Should I switch to synthetic oil?

[Captain Ahab]

Hello all. I have a 2004 Chev Malibu Classic (2003 bodystyle made for fleet usage). It has a 2.2 litre Ecotec 4-banger in it with 70000 miles on it. My question is...would there be any tangible benefit for me to switch to synthetic oil? I am having no problems with my car. I am just curious. Thanks in advance for any input.

[534BC]

If you're doing under 10K / year there may not be much benefit. If doing over 20K / year then there is extended drain intervals.

[J-Ri]

Synthetic oil will also lower the friction in the engine, which will result in longer engine life (also beter gas mileage, but so slight an increase that synthetic oil will never pay for itself in gas savings alone). If you don't plan on having it for at least 175,000 miles, I would stick with conventional oil. Any modern engine will have no problems making it that far. It will also depend on where you live, around here road salt will eat the body away long before the engine will fail unless you spend a LOT of time on the highway.

If you do end up switching, check the oil regularly and change it when it gets dirty, not at the rediculously high interval they give on the bottle. I just bought a 2004 Cavalier with 71k miles on the 2.2 ecotec and switched to synthetic, for me it looks like 5,000 mile intervals... maybe more because I'm on the first change and the oil was getting pretty dirty when I bought it.

Whether you change you own oil or have it done at a shop should also be taken into consideration. If you have someone else do it, then I would say definately switch to synthetic because you'll be paying around $20 plus oil cost to have it done each time, at least at (almost) all reputable repair shops.

[Captain Ahab]

Originally Posted by J-Ri

Synthetic oil will also lower the friction in the engine, which will result in longer engine life (also beter gas mileage, but so slight an increase that synthetic oil will never pay for itself in gas savings alone). If you don't plan on having it for at least 175,000 miles, I would stick with conventional oil. Any modern engine will have no problems making it that far. It will also depend on where you live, around here road salt will eat the body away long before the engine will fail unless you spend a LOT of time on the highway.

If you do end up switching, check the oil regularly and change it when it gets dirty, not at the rediculously high interval they give on the bottle. I just bought a 2004 Cavalier with 71k miles on the 2.2 ecotec and switched to synthetic, for me it looks like 5,000 mile intervals... maybe more because I'm on the first change and the oil was getting pretty dirty when I bought it.

Whether you change you own oil or have it done at a shop should also be taken into consideration. If you have someone else do it, then I would say definately switch to synthetic because you'll be paying around $20 plus oil cost to have it done each time, at least at (almost) all reputable repair shops.

Thanks for the advice. I do plan on running it until the wheels fall off. My only other questions are these. Will there be any immediate negative effects switching to synthetic, i.e. will it take the engine a while to get "used" to synthetic? Also with conventional oil we're told the whole 3000 miles or 3 months whatever comes first. Since I've pretty much heard that you can get 5000 miles between changes with synthetic is there also a time interval you should change it at if in fact you don't hit 5000 miles before that interval?

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by Captain Ahab

Thanks for the advice. I do plan on running it until the wheels fall off. My only other questions are these. Will there be any immediate negative effects switching to synthetic, i.e. will it take the engine a while to get "used" to synthetic? Also with conventional oil we're told the whole 3000 miles or 3 months whatever comes first. Since I've pretty much heard that you can get 5000 miles between changes with synthetic is there also a time interval you should change it at if in fact you don't hit 5000 miles before that interval?

With modern engines and technological advances made with oil in the past two decades, the "3 month/3,000 mile oil change" is more of a sales gimmick to get people to buy more oil. You could increase that mileage figure to 5,000 to 7,500 miles and still get a good benefit from the oil. Also increasing the change interval helps to conserve oil lessening our dependence on it. I use synthetic in many of my vehicles and leave it in for about 12,000 miles. About halfway through that time period that the oil is in my crankcase, I change just the oil filter and top off the oil level to compensate for any loss during the filter-only change. That also helps to extend the life of the synthetic. I know others who leave their synthetic in even longer and do the filter only changes between, so I would leave the synthetic in at least for 10,000 to 12,000 miles to see a cost effective benefit. ( Many of those that I know that go with the longer interval ,usually over 15,000+ miles, also test their oil at an independent lab to make sure things are still operating at the proper levels.)
If your going to use synthetic but only leave it in for 5,000 miles, you may be doing a disservice to your wallet as synthetic cost more than conventional oil and you can leave that in for 5,000 miles and still get good results. If you plan on using synthetic, at least keep it in longer. As long as the filter gets changed regularly it will do it's job

[stoned_pimp420]

if you've been using conventional oil since new and it having so little miles on it, the calls on you, synthetics do offer more mileage but also for more money. In consideration of conventional oils I've got 2 case sernarios to mention: 1) my 1988 S10 Blazer my very first car the motor&tranny was donated from my dad's 1990 s10 truck which he bought god knows when but he got it with 20,000 on the clock and it had 250,000 on the dial when it was pulled from the truck in 2004, still doesn't use a drop of oil between 5K changes. 2) my 1990 buick century when I bought it, it had 130K almost straight up, it now has 264K with no knocks at 3K intervals religiously, i do have some problems with the electrical system since i carfaxed it and they tell me it went into lake michigan in 1992, but that's another story.

the blazer has the "ol faithful" 4.3L V6
the buick has what i think was the 3rd best engine GM ever built the, 3300 V6

[partsmgn]

Some of the newer vehicals call for synthetic oil..... however it is mostly personal peference... since the car has ran on regular oil for a few miles.... switching to synthetic is an option. If you have drove the car for awhile (I mean for over a couple of years) and always used regular oil I would advise against it beacuse the engine seals are used to regular additives. Personally I haven't really seen any long term advantages of using synthetic oils. Most people only get synthetic oil when theres a sale on it. (And it has to be really cheap before anybody buys it)

[bobss396]

I just switched to Mobil 1 on my '02 Altima. My mechanic suggested it and I went with it. Advantages, better flow at cold temperatures, it doesn't break down at higher temps, just like the TV commercials!

The change was a bit pricey, the next one I'll do myself and look for a sale on oil.

It is a "non-newtonian" fluid, meaning it is not impacted by temperature and maintains a constant viscosity.

Bob

[partsmgn]

Most synthetic oils claim they have "adaptive molecules" that always are reforming to prevent damage to the motor. Others have special addatives that clean the motor to prevent acid build-up. However in every case if you do alot of driving and are in congested urban areas where there is lot of idleing then synthetic oil is alright to run..... but if this is just a weekend beater then stick to mineral oil. I drive 3000 miles a month and I'm using regular Pennzoil oil and I have excellent mileage and my engine performs normal with lots of power.

[Polygon]

No matter what you drive it will run better with synthetic, it's that simple.

Go with Mobil 1, it's about $20 for five quarts at Wal-Mart, that's NOT expensive. Also, don't go buying a Fram filter. Granted, Mobil 1 is not a true synthetic anymore. It is group III. If you want a good true synthetic than I would suggest Royal Purple or Redline.

[partsmgn]

What's wrong with using a Fram synthetic filter??

[jonathanwang]

When you check the oil and it isn't dirdy ,so you no need to change it.Because it still do it work well.

[bobss396]

Originally Posted by partsmgn

What's wrong with using a Fram synthetic filter??

I've had bad experiences with Fram filters from 'Mart type stores. The part numbers are slightly different from Fram filters sold elsewhere. In one case, my oil light took longer to go out when I started it and I changed to something else within a few days.

Bob

[bobss396]

The biggest advantage to synthetics is that they do not promote sludge like conventional ash-based oils. After owning a variety of sludgemobiles in the past, its time to break the cycle.

Bob

[Polygon]

Originally Posted by partsmgn

What's wrong with using a Fram synthetic filter??

Because they are poor quality. They are simply junk. Being that oil is the engine's lie blood I spend a little extra and get a Mobil 1 or K&N filter. The K&N filters are nice because they have a boss on the end that you can use any wrench to get it off.