Anyone know if it is bad when you get an oil change to switch from Synthetic to regular oil?

 

I remember somewhere here someone saying it isn't bad. Maybe you should PM xviper and ask him. He seems like a good authority.

 

Makes no difference.. switch all you want.

 

So what is the point of Synthetic Oil?

 

As far as I can tell, "no."

 

it is better in every respect except price

 

Actually, cdelena is the oil expert here.

 

you can switch, mix or do as you like...
but whats the point?
if you run synthetic, you have the best engine protection you can get... no idea why anyone would switch, mix or do anything other than just run synthetic.
(i learned about this after being told by my dealer that once you use synthetic you cant go back- so i researched it and found out that it is not true).

 

if you've been using synthetic for the whole life of hte motor,and then suddenly change back to conventional you might get some problems(or vice-versa). this is what i just heard, dont know if its true or not.

 

Synthetic oils are better at widthstanding constant pounding and high temperatures, although mineral oil is better at conducting heat, that's why a Turbo charged engine is better of not running on synthetic oil if the same oil is used to cool the turbo charger bearings, mineral or semi-synthetic oil is better in this case.

Due to the process that synthetic oil undergoes during the refining process, its molecules aren't broken so easily as mineral or semi-synthetic oils when the oil is beaten by the crankshaft in the oil pan, and believe me at 9k rpm the oil gets its ass whooped. Because the oil molecule chains aren't broken that easily synthetic oil is better at keeping its "oily" properties. That's why synthetic oils have a longer life time than other oils.

Its also not advisable to mix any kind oil no matter what, mixing oils will always produce a chemical reaction, unless its exactly the same oil. This reaction most often results in a degredation of the performance of the oil and containment of the oil. Also different oils react differently to temperatures changes.

BTW. Synthetic oil should not be used on 'older' engines, this is because the "film" left behind on the cylinders is much thinner with synthetic than mineral or semi-synthetic and only modern engines are designed to work with this.