Synthetic oil in the 7M???

Status
Not open for further replies.

Drake69

Enjoyin' mah ride...
Aug 24, 2009
648
0
16
55
Richmond, Virginia, United States
When I bought the car back in August, the previous owner told me he had switched to synthetic oil 10W-40, and from what I remember, if the car is switched you DON'T go back. Of course, it's showing oil leaks probably as a result of the changes, so I'll be looking at changing out ALL the gaskets (was going to do that anyway...).

Is anyone else here running synthetic? Why did you switch? CAN you go back to standard after the switch, and what weight oil are you using anyway?
 

laotionracer101

New Member
Jan 8, 2010
389
0
0
Arkansas
Ohhh man i hope your wrong about the don't go back thing :/ I regularly use 10w-40 but my father has to 30 in from time to time , but you know i don't really know of any problems, just that i have to add a quart every 2 weeks or so, I checked and I dont see any oil leaks, hope that helps
 

JDMMA70

Active Member
Dec 4, 2006
2,550
0
36
Houston
you can go back to conventional oil. Im running synthetic, mainly for extended change intervals. Im running 0W-30

theres threads in the oil section about this
 

7mslider

New Member
Dec 20, 2009
70
0
0
shelbyville
you can switch back and forth from conventional to synthetic as much as you please. i used to work at valvoline for about 5yrs. the additive package of a synthetic is the same as conventional, just more. the oils use the same base stock. even if you use a synthetic i personally still wouldn't extend the change intervals as the additives being the same will break down at the same rate. the advantage of a synthetic oil is it's lubricating propertys. the oil is made up of similar sized molicules so it lubricates better, and causes less wear on engine componants. to extend an oil change interval read the back of one of the extended interval oils and see all of the criteria you have to meet to do it. as far as weight, look in your owners manual and it has the different weights for different temps listed. i personally use a 20w50 since i hot lap my car at the drag strip. hope this has given you a little help
 

Suprasonic19

2JZ no sh*t!
Mar 5, 2007
135
0
0
Stockton, CA
Wow. Thats some seriously good info. You just answered every question ive ever had about synthetic. I work at an auto shop and I get asked by customers often why synthetic is better and I have never had an answer. Now ill tell them that whole thing and they be like "Uh....what?". Haha.
 

jdub

Official SM Expert: Motor Oil, Lubricants & Fil
SM Expert
Feb 10, 2006
10,730
1
38
Valley of the Sun
7mslider;1547802 said:
you can switch back and forth from conventional to synthetic as much as you please. i used to work at valvoline for about 5yrs. the additive package of a synthetic is the same as conventional, just more. the oils use the same base stock. even if you use a synthetic i personally still wouldn't extend the change intervals as the additives being the same will break down at the same rate. the advantage of a synthetic oil is it's lubricating propertys. the oil is made up of similar sized molicules so it lubricates better, and causes less wear on engine componants. to extend an oil change interval read the back of one of the extended interval oils and see all of the criteria you have to meet to do it. as far as weight, look in your owners manual and it has the different weights for different temps listed. i personally use a 20w50 since i hot lap my car at the drag strip. hope this has given you a little help

The base stock is not the same - synthetic oils (the true ones) use PAO or ester as base stock. Many on the market say "synthetic" but in reality use an extensively hydrocracked mineral oil.

The additives are similar, but are formulated for the base stock. Not necessarily more - take viscosity index improver for example - in a synthetic there is less due to the properties of the base stock. They do not break down at the same rate as a conventional oil. A synthetic oil will go 8K easy between change intervals, just change the filter at 4K. Using analysis, I've seen synthetic oils go 12-15K before the additives were depleted. Changing oil (including conventional) at the 3K point like the change shops say is simply dumping perfectly good oil and handing the shop you hard earned $$$ for nothing.

Concerning the 20W-50 - I've beat this one to death. If you think you are helping your motor using a oil that pumps like honey, then you are even more ignorant than your post makes you appear to be. Suggest you read the Motor Oil 101 link in my sig.

Given the info in this post is so off base it's not even funny, please do not post on this subject again.

Suprasonic19;1547944 said:
Wow. Thats some seriously good info. You just answered every question ive ever had about synthetic. I work at an auto shop and I get asked by customers often why synthetic is better and I have never had an answer. Now ill tell them that whole thing and they be like "Uh....what?". Haha.

Anyone that reads this would be very smart to simply ignore it. If you tell people what you just read, then you will be just a guilty of spreading myths/BS as our friend that was a janitor at Valvoline.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.