Synthetic Oil save more gas?

[ATaylorRacing]

Originally Posted by atomicradish

My car has always burned oil, so I don't bother with expensive synthetic oil anymore. I used to use Valvoline MaxLife Synthetic Blend and I think I got slightly better MPG results but it could be entirely anecdotal.

You all need to be made aware that synthetic blends might only be 20% synthetic! You can get the same or better results bt using a qt of full synthetic and the remainder as regular oil.

A few years ago the oil brands started pulling zinc out of their oils and now a lot of racers and older cars are starting to have issues with camshafts and bearings. I change my regular oil every 2000 miles and my 1sr motor lasted 100K, second motor 150K, but my 3rd motor has ruined rod bearings and the cam is worn .005"......I will use synthetic in every thing I own now...they don't have that problem.

As far as filters...Fram and K & N are no better than a reguler Purolator or Wix. The Purolator Pure One is also no better....some where out there on the web is an oil filter study...all tested were cut appart and dismantled. A lot of the filters use cardboard and glue...some have tendencies to fall apart internally during race or hard use applications...they wont stop oil, just wont filter as well.

[klrv6]

Originally Posted by ATaylorRacing

You all need to be made aware that synthetic blends might only be 20% synthetic! You can get the same or better results bt using a qt of full synthetic and the remainder as regular oil.

I did this in my old Sentra, two quarts good dino oil and two quarts mobil1 (before they changed the formula).

If you guys are running synthetic, be aware they aren't the same. Most store bought synthetics are base3 stock and provide a little more benfit than dino oil. Things like Mobil1 EP are made from base4 stock and are what most people have always thought synthetics to be. I run mbile1 EP in my Sentra and grand national. The sentra because it turns at 3500rpm for two hours at a time and the grand national because the oil won't coke in the turbo when the engine is shut off and because of the zinc issue ataylorracing pointed out.

[Figjam74]

The reason you don't see big improvements with FE using a synthetic is that it really only does a significantly better job when the engine is cold. Once everything's warmed up they are pretty much equals.

[Bullockracing]

Mobil One full synthetic is by far the best motor oil available - but not neccessarily for fuel efficiency. The breakdown resistance and engine longevity are the better (Consumer Reports magazine). Mobil One is one of the few PAO oils around (Royal Purple and Amsoil are others, more but I can't remember), but the cobalt (or cadmium - I can't remember that either) compound greatly decreases engine wear (Motor Cyclist magazine test).

For something I can remember, Mobil One full synthetic gained me over a full mpg just by switching oils, and not the thin stuff, either. The Fram Toughguard oil filter is my recommendation for oil filters, but only based on filtering ability.

[Daox]

You'd likely see better gains from putting synthetic tranmission oil in the car vs synthetic motor oil.

[Bullockracing]

I already had synthetic in the trans and differential when I switched to synthetic in the engine. It was just based on the scheduling of the fluid changes... Again, maybe just my application, but the stuff worked for me...

[tasdrouille]

I don't really believe there is a need to go with something else than oem filters. If anything, install a bypass filter, now that's more worth it.

[aerohead]

As I understand it,all synthetic oils have viscosities which are actually lower than what is listed on the label.They are not permitted to advertise the lower viscosity,however,they flow more freely when cold,than a straight mineral oil of the same label rating.So for cold starts especially,pumping losses are reduced,and fully-warmed viscosity is no lower,and do offer slight savings.Synthetics have been claimed to swell seals,and it has been claimed that if you switch to a full synthetic,then switch back to a straight mineral oil,you run the risk of oil leaks.

[darkdan]

Originally Posted by Arminius

Consumer Reports found no measurable difference in FE or the amont of particulates in the used oil.

Are you talking about the one they did 15 years ago on taxis? Not the greatest study ever done.


Synthetic engine oil can give a few % better gas mileage (about 2% is the norm).

The thing that will really impact mileage is synthetic transmission fluid and/or differential fluid. On my automatics there are 15 quarts of fluid in there, that's a lot to get pumped around!

However, if you want to try synthetic engine oil for better mileage I'd recommend two treatments of Auto-Rx Engine Cleaner first in conventional oil and then follow it up with a PAO (not group III) synthetic. I'm a big fan of AMSOIL's ASL 5w30

Here's what I mean by PAO/Group III:

Synthetic Motor Oil Gets All New Semantics - Column/Patrick Bedard/C/D Staff/Columns/Features/Car and Driver - Car And Driver

Don't forget a good filter:

Filter Comparisons

[trikkonceptz]

Any of our Vibe/Matrix drivers know how much tranny fluid is in an auto transmission? I am going to do a synthetic change on Tuesday and wanted to know how many quarts to buy for the Vibe. Thanks

I will be using Amzoil if anyone wanted to know ...