Nugs3

What's up all...My next oil change is coming up (in about 200 miles)question is can I start using Synthetic oil even though I have been using regular in the past.....Is this switch ok for the engine? Thanks in advance!

Kiljaedoen

Yes you can use synthetic oil even you have been using normal oil. I did this when i got the car. I swithched from whatever was in it to mobile 1. I did flush the motor b4 i changed the oil thou. Dont know if you are suposto or not but i thought it woulb be a good idea. Mabey someone that knows for sure can answer.

NOMAD

I didn't flush my engine before switching to Mobile 1
No ill effects yet, I'm soon to be ready for the next change as well. I figure by the next oil change I'll be free from any worry.
It's expensive stuff but in the long run it may help out. Castrol Syntec isn't fully synthetic but i hear it is good as well. I've always used Castrol GTX.

Peace

melo72

OK, someone please provide the benefits of switching to a synthetic again....

MauiWowieCL

I agree, I need to know. I don't know how to change the oil/service my car so I just take it to the local dealers. Um... I guess they just put the basic oil in there. I'm interested to know the differences. Thanks.

3PointZero

If you switch to synthetic, you have to stick with synthetic. You cannot switch back and forth. Benefits? I guess it holds up better under extreme driving conditions, but since I don't go chasing criminals in my car everyday, I'll stick to conventional. Also, I heard that you can change synthetic oil every 6,000 miles instead of 3,000 like conventional, but our owners manual tells us to change our oil every 7,500 miles. When do you all change yours??? I do mine every 3,000.

drewha174

when i bought my car back in march of this yaer i immediatly change my oil to mobil 1 synthetic oil with a acura filter. i've driven my car 1000 miles after the change and changed it again, oil/filter. i noticed a smoother ride. i change my oil every 5000 miles with mobil 1 snth.

Casper98CL

I do not recommend synthetic oil... once you do it.. your stuck with iot.. and it really does nothing great!!!

UDMechE

Who says once you've used synthetic you can't switch back? Heck, the regional manager for Royal Purple even told us (where I work we represent RP's synthetic industrial lubricants and have had excellent results with them) that if you're driving on RP and notice your oils a little low you can pour in a qt. of regular oil. 100% compatible. no problems with switching back.

Benefits of synthetic: micro-polishes metal surfaces, cleans away carbon deposits left by regular oils, bonds to metal surfaces to provide instant lubrication on startup, reduces engine friction: lower op. temps, and smoother running, slight HP increases, longer engine life. also, higher film strentgh than conventional oil. Protects against oxidation and corrosion of equipment. well you get the point...

anyways, i know it probably sounds like im trying to sell you on RP, but it doesn't matter since we don't represent their motor oils. (although i can get it cheaper than Mobil-1! it does have its benefits over Mobil.) But I have switched to it in my car because i was burning about 1 qt of oil every 500 miles. At first I just mixed one qt of RP in with my other oil. that alone was enough to stop my oil consumption problem by cleaning away the deposits that were allowing oil to get past my piston rings. Now at 49000 miles I have switched to all synthetic.

sorry to ramble, hope this info helps, and heck, if you need any info on RP's oils let me know!

slyaii

i love to use syn oil (mobil) because of the smooth rides that it gives and the protection too. I heard from dealers and non-dealers that once you go syn, you cannot go back. the reason, i can't really say cause they spoke in car lingo that i can't understand. I got my 5qt of mobil for $17 at walmart. they put it in the aisle, not with the other car oils, kinda tricky to miss out on a deal. For your oil filter, don't go out and buy those $2-$3 filter while using syn oils! cause those filters were design to only protect around 3000 miles. buy one that are $6-$10, they can go with two oil changes. our CL using 5w-30, i wasn't used to that, so i mistakenly brought 10w-30. does it really hurt your engine if the engine itself recommend 5-30? I feel my car rides harder than it use to when i used 5-30. Don't take your car into those midas, jiffy lubes, or dealers cause they hella charge you for car oil. just buy your own oil and oil filter and take it to an independent car place (one that is not a major brand) cause they will charge you $6 dollars to change the oil for you. if you want to know what syn oil from Mobile does for you, go to the Mobil home page. They took this car and drove it for 100,000 miles with only syn from mobil and pull apart the engine and wow! clean and new like the car was never driven. I would buy Fram or Mobil oil filters...takes out more dirt the first pass.

