Switching to Synthetic

[reds14]

Does anyone know if switching to synthetic oil will ruin an engine. I have been running the Castrol GTX 10w30 in it since I bought the car. But now I am being told that I should switch to synthetic. Some people have been telling me that it could ruin my engine. Does anyone think it will.

[Checkered-Member]

Nope, never.

but when switching I would use an oil system flush additive, to remove any traces and reside of the old oil

[jammer]

Synthetic oil is great and highly recommended if your engine is new or just rebuilt with no oil leaks. A car that has been running on regular oil for more than 50,000 miles will not benefit from synthetic. Trust me I've researched this wanting to give my car all the TLC I could.Regular oil will break down in 70 hours. After which the only way to protect your car is with an oil change.It is actually better to change your oil by the hours not the mileage. Ever wonder why expensive machinery has an hour gauge on it?I work at Syncrude Canada, the biggest oil refinery in the world, Trust me, I know this to be true.

[Chingon]

Does anyone know if switching to synthetic oil will ruin an engine. I have been running the Castrol GTX 10w30 in it since I bought the car. But now I am being told that I should switch to synthetic. Some people have been telling me that it could ruin my engine. Does anyone think it will.

Only way it could "ruin" your engine...is if it uncloggs caked or baked oil (synthetics have great detergent properties) and starts a leak somewhere...

[TrunkMonkey]

Regular oil will break down in 70 hours.

not true. we do our oil changes in 150 hour intervals, and that is WELL below most of the manufacturers' requirements. the oil comes out clean, or as clean as it gets when it comes to a diesel engine.

It is actually better to change your oil by the hours not the mileage.

also not true. i kiss 90mph daily in my car. if i went by hours, that would mean that i'd change my oil (roughly) every 6000 miles. while that may be acceptable by the manufacturers standards, it isn't for me. think about how much abuse an automobile engine can go through in 70 hours. engine life will be sooo much longer if you change your oil in intervals by distance and not time.

Ever wonder why expensive machinery has an hour gauge on it?

i'm a diesel mechanic. all of the engines i've worked on use an hour meter for two simple reasons. the engines are either in a stationary piece of equipment, or the machine that the engine powers moves waaaay too slow. we've all been stuck behind a slow moving tractor on the highway at one time or another. you hear the engine scream it's guts out, but the tractor just drags along. imagine changing the oil in a tractor after driving it 3000 miles...nevermind, there won't be any oil left in it. it only makes sense to change the oil by time intervals instead of distance.

-demetrius

[jammer]

I,m not about to argue with you . If you listened to manufacturers specs you would make them even richer than they are already. Think about it for a minute, do you follow every manufacturers instructions, I think not. As for time over mileage, I simply told you when oil starts to break down, in time, because each engine operates differently at different altitudes , tempuratures etc. So tell me, what is harder on you car 3000 miles @30 miles per hour or 3000 miles @90 miles per hour. Again I remind you that oils break down because of friction and heat not distance. Careful research would make this clear to you. Do drag cars change or rebuild their engines after mileage or time?

[TrunkMonkey]

I,m not about to argue with you .

trust me, i'm not arguing.

If you listened to manufacturers specs you would make them even richer than they are already. Think about it for a minute, do you follow every manufacturers instructions, I think not.

reread what i posted. we do all of our maintenance intervals more frequent than the manufacturer requires. it's our standard.

As for time over mileage, I simply told you when oil starts to break down, in time, because each engine operates differently at different altitudes , tempuratures etc. So tell me, what is harder on you car 3000 miles @30 miles per hour or 3000 miles @90 miles per hour. Again I remind you that oils break down because of friction and heat not distance.

this only reinforces the point i was making.

it would take miss daisy 100 hours to put 3000 miles on her lincoln town car if she drove it 30mph. me on the other hand, being somewhat the speed demon that i am, would kill 3000 miles in about 33 hours with my 240 singing at 90mph. miss daisy took much longer to reach the 3000 mile mark and went over the target 70 hours, but i generated a lot more friction and heat.

...now with my driving habits, why would i want to push my car another 37 hours before i change my oil?

Do drag cars change or rebuild their engines after mileage or time?

drag car engines have a lifespan the length of the track, or will last as long as how well it's built .

-demetrius

[SRdave240]

OK, I'll throw my 2cents in. I don't think it is strictly time or miles but rather time AND RPM's (and actually load too)0. Driving at 3000rpms at 70mph or 3000rpms at 25mph really doesn't matter to the engine.

It's somewhat complicated with many variables. That is why oil analysis using oil from your car under your driving habits/conditions is the only really accurate way to determine when you need to change your oil.

One question for Jammer, why won't a car that has been running dino lube for more that 50k miles NOT benefit from synthetic? I'm not sure my SR how many miles my SR has on it but I'd hate to be throwing away my money on Valvoline Synpower if it has more than 50k.

[gumby]

so i have a remanufactured engine with 20k i dont know if its using synthetic now. is it ok to switch or do i have to flush it first? it seems that mechanics cant agree on this. I need this engine to make 100k+ so i need to pick a brand and stick with it. as of now im thinking valvoline synthetic. im changin it every 2500 to be safe.