Im sure this has been beat to death but Here's an interesting article for the debate. Hopefully you all haven't read it. I myself use synthetic.
I have a copy of the oil bible aslo if anyone wants to read some more interesting oil stuff.

Enjoy.

http://www.getahelmet.com/jeeps/tech/syntheticoil/

Excellent article! Always makes me feel better for paying more $$$$ for a synthetic. Extended drain intervals, less wear, much cleaner engine, less heat, = lots more engine life.

Whats excellent about the infamous Amsoil advertising article?

There are other articles on other forums which show that this is NOT all true and syn oil is NOT any better aside some extreme heat protection which almost nobody ever reaches... Everybody has to make up their own opinion

:exactly: Yup, if you don't need it (and most don't), it's only money in their pockets...

It's not just Amsoil that claims these benifits of Synthetic. So do ALL OTHER MANUFACTURES!
This article and Thread is not about Amsoil!!!

Mahalkita (http://member.php?u=4737),
Please post an article any articles or links that show there are no benefits to Synthetic. I haven't seen one yet and like to keep an opened mind. Thanks.

C

So, are you guys saying that the article is lying about the benefits of useing a synthetic oil? Don't get me wrong, I used Rotella in my Highly Modded 99 powerstroke for all of its 288,000 miles, and never had a problem. But if what the article says is based on fact, I don't see how reducing wear and reducing drag, and with 6 times the film strength, sounds like a good product. Plus, they have some really cool pics of the Dino VS Synth.

The article is old, and conventional (dino) motor oils have changed a LOT since '86. Oh, and did I mention that oil (and additive) companies make money selling you stuff that you don't really need? Think of the ads back when we thot we got some benefit of running premium in our cars that only needed regular... I do sort of think you proved our point for us, as your motor would have grenaded at 100k if you were to believe everything the article said (how horribly the dino oils performed, etc.).

Anyway, I posted somewhere else here that I worked for a major oil co for a tad less than 30 yrs. One of the bennys is that I had some pretty good contacts in our research dept. One of my friends was specifically in the lubricant additives research labs. He told me, oh a few years ago, that every 5 years we had almost doubled the technology of what our conventional oils could do. In fact, he told me it was the additives that did most of the work in modern oils, the oil is actually just acting as a carrier for the adpack (additive package).

Now, what I said was: most of us don't need synthetic engine oil -- like your good ol' PSD, most of our Dmaxs, with regular maintanence, will die from a manufacturing defect or too much mod'ing, well before they will die from old age if left stock.

Articles: there was a pretty good one about 5 years ago that Consumer Reports did where they took brand new NYC taxis and put different oils in them, and did all their regular maintenance using that same oil in that particular taxi. The result?? They tore down the engines and measured the wear and found no discernable wear difference between the test taxis. They basically said just go buy the proper oil that meets the proper API std. for you application.

But still I recommend Delo 400 15w 40. Let's just say I saw some internal comparative tests... :cool:

Old? The date on the article is 3/2003 and updated 2004.
Could someone please post a real article with real results? I'm sorry but Consumer Reports is about the worst bunch of misleading crap available.
Interesting that many manufactures are using sythetic straight from the factory. European makers Mercedes/BMW have been for a few years also.
It's to each his own. The data is out there.

In our race engines for our dragbikes, we've used both. The synthetics showed much better wear in the cam areas where the lub takes a thrashing with heat and a lot of spring pressure in the valve springs. The one thing syn. didn't do well with was the cranks. For some reason the roller bearings (mains) just didn't like the synthetics showing some weird wear patterns. I was sponsored by a crank mfg. and he insisted I use dino or buy my own cranks. The other deal with syn. oil is that it had tendency to weep oil more than dino. These engines were 18/1 compression and turned 13,000 rpms with no cooling (air cooled, shrouded with fairings) for the duration of running time. Also the clutchs worked much better IMO with syn. but clutches are moot point with all racers anyway. For what it's worth.........

Ah, what better way to start Fathers Day than with another "syn versus dino" thread! ):h We've hashed this out numerous times, always come to pretty much the same conclusion: to each his own! ;)

If you want to really dive into oil composition, applications, etc., then cruise over to www.bobstheoilguy.com (http://www.bobstheoilguy.com) and have at it! There are some dudes on that site that drink it in their coffee! ):h Bye now! JJ :)

Hi JJ,


One letter missing from the url. This is the one you wanted: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/

I just changed my oil for the first time yesterday at 600 miles. I used Delo400 and mobil 1 filter. I am having a hard time deciding which to switch it to at 3000 miles. I used synthetic in my powerstroke and it didnt give me any trouble. There are a lot of people that swear that Delo400 has a good enough additive package that there is no reason for spending the money on a true synthetic. 30 dollar oil changes are a lot better than 50 dollar oil changes every 3000 miles. I like to change oil every 3000 even in my diesel because of fuel dilution caused by short trips. I dont think everyone will agree on oil ever and every engine is different I guess I will have to decide in a couple more months.:confused: :confused: :confused:


Dave

Synthetic oil does not reduce wear in my Duramax, & I have a handful of oil analyses to prove it. I posted four of them a while back at BITOG, & a couple of the replies were: "Which proves that it is a waste of money to use syn. oil unless there is a legit. reason." & "the synthetics are not at all cost effective." Don't try to tell me I need to use a synthetic oil all the time. I've done my own testing to prove that I don't.

