Does expensive synthetic motor oil pay off in the long run?
Member's, post your thought & please vote in the above poll It should be interesting to see what are member's are using in their Monte Carlo's * Please post the brand that you are using & what you like best ? Thanks everyone!
By Jim Travers, Consumer Reports


By Exhaust Notes 20 hours ago





Note: Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on MSN.


We noticed an interesting tidbit during research forr our story on how to make your car last 200,000 miles. While reaching out to respondents to our Annual Auto Survey for tips and scouring our car forums, we found that many readers said they use synthetic motor oil exclusively in their keeper cars. And keep them they do, with many reporting accumulated miles far exceeding 200,000.<!--EndofExcerptMarker-->

Of course, many other readers report similar longevity from their vehicles with conventional motor oil. The key is to stick with regular oil changes as stipulated in their owner's manual or service when called for based on an in-car indicator (aka service minder), a function that is increasingly common through the wonders of technology.

Synthetic motor oil costs more than the conventional stuff, but the less frequent oil changes that you get with synthetics can offset the cost. And do-it-yourselfers point out that buying in bulk can further the savings. Synthetic is said to stand up better to higher temperatures, thus reducing engine wear. (See our guide to car maintenance.)

We've heard from drivers on both sides of this slippery coin. But regardless of what oil you choose, stick to the maintenance schedule in your car's manual, and the odds are good it'll stick with you for 200,000 miles and beyond.


Read more at Consumer Reports:


5 tip-offs to mechanic rip-offs
Save hundreds on car maintenance
How to make your car last 200,000 miles

 

I think it would help to use full synthetic when you start using it when the car has low miles then continue to use it. I started using Royal Purple full synthetic when I bought my car with 39,000 miles on it. I plan to use it forever!

 

I use mobile 1 synthetic and my cars been runnin like a champ

 

I use Mobil 1 synthetic simply because my motor oil goes through my supercharger (like a turbocharger). If it wasn't for that though, I would just buy whatever I could find that was cheap.

Take this guy for instance: ClubGP Message Forum troubleshooting

He's a member on another forum and drives a Grand Prix. His GP pushing around 400whp (and had over 300whp for a long time), finally blew around 260k miles, and he used the cheapest Wal-mart oil he could find.

I believe that it's more important to keep an eye on your oil. Don't let it get too low, make sure it's not discolored, do regular oil changes, etc. You shouldn't have a problem then.

 

EXACTLY. You gotta use it young. It essentially doesn't make sense to start using it at high miles when conventional was used before. I would be using synthetic if conventional wasn't used for 104,000 miles before.

 

I just bought Valvoline MaxLife in the red bottle I think its just conventional lol I hope anyway because it nowhere says that its synthetic.

 

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<TD>valvoline vv161 maxlife,synthetic...
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<TD>Valvoline Max Life Motor Oil, SAE 5...
$5.59 - Sears
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Thanks Everyone for your posts/votes

 

I run Royal Purple in Mary Jane it's one of the few I can with a old school flat tappet cam heard an seen what happens to flat tappet cam that don't run with the right additives in the oil.conventional is ok with them but most syn oils don't have enough zinc(I think it's zinc?don't remember off the top of my head) for a flat tappet.
Jess runs castrol syntec in her turbo cavi since the new motor was broke in.
The mule used to get what every i could find to top her off with only changed the oil a few times burned through a lot.The durango gets the cheap stuff too.
I like syn oils.Every thing I run them in seems to run a little bit better in one way or another.

 

I'm pretty sure its the 2nd one space as it says nowhere on the bottle that its synthetic
Looks exactly like this minus the 10w-30 part lol and the cheap filter anyway thats what it is

 

I've used Mobil 1 synthetic in my Monte since it's first oil change at 1,000 miles. (yes I changed the oil for the first time at 1,000 miles). I now have 163K and it runs just as good if not better (due to mods ) than the day I bought it.

I am a FIRM believer in sythetic motor oils, you will never catch me putting conventional in anything I own. My lawn mower has Mobil 1 in it...I even put Mobil 1 in the stupid company Prius that I drive.

For me, any SMALL price difference you pay for synthetic WAY pays for itself by the benefits of sythetics. Especially considering I drive so much, I stretch my drain intervals to 7,500-8,500 miles generally. I would never do this on a conventional oil. And the fact that synthetics leave your engine completely clean internally, makes it worth every penny in my opinion.