| Author | Message | ||
     Chia Wei Chen (Chiaweichen) New Member Username: Chiaweichen Post Number: 8 Registered: 03-2004 |
Are synthetic blends any good? Seems like everyone uses full synthetics, anyone using blends? Should I even bother with it or just use full synthetic? They are cheaper tho. | ||
| mark gomez (Mark) Member Username: Mark Post Number: 66 Registered: 05-2003 |
From what I understand, synthetic blends are not any better than regular oil. I would use full synthetic oil. | ||
| Ross Thoma (Rossthoma) Member Username: Rossthoma Post Number: 226 Registered: 08-2002 |
Mark I have to disagree with you . Blends have synth aditives in them to keep the oil stable longer (and probably cleaner)then regular oil BUT they are not as good or as long lasting as full synthetic oil. I have been running blended (Valolene)oil since it was new and for the cost I think it is perfect for my needs. But if you have an older truck and the valve covers andare looking sludged up the I would use FULL Synth for a bit to cleen the system out, then you can decide what to do from there. From Valvoline site Full Synth BENEFITS Provides excellent engine cleanliness through superior sludge and varnish protection Helps reduce engine wear at high temperatures with improved viscosity stability. Provides outstanding high-temperature protection under severe driving conditions. Provides superior cold-temperature protection through faster oil flow at start-up. Helps improve and maintain fuel efficiency for the life of the oil (applies to 5W30 and 10W30 grades). SynPower is fully compatible with all conventional and leading synthetic motor oils. Synth Blend BENEFITS Better protection against sludge and varnish deposit to keep your engine running cleaner, longer. Better cold start protection by flowing more quickly and circulating faster through the engine Greater resistance to oil breakdown at high temperatures for strong wear protection. Helps improve fuel efficiency durability for the life of the oil (applies to 5W30 and 10W30 grades). Fully compatible with all conventional and leading synthetic motor oils. So there you have it. Ross | ||
| Matt Anderson (Disco01) Senior Member Username: Disco01 Post Number: 369 Registered: 10-2003 |
Blends are wastes of money. They are only comprised of about 5% syn or so but you pay for a lot more than 5% more. If you are changing your oil on time there is not gonna be a difference between using blend and regular. Bite the bullet and use a full syn and change every 5k rather than 3k. Offsets cost without offsetting protection. Matthew | ||
| Rick Clarke (Tugcap) Member Username: Tugcap Post Number: 62 Registered: 02-2002 |
Synthetics are superior, but IMHO overkill, and therefore a waste of money. Dino oils are much better now than 20 years ago, and are easily capable of working well beyond 3k miles, even the lesser brands. So save your money and change it every 3k or sooner if it discolors/darkens indicating it is collecting crap. Change the filter as well. I'm not right, just another viewpoint. | ||
| Dave Statler (Falconx84) Member Username: Falconx84 Post Number: 100 Registered: 02-2004 |
i use walmart brand oil (supertech) in everything but my jetta (castrol 20w-50). As long as it stays decently clean, I let it go 4-5k before i change it. I also change the filter every time. Probably overkill, but its a couple $$ worth of insurance. The walmart brand is cheap enough that if i get water in my oil or something it's no big deal to change it since it's like half the price of other oils. | ||
| mark gomez (Mark) Member Username: Mark Post Number: 67 Registered: 05-2003 |
Regular oil has improved greatly over the years and works fine in most cars. Full synthetics have a higher resistance to cooking due to heat than regular mineral based oil. I used full synthetics on turbo charged cars due to the heat produced from the turbo and to prevent the oil cooking on the bearings which will lead to sludge building up in the lower end eventually. Most NA motors will not see the high operating temps that a turbo motor will see so cooking oil may not be as much of an issue. I know with great certainty that my rover does not have a turbo  But I also know that it has a build up of sludge maybe due to heat, older design, poor maintenance from the po, I don't know for sure. Something is causing the sludge buildup. This is why I use synthetics in the rover. Synthetic blends may have some better qualities over conventional oil. But if it is a blend of synthetic and conventional, I would think that the conventional portion of it will not withstand high temps as well as full synthetic. Not all of the oil gets drained back into the oil pan during shutdown, so the little bit of oil that is still coating the bearings or whatever has to sit there and contend with the heat. I don't know what kind of EGTs the 4.0 will get up to, but on my WRX it got as high as 1500 degrees F on the interstate. | ||
| eric johnson (Eric2) Senior Member Username: Eric2 Post Number: 302 Registered: 05-2003 |
i use walmart brand oil (supertech) in... Remind me not to buy your rig when I get in the market. | ||
| Bruce Potier (Brucep) Member Username: Brucep Post Number: 146 Registered: 06-2003 |
Geeez, call me anal, but I change my Mobil-1 as close to 3K as possible and ALWAYS change the filer and add Rislone and it’s been that approach for the last 60K miles, now at 83K. Syns are the best, but holding-out for longer durations between those changes is risky and IMHO, overrules the benefits of syns. Why, these damn engines run dirty, so don’t fool yourself unless you have a solid aftermarket duel oil filtration unit, like Amsoil. But then again, that is my rover, dirty little rover… | ||
| Daniel Kim (Discoord) New Member Username: Discoord Post Number: 10 Registered: 11-2003 |
Regular oils are just as good as the synthetics as long as you change it frequently (q3k-5k for engine oil and q15k-20k for transmission fluid). | ||
| Matt Anderson (Disco01) Senior Member Username: Disco01 Post Number: 372 Registered: 10-2003 |
Daniel, you are incorrect in your statment. What you meant to say was that there is less benefit to using synthetic if you change your oil religiously every 3k miles. There are many reasons why synthetics are superior to dino. Here are a few: Firstly, they dont break down under extreme heat, they have better detergent packages to keep the inside of the discos engines clean, they are available in broader temp ranges (ex. 5w-50...what I have always used). The more consistent size of the molecules allows them to lubricate the upper reaches of the lifters etc. It basically rounds out to cheap insurance. You are looking at $15 every 3-5 months to put the best in......why cheap it? If you want to cheap it......Jeep it. Take this little bit into consideration, I have used synthetic in both of my rovers since new and never had valve problems to speak of. My D2 has 60k on the clock and purrs like a kitten. | ||
| Chia Wei Chen (Chiaweichen) New Member Username: Chiaweichen Post Number: 9 Registered: 03-2004 |
Thanks for the replies everyone, blends are forgotten and full synthetic it is. | ||
| Jim Macklow (Macklow) New Member Username: Macklow Post Number: 39 Registered: 03-2003 |
Matt, Where are you buying the 6 qts or so to refill a Disco with synthetic oil for $15???? Mobil 1 locally is $3.99 a quart, some of the other synthetics can be had on sale for $2.99. Who's your source? | ||
| Matt Anderson (Disco01) Senior Member Username: Disco01 Post Number: 374 Registered: 10-2003 |
Jim, sorry for the confusion, I was referring to the difference between regular/blend and full synthetic. I wish I knew somewhere to buy full syn for that cheap! |
