} Would anyone please elaborate more on the benefits of synthetic oil . I
} drive 130 miles a day, mostly highway (95%) no less than 1 hour each
} way. Cruise at 2,400 rpms. Understandably, I'm changing oil once a
} month Secondly, as you know full well, there are a few brands of
} synthetics on the shelf. Suggestions?
Non-synthetic multi-grade oils (like the 10w-30 recommended for Daks)
use "viscosity improvers" to make a single grade oil (in this case 10
weight) into a multi-grade oil (10w-30). These viscosity improvers do
not help lubricate, so there is less lubricating oil in the mix. The
viscosity improvers also tend to break down over time, creating sludge
and leaving you with a straight 10w oil. This is why you should never
use 10w-40 oil. It has so many viscosity improvers in it that many car
manufacturers warn against it. It breaks down too easily.
Synthetic oils can achieve the multi-visosity rating without any
viscosity improvers. So you have more oil, and no viscosity improvers
to break down. Synthetics also can widthstand much higher temperatures
before the oil breaks down, that's why I always use synthetics in my air
cooled motorcycles. They also flow better at extremely low
temperatures. If you get temperatures much below 0 deg F I strongly
recommend the use of synthetics.
In a case like yours where you a doing lots of long distance highway
driving (and I assume this isn't stop and go traffic jams) the use of
synthetics can also allow longer intervals between oil changes. I
forget exactly what the Dak manual says, but they have two maintenance
schedules based on driving type. If I were you I'd use Mobil 1 10w-30
synthetic oil and change at the longer interval recommended in the
manual.
Frank Ball 1UR-M frankb@sr.hp.com (707) 794-4168 work
Hewlett Packard (707) 794-3038 fax (707) 538-3693 home
1212 Valley House Drive Kawi KDX200, Yamaha XT350 YZF600R Seca 750
Rohnert Park CA 94928-4999 '95 Dakota SLT Club Cab V8 5-Speed 2WD
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