Quote:
Originally Posted by ErikLS2
I have a question. I've been turning wrenches for a living for a LONG time (too long actually but anyway) and have had more engines apart than I could ever count. I have never seen a failure that I could directly attribute to the oil itself. I've never done an official study or anything like that I will admit.
I get asked often by customers about synthetic oil because all the cars I work on now come with and require it. I just tell them it's far more important how often you change the oil than what brand or type of oil you put in.
The craziest thing I ever saw was an engine I replaced that finally gave up at about 53k miles which had NEVER had the oil changed since it was new. When I took the oil pan off all the oil in the pan was basically like black jello and I was actually able to get a screw driver to stand up in it all by itself. This was regular old mineral based oil.
So, my question is what studies or other tests are out there that really justify the extra cost of some of these fancy oils? Not trying to put yours or any other product down, I'm actually looking to hopefully learn something and have a discussion. There must be something I don't know.
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My opinion is that synthetics shine in engine longevity and extreme applications. They flow better cold and hold on to their viscosity at higher temperatures. I can see why manufacturers require it with 100k warranties and any race car that see's extreme temps. I found the limit of a semi sythetic road racing my car and went to a full synthetic.
Your average daily driver won't ever realize the difference.