Synthetic Oil

[berryman]

After a couple of months of reading the postings on this site, I have the impression that about half of you use dino oil while the other half use synthetic oil.

What brand of synthetic oil do you synthetic oil advocates recommend and why?

[priusham]

hmmm... you made me think... well, at least you made me Google. From the Mobile 1 website


Historically, conventional oils lack the performance of synthetic oils in the areas of low-temperature performance and high-temperature oxidation stability. Conventional motor oil is made up of an inconsistent mixture of long and short chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms. In the extreme heat of an engine, short-chain molecules can evaporate, and unstable molecules can oxidize and break down. Conventional oils also contain much greater amounts of impurities, such as sulfur, reactive and unstable hydrocarbons, and other undesirable contaminants that cannot be completely removed by conventional refining of crude oil.

Mobil 1® with SuperSyn™ uses high-performance fluids, including polyalphaolefins (PAOs), along with a proprietary system of additives. Each Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ viscosity grade uses a unique combination of synthetic fluids and selected additives in order to tailor the viscosity grade to its specific application.

Now this is interesting...

Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ is available in five viscosity grades:
Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ 10W-30 – Higher-Mileage Vehicle Formula
Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ 5W-30 – Newer Vehicle Formula
Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ 15W-50 – Performance Driving Formula
:idea: Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ 0W-30 – Enhanced Fuel Economy Formula
Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ 0W-40 – European Car Formula

Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ is truly a global formulation, exceeding the latest standards of the oil industry and vehicle manufacturers.

For instance, the appropriate grades of Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ exceed API Service SL/CF, European ACEA standards and Japanese valvetrain requirements. In addition, certain viscosity grades exceed ILSAC GF-3 and specific OEM standards. For instance, Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ 0W-30, 5W-30 and 10W-30 exceed ILSAC GF-3 and are certified as "Energy Conserving." As another example, Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ 0W-40 exceeds Mercedes-Benz's 229.3 specification.

Myth Busters...

One of the myths that persists about Mobil 1 is that new engines require a break-in period with conventional oil. Current engine manufacturing technology does not require this break-in period. As indicated by the decisions of the engineers who design these high-performance cars, Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ can be used in an engine from the day you drive the car off the showroom floor.

:? Looks I have to consider switching to a synthetic. From the sounds of this, it will work better on cold Michigan mornings in the dead of winter, and I can safely go the full 8,000 miles between oil changes. I do them at about 4000 now.

[jamarimutt]

Synthetic oil is about as necessary for this car as high octane premium gasoline. Both are great ways to throw away the money you save on gas.

[DaddyLongLegs]

I use Mobil 1 5W-30 Newer Vehicle. I use Mobil 1 in all three Toyota's we own for the very reasons stated in W8KC's post above. Additionally, you can go longer between oil changes and while I don't have any scientific proof, better gas mileage.

[rflagg]

I use Mobil 1 synthetic. I use synthetic because then I can tell people I've reduced my foriegn oil consumption by 75% overall with this car.

-m.

[priusham]

Excellent point. I mean, that is the main reason I bought the car.

I always thought that the best reason to use synth oil was to go longer between changes. A non issue for me as I tend to change oil frequently and my local Toyota dealer only charges $19 and that includes a full, hand car wash.

With synth, from what I just read, it would work much better (^ MPG) at low Michigan temps, I could be comfortable going 8K between changes, and I might as well do it myself.

Definitely worth looking into...

[wb9tyj]

Synthetic Oil is the "oil" of choice,due to, 1. you can go longer between chenges,so therefore you recover your costs in that respect...instead of 2 dino changes, only 1 syn change. 2. friction coeffcient is less, so therefore,less wear over the long term...after pulling valve covers and gaskets after 250,000 miles on my old car, with synthetic, very little sludge,and the compression of the engine was within 5% of a new engine...so buying synthetic is not a waste of money, as high octane gas is......synthetic is oil of choice in all my vehicles......it carries heat off much better...

[jayman]

Hi, new to the forum. Just took delivery of a 2004 Prius in Tideland Pearl and it's a great car. I first started using synthetic oils here in Manitoba and Northwest Ontario, Canada, back in 1980, but for much different reasons than I've seen posted: a regular motor oil has the flow properties of a brick at -40, and is quite sluggish at -30. I started using Mobil Delvac 1 5W-40 in the heavy equipment and Mobil 1 in my personal car. I now use Mobil 1 0W-30 or Esso XD-3 0W-30 (A heavy duty PAO synthetic for large diesel motors) in winter. Fuel economy gains are something you'd probably only notice in a carefully-controlled lab test, not in the real world. In order of importance to use a good synthetic: need for cold-temp flow, especially at -20 F or colder; extreme high-temp or hard use; and, you want the motor to last forever. Unless you want to keep the car forever, those lucky enough to live in a "moderate" climate will get good service out of a "dino" oil at much lower cost. BTW: my local Toyota dealer is also an Amsoil dealer, and he recommends a 10,000km break-in before using ANY synthetic. I can see that with a Kenworth, but wonder why such a long break-in for a Toyota?

[mark_hamrick]

Just went to my dealer's "thank you / info" session. Asked their master tech (20+ yrs with Toyota) about using synth oil. His response was he does not reccomend them because they can cause seals to break down faster...Does anyone have an answer to that charge? I am thinking about replacing the dino at 5000 and want to do whatever is best for the car. Am leaning toward Mobil 1...

[VARedDevil]

I have not changed over to synthetic in the Prius yet...am considering it with the vehicle approaching it's first 5K soon. My dealer said no problem with changing over to synthetic. If I have them do it, it would be the difference between the 19.00 dino oil and synthetic, I guess probably another $3.00 / quart or about 12.00 more...or I can bring my own synth in, which I can get at COSTCO or SAM's Club for a lot less, and they will use that. I go to WalMart to get the oil changed in my Avalanche and Accord...they charge me $38.00 for the Avalanche (it uses 6 quarts) and $35.00 for the Accord, both using synthetic. No problems in either. I changed to synthetic at the first oil change in both of them. Factory for the Chevy states when the oil life meter reads 0% oil life or 10,000 miles whichever comes first. I change at 7500 miles, same for the Honda. I have heard of synthetic oil affecting seals. I have heard that in older engines with less tolerances in the clearances, that synthetic because it is "thinner" will slide past pistons and cause a slightly higher consumption of oil. That did happen in an 80 Toyota Tercel I had, but both Mobil and Toyota said the loss that I encountered was well within specs. I've been using synthetic oils in all of my vehicles (yes, even my hog) since 1979. I've never had any problems with it. I will shift over to Mobil 1 in the Prius but I will have the dealer do it, because I'm not sure WalMart is ready to deal with a hybrid yet. I will buy my own and take it to the dealership...that will bring my cost back down some....just my $0.02 :mrgreen: