Your first sentence holds the essence of eternal truth. We know of no argument (for automobile engines) other than it costs more than a more traditional treatment.
People can choose what they will.
I used this shit in a lawn mower engine (just after break-in) and it was a BIG mistake.
I would have no problem using it in my auto if the auto specifies it, if it does not contribute to seepage, and if it costs me little or no more than traditional lubricants.
When we bought our Avalon, they told us that the problem was likely fixed, but for best practice, we should change the oil every 3000-3500 miles.
Done. Easy.
My oil has never shown any decomposition at change, visually. No sludge. Toyota also increased the oil capacity on this model to 6.4 litres per change.
That also should help sludging.
We put some12, 000 miles or LESS on this car per year. I am not going to fart around with pushing a synthetic that far, or depending on oil analysis, or any of that shit.
What I do doesnt cost much money, and I am quite happy with it.
WHEW! Threads like these make me wonder if there are a finite number of bits in the universe...... and what happens when we use them all.
I used synthetic in a Honda lawnmower (which cost me just a little less than a Civic). Had no problems and oil stayed clean for a long time. I sold the lawnmower 10 years later because I moved into a Condo.
I also had an edger with a Briggs and Stratton engine and the oil turned black after one use. I knew immediately that the Briggs and Stratton engine I had then (don't know about newer ones) was not suitably built for synthetic oil (in the same way those Chevy Caprice and Crown Vic engines used in NYC taxis are not suitable for synthetic oil).
It left crap in my Mustang that Royal Purple had to clean out.
What kind of crap? Under what operating conditions? How many Royal Purple oil changes did it take to clean it out?
I have been driving cars since I was 15 years old (59) years and usd to do all my own oil changes until I got too old .
The big thing with oil and filters is to change the oil and filter regularly and often, regardless of brand.
When I was a poor young lad I used reclaimed motor oil that had been re-refined and the cheapest oil filter I could get.
Now that I can afford to pay someone to do my oil changes ? I take it to a Toyota dealer and they change the oil for me for $20.00 Canadian and change including the filter, but I supply the oil (Mobil1 5W30 yellow cap extended service , $27.00 and change at Walmart for 4-5 quarts.)
In all those years I have never, ever, had an oil related problem with my vehicles.
In my early years before synthetic oil I changed the oil+filter every
2400-3000 miles because MOST of my driving was severe service (city)Now with the extended service Mobil1 Synthetic,(yellow cap) I change it every 5000 miles .Yellow cap is GAURANTEED FOR 15,000 MILES BY MOBIL.
Since my driving is now about 50-50 NORMAL and severe service(highway and city)
Like I say , I have never , ever ,had an oil related problem with any of my cars over the years.
Most of my cars have gone well over 315,000 klms and then were given to my kids ,and they still ran forever.
The secret is ;change your oil according to your driving conditions.
Mine was a B&S too, Mark.. The engine was ruined in short order.
Wouldnt you guess, Ashton, that the automakers are covering their rears on this? If you tell someone he can run the oil for 15,000 miles, he may do it, and there can be eventual warranty implications. It sounds like a policy decision rather than a technical one.
Lots of manufacturers (foods, for example) put "use by" dates on their products NOT because the products are bad after that time. It relieves extended product quality warranty questions, I guess.
Normal conditions, mostly highway mileage he had an hour Interstate drive to work. No modification, no drag racing. The car had about 40 or
50K miles on it. On the first oil change I went to RP and inside of a week I started seeing what looked like flakes of varnish on the dip stick. A couple of years later when I replaced the heads and intake I saw what it was. The non-wear surfaces of the cam looked like it had a thin layer of shellac on it. Since the previous owner used Syntec since day one and I changed to RP and it cleaned it, one can only assume the Syntec left the crap layer behind.after the 2nd or 3rd RP change it had stopped and somewhere after that I switched to Amsoil. I guess that side effect of RP can be really good IF you know about it and keep it in check and if you don't have some sludge/varnish that is plugging a hole.Oh, the valve covers were horrendous as well, I had to chisel the crap out with a screwdriver. They looked almost as bad as a 60K mile Pennzoil set of valve covers used to if you used it in the 70s.
Hmmm, if you acquired the car with 40K or 50K miles, you have only the original owner's word that the Syntec was used from day one and that the oil was changed according to Ford's recommended intervals. I think a more likely cause of the buildup is neglected oil changes, whether using conventional or synthetic oil, and the original owner switched to Syntec in hopes of cleaning out the sludge. As far as the sludge in the valve cover, it was probably there before you acquired the vehicle, but it is theoretically possible (though not probable) that the sludge came from the Royal Purple or Amsoil products or some kind or reaction from switching products.
I dont know how my killfile let this slip in, but I can tell you that XK-E Jaguars of a few decades ago routinely used one quart per 600-800 miles.
You are incorrect. The original owner is a best friend I've known since middle school. I was there when he bought the car and told him that day when he sold it, I had first shot. I was the passenger or driver for a lot of those miles and I have the service records for the car and his word it never went more than 5K miles for a change if that. I was also there the day that he bought the first change of Syntec. He decided on Syntec because at the time he was a chemist for Ethyl and his unit was responsible for making the additives package for Castrol Syntec and I used Syntec at the time as well in my 85 Toyota truck. I'm not so sure he'd want to admit that now.
I'm sure the sludge was there before I bought it, and I'm also sure that the RP remove some of it too. What was left was hard and too far away for the oil flow to reach. In the years that have past since I made the mods to that engine, the valve covers that are on it now remain as free from gunk as they were when I put them on. You may use Sytec if you like, but after my experience I will steer clear of it and use a real synthetic oil.
Oh, dont even whisper that...This sort of thing happens just about every time someone wants to talk oil and filters...And nothing is ever resolved.
Despite their sometimes shortcomings, I have a lot of faith in the engineers in the back room at the auto makers. Aside from the oddball case I think they know pretty well how long oil should be run and like you say, they then shorten the interval to make sure there's never an oil related failure. After all, the original fill of oil at the factory is the only oil they ever have to pay for so why would they stretch out drain intervals for any reason other then marketing hype. My 64 T-bird called for 6000/6 month oil changes but mainly as a marketing thing. The factory warranty back then was 12,000 miles or
12 months. Even today, with far better oils and far cleaner burning engines, it's rare to see a "domestic" car that allows a drain interval longer then 7500 miles under the best of circumstances. There's obviously more going on then science.
If you want to spike things just start asking if Amsoil is really the BEST oil you can buy!!!
Sounds like Syntec is not the way to go!
How long was that "one use", 6 months? That B&S better have been a diesel, otherwise you're FOS.
That's true, and is a key part of this discussion. Too bad its being discussed in terms of "synthetic" versus "conventional," because that really doesn't matter. What DOES matter is the rest of the oil additive package, in particular the compoenents that maintain the total base number (TBN) and keep the oil from becoming acidic. You can have synthetics with poor TBN control additive, and you can have conventionals with good packages. Now *most* synthetics also happen to be higher-end oils and have decent additive packages... but its not BECAUSE they're synthetic.
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