synthetic gives you more power 30 more HP to be exact HAHAHHAHA
Just kidding!!!

it's more of a long term effect aside from the immediate gains. bottom line it's less likely to break down under heavy stress loads. Less engine wear of all metal to metal contact sections, and also prevetns engine sludge over time.

 

True, but we ARE talking synthetics here

 

Okay, I'm going to be the skeptic here. The reasons people give for switching to synthetic oil are, for the most part, unproven.

1) Lasts longer - maybe but do you want to leave the oil in your engine longer? Why do you change it, because it collects dirt and metallic particles. Does synthetic collect less of these contaminents?

2) It doesn't break down as quickly - Again, that may be true but, from the few oil analysis I've seen, the dino oil is still good after 10k miles. Given that I'd have to point back to item (1) and would you run oil, dino or synthetic, more than 10k miles?

3) Is better at extreme temperatures - In what way? Both organic and synthetic oils work under high temperatures.

4) Peace of mind - okay, if paying $5/quart instead of $2/quart makes you feel better then I'm not going to argue that.

5) Synthetics provide more horsepower - If the oil is less viscous then it will not take away as much power but if the oil is 10W-30 (the recommended viscousity) there should be no difference. Some owners claim 1-2 hp increase but I've seen no conclusive tests proving there is a HP gain. From dyno run to dyno run there is at least that much variation in the HP measurement with no changes.

6) Synthetic is used is other sports cars from the factory - Seems to me this is just a marketing move by the oil manufacturers. To me this just says that Auto manufacturer is confident it will not cause any problems. Given that I'd have to agree with the next reason.

7) It couldn't hurt - yes, I think everyone would agree that running synthetic (after the break in period) seems to not cause any issues with the engine.

8) The engine burns more oil when using sythetic. Possibly, but then I have to ask why? Is the viscousity too low? If so then I don't see this as being better.

Anyway, maybe Road Rage can chime in and say why synthetics may be better.

I'm going to admit that I've not done much research on the subject, most of what you see on the web is from the companies that are selling synthetic oil so I wouldn't put much faith in that information being fair and objective.

 

You've asked some good questions, and I can't really answer any of them. The reason I started running synthetic is that I had always heard it was the best. I know a coupl of lubrication speciialists at work. I'll have to ask them about it when I get back to work. By the way, I noticed the other day that they have started using the amsoil too, switched from mobil(E) one.

 

So far I found one aricle in "Car Craft" magazine that seems to be unbiased. They showed a gain of about 6HP and 6 lb-ft of torque on a 392 ci small block stroker crate engine. They reported that the average gains were better at lower RPM. Also the overall oil pressure was lower which may or may not be an issue in our cars. I'd be doubtful that the F20C would show even that much improvement since the amount of friction in a Honda 4-cyl engine is probably much lower than the crate motor tested.

Overall, I couldn't say if synthetic is better than conventional oil but we all know it's more expensive.

Here the link Car Craft Conventional vs Synthetic

 

[QUOTE=S2k Dude,Aug 11 2006, 03:39 PM]1)

 

Unbiased? They are comparing 20w30 dino oil to 0w30 Mobil 1 tri-synthetic, I don't think that's a fair comparison as the weights of the oils are so different. They claim that the synthetic flows faster on startup -- no duh, it's 0w30. Kinda lame.

 

Suppose someone (me ) has the opinion that a thinner oil when cold is better for the engine
It flows beter at cold temps (proven!) and therefore reaches all engine components faster during those critical cold start moments.

Dino 10W-30 is a in my book => to "thick" (yes I know it's recommended, 5W-40 is too a better choice, but most likely syn)

Syn 10W-30.. the same in my book => to "thick" at cold starts.

Dino 0W-30.. is that available in the API-SL/SM range? (I don't think so, correct me if I'm wrong)

So I'm left with syn 0W-30.
0W for cold starts.
30 for viscosity at operating temp.
Synthetic because that's the only oil I know with that viscosity range and quality (API-SL)

Some may say "Then why are you using 0W-40 now?"
My answer would be : "At the time I was ready for a change I figured to stay at the 40 range for operating temp.
Now I have changed my mind and I am switching to 30 (the recommended viscosity, xxW-30)
Both synthetic oils)

 

let me expose my ignorance...................

what is "dino" oil??

Willinathen

 

"Dino" oil was made at the time of the dinosaurs.
Also know as mineral oil.
Oil made of proper "out of the ground" oil.
Not like synthetic oils, made in a lab.