"oil journals? You mean oil company reports?"

No, he's referring you to the Oil Journals on this site:

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=195574

 

I did a lot of reading through the "oil journals" and made the personal choice not to use synthetic oil after purchasing my car. I just don't see the advantages outweighing the costs. I'd rather spend $.49/quart for Chevron 10W-30 than $4/quart for Syntec/M1 and chance it twice as often. Its a small extra investment in time, but a large monetary savings. I always use the Honda PCX filter, I think that is worth the extra few dollars per change.

 

Wow! I paid .50 cents a quart for that oil..where did you buy it at for .49 cents a quart?

 

no.

I've been using Chevron 10W-30-- bought in bulk from Costco-- and have changed my oil approx every 6000 miles. I have had my oil analyzed 2 times by blackstone labs-- both times the results showed that the regular dino Chevron oil was doing an outstanding job.

why waste your $ on synthetic if your motor will show no additional benefits?

I'm sticking with dino oil until such a time that the test results say to switch, but with 25K miles under my chassis I'm sure my engine is already well broken in, with every sign showing that it's good to go for many years to come... on regular Chevron oil.

 

the only advantage of using synthetics seems to be oil drain intervals. when i used synthetic i went 10,000 miles between changes.

i now go 5000 miles between changes using havolline GF4 conventional oil.

as for "perceivable differences" there are none. no human on earth has senses sensitive enough to "feel" a difference in oil. in other words, any decent oil is going to have minimal difference in performance from the next. as seen in lab testing, some conventional oils perform even better than many synthetics.

 

[QUOTE=Wisconsin S2k,Nov 11 2005, 04:41 PM] the only advantage of using synthetics seems to be oil drain intervals.

 

Besides increasing your Oil Change Intervals (OCIs), many synthetics also perform better at temperature extremes. Synthetic oils will hold up better at high temperatures and be less apt to break down. IIRC, Corvette started to recommend synthetics many years ago because they had some engine failures that could have been prevented with a PAO-based oil like Mobil 1 without changing the engine design.

Many BMWs have computerized oil change monitors that tell you when to change your oil. Since the OCIs are significantly longer than the standard 3000-mile OCI, a good oil that will hold up to oxidation & nitration is important.

If you drive your car hard and/or extend your OCIs, you may want to consider using synthetic oil. If you are easy on your car and you change your oil every 3000-5000 miles anyway, you are wasting your money with a synthetic oil. If you're not sure, you can always get a Used Oil Analysis done when you change your oil to see how much life is left in the oil you just changed out.

 

It only costs a few bucks more when you buy synthetic on sale, I think its money well spent.

 

Neither "require" either oil, they are just recomended. My guess is that Mobil or Castrol is paying them money to get their named stamped on the oil cap, owner's manual, or where ever they put it. The EVO's oil cap says Mobil 1 on it too, but most owners still use their preferred brand whatever that may be. Personally, I am a big fan of Shell Rotella-T for boosted applications, but I also really like this Chevron I've been using given its great analysis results from Blackstone and its cheap cost.

 

the evidence says otherwise