I've been using the Honda/Acura 5W-30 for so long now...since the car was brand new. I was wondering if any of yall are using synthetic oil for your cars. I heard it twice as better and is it true that once you go to synthetic...you should never go back to conventional oil. My car just turned over 100K. Also, which brand of synthetic oil is the best and can you get them at the dealer? Thanks

 

I use 5w-30 Mobil One.

You have to be careful when buying synthetics. A true synthetic motor oil is built molecule by molecule through polymerization, giving you an end product that is very uniform.

Some companies brand their oil "synthetic" even though they are really just ultra-refined mineral oil. Castrol Syntec is the notable one. They won a court case that allowed them to call their stuff synthetic.

Since you can't tell by packaging which one is a real synthetic, I would stick with a few key brands. Amsoil, Mobil One, Redline, and Shell are the ones that come to mind (although there are others).

 

At the risk of setting off a firestorm, I will put down my opinions on Synthetic oil. I am putting it in a separate post so it'll be easier to quote. Hehe

Synthetics remain more fluid at low temperatures making it better at protecting your car during winter startups. They also have better resistance to sheer at high RPMs. Because synthetics are so pure, they don't have buildup/sludge problems. Finally, they don't break down as easily.

That synthetics lubricate better is not open to debate. I think virtually anybody would have to agree on this. As a matter of fact, some manufacturers recommend not switching over to synthetics too early in a new car because they reduce friction so much the car can't break in properly. On the other hand, a select number of high performance cars come from the factory with synthetic already filled. These cars are manufactured to higher standards with tighter tolerances in their engines (Porsche, Aston Martin, Corvette, etc).

The debate comes in at two key points:

1. Whether regular drivers will benefit from the added protection of synthetics.

2. Whether they can be run longer than regular oil.

In my opinion, the answer to both is yes.

And also, yes you can switch back to regular oil. The problem comes from synthetics being very soluble and fluid. After a car has been running on regular oil for a long time, it's possible that sludge and coke buildup around the seals is helping the engine from springing an oil leak. Synthetic oils tend to dissolve these buildups and could start an oil leak. I would say this is a non-issue for cars that are well maintained with oil that was changed regularly.

 

i was once going to use royal purple but that stuff is expensive and i could not afford to use only royal purple for the rest of the cars lifetime.

 

I used royal purple before. My advice, use Mobile 1 instead. Our engines are not race engines and we are nearly on the edge of a stock motor (for those who have a few mods). The difference between mobile 1 and Royal purple is not there, performance-wise. Save yourself $2 a bottle and get mobile 1 instead.