Oil Type and Brand

It used to be that autos use either non-detergent or high detergent oil. However, nowadays, one could go crazy with what's on the oil shelf. I use my Ranger for my day to day routine running anywhere from a short two mile trip to a thirty five mile trip. I normally use the standard 5W-30 and the standard Fram PH8A filter. My question is and I certainly like your opinion on the following:

Is it worth the price to use a fully synthetic oil as opposed to standard?
What is the advantage of using the "extended mileage" oil.
What is the advantage of using SUV/Truck/Van oil?
My Ranger has 87K miles. Should I use the oil for vehicles with over 75K miles?
Isn't a fact that those specialty oils are nothing but higher viscosity oil, or do they really have compounds designed to help improve performance.

Would anyone agree that as long as one changes oil and filter regularly as recommened (3-5K miles) that one can expect a reasonably trouble free performance of any vehicle? of course excluding drving through Alaska in the dead of winter or driving through Death Valley in mid-summer.

Is it worth the price to use a fully synthetic oil as opposed to standard?
What is the advantage of using the "extended mileage" oil.
What is the advantage of using SUV/Truck/Van oil?
My Ranger has 87K miles. Should I use the oil for vehicles with over 75K miles?
Isn't a fact that those specialty oils are nothing but higher viscosity oil, or do they really have compounds designed to help improve performance.

Would anyone agree that as long as one changes oil and filter regularly as recommened (3-5K miles) that one can expect a reasonably trouble free performance of any vehicle? of course excluding drving through Alaska in the dead of winter or driving through Death Valley in mid-summer.

To answer your questions in order --

Yes. No matter what vehicle you drive, it's always worth it to switch to a synthetic. The reasons are numerous. Possibly saving a bit of gas money and keeping your truck alive as long as possible are the two biggest reasons for most people. It's a proven fact; synthetic oils last longer and protect better than conventional oils.

If you're talking about the ones that are supposed to last, say, 5000 miles, it's a higher-quality additive package that lasts longer than the normal ones. The 15,000 miles or 1 year between oil changes for Mobil 1 Extended Performance Full Synthetic oil is the extreme range of this for API-approved oils. AMS Oil is supposed to last 25,000 miles, but you have to swap a filter and add a quart of oil every so many miles, and it's not API-approved. To translate -- $30 for a 5-quart jug of Mobil 1 EP at Walmart plus a filter = 15,000 miles or 1 year of no more oil changes. IMO, the labor savings alone is worthwhile.

The truck/van/SUV oils are supposed to have tougher additive packages. However, if you're going to spring for those oils, you might as well spring for a bit more and get the synthetics. :2cents:

I don't know if those oils do anything special, but I do know that if it didn't do what it was supposed to do they'd pull it from the market. Americans are waaaaay too lawsuit-happy to do otherwise. Just something to consider. Besides, at Walmart the high-mileage oil is like 40 cents more than the regular oil in the 5 quart 10w-30 jugs. I wouldn't squawk at that even if it was the same oil and, well, it might just do your engine some good.

Yeah, changing the oil every 3k miles (my owners manual for my truck actually says 7500 miles for 1990 era 5w30) would offer a good level of protection, but why not spend a bit more to save a lot later? Think about the cost of a new engine, plus the labor involved in swapping it out, or the cost of a new truck. Now think about the fact that you can buy a jug of synthetic oil for about $14 plus tax.

That having been said, I can give you some links to do some research on both filters and oil if you're at all interested. I know most people here probably disagree with basically everything I've said so far, but I thought I'd give my opinion anyway.

I agree about using synthetics. I have been changing over my vehicles to synthetics, including my small engines.One extra advantage about switching to synthetics that I like is that the extended change time equates to a decrease in oil usage, meaning we end up using less oil and there would be less to dispose of /recycle which is better for the environment. I would think twice about using Fram however. Their quality has gone downhill over the years and there are better filters available out there. You could try a Motorcraft brand filter. Here is a link to a filter study that is available online:http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilterstudy.html

Good point. However, I checked out a website by oil (lubrication) experts and one thing they all agree on is the effect of constant cold starts and short hauls by most vehicles nowadays. Many of the additives, they declared, are already in most oils meeting standard. The add-on additives were found somewhat counter productive in that it protects against acids and other conataminants but the ill effect is that the "debris" stays with the oil and are circulated once more. The cold cylinder during cold starts act as condensers, they declared, and is a major factor in production of contaminants. In brief, there is no substitute for the routine oil change unless one drives long distances (over 10 miles per run) all the time and then the frequency can be extended. I have some reservations regarding the cost-effectivity of synthetics for my application. For my purposes, I will simply use the standard 5W-30 and change oil every 3-4 thousand miles or 120 days which ever comes first. Guess the bottom line is for all to do whatever they are comfortable for their individual veheicles.

Im a cheap oil and filter guy, I change every 3000 miles and have never had an engine go bad yet. My thinking is the rest of the car will probably fall apart before the engine does as long as you change oil and filter on time. Sythetic might be better if your planning on driving a car over 200,000k

I had an '83 Olds Delta 88 Braughm with over 250K miles. Never had to do anything on the long block or anything in the drive train. Changed oil and filter every 4K miles. Finally got tired of repairing all the deteriorating plastic paraphenelia so I sold it. I take advantage of oil sales or coupon oil sale in weekend ads.

By the way, if synthetics are so good, why don't car manufacturers used them in their products?

