Wikipedia: same oil change interval between synthetic & conventional???

The wiki quote may hold true if lots of stop and go. Synthetic may be better at not breaking down but at what point can it no longer suspend contaminates? Conventional? Which is why I said in the very first reply, lots of different scenarios.

 

That is very true it depends on the scenario. But I’d have to say most people could err on the longer side of the change interval nowadays. Heck my civic with Dino oil I’m changing at about 7k miles and it has 260k miles on it.

Marketing longer intervals between changes is just a loss to the oil manufacturer and auto businesses. That AMSOIL link I posted said most likely 25k miles could be made between oil changes but they pry recommend 15k.

OP id also like to point out it’s not just mileage intervals to go buy. You should always change your oil once a year even if not driving a lot.

 

If its not objective based, its all opinion.
Numbers over comments.

 

Well...if we can assume the decades of technological advancement in synthetic oil gives some adequately significant amount of objectivity, then its good that we question the validity in the numerous claims. I just stumbled across the wikipedia's quote which prompted my questioning. I am not very knowledgeable of this topic.

 

^^this^^

People want to make things sooo complicated. My plan is dino oil every 5K miles. Is synthetic better oil? Yeah, maybe, but it is wasted in the Tacoma engine. Are contaminates making the oil less effective? It costs $28 to test the oil which is more than just replacing it. What's the point? It certainly isn't a cost saving thing. (Now, if you have a semi truck with 44 quarts of oil it makes sense, but with our little 5 quart engine oil isn't a diesel semi truck)

My analogy for the dino vs synthetic debate is it's like hunting squirrels with a 22 vs a 50 cal BMG. The 22 will kill squirrels all day long for less than .05 cents a round vs $3.50 a round for the 50 cal. If the goal is dead squirrels/well oiled engine the less expensive option gets the job done. If the goal is blowing up your wallet/squirrels then synthetic/50 cal is the way to go. For me oil just isn't that exciting.

 

I sent a 10K mile oil Sample to Blackstone of Royal Purple 5-30. I sent a 10K oil sample of Mobil extended mileage (wal-mart) 5-30 oil. You can note the difference. Royal purple's viscosity did not break down. At all. Mobil did some. Even the guys at blackstone said on the report "You can tell this is not the royal purple you had in your last sample" lol

 

My reasoning for getting occasional oil samples tested (definitely not every oil change) is to monitor the overall health of the engine. The same way you get blood work testing when you go for a physical. You probably don’t have high cholesterol, but you won’t know until you check.

It’s a longevity indicator as well. I want my truck to go 500k+ miles, being proactive if I start to see increased signs of wear, etc can help with that. I am in a monitoring phase right now, I recently installed a supercharger so I want to make sure it’s not causing abnormal wear. $28 once a year versus internal engine damage that I could have avoided seems well worth it to me.

Synthetic oil is in no way wasted in a Tacoma, or any other modern engine.

 

Other than the gee whizz of the test report, I just don't see the value of oil testing. If an oil test comes back with high bearing wear what are you going to do? Probably rebuild it. And if it were me I'd wait until the other signs of high wear were showing before doing anything. The end result is the same, a rebuilt engine, but with no money spent on reports of little value.

I'm still waiting for financial justification to use synthetic oil in an engine not designed to require it. It's better, which is probably true, just isn't enough of a reason. Does it give better gas mileage, nope. Does the oil last longer, questionable without expensive testing. I'm open to looking at any numbers someone has the makes my wallet happier, I just haven't seen any yet.

 

There is plenty of research that has been done on the topic if you care to look for it, some of which has been linked in this thread. Bobistheoilguy.com is another excellent forum to get some insight on the topic.

There is no question whether synthetics last longer or are able to suspend particulates and moisture better. That has been researched and tested exhaustively over the past 20 years or so since synthetic oils have become readily available. That alone will pan out as far as cost over the lifespan of the engine.

If I do 10k mile oil changes over the 500k lifespan of my engine, that’s 50 oil changes. I can get 6 qts of mobil1 full synth for about $26. That’s a lifetime cost of $1300. Let’s say you run conventional oil at 8k oil change intervals (although that’s longer than I’ve ever heard recommended). That’s 63 oil changes in 500k miles. If you can get the oil for $20, your lifetime cost is $1260. Say you can even get it for $18 for 6 qts, that’s $1134 total. You saved a grand total of $166 (at best) over the 500k mile life of your engine by using the lowest quality oil you could find.

