The Ballad of 'Ole Betsy

[Chuck Tribolet]

I did the 183,333 mile oil and filter change, and my '01 PF had burned about a quart in the last 1800 miles. It's been burning a little (< 2/3 qt in 3333 miles),
but in the first half of this interval, it went through a half quart+. Oh well. I can watch the dip stick regularly. Maybe it's thinking it's being put out to
pasture -- for its whole life, it's towed my boat 200 miles most every weekend, in late May that dropped to 120 miles, only 40 of which are towing.

And for those who don't grok the headline: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=%22beach+boys%22+% ... e+Betsy%22


Chuck

[fueler]

you've got to be crazy! 180k is still young. And a quart of oil every interval.... im going to take a wild guess and say youre using synthetic oil instead of dino?

[WPGQX4]

There is no way synthetic would "burn" faster than conventional oil.

[Empty V]

How about canola oil? Chuck you better not start reading 180K eulogies, your R50's got a much longer way to go.

[WPGQX4]

Only if your doing fries in the oil pan.

[fueler]

There is no way synthetic would "burn" faster than conventional oil.

In a high mileage engine, its very true. It's thinner than dino so in a tired engine it slips past seals and cylinder rings.

In one of my Hondas, I was running synthetic oil (when i was young and dumb) and it was disappearing just like chucks.... took some good advice, switched to semisynth and then to conventional dino oil and the oil consumption stopped...

[Empty V]

Only if your doing fries in the oil pan.

Multi-tasking, I like it!

[WPGQX4]

If your loosing that much synthetic oil due to wear, you have bigger issues than oil consumption. The advantages of synthetic oil out way any consumption issues in my opinion. But thats whats great about opinions, everyone is entitled to their own.

[Chuck Tribolet]

I've used Castrol GTX dino oil since new. 5W30 until about 160K, 10W40 since to keep the SES light off (cam advance is driven by oil pressure).
Wix filters every oil change since new, 5K mile interval till about 100K, 3333 mile interval since.

[fueler]

If your loosing that much synthetic oil due to wear, you have bigger issues than oil consumption. The advantages of synthetic oil out way any consumption issues in my opinion.

you read too much on amsoil dot com or whatever it is. Synthetic costs more than twice as much as dino, provides no measurable increase in engine longetivity, and provides no measurable increase in power. Nobody uses synthetic in a race engine (except for a few fools who aren't even fast). I laugh at royal purple affecionados as they disappear in my rear view (Honda).

I've used Castrol GTX dino oil since new. 5W30 until about 160K, 10W40 since to keep the SES light off (cam advance is driven by oil pressure).
Wix filters every oil change since new, 5K mile interval till about 100K, 3333 mile interval since.

Well my guess was way off. Still, why are you running 10w40, 10w30 at the most but that doesn't explain your oil consumption.

If i were you, I'd keep a quart with me at all times and just add as you go.

[WPGQX4]

Did I strike a nerve? Do you even know the difference between the two? If synthetics were useless, then why are most manufacturers using synthetics in their high end vehicles. Not to mention that the gl-4 standard is about to be replaced with a new gl-5 standard. Synthetics are the only oil that can make the gl-5 standard. As for cost. You keep changing your oil every 3000 miles and I'll change mine every year. Work out the cost of a high end synthetic that lasts a year to the 3 or more oil changes you need to do a year and you'll see the cost is the same or cheaper for synthetic. If you would like to discuss the differences of synthetic oils to conventional oils I'm game. But please come prepared. I've done my homework.

[Empty V]

If you would like to discuss the differences of synthetic oils to conventional oils I'm game. But please come prepared. I've done my homework.

I say you guys mud rastle over it!

[fueler]

uh oh this guy did his homework on amsoil dot com i guess im wrong synthetic is good

thats why all real racers & offroaders use synthetic (y e a h rite)

[Buzzman]

My $.02:
I use synthetic in all my cars, but mostly because of where I live, not because it's necessarily "better".
The big advantage for me is cold winter starting. Dino oil gets very thick in cold weather, and it takes forever to get the oil flowing into the upper regions of the engine when it's -30C. Synthetic flows much better, and my engines get the necessary lubrication as soon as I start up. It makes a world of difference over the life of the car (I keep my vehicles a long time).
Now, It definitely costs more over the long run. I still change my oil regularly, although I sometimes let it go longer than if I was running conventional oil. It's not cheap, I'll give it that.
On the plus side, I have no oil leaks on any of my cars, and no notable consumption either.
My Pathy is at 223,000 Kms, my Altima is only at 75,000 Kms, and my Sentra S-ER is at 160,000 Kms.
Again, no burning or leaking in any of them.
I can't say that about any other car I drove prior to that, using conventional dino oil.
They all leaked or burned at some point. Coincidence? ???
In the end, it's still about personal choices. Go with whatever works for you guys and makes you happy.
Keep smiling.

[Chuck Tribolet]

On 5W30 the truck will throw P1110 and P1135 with great regularity. On 10W40 it's only ocassionally (every
couple of months). These are variable camshaft advance codes. The camshaft advance is powered by oil pressure.
My theory is that the "thicker" 10W40 raises the oil pressure a bit and gets the camshaft advance working.

Yes, the camshaft solenoids have been replaced. It didn't help a bit.


Chuck