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Old 09-02-2015, 11:11 PM   #1
MotoringMark
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Thumbs down Synthetic motor oil worth the price ?

For over ten years my Toyota Avalon has been treated to a relatively expensive line of products: Synthetic motor oil, synthetic brake fluid, synthetic ATF, synthetic power steering fluid. This particular brand is well-known, but not available in retail stores.

Has synthetics been proven to be worth the increased cost?
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Old 09-03-2015, 09:29 AM   #2
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Re: Synthetic motor oil worth the price ?

Synthetic oils are the most clean and lubrication is the best. They have wider temperature range. Also some synthetic motor oils can fill tiny damages in the motor. In the end, using synthetic oils decrease your car amortization
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Old 09-03-2015, 10:48 AM   #3
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Re: Synthetic motor oil worth the price ?

My car has gone as much as a year before changing the synthetic oil and oil filter, and it's doing well.
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Old 09-08-2015, 11:47 AM   #4
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Re: Synthetic motor oil worth the price ?

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My car has gone as much as a year before changing the synthetic oil and oil filter, and it's doing well.
Not all oils are created equal Just because an product is Synthetic does not mean it is a top notch product! There was an oil test done by a guy called 540 rat in his test he tested 159 brands of oil the oil that test at the top of his test was a synthetic the oil the test second was a non synthetic oil. Synthetic oils are more slippery so they do in hence better mileage but a non synthetic can do as good for wear protection!

For the Oil test I am talking about search 540 rat oil test!
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Old 09-08-2015, 09:22 PM   #5
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Re: Synthetic motor oil worth the price ?

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My car has gone as much as a year before changing the synthetic oil and oil filter, and it's doing well.
I would NEVER run for a year on any kind of oil, regardless of mileage. Oil, both dino oil and synthetic can get contaminated just from age. I wouldn't go past 6 months on a change myself. I usually change my oil every 5,000 miles. My Grand Prix only sees about 7,000 miles a year right now, but it still gets two changes a year at 6 months because I do not want to take a chance with contamination from age.
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Old 09-08-2015, 09:30 PM   #6
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Re: Synthetic motor oil worth the price ?

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I would NEVER run for a year on any kind of oil, regardless of mileage. Oil, both dino oil and synthetic can get contaminated just from age. I wouldn't go past 6 months on a change myself. I usually change my oil every 5,000 miles. My Grand Prix only sees about 7,000 miles a year right now, but it still gets two changes a year at 6 months because I do not want to take a chance with contamination from age.
I only use synthetics by Axxxxx, and get the oil tested regularly by them, and only use their filters.
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Old 09-09-2015, 12:47 PM   #7
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Re: Synthetic motor oil worth the price ?

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I only use synthetics by Axxxxx, and get the oil tested regularly by them, and only use their filters.
if you do a lot of stop and go driving your car don't get a chance to warm up. Condensation will cause acid build up that causes corrosion, the only way to avoid this is regular oil chances! Leaving the same oil in a car for a year is not good it don't matter what oil you use!
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Old 01-19-2016, 08:44 AM   #8
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Re: Synthetic motor oil worth the price ?

Old thread but 347Ranger hit the bullseye for the average car driver. Synthetics have a lot to offer but they do not change the need to change oil frequently due to condensation-caused oil acidity. I've know people who change oil only once a year with regular oils and seem to have no problems but it's not recommended. I know racers who use synthetics for the extra performance of less friction but that's a small cost for them. In normal driving given reasonable oil change time intervals and good products, synthetics are a waste of money. Plus it's a one-way decision as many cars that are doing fine running synthetics will experience highly accelerated wear if switched back to regular oils, while the reverse doesn't happen.

Run the oil the manufacturer recommends, change oil at least twice a year, use a factory-approved filter, and know that you are going to get the best results you can in the long run that way. And if an engine ever had synthetic in it, keep it that way. The engineers who designed the engine and tested it know what they are doing so unless you are smarter than they are or want to experiment, let them do the thinking.

Phil
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