synthetic oils

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Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

Thanks ladas,:D

tell us why the bias?

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I work with Mobil (not for) on synthetic lubricants, in a different arena - refrigerant lubricants,

In my experience the synthetics will last longer, they will offer better protection, are more stable across the temp/viscosity range. Most of them do not have a wax content - and remain fluid even in low ambient conditions - most damage to any machine is either caused by the first 5 mins when it's cold and the oil is thick - or when a machine overheats and the oil thins too much.

Likewise I have seen compressors as well as engines stripped after using both mineral and synthetics - and there is just no comparison.

as for perceived benefits,,
engine longevity,
better fuel economy,
increased performance,

what actually will happen is anybodies guess,
though they say mobil 1's good for at least a couple of mpg.

is there any reason to extend the service interval?

I use Penzoil Platinum Fully synthetic 5W-40

I am very happy with it. I purchase a 20L drum for about $130 ( mates rates )

with a synthetic i would be going to 10000k oherwise you really get no REAL benefit from using it.

IME the syn and good quality minerals are just as slippery and stable for the first 5000k anyway in the climate here (brisbane).. go to full service intervals or into a lot colder or hotter areas and yes you see big differences.

i tried mobil 1 when i had my v8 and i never saw any economy differences.

and the oil tests showed next to no $ benefit over the 5000k service cycle and a major difference over 7000k.

it was compared to penrite hpr 15 (or 10 cant remember for sure) and delo 400 which is what i ended up running in the v8, at 5000k service intervals.... same benefits, less dollars .... couldnt see the sense in throwing those sorts of dollars away...

same results with the diesel... my oil testing showed delo400 at 5000k was a good option bang for $ wise.

in a colder or hotter climate i imagine there MAY be a major difference, but here there was next to none according to the oil testing...

guys what would you suggest oil wise and viscosity wise for a 89k 2002 td5? its only had the standard 10k interval dealer service but im tempted to up this to 5k and do my own service between dealer service.. if im going to get it tweaked by tombraider, i want to make sure the engine stays as good as it can...

i seem to remember that a mate had a problem losing mobil1 out of his seals as the change from mineral to synthetic messed about with the seal harness.. the end result ... no mobil1 in his engine pretty quickly... that was on a renault tho!

also where is the cheapest (read trade) to get a drum of oil from? edit... forgot to say... im in perth!

thanks

Steve

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Originally Posted by incisor

why are you using that quality of oils longer than 5000k anyway.... :confused:

dammed if i will use stuff like gtx2 etc that are in the under $100 per 20ltr drum bracket for longer than 5000k.

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The GTX2 I used for 5000km before it thinned, but the Mobil 1 I leave in for 10,000km.

I also dont think there is any noticable engine performance difference with Mobil 1 but I think the gains are in the performance of the oil.

I have always used GTX2 in my petrol cars, and the commodore i had had covered 333000km when i sold it and the engine was as good as new, i changed the oil every 5k though

In the disco i use 5k service intervals, i was using Caltex semi-synthetic as thats what Caltex themselves recommended but then shifted to Dello400 when Inc said he had been using it, Dello was a better oil. Since then the Caltex depot has closed in bathurst and i refuse to drive to orange so i use Valvoline Diesel from the local auto one as i know the guy and he is a Valovline distibutor so i get 20L for $80.

Which of the Castrol oils is better in the Tdi?

I dont think i would run mine to 10k with or without synthetic oils. Why is it better to run longer with the synthetic oils? Matt

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Originally Posted by incisor

i read something un-nice about mobil 1, something that has changed recently, but i cant for the life of me remember what the hell it was..... geez i hate that...... maybe at 3 tomorrow morning i will wake up with it in mind :P

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I believe it was something to do with that Mobil 1 was not a true synthetic oil. Mobil had to stop advertising it as one but I think the product is still ok.

Cheers.
Lyndon.

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Originally Posted by Ace

Why is it better to run longer with the synthetic oils? Matt

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It isn't better to run them for longer, but it is possible.

What you have to consider is the price per km. Synthetics will be more expensive, but if they are 20% more to buy, but you get 50% more mileage out of them, then you save money by using more expensive oil.

A friend of mine who is a mechaincal engineer did his specialty in lubrication. He reckoned that the use of any quality full synthetic is a really good thing. He said they are all great, so it probably doesn't really matter which one you buy.

He said that there is a big difference between mineral and full synthetic oils. I'll add that in the MINI the oil service interval was 2 years or 25k (depending on usage). MINI specify full synthetic oil only, and will void your warrantly should you vary this. BMW/MINI seem fairly convinced about it's worth.

I use Shell Helix Ultra because it's a full synthetic and is consistenty cheaper than the others. On the supercheap sales at boxing day it's only $40 for 5l. :)

The defender intervals are 1 year or 20k. I've just been changing it every 6 months as we struggle to do 20k. :)