Ups And Downs To Switching To Cynthetic Oil

[94solchick]

*Spelled synthetic wrong*

I have a 94 del sol with a 1.5l engine. I want to try to prolong it's life as long as possible. It has 77,000 miles on it. I was thinking of putting synthetic oil in it. Is that a good idea, or should I just stay with the regular $.99 oil I have now? I don't have any leaking or burning or anything like that, and my motor runs pretty good. Any suggestions?? Thanks.

[imported_comutek]

only disadvantage i can think of is price.

[UniquelyGeneric]

Bad idea. The other day in class, my instructor (who builds nextel cup engines) was explaining how switching types/brands of oil, especially switching from a standard oil to a synthetic is detrimental to your engine because of the difference in molecule size (I go to UTI...). The moving parts in your engine which are lubricated by your oil develop a particular wear pattern from contact with the layer of oil that resides between said parts and the ones they move against. By changing the molecule size, you alter the wear pattern as well, which causes your engine to wear at a greater rate.

Yay. I can finally contribute useful information to the board!!!

[Calesta]

I'd just go with one of the better normal oils like Valvoline MaxLife or something- it's about half the price of synthetic, and still performs very well. If you want to spend the cash on Mobil1, it's very nice- but not really necessary unless you're driving your car really hard.

[94solchick]

Originally posted by 00civicSI@Feb 22 2005, 01:35 PM

Yay. I can finally contribute useful information to the board!!!

glad I could help!

Thanks guys. I may go with the valvoline max life. I just wanted to see if anyone had any experience with different types of oils and which ones work better. I do drive my car a little hard (I like to pretend it's fast).

[NstyGrnHatch]

Originally posted by 00civicSI@Feb 22 2005, 01:35 PM
Bad idea.* The other day in class, my instructor (who builds nextel cup engines) was explaining how switching types/brands of oil, especially switching from a standard oil to a synthetic is detrimental to your engine because of the difference in molecule size (I go to UTI...).* The moving parts in your engine which are lubricated by your oil develop a particular wear pattern from contact with the layer of oil that resides between said parts and the ones they move against.* By changing the molecule size, you alter the wear pattern as well, which causes your engine to wear at a greater rate.

Yay.* I can finally contribute useful information to the board!!!

This is true as well as, lets say you have been using pensziol regular oil in your engine for 77k. Now your gonna have some gunk build up around your seals, because your motor is use to having that type of oil in the car with all the additives and what not in the oil. Now even switching brands or changing to a synthetic oil will clean out all that gunk around your seals, and over time more and more leaks are going to show up. I have always ran conventional motor oil in all of my honda engines and never had a problem, except with my single cam in the coupe, i ran synthetic and it ate that oil up like no tommorow.

[Doughboy]

Originally posted by NstyGrnHatch+Feb 23 2005, 07:25 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NstyGrnHatch @ Feb 23 2005, 07:25 AM)</div>

This is true as well as, lets say you have been using pensziol regular oil in your engine for 77k. Now your gonna have some gunk build up around your seals, because your motor is use to having that type of oil in the car with all the additives and what not in the oil. Now even switching brands or changing to a synthetic oil will clean out all that gunk around your seals, and over time more and more leaks are going to show up. I have always ran conventional motor oil in all of my honda engines and never had a problem, except with my single cam in the coupe, i ran synthetic and it ate that oil up like no tommorow.[/b]

I used castrol synthetic in my ol CRX and it ate the shit up quick.. Had leaks and so on.. Now that makes sense the way you explained it. But.....what if your changing from one oil to another without either being synthetic. Can doing this affect the motor in any way??

Another thing Im just over 100K now so should I switch from 5/30 to 10/30??

[Smooth_Imports]

i only use mobil 1. The one time i didn't put it in the Y7 i blow a rod.

[NstyGrnHatch]

Originally posted by Doughboy+Feb 23 2005, 03:07 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Doughboy @ Feb 23 2005, 03:07 PM)</div>

I used castrol synthetic in my ol CRX and it ate the shit up quick.. Had leaks and so on.. Now that makes sense the way you explained it. But.....what if your changing from one oil to another without either being synthetic. Can doing this affect the motor in any way??

Another thing Im just over 100K now so should I switch from 5/30 to 10/30??[/b]

Not if your using the same brand of oil. But i dont see any reason to use 10/30 in a 4 clyinder, i use 5/30 in my car year round.

[Bryan_M]

the guy i bought the integra from said he's already started to put synthetic oil in it, so does that mean i can't change back to regular?