Synthetic oil....

[rubberman]

My GP has 78K miles and have no oil leaks nor does it drink oil. Thinking about switching to synthetic oil. IS it basically too late to switch? any good brands? do i use a regular filter like the PF52?

[GTP Dad]

Change whenever you like. Mobil 1 seems to be the oil of choice but Castrol, Penzoil or any of the others are as good. I use Amsoil in my vehicles but they recommend that the engine be flushed before installing their oil. So if you just want to change without any of the extra hassles the above brands are a good choice.
You may have some leakage around the valve cover gaskets once you change. Pontiac used a lacquer coated gasket on some engines and the synthetic oil tends to cause small leaks in that area.

[rubberman]

i also heard the the first 2-3 oil changes still need to be done around 3000 miles since the synthetic cleans out the leftover gunk/buildup in the engine. is that true?

[gpdragon]

mobil 1 is your best bet with a detergent thats what my bubby and i use in our raceing motors and that what i use in my prix after the swap i did. you do need to be carefull with the first oil change because if they don't get all the old oil out it can gunk up bad, but it will clean itself out down the road. but yeah it will be a clean running engine down the road

Originally Posted by rubberman

i also heard the the first 2-3 oil changes still need to be done around 3000 miles since the synthetic cleans out the leftover gunk/buildup in the engine. is that true?

[wylie]

I also heard once you go synth you can't go back?
I put synth in my Harley and I could realy notice the improvement.
Wish I could afford it in my GP.

[KX2000GTP]

synthetic is definetly worth it. I switched to Mobil 1 on my 00 GTP at 50K and have had no problems with gunking. I did the first two changes at 3K on the dot, but I don't think it's absolutley necessary, maybe just good practice. Right now I'm at 68K and still no problems. I'll also add that the car did have non-synthetic oil when I got it.

hey Wylie, how much are you getting charged to switch to synth? If I remember correctly it was only about $20 more than non-synthetic.

[rubberman]

Mobil1's website says you can switch back and forth....




Question:
Switching From Conventional Motor Oil to Mobil 1
There seems to be confusion about how to make the switch from conventional motor to synthetic. I am a do-it-yourselfer. Could you provide instructions?
-- Joe D., Miami, FL

Answer:
The instructions are very easy to follow: Simply change the oil as you would normally. Any “confusion” is just myth. You can switch from conventional motor oil to Mobil 1 synthetic (and back again, if you want), without following any special procedures. The only exception to this is with a higher-mileage engine that has never used synthetic motor oil, or with an engine that has used conventional motor oil and been poorly maintained. In these cases, you should still follow the same basic oil-change procedures (drain the old oil, remove the old oil filter, put in new Mobil 1 and put on a new oil filter), but you should follow a regimen of one or two shortened oil-change intervals. For instance, let’s say that your regular oil change interval is 5,000 miles. If you’re switching to Mobil 1 under the circumstances mentioned above, make your next Mobil 1 oil change in 2,500 miles, your third Mobil 1 oil change 3,500 miles after that, and then follow your normal 5,000 mile oil-change interval. The reasoning behind this staggered interval is that a high-mileage engine, or one that has seen infrequent oil changes, will likely have a considerable build-up of sludge and deposits. Mobil 1 will help clean the engine as you drive, but it will have to work much harder in a very “dirty” engine, and so it is best to change the oil more frequently for those first few thousand miles. After that, you can rest assured that Mobil 1 is continuing to keep your engine running clean and well lubricated for mile after mile.

[carnutcass]

In my not-so-humble opinion, the "3000 Mile Oil Change" is one of the greatest scams EVER perpetrated on the American public. It is an absolute waste to change your oil that frequesntly.....unless of course you race weekly or operate your vehicle in a very dusty, hot, or congested/urban environment.

It's just not necessary! I'm truly amazed that with all the oil price increases and national focus on conservation that no one has suggested to American motorists that they are throwing their money away by changing oil that frequently.

The stated interval in our owner's manual is what, every 7000 miles? Given the fact that GM has to warrant the engine, if your engine needed new oil every 3000 miles thay'd say so. GM doesn't want to replace any more engines under warranty than they have to!

Done with my rant......thank you and have a nice day!

[wylie]

Originally Posted by KX2000GTP

hey Wylie, how much are you getting charged to switch to synth? If I remember correctly it was only about $20 more than non-synthetic.

I checked it out about a year ago when I was at a Quaker lube shop
and it was almost double,I'm going to check again maybe its come down since then.
.
.
.
.

[rubberman]

at Advanced auto parts, its $5 per quart for Castrol syntec oil. So for $25 you can change your own oil using the synthetic stuff compared to the same price the local business' charge for conventional oil changes.

what weight would i go with? same ol 10w30 or what?

[carnutcass]

10w30.....yes sir!

[KX2000GTP]

Originally Posted by carnutcass

In my not-so-humble opinion, the "3000 Mile Oil Change" is one of the greatest scams EVER perpetrated on the American public. It is an absolute waste to change your oil that frequesntly.....unless of course you race weekly or operate your vehicle in a very dusty, hot, or congested/urban environment.

It's just not necessary! I'm truly amazed that with all the oil price increases and national focus on conservation that no one has suggested to American motorists that they are throwing their money away by changing oil that frequently.

The stated interval in our owner's manual is what, every 7000 miles? Given the fact that GM has to warrant the engine, if your engine needed new oil every 3000 miles thay'd say so. GM doesn't want to replace any more engines under warranty than they have to!

Done with my rant......thank you and have a nice day!

Are you serious? Ok I'm confused...i figured with synthetic you could run longer between changes, I usually end up around 5000-5500, but with the 'conventional' oil wouldn't it be bad to wait that long?

I know the manual says 3000 - 7500, but isn't that dependent on environmental conditions that the car is driven in daily?

I dont' know if I could trust regular oil to that long...I love my car to much to risk conventional oil burning my engine up. Maybe i'm giving it a little overkill, but I want to keep my car and have it running as smooth as it does now for years to come, so to me it's more of a "good practice" to have the oil changed on a regular basis. Instead of 3k or 7k i split the difference and go for around 5k...but that's just my

[KX2000GTP]

Originally Posted by wylie

I checked it out about a year ago when I was at a Quaker lube shop
and it was almost double,I'm going to check again maybe its come down since then.
.
.
.
.

At the shop I go to, it's somewhere around 38.95 for regular oil change, and 58.95 for synthetic...I know a few of the guys pretty well and bring them a lot of business so maybe they give me a little discount...I'm not sure, hopefully this will help you out some.

[BIG-L]

Originally Posted by KX2000GTP

At the shop I go to, it's somewhere around 38.95 for regular oil change, and 58.95 for synthetic...I know a few of the guys pretty well and bring them a lot of business so maybe they give me a little discount...I'm not sure, hopefully this will help you out some.

20 bucks for a 5qt jug of Mobile 1 at walmart,wix oil filter 6 bucks = 26 bucks and a piece of mind knowing that you did it yourself


~Larry~

[wylie]

Originally Posted by KX2000GTP

At the shop I go to, it's somewhere around 38.95 for regular oil change, and 58.95 for synthetic...I know a few of the guys pretty well and bring them a lot of business so maybe they give me a little discount...I'm not sure, hopefully this will help you out some.

You know its about the same here only in Canadian Peso's
So its accually cheaper here?
I think I might go for I just don't like the part about the posible leaks.
.
.