FrstGenCL

I would not recomend to switch to synthetic oil unless you were beating the hell out of your car everyday or racing it. I know a dozen cars that have broke 200k miles on conventional oil.
I change my oil every 2,500 to 3,000. Acura is crazy saying 7,500 miles. They also say like 80k for the tranny fluid, I changed mine after 30k ..

MauiWowieCL

Wow, that's good to know. I think I'll stick with whatever the dealer is putting in it

melo72

Acura recommends that for "normal" driving. However, when you read the manual, they say uder harsh conditions change the oil every 3500 or so. I get my oil changed at the dealer and they do it every 3000. (Now that the car is modded and off lease, everything will be done by me).

MauiWowieCL

Hahaha, I rack up so little miles that I take my car in only twice a year to get that stuff done.

Kiljaedoen

Melo is 100% correct. The book says 7K for NORMAL driving conditions. But the spefications for NORMAL driving conditions are not very leaniant. Just living in FL means i will never have normal driving conditions just due to the heat and dust factors.

MauiWowieCL

My dealer says that twice a year is fine. But, do you think there's anything wrong with that? I mean, it's performed flawlessly to this day (knock on wood).

Casper98CL

shit ervery 1-2 months i change mine but i DRIVE HARD!!!!

MauiWowieCL

Well, with my car I'm gentle. But with other things I'm.... ah... um... er.... well, we won't go there. HAHA :P

Casper98CL

ah shit.. maui gonna do her own lube job... naighty naughty!!!! people always say cars are an anology for SEX!!!! bad girl!!!! bad bad bad girl!!!!

Nugs3

Lots of diff. opinions I think I'm switching anyways!

FrstGenCL

I dont see how anyone could take there car to the dealer for normal maintenance. You have to wait for an appointment and you have to keep your car there for most of the day.
It takes me 15 min. to change my oil including me jacking up the car and cleaning up. besides, you have kids that are freshly out of some bullshit auto maintenance school that do not know what they are doing. I hate leaving my car to anyone. I dont want them to mess anything up. If I do it myself at least I can blame myself ...

Casper98CL

I am with you... yea so what if the dealer does it... only good if you sell your car to a car enthusiast who cares about paper work... I know I am not selling it any time soon so maintenance papers dont mean crap to me... Besides I onlyt go to mchanics I know and trust to work on my car.... I dont know those guys at Acura dealership in service.. who knows wghat they are really capable of... dealerships have so many lil signs saying they are not liable for everything and anything bad that can happen.. I stick with my buddies!!!!

VXCL

i use mobil 1. i like the smoother feel in both my vehicles. i dont mind paying more. the only thing i heard that if u switch to syn u have to stay with sny. somethign with ur seals (gaskets) i beleive.

MauiWowieCL

even if i had the knowledge on how to change the oil in my car i wouldn't even have the facilities to do it since i'm in college. i dunno, and from what it looks like here, most of us on this thing are in college.

RhoXS

Here are the benefits of Synthetic oils.

Most engine wear takes place when starting. Oil pressure has not yet built up but moving parts are in motion. Synthetic oil does a much better job of providing good lubrication in this very quick but critical period.

Synthetic oils maintain a reasonably constant viscosity over a much wider temperature range.

Synthetic oils do not break down as quickly decreasing the amount of abrasive degradation products that accumulate.

A number of years ago I had an engineer work for me that was involved with tests Ford conducted on synthetic vs. conventional oils. They apparently ran two engines on test beds side by side. One engine used standard oil, the other synthetic. Oil changes and maintenance took place at typical intervals. At the end of the test the conventional oil engine exhibited normal wear exactly as expected. The synthetic oil engine had no discernable wear.

melo72

Cool. I guess it's time to switch!

Kiljaedoen

It dosent take much facilities to change your own oil. A flat pice of pavement, some sort of pan to catch oil, and a wrench, thats about it.

melo72

Are you referring to Maui changing her oil in her car? Maui, don't do that, just drive to NY and let me do it for you!

Kiljaedoen

Thats a long drive. After her car goes that far it would need an oil change

gmb2000

I am starting to change my own oil now (dealer wants 30.00 now) I am going to stay with 5w30. What kind of motor oil would you guys use? No syn. oil. How is Quaker State?

3PointZero

I think I read somewhere that any oil from Pennsylvania is no good. Oil that comes from there (which includes quaker state and pennzoil) contain high amounts of sulfer which will create sludge in your engine. I think any other brand name oil should be good.