I'm 99% convinced that the new CI-4+ Delo 400 is the best dino oil out there, & that's what I use in the warmer months. In the late fall, I'll switch back to a synthetic 5w-40, only because of easier cold start-ups.

Old? The date on the article is 3/2003 and updated 2004.
Could someone please post a real article with real results? I'm sorry but Consumer Reports is about the worst bunch of misleading crap available.
Interesting that many manufactures are using sythetic straight from the factory. European makers Mercedes/BMW have been for a few years also.
It's to each his own. The data is out there.

cliffee: This is my last post on the subject. You can believe what you want, but the only thing updated in that article is the notation of the 2004 API spec of L. The rest of the article, including all of the testing, is from '86 and is DATED information. If you can't tell that (how about references to companies that were bought/went away long ago, etc. let alone the preface to the whole dang thing), well, I tried to help... 'Nuff said from me...

If you have the time and patience this is an interesting read. The main person, Jestal, claims to have helped with development of the GM Oil Life Monitor.

http://p083.ezboard.com/ffjr1300ownersassociationfrm29.showMessage?topicID =9.topic

That was a very informative read, thanks for the link. My guess is if he was on this forum, you'd have a lot fewer folks wasting their hard earned dollars on the "benefits" of synthetic engine oils in their diesels.

You can lead a horse to water... but then he just wants to look at himself..! :eek:

If it makes you feel better, run the $ynthetic. Personally I'd rather run the sin :D

If you have the time and patience this is an interesting read. The main person, Jestal, claims to have helped with development of the GM Oil Life Monitor.

http://p083.ezboard.com/ffjr1300ownersassociationfrm29.showMessage?topicID =9.topic

As I recall, there are two older threads on this site discussing Jestal's comments. I think they are in two different topic areas.

His comments also became an item of discussion on Bob is the Oil Guy (BTOG). He joined as a member and posted some more interesting stuff there, but was given the boot about a week or so later because his views did not conform with the main stream on that site. Too bad. Like MP2, he's an engineer with a contriversial opinion, but his comments were interesting and supported with oberservation.

"Too bad. Like MP2, he's an engineer with a contriversial opinion, but his comments were interesting and supported with oberservation."

Sure do miss MP2! :o: Kept us on our toes! ;) Good discussion. JJ :)

Not sure if it is dino or syn, but I have yet to find a better, longer lasting lube than KY.

A tiny dab keeps wifeys motor purring for a long time. How much do you think it would cost to fill the dmax crankcase with it?

.

Well, I read the 7 page topic that Jestal contributed heavily towards. He seems to have a wealth of info on GM engines and such. Has anyone invited him over to our "hangout". I'm certain he'd have some other good info towards some of our questions on the D-max.

Of course, there will undoubtedly be someone to flame him out because of some specific problem that they blame GM for.:confused:

Syntheric VS. Petroleum article
Author: Peter Clark of Amsoil, et al

Synthetics may be the way to go, but you can't be serious about getting your testing data from Ansoil, Mobil and the other oil companies that produce synthetics! Liggett & Meyers said their cigarettes were non addicting too! Mobil says it's regular oil is great too! Why don't they say their regular oil's are inferior and synthetics are the only way to save your engine from ruin? How many studies have we seen in history that have been slanted when the companies producing the product fund the study? Why didn't my son's Toyota with 374K miles implode on Walmart oil? Synthetic may very well be the best oil, but how about some independent data that isn't biased!

People should do anything they want with their own money, but I hate to see new owners scared into upgrading everything put on a Duramax by GM and Isuzu have with a better component! Is it a diesel truck or an incubator on the space shuttle? Are you filtering diesel fuel and motor oil, or your blood! There's a difference between good maintenance and paranoid obsession about a pickup truck! Now, it's just another opinion! Put down that grease gun, don't shoot! You're right and I'm wrong! Let me live another day!

My father was a dealer for Amsoil for a lot of years. You can trust what they claim about the oil! I remember Dad doing tests with the stuff in front of people in our garage. He had a freezer out there that he left two cups of oil in. One was Amsoil and the other was any other 10-40 regular oil. Dad would get them out and pour the Amsoil out and the other oil would be a clump. Then he had a stove with a big frying pan. He would get it red hot and put axle grease in there. The auto parts store grease would pop and sizzle while the Amsoil grease in the same pan right next to the regular grease would just sit there and stay normal. There was never any tricks or false claims. This stuff works. I put Amsoil in every vehicle I own and always pick up mileage and temps drop. I have never tried any other brand of synthetic but I would bet you would get the same results. :cool2:

when i switched from delo to delovac my temp rose from an average of 192 degrees on the highway at 70 mph to 204 degrees at 70 mph, i will go back to delo and see what happens.