Actually some car manufacturers DO use synthetics right from the factory. But it all boils down to their bottom line. If they can cut corners to keep the price of their vehicles down, then they will do that to increase profits. They figure they'll leave it up to the consumer to switch and bear the added cost of using the synthetic.

I agree about using synthetics. I have been changing over my vehicles to synthetics, including my small engines.One extra advantage about switching to synthetics that I like is that the extended change time equates to a decrease in oil usage, meaning we end up using less oil and there would be less to dispose of /recycle which is better for the environment. I would think twice about using Fram however. Their quality has gone downhill over the years and there are better filters available out there. You could try a Motorcraft brand filter. Here is a link to a filter study that is available online:http://minimopar.knizefamily.net/oilfilterstudy.html

Great post. I've used Fram beause I love the rough grip stuff. But, the description of how thre Fram filter causes noisy value train's solves one problem for me.

--So what do I do with the 4 Frams that I've got left??

Thanks,
Stan

Synthetics cost about twice the standard oil. For all the hoopla it serves, it would be a worthwhile feature to add to the vehicles reputation. Afterall, manufacturers pride themselves about their 100,000-mile between change plugs which I'm sure cost them a bit more.

I use Fram, Purelator or AC-Delco filters whichever is cheaper.
I use Pennzoil, Quaker State, or Castrol oil whichever is on sale.

By the way, if synthetics are so good, why don't car manufacturers used them in their products?

The Viper and Corvette come with Mobil 1 in the crankcase, if Mobil's website is to be believed. Can't ask for a better plug than that for American muscle, eh?

Here (http://www.mobil1.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Synthetics/Manufacturers_Choice.aspx)'s Mobil's list of Mobil 1 filled cars from the factory. I especially liked the line reading "All Porsche Vehicles"

http://www.mobil1.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Synthetics/Manufacturers_Choice.aspx

No, I'm not a Mobil employee and I dislike their politics... Hell, I dislike any Big Oil company and they way they behave, but facts are facts.

I drive a 99 Ford Ranger 4.0L 2WD. I'm sure I don't have a performance car. Had I had a Porsche or a Viper I would be willing to spend money for the fanciest oil filter and oil there are on the market. I read Mobil's article. It's a rhetoric from those written by Pennzoil, Quaker State, Valvoline, and many other oil manufacturers. There is one thing that I read regarding oil filters however. Most oil filters including Mobil 1's are "full flow" oil filters however, I've read of a "by-pass" type oil filter whereby oil is supplied directly to the frictional components but a fair percentage of it go through the by pass filter. By the way, synthetics also become contaminated with condensation, acid and carbon due to frequent short drives. Does it have the capability to eliminate the residue as the result of the contamination without draining?

By the way, synthetics also become contaminated with condensation, acid and carbon due to frequent short drives. Does it have the capability to eliminate the residue as the result of the contamination without draining?

That's what the additive package is for. Synthetics have better additive packages than conventional oils which are made as cheaply as possible due to market competition. Just like the filter is there to pull the suspended particles out of the oil, all modern oils have an additive package to combat sludge formation/buildup and acid formation as well as emergency lubrication (moly, etc.).

You mentioned rhetoric written by oil companies. The trick when reading rhetoric, even those by your aforementioned "oil experts" is to cut through the garbage and find the real meat of the article. The plain facts are simple. Synthetic oils last longer, prevent more engine wear under both common and extreme useages than conventional oils due to their better additive packages and more uniform molecule shape, flow much better at cold temperatures and cling better at high temps, and oil filters do a pretty good job of getting rid of the non-chemical contaminants no matter who makes them. Fram filters now use cardboard in the construction and cheap rubber whenever possible unless you move up to one of their specialty filters. Even the cheapos from Walmart (SuperTech brand) avoid using cardboard. Does that mean Fram filters will ruin your engine? No. They're rebranded and used by so many other companies it's crazy. Anecdotal evidence points to problems at the factory level (including using identical media and internal construction on some of their higher-end filters as they put in their baseline units), but that has to be taken with a grain of salt. If the filters were inherently bad in their current incarnation they'd have been pulled form the market and a lot of people would have Fram-bought engines in their vehicles. I, for one, prefer not to risk having a bad glue-job on the carboard cost me my car or truck. As for the added cost of the oil, let's assume you paid $5 more for the jug of oil becuase you got it on sale or bought Supertech Full Synthetic for some reason. Let's say you drained the oil at 3500 miles. That's an extra .142 cents a mile. Cents, not dollars. And that's not factoring in paying $1 or $2 more for a "better" filter. Some people say they get better gas mileage with synthetics. If that's true, even a 1% increase in economy would help offset the cost of the oil on a per-mile basis. If you saved, over the course of those 3500 miles, 1 cent per mile in gas you've paid yourself back 10:1 on your investment.

Bypass filters are something else entirely. "Full-flow" is just another name for standard screw-on filters. Bypass filters are heavy-duty, specialty-application jobs that filter out micronic-sized contaminants. To install an aftermarket bypass filtration system costs at least $150, depending on brand, can can run much higher, especially if you don't do the work yourself. They're normally used on big diesel engines to extend oil-change intervals to something like 15 or 25 thousand miles with standard oils. Effects on a standard truck, such as yours, would be impossible to predict; some people noted a massive drop in oil pressure and others claim oil that's still light amber after 18,000 miles.

If you're happy with the way you do things now, that's fine with me and everyone else here, I'm sure :smokin: Just like I'm happy with my way and everyone else is happy with theirs.

As the saying goes "Do your thing, do what you got to do". I'm aure that fellow threaders will form their own opinion based on our views.