Synthetic oil or not in a 2007?

Yes! Perhaps saying it exacerbates leaks (weeping is a leak) best describes that which I and others have empirically observed...

 

someone help me out here, why switch to synthetic at all,
higher viscosity, and therefore better flow for the winters?

 

500,000 hrs / 24 hrs per day = 20833.3 days / 365 days per year = 57.1 years

 

I do it because the internet said so

 

Relatively higher viscosity = more resistance to flow = less flow...

And as stated previously there is no reason to switch--IF you keep it clean.

"Oil is cheaper than engines."
George W. Monroe; Sottish Stationary Steam Engineer; 1888 to 1979

 

switching to synthetic is safe, it does not cause problems

The only thing is that you can see leaks appear. Synthetic has smaller molecules than standard oil. Your old gaskets can be worn and cracked, but due to the larger molecules of the standard oil, it wasn't leaking, but now that you switched to synthetic, oil seeps through cracks in the worn gasket. Synthetic does not cause leaks, it just highlights worn gaskets issues (which would have eventually turned into leaks anyway, even with standard oil)

 

I HAVE LEARNED SOMETHING TODAY!

 

Just my opinion, but I don’t think sludge has been a problem with modern dino oil for quite a while. Additives for conventional oil have improved right alongside synthetics. It’s also my understanding that most synthetic oil isn’t 100% synthetic anyway.

 

Like I posted before, my wife's mini van was switched to synthetic well after 100,000 miles and it doesn't use or leak any that I can see on the dipstick on a 5,000 mile change.
My Corolla started leaking more. Whether or not it CAUSED the leak, I don't care. I had to add oil more frequently. How's that?

 

wrong math there buddy, 500,000 hrs does not equal 57 years, multiple projects at one time are still calculated as individual projects.
stripping a race engine 4 to 5 times a week might be 100 hrs, 4 at the same time is 400 hrs even if you do it faster it is still 100 hrs. this is not flat rate, the time to measure and study the engine is were the hrs come from.

V&M spent 100,000 hrs on the 2002 R1 to try and make it faster and better for the 02 Isle of Man race.....100,000 hrs in 8 months.........

 

Aint that the truth.......

 

now we are cooking with gas!!!!!

 

true, 100% full synthetics are quite expensive, and are NOT for use in a crankcase.

found this which is interesting...(about the lawsuit not the oil classes,already knew that)

http://bizol.us/1118/

 

the oil previously used was most likely a "dirty oil" as I call most of the stuff you can buy in a grocery store or 7-11,
there was a build up of a waxy substance in the engine and the better refinement of the "synthetic" cleaned this away and exposed the weakest link.

the oil did not CAUSE the leak, it REVEALED the leak. There are also cases of engines burning more oil with a switch in oils, this again is not the oil causing and issue, it is just revealing an issue.

IF synthetics CAUSED leaks, NO manufacturer would recommend or use synthetics, Porsche, Ferrari, Audi, Yamaha, Suzuki, GMC, Toyota, and the like ALL have at least one model that REQUIRES synthetic oil be used. Sealing tech has not changed, still use cork,rubber,fiber and asbestos in gaskets just as they did in the 30's. what changed was oil refinement and chemical compounds.

it used to be that you chose an oil based on what was in it, was it paraffin based? was is "sweet crude" how much sulfur......now, that choice is all but gone, the only real choice now is ESTER oil (synthetic) or non ester. even companies like AMSOIL don't produce their own oil, they buy stock from people like Chevron, Mobile/Exxon, Valero.......

no point in getting angry about it, your car did what it did due to seals going bad, indirectly, the oil HELPED you as now you know there are seals that need to be looked at.

 

But in general:

Although called "synthetic" these oils are not made of artificial ingredients
"Synthetic" Lube Base oils have the same ingredients that are typical in conventional motor oils
Through chemical reactions, or modified refining procedures, petroleum is recombined to create new molecular blends with better lubricating features - and this is what is labeled as "synthetic"
Such "Synthetic" oils do not contain contaminants like traditional oils, which often have trace amounts of sulfur, wax and other buildup. This enables "synthetics" to flow better at lower temperatures

So if it flows better at lower temp would this not mean it does a better job lubricating quicker at start up ?

