The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Synthetic Oil?

Is anyone running synthetic oil in their bolt? Although I'm a long way from putting any oil back into the engine at this point I'm wondering if anyone is using synthetic in their bolt or if that's even a good idea?

I run 5w30 Mobil 1 in my 250ci engine.
Don't use it unless you are starting with a clean engine. You don't want all the old crude getting loose due to the high cleaning agents in the synthetic oil. Also, if your engine doesn't have a oil filter, long life oil will be wasted on the short oil change intervals you will need to make. Joe

I run synthetic in every car I own, But I was told by a couple of gearhead buds that if your starting with a fresh rebuilt It's a good idea to break them in first then after a couple oil changes run the synthetic

Todd

I was reading an article about oil in Old Cars Magazine a month or so ago. There was the usual discussion about new oils being bad for old flat tappet engines unless it carries the SL rating but it also noted that the term "Synthetic" is just a marketing tool any more. I don't remember the exact terminology and I don't have the article to refer to anymore but I believe it said all (maybe most) current "Synthetic" oils are specially treated dino oil. They are a higher quality oil but there's nothing synthetic about them. I thought that was a freeking rip-off, no better than calling a piece of glass a diamond so you can charge more.

Amsoil is advertised as 100% synthetic, and was when I used it 25 years ago. Seems like a reputable company

Since Amsoil has been mentioned, thought I would flap my gums on my perception of the product.
I have never used Amsoil and I personally know no one who has. It's probably a reputable company with a fine product. But to my mind it seems to be advertised and multi-level marketed in a "snake-oilish" manner. Correct me if I am wrong, but this is the perception I walk away with from viewing websites selling the product.

Well you are wrong, Joe. I have been using and selling Amsoil for over 26 years, and I know a lot about oil. It was the first full synthetic oil in North America to be approved by the Society of Automotive Engineers for extended changes in automotive use. It mostly exceeds, but always meets the required standards for any application. I use their products in everything from chainsaws (mixed 100 to 1 ) to a backhoe, and I wouldnt use any other oil in all my cars. Just go to the web site and read the literature to find out for your self.
As an example, Amsoil is the only company that produced a fully FAA approved synthetic oil for piston aviation engines. The oil was far superior, in my airplane, to any other oil available by the major companies by a very large margin. I am talking about more power and a 50 degree drop in operating temperature. The only reason Amsoil stopped producing the oil was because of the cost of the insurance. It had nothing to do with the product.
Multi level marketing has good examples and bad examples and I have always felt free to sell the product the way I wanted and I couldn't expect more than that.
Before changing an engine to synthetic oil, the engine should be broken in, ie., the rings should be seated. A person should always use the filters designed for the synthetic oil, because there isn't much point in running a premium oil if you are running crappy filters.
I have successfully switched too many high mileage engines in good condition to count, and all that has to be done is to run an engine flush ( using a clean new filter ) before filling with the new synthetic oil and a fresh high quality filter.
I can tell you that every jet engine today runs on synthetic oil. The formulation is slightly different because the operating parameters are slightly different. They do a spectromatic analysis of the oil approximately every 100 hours ( approximately once a week ), and the oil used by the company worked for would typically remain in the engine until the hot section had to be removed for overhaul. In one engine I am personally familiar with, this was over 24,000 hours.
Synthetic oil is better, you pay more and all your parts last longer.
Bob

I am not to the ppoint of firing my engine, but when I do I'll probally be using synthetic. I have an '04 GMC Canyon & a '03 Envoy that I just switched over to synthetic a few weeks ago. My brother sold me on the benefits of it.

Just remember, like what was mentioned earlier, break it in on dino oil first, then switch. Synthetic is too slick to allow the rings to seat.

It's not a rebuilt engine but has been stored dry for a number of years.

Jet engine oil is a one-way trip, as it's consumed like the oil in a 2-cycle. The oil consumption is slow, but it never returns to the reservior. It leaks out into the air/fuel stream, and is consumed in the burner section.

There's nothing wrong with lubricating an engine with vegetable oil with a bunch of additives. At least we don't have to dig it up from way underground, just plant a crop and process it appropriately.
Jerry

We use jet engines in a fixed industrial application and we almost never change the synthetic oil. I've worked here for 31 years and know of only once or twice that the oil was changed, we do annalysis. The oil is not a one way trip, it does go back to the reservoir many many times. It is not exposed to products of combustion like in a piston engine so it doesn't get dirty any where as bad. We have an oil system that is seperate from the jet that provides its own pressure,cooling and filtering. Dave

BigBlockCameo, thank you for the testimonial. I do not doubt Amsoil's synthetic abilities, but my perception remains the same.

As soon as I can find where my leak is and fix it I will switch over to Amsoil. My brother sells it and we have seen the benifits it has to offer.

Joe, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I prefer to use the option to change my opinion when the facts make the need to change obvious.
We would not have been able to make it across the Atlantic once, let alone twice a week ( for me personally) for the last 30 years. The operating oil reservoir capacity for each CF6 engine on a DC 10 was approximately 14 gallons, with a minimum dispatch of 6 gallons. The maximum allowable consumption was around 1 qt per hour ( from memory, but I still have my books and can look it up). The oil is constantly recycled through a oil to fuel cooler to both warm the fuel and cool the oil.

It is more logical to think of a standard petroleum oil as a mixture of light and medium components from the cracking tower.
A good premium synthetic should be thought of more as a compound. The analogy is quite reasonable, that is why synthetics are more shear stable, less volatile, have a film strength of 4 to 7 times of an equivalent petroleum oil and not prone to varnish.
You can actually make very suitable synthetic oil from vegetable oils, and that day is coming fast. It is a matter of cost and availability.
Bob