Synthetic oils

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RustyDusty

RustyDusty

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I'm in the middle of rebuilding a '98 360 magnum. Talk about engine sludge when I first dug in there... ICK! It got me to thinking... what full synthetics do you guys like for your engines? Also what weight would you go with if not factory spec weight?
 
Off the shelf, commonly seen synth oils I use is ethier Castrol or Mobil. Theres others out there. Mobil is a top shelf brand. Amsoil is another that is tops.

I've been useing synth oil in the wifes 99 Ford for about 10 years now. I change the oil twice a year. and filters on the half way point inbetween as well as at the oil change. It's been a bit over a 100,000 miles without issue. Emissions barley rose through out the years which shows minimal wear.
 
I think you can find a good site about this called something like, "The oil guy, dave the oil guy, maybe biull IDK, I've haven't been there in a long time. I kow someone will post it up. This guy just went bonkers on oil, oil filters, and stuff.
 
Mobil 1 10w 30 full syn for my Dodge Ram. You can get it at WalMart... might be made in China however. LOL
 
First off I never run the synthetics in my muscle cars, I change the oil to often because they sit a lot of the time in the garage and moisture is a killer. I do run Mobil 1 in all my day to day cars (after the first 5,000 km from new) and have since 1979. I put whatever grade the OEM calls for, no farting around, and change it every 7-8000 kilometers mostly cuss its dirty. Years ago I sent in a sample of Mobil 1 that had over 10,000 kilometers on it for analysis and the tests came back that other than being dirty the oil was good as new. In other words the package was still working, no breakdown of the oil, acidity levels were normal and the viscosity was still good.
A couple months ago I pulled the tappet covers off my 3.8 supercharged V6 pontiac engine to change gaskets. I expected that the undersides would be clean and they were spotless, no gunge, no oil breakdown. The engines got 160,000 KM on it and I'll guarantee ya that the bottom end of the engine is just as clean. The main reason I run sythetics is that at minus 25 degC, when my wife forgots to plug in the block heater, the engines starts and you've got oil pressure immediately. This stuff, 10W-30, still pours at minus 40 degC whereas conventional 10W30 is paving tar at -40.
 
shell rotella 5w-40 t6 synthetic, i use it in everything. It still has the zinc in it for flat tappet diesel engines.
 
Castrol Syntec or Mobil-1 or Pennzoil Synthetic or Mobil Delvac. Never Scamsoil (overhyped, overpriced), never Redline (probably worth the price but overkill/overspend for anything I will ever own or drive). I run 0w30 in the winter for easy starts and instant oil feed to all the engine's critical parts.
 
I run Mobil 1 in my Honda and Castrol GTX high mileage in my ranger
 
I've been using Amsoil synthetics in everything I have for years - 1975 Dart Sport race car, 2004 Ram 3500 diesel dually and 2005 Dodge Dakota. Gotten all favorable comments from my race engine, trans and differential builders concerning wear. Basically they said to keep using whatever I'm using! I've seen improvements in operating temps, HP, ET and mileage.
But not all synthetics are created equal. Needless to say, Amsoil is in the better group.

Amsoil info and source:
http://www.thelubepage.com/

As far as oil viscosity, I'd stay with factory specs or slightly thinner.
 
Locomotion said:
Needless to say, Amsoil is in the better group.
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Yeah, suuure it is…just ask any Scamsoil "dealer"…definitely way better than API-certified reputable-brand synth oils that cost 1/2 to 1/3 what you pay for Scamsoil. Let's all have a moment of silence in honour of L. Ron Amatuzio, marketeering king of kings! :roll:

Original poster: lots of good oil info and resources at www.bobistheoilguy.com . Spend half an hour reading through threads there and you'll find you needn't spend a great deal of money or fiddlefutz around with pyramid-crazed special "dealers" to get an excellent oil. 'Course, you'll also find plenty of Scamsoil "dealers" there, too, if that's your bag.
 
Amsoil is not that much more than Mobile 1 these days...maybe $1.50 per quart at most. I have been using it in everything I own for years and racked up a lot of miles on my vehicles with 20,000 mile oil change intervals.

Hate all you want, but the stuff works. My friend put 230K on his GMC Sonoma using Amsoil in every part of his truck. He changed the oil at 18-20,000 mile intervals and it didn't burn a drop of oil. Then the truck got totaled, but that is another story.

Regardless, any synthetic is better than dino oil. High end stuff will cost more but I think it gives better protection.

