The google was for your benefit. Unlike you, I wouldn't expect you to believe me. Who am I to you? It was simply too much to ask, however, that you read it from knowledgeable sources and see the error of your ways.
>
>
> That's a good thing. You should never use Fairfax
> Underground as your sole source of research.
>

Agreed.

>
> Look, it is pretty clear all this is new to you.
> You are obviously just trying to take an opposing
> view to whatever I say. Stick to something you
> know.

Did this ridiculous statement make you feel better?

It's almost as if I am arguing with the anonymous member formerly known as Harry Tuttle. Same arguing and writing style.

eesh Wrote:
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> It's almost as if I am arguing with the anonymous
> member formerly known as Harry Tuttle. Same
> arguing and writing style.


Aw, you got me. Whatever keeps ya warm at night big boy.