synthetic oil or no?

[Fairweather]

i'm gonna get an oil change done this week and i was wondering if its worth it to put synthetic in or just straight up normal stuff, its a 2002 300M with about 180K on it (111 thousand miles), i have no idea whats been put in it in the past. Is it worth the price?

[bushwack]

I've heard that if it's a higher mileage car do not change over to synthetic, may cause some problems, but I don't know if there's any truth to it.

[General J]

I have also heard a few times that once you go synthetic, it is not advisable to switch back. So, you will be paying more every time you change the oil. Synth lasts longer and doesn't have the break down that traditional does. Don't know about the higher mileage vehicle thing though. Search the net. I am sure this has been written about and debated by many many car people.

[Preacher]

Just remember that while synthetic oil is better and lasts longer, the same junk, dirt and such are still being cleaned by the oil filter. So change the filter at 5000 miles or less even if you just top off the oil.

[Laz.e.rus]

bleh

go one notch heavier over 100k ( if you were 5w30 go 10w40)

Over 100k, doesnt matter which you use, most important is regular changing.

You have leaks and gaps now, plug em with heavier and remove the resulting shavings with regularity.

[[LaW]Maverick]

If you do research on synthetic, it is waaay better than traditional oil--but at 180k + miles, the benefits will be negligible unless you're planning on keeping the car to 280k miles. I put synthetic in both of our cars, but we've been doing that from 6k miles and 30k miles. It's extremely good for the engine, but the earlier you start, the better.

 

I'd say, if you're changing the oil yourself, buy synthetic (it's not THAT much more expensive). If you're getting it changed, just go to Valvoline and get their high mileage stuff, because the price difference for synthetic vs traditional is not proportional to the difference you'd pay at Autozone.

 

That's Mav's 2-cents.

[Fairweather]

thanks guys.. and yes mav i plan on keeping the car for longer than that lol, its gotta last me another 6 years at least! ... i think my anal-ness over my baby will win out and i'll bite the bullet for the synthetic price, plus im not very knowledgeable in the automotive department so i dont wanna try to change my own oil. from what i've read its supposed to be easier on your engine in the winter months when the temp drops below 0, and i'm not gonna build an extra igloo just to park the thing

[Preacher]

Also most places will charge less than the regular oil change if you bring the oil with you. You can save $10 or more by buying it yourself and then giving it to the lube tech.

[NOFX]

Only use synthetic if your starting out with synthetic. Theoretically synthetic oil will keep the inside of your engine cleaner.. less gunk, etc.. At 180k miles, your engine already has the build up of regular oil. Running synthetic now may keep further gunk from building up.. but your engine already has already been exposed to enough regular to not really make any difference.

 

With that said, I don't really care and I run regular oil in my car, because the chances are that something else will out on the car before the engine. In my motorcycle, I do run synthetic since it has always had synthetic in her.

[[LaW]Maverick]

I would say, if you're planning on running another 100k miles on that car to start using synthetic.

 

Synthetic doesn't just run cleaner, it is significantly more efficient. The REASON it runs cleaner is because there is less wear on your engine--the metal doesn't scrape as hard against other metal causing less bits and pieces of metal in your engine. Because of the uniformity of molecules in the synthetic oil, it also doesn't run nearly as hot, causing less stress on the metals in your engine.

 

Once you start on Synthetic, you can't go back, however. It's what you should always use from now on, but I think it's worth it, especially if you're wanting to keep the car that long.

[Fairweather]

Maverick' timestamp='1287589019' post='484315']

I would say, if you're planning on running another 100k miles on that car to start using synthetic.

 

Synthetic doesn't just run cleaner, it is significantly more efficient. The REASON it runs cleaner is because there is less wear on your engine--the metal doesn't scrape as hard against other metal causing less bits and pieces of metal in your engine. Because of the uniformity of molecules in the synthetic oil, it also doesn't run nearly as hot, causing less stress on the metals in your engine.

 

Once you start on Synthetic, you can't go back, however. It's what you should always use from now on, but I think it's worth it, especially if you're wanting to keep the car that long.

 

well noted sire. turn out it only cost me 59$ for synthetic at canadian tire, the guy told me because i have the older M series 300 i'm missing an "oil pan??" or maybe he said heat pan.. i'm missing a fying pan of some sort anyway that the mechanic didnt have to remove so the price dropped by about 20 bucks, not to mention they only charged me 3$ for the filter (the last place i went charged me 25 .. ya i got ripped off). I was expecting a 100$ bill so i'm pleasantly surprised

[dirtY_joE]

just on a side note from the industry it has changed so much over the last 10 or so years that virtually all repair/oil change places are now using a synthetic blend oil in the US/and that place up north it is much cheaper to buy these types of oil you know with the whole mid east thing and all but hey just my 2 cents

 

 

 

DJ