 

The manufacturers don't give two schedules based on conventional or synthetic so Wikipedia isn't going to disagree. The only way to know for your specific vehicle is a used oil analysis. You have to think about it. Oil manufacturers want you to change it a lot so they sell more oil. Vehicle manufacturers want the opposite, they want a car to last until the end of the warranty and for you to buy another. You want to be in-between, have a vehicle that lasts but not overspend in the process.

 

As far as how to use the results of an oil test, it’s all about preventative maintenance. I want to know if there’s a spun bearing well before it happens, not when I’m in the middle of nowhere. Like I said earlier, I also want to know what the impact of adding a supercharger is having. Initially the oil had higher levels of iron and aluminum, that’s probably the SC wearing in. If that continues though, I might pull the SC off to reduce wear and save the motor. Having more data is always better than having less data.

I can understand that for people who use their vehicle simply as a commuter, and are not interested in diagnostics or pushing their machines to the design limit, this information is not necessary. I run my truck pretty hard, so I find it necessary to keep a close eye on things.

 

Dirt entry, coolant, fuel, high metals. Easier to fix before you really fuck shit up.

 

Well, I clicked on the link you posted and nowhere on that page has your original quote. At least nothing the search this page function could provide. The closest I found "

• Extended drain intervals, with the environmental benefit of less used oil waste generated"

 

The power of wiki...... someone here musta had fun

I seen his quote there yesterday.

Thats fucking comical

 

So you'll trust an anonymous group of people on 1 forum instead of a group of anonymous people on another forum. Gotcha, good game plan.

 

Im going to come clean. I only went fully intending to change the page but someone beat me to it

There's a reason that no one uses wiki as a source.

 

This sheeple, that sheeple...
All the debate... then some dude just wipes it out.
I love it!

Did they even cite any proof?

 

Lmfao, nope... i dont see a footnote or whatever its called with objective data.

 

The advantages of using synthetic motor oils include:

• Better low- and high-temperature viscosity performance at service temperature extremes[1]
• Better (higher) Viscosity Index (VI)[2]
• Better chemical and shear stability[3]
• Decreased evaporative loss[2], Synthetic verus Mineral Fluids in Lubrication | A. Jackson | Mobil Research and Development Corporation | December 1987 | Page 7 Figure 5. Comparison of the volatility (ASTM D1160) of polydecene and mineral-based SAE 10W-30 oils."}}" class="mw-ref" about="#mwt664840640" id="cite_ref-11" rel="dc:references" data-ve-attributes="{"typeof":"mw:Extension/ref","rel":"dc:references","about":"#mwt664840640"}">[4], Development and Application of a Lubricant Composition Model to Study Effects of Oil Transport, Vaporization, Fuel Dilution, and Soot Contamination on Lubricant Rheology and Engine Friction by Grace Xiang Gu B.S., Mechanical Engineering University of Michigan, 2012 | Page 96 … due to high temperatures near the top dead center of the piston, light volatile hydrocarbons vaporize and leave the system. Light carbon number species disappear at a faster rate due to their high volatility and vaporization rates. | Page 64 Figure 5-4: Viscosity curve for two different grades of oil using the Walther's formula | Page 68 Figure 5-5: Oil species boiling point and molecular weight. "}}" class="mw-ref" about="#mwt828467822" id="cite_ref-12" rel="dc:references" data-ve-attributes="{"typeof":"mw:Extension/ref","rel":"dc:references","about":"#mwt828467822"}">[5], PureSynTM Polyalphaolefins (PAO) A Family of Versatile Emollients, ExxonMobil Chemical | J. Zielinski | February 15, 2005 | Slide 4 of 26 Broad Viscosity Range of PureSynTM PAO Available "}}" class="mw-ref" about="#mwt473717248" id="cite_ref-13" rel="dc:references" data-ve-attributes="{"typeof":"mw:Extension/ref","rel":"dc:references","about":"#mwt473717248"}">[6]
• Resistance to oxidation, thermal breakdown, and oil sludge problems[7]
• Extended drain intervals, with the environmental benefit of less used oil waste generated
• Better lubrication during extreme cold weather starts[2]
• Possibly a longer engine life[2]
• Tastes great
  
  
• Superior protection against "ash" and other deposit formation in engine hot spots (in particular in turbochargers and superchargers) for less oil burnoff and reduced chances of damaging oil passageway clogging.[1]
• Increased horsepower and torque due to less initial drag on engine[7]
• Improved fuel efficiency - from 1.8% to up to 5% has been documented in fleet tests[2]
• Less filling
  

However synthetic motor oils are substantially more expensive (per volume) than mineral oils[8] and have potential decomposition problems in certain chemical environments (predominantly in industrial use).

Oil needs to be changed because it gets contaminated with combustion by-products that accumulate at about the same rate regardless of oil type.