My favorite oil especially for my 2-strokes: http://www.klotzlube.com/

 

POTENTIALLY it should flow better, interestingly enough, synthetics are not slicker than standard or more malleable, what enables this is more additives like friction modifiers, "nano" technology, bonding agents and the like.

in fact, if you want better oil flow and increased power the best thing to do is to rip apart the engine and polish the shit out of the cases, crank,rods,transmission gears (if a one piece engine such as motorcycles) close the tolerances in the oil pump, bore finish the oil passages, remove any type of rough edging in the engine.......supper labor intensive and a bitch to do. the end result is cooler temps, less parasitic draw from the moving bits and a smoother running engine.......my former race bike had this done, full engine build was 6k (had to stay within a specific set of rules)

I think it is Castrol that has an add talking about molecular bonding and faster oil transfer during cold starts.......if you listen closely, the add says specially formulated.......the oil is oil, it is what the did to it that make the difference.

Klotz is good stuff, for 2 smokes I prefer the MOTUL 800 ester premix, it seems to burn cleaner which reduces down time and engine strips.

the current road racer is stuffed with Mobile 1.........race oil, truck runs Mobile 1 also....If I could get Rock oil or Q8 oils for a good price in America, then I would run those. ELF is good lube too. hard to get here. I like Kendall oil also, good results with billet aluminum cranks.

 

AmsOil Signature series is 100% synthetic and it's in my crankcase.

 

AMSOIL is NOT full synthetic, it is tier 4, only tier 5 and above are fully created oil and are not used in crankcases, AMSOIL is a good synthetic and their base oil comes from either PAO or mineral base stock, AS DOES EVERY AUTOMOTIVE OIL.

synthetic is a misnomer, oil is never fully "synthetic" at least not for IC engines. a good example of a 100% synthetic is what DARPA was working on with suspension in tanks and trucks, it was called a "non Newtonian" fluid, it was both a lubricant and control fluid. GM addopted it for the suspension in the new heavy pick-ups.

The AMSOIL info is right on this site.....

http://bestsyntheticoil.com/amsoil-products/amsoil-genuine-pao-based-synthetic-oils/

or copy and pasted here.....


The majority of AMSOIL synthetic lubricants are formulated with polyalphaolefin (PAO) synthetic base stocks. PAO base stocks offer unsurpassed protection and performance and are widely recognized as the industry’s premier base stock technology. Unlike conventional base stocks, PAO base stocks contain fully saturated, hydrogenated molecules that are free of wax and impurities, allowing superior performance in temperature extremes, oxidation and acid resistance and clean operation. Synthetic oils formulated with less expensive synthetic base stocks also offer performance benefits over conventional oils, but they cannot match the performance of PAOs for the high standards required for AMSOIL synthetic motor oils.

AMSOIL specializes exclusively in synthetic lubricant technology, optimizing the most advanced chemistries available to formulate the best lubricants on the market. Top-of-the-line PAO base stocks, along with select esters, combined with premium additive packages, allow AMSOIL motor oils to deliver superior protection and performance in temperature extremes, resist oxidation and acid formation and provide unsurpassed wear protection for extended drain intervals.

 

"Full synthetic" is a marketing term. It is not a term defined by the American Petroleum Institute (API), the governing body of motor oils.

 

Actually API does have a definition for synthetic oil. It is defined as any oil other than PAO or mineral.

Best example are Esters which are 100% engineered....”carbonyl adjacent to an ester linkage”

Anyone a chemical engineer here that can simplify this?

These are class 5 oils and higher.
Eaters are added to PAO or mineral stocks to “make” them synthetic.

The Germans are about the only people I can think of that had synthetic fuel and oil for the war.....even that was not full synthetic as it’s base was coal.
The engineering made it “synthetic”