I've used synthetics in my turbo cars for years and will not use
anything else. The high temp characteristics of sythetics is far
superior to conventional oil. Which brings me to another point, have you
ever tried to seat rings with synthetic oil ? It doesn't work very well
and it's recommended to use conventional oil for several thousand
milesand then switch to synthetic. Also several years ago either
Chrysler or some magizine did a durability test on the 2.2 which is
known for eating camshafts. One engine was run with conventional oil and
the other used Mobil 1 and guess what, the engine using Mobil one had no
measurable wear on the cam lobes while the other engine was near the
service limit. I believe the test was run in excess of 50K miles for
each engine.
I'm sure that the additive package for conventional oil has improved
since the introduction of the synthetics and they are better than they
were several years ago.
Is there any mention of why no qualified proponent of sythetic oil took
part in the discussion ? Just curious.
KW
Gary Ludwick wrote:
> I've noticed discussion here from time to time from folks using
> synthetic
> oil.
> I also have a Mercedes, and yesterday received the current issue of
> the
> Mercedes Club's magazine in which there is a long discussion among
> mechanics, tech experts and MB service personnel on the merits of
> using
> synthetic oil.
>
> In a nutshell...NO appreciable benefit.
>
> The only measurable benefit appears to be in SOME cases, a slight
> increase
> in mileage...and that is negated by the high cost of the oil. The
> only
> other benefit noted is easier starting in EXTREMELY cold environments.
>
> One of the experts on the panel runs an oil analysis business. Does a
> lot
> of work for large fleet companies, trucking lines, as well as
> individuals.
> In a database of thousands of users, they could find no difference in
>
> engine wear rates between regular and synthetic oil.
>
> Synthetics attack some gasket materials and cause increased leakage.
> This
> happens in some new vehicles. On older cars and trucks, as seals
> shrink &
> harden, synthetics are MUCH more likely to leak. As one participant
> stated,
> "Given the quality of motor oils today, synthetics have no place in
> the
> market. With conventional oils, we have engines going 5,6,or 700,000
> miles. What more could you want?!"
>
> One other point: At least with Mercedes, you still must meet regular
> mileage oil change requirements...even if you're using synthetic, or
> your
> warranty is void. In other words, you can't even take advantage of
> synthetic's extended time between oil changes. Don't know how
> Chrysler
> looks on this, but would guess they feel the same way. As one
> panel
> member put it, " there's no free lunch and there's no substitute for
> regular fluid changes...changing the oil frequently is the best thing
> you
> can do for any engine."
>
> Thought all this might be of interest to those considering synthetic.
> Me,
> I'll put the money I save towards some fun stuff, and keep changing
> the
> conventional oil every 3-5000 miles.
>
> Gary Ludwick
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