Those of you swithcing to synthetic motor oil, how long did you wait?
I don't want to switch to early so the engine will be %95 broken-in when changing to synthetic.
I'm at 3000 miles now and I think the engine is still only about 60-70% broken-in.
I'm planning to switch at my third oil change at 7K or some say that I should wait until 10K.
I want to use Amsoil 5-30 synthetic and very solid Purolator Pure One filter (and with it change oil every 5-6K miles)
What would you do.
I know that changing to synthetic at 3000 miles is too early.

 

When I changed to synthetic oil on my '90 LX, it had about 1k miles on it. It now has over 176k miles, and still doesn't burn oil. I have autocrossed it almost since new (4 months old). I even once ran it one lap on a race track without a water pump (broken belt) with no long term consequences.

Because of close tolerances during manufacturing with modern-day engines, break-in periods are no where near as long as 30 or 40 years ago. IF you've taken it easy the first 1000 miles, you're probably broken in enough to run synthetic.

If you are nervous, wait until 3k miles before changing you oil to synthetic. It really isn't necessary to change the oil at 1000 miles, unless the manufacturer recommends doing so.

Quite a few high-performance engines come from the factory with synthetic oil already in them (Corvette, AMG, Porsche Turbo), which says something about break in periods. Most engines are run quite a bit before installation, and oil changed before installation into the cars.

 

You will get a lot of mixed answers to your question as it was said before. I have a P5 and i switched at 3000 miles and it runs a lot smoother and i think its good. I was talking to the guy and he was saying synthetic is kinda not neccessaru because our engines dont rev that high(like high enough to make a difference). He said as long as i change it religously with normal oil it will be ok. Hes a really good guy and it sounds good but i think i might stick to syntheetic for a while then go to normal after a long time. I dunno

 

Yeah, the debate can go on forever and ever

My thinking is that synthetic will allow better protection during cold starts during winter. I'll probably switch to synthetic during winters and back to regular during summer. And yes, i believe that frequent oil changes is the key, the type of oil comes second (close).

 

thanks for opinions and sugestions, I will most likely do what I did with other cars.
Next oil change at 4500 I will mix 3quarts of req oil and rest of synthetic and finally at 7000 miles I'll run full synthetic.
I really recommend Amsoil, I had a chance to compare it against Mobil1 and engine with Amsoil is even smoother and less strain than with very good Mobil1. I think that Redline would be ultimate choice but I don't want to spend $9 for a quart of oil.
thanks everybody.

 

How much is Amsoil and where can I get them? I've heard many good things about it.

 

In addition to the superior life of the molecules of synthetic oil, and the superior cold flow characteristics, it also sticks to metal better.

When Mobil was trying to get approval for its Aviation Oil, they did corrosion tests (since airplanes often sit for weeks at a time), and conventional oil, semi-synthetic, and synthetic. The conventional oil showed rust in minutes, the semi-synthetic was even faster, but the synthetic didn't rust for the equivalent of 40 years.

Synthetic also has superior detergent properties, which is why it's not suggested to put synthetic in older engines. They tend to clean out all of the sludge that conventional oil leaves behind, which leads to leaks (the sludge is what was holding the oil in).

Mixing synthetic with conventional oil is also a waste. As is semi-synthetic.

Having had two cars that were saved due to the use of synthetic oil (I'd have two dead engines were it not for the superior lubricity of synthetic oil), I'm sold the benefits of synthetic oils.

 

...not a Protege, but my MX6 has 210k miles on it and still runs great. I've been using Mobil 1 full synthetic 10w30 for the last 110k or so. I'm a believer.

 

Blend oils are nothing else but a mix of reg. oil with synthetic.
I had a chance of comparing when after oil change I did drive for about 500 miles and than I pumped out about a 1/2 quart of reg. oil from the engine and I added 1/2 of Mobil1. The difference was noticible right away, engine operated less strainy and it reved-up quicker and the valve noise when cold went down a whole lot.
It does not make sence to belive in the theory that blend oils are worse than reg. oils.
Amsoil can be purchased on the internet at:
www.amsoil.com

 

i am actually about 50 miles from the 1k mark myself, and was hoping to do an oil change in the next couple weeks. i was wondering about whether synthetic will help it or not. my previous car was a 94 mits mirage, and around 110000 i went synthetic in it for a couple of oil changes, and found that it wasnt any better, but i figured it might be due to the fact that the car was already so old and worn. then the car got to the point where it leaked and burned so much oil, that i only changed the oil about every 7k miles. i was constanly adding new oil, so i figured as long as the filter was holding out, no need to change it. but in my p5, i want to keep it running as long as possible, so im wanting to go with synthetic early on. havnt really checked on the prices of good synthetic. how much does a case of mobil 1 synthetic run.

 

Case prices vary. My local Costco carries 10W30 Mobil 1 (only viscosity) for about $22 for 6 quarts. At most auto parts stores, synthetics are usually about $4.00-$4.50/qt.

I looked at the Amsoil site, and they have oil that runs from a little over $5/qt to about $8/qt. Redline is about $7.50/qt. There are links on their site for dealers, but some of the smaller ones aren't mentioned.

 

Hey guys did the dealer tell you if you use Castrol oil in