I try to stick with factory viscosity ratings. Currently I use Amsoil 10W-40 in my Dart because of the high zinc. They specify it's use for flat tappet engines...

amo_qt_300pxh.jpg
 
superdart said:
Amsoil is not that much more than Mobile 1 these days...maybe $1.50 per quart at most.
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Show me evidence it's worth the extra money. Bet you can't.

I have been using it in everything I own for years and racked up a lot of miles on my vehicles with 20,000 mile oil change intervals.
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Show me evidence you couldn't have done the same, with the same results, with Mobil-1 or Castrol Syntec or similar. Bet you can't.

the stuff works.
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Show me evidence it works better than Mobil-1 or similar. Bet you can't.

My friend put 230K on his GMC Sonoma using Amsoil in every part of his truck. He changed the oil at 18-20,000 mile intervals and it didn't burn a drop of oil
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Show me evidence he couldn't have had the same result from Mobil-1 or similar. Bet you can't.

High end stuff will cost more but I think it gives better protection.
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The Slick-50 effect: "I paid more; it must be better!" Marketing Psychology 101, day 1. The French Government did an experiment some years ago in which they got a bunch of cheeses, all the same, and divided them into two groups. One group sold for 33 centimes per kilo, the other for 66 centimes per kilo. Same cheese offered to the same shoppers at the same stores. The 66-centime cheese sold much more briskly. The lesson is obvious.

Hey, I bought a '92 LeBaron 2.5 with 70k miles on it, put in Mobil-1 and changed the oil every 16k miles. When I sold it with a coolant-leaky head gasket, it had 170k miles on it. The new owner reported the cylinders still had cross-hatch and no substantial top ridge when he pulled the head to replace the gasket. And all this without amazing, miracle magical Scamsoil…how is that possible?

(For those keeping score at home: my anecdote is equally worthless as his anecdotes as evidence)
 
Sure synthetic oil should be going into this 360 magnum after its been rebuilt, thought it was not recommended till after the first 3000miles. Maybe use VR1 till then.
 
synthetics is for people to lazy to change there oil. same deal as platnium/iridium plugs.
I use the cheapest oil wallmart has in the 10w30 range. and I change it every 3000miles
like clockwork. never had any oil related problems in anything for the last 20 years.
 
A-BOMB360 said:
synthetics is for people to lazy to change there oil. same deal as platnium/iridium plugs.
I use the cheapest oil wallmart has in the 10w30 range. and I change it every 3000miles
like clockwork. never had any oil related problems in anything for the last 20 years.
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Tear down 2 engines after 100K one Synthetic, one Conventional! This may be the most absurd thing I've heard!

I've changed the oil every 3K in my 360 with conventional name brand oil. I rebuilt it at 100K. THICK IN SLUDGE EVERYWHERE! I helped my dad rebuild his Jag XKE 3.8 at 120K which he had used synthetic from day one after his last rebuild, changing every 5K. NO Sludge.
 
RustyDusty said:
Tear down 2 engines after 100K one Synthetic, one Conventional! This may be the most absurd thing I've heard!
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learn to take better care of your engines. I tore down a propane powered 454 with 160,000 miles w/ conventional oil and it was so clean you can eat off of it. my last 440 with granted only 66000 miles gas powered same deal.
 
Care is very crucial to what happens to the oil. But there is no way after 160K you would have no sludge. Even with synthetic, at that point, you'd be bound to develop some sludge. Unless maybe you idle your car 160K, you'll get sludge. If you've found a way to get an engine 160K with NO sludge, you have a magical power and should be rich by now.
 
yah, its called maintain your engine, change oil & filter every 3k, and in this particular case, the use of propane. no magic, just fact.
 
I changed the oil and filter in my 360 every 3K as stated before. I don't know anything about running propane, but it must make a HUGE difference.
 
RustyDusty said:
That's really more of a myth than anything. Dodge even puts Mobil-1 Synthetic into their cars out of the factory!

That's what is recommended by the people making synthetic oil, they print it right on their bottles. I'm aware of new cars having synthetic right from factory, definitely conflicting.
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JTG said:
RustyDusty said:
That's really more of a myth than anything. Dodge even puts Mobil-1 Synthetic into their cars out of the factory!

That's what is recommended by the people making synthetic oil, they print it right on their bottles. I'm aware of new cars having synthetic right from factory, definitely conflicting.
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Which oil manufacturers recommended that? I have a good friend who is a Jaguar Master Tech, he and all the techs there swear by, "If you ever put anything other than 100% Synthetic oil in an engine, it's useless to ever put in synthetic oil. Use a synthetic blend if you've ever put a non synthetic oil in a engine."

Roller cams may have a big thing to do with whether or not you use a conventional/synthetic oil for break in. I'm not sure though, it's just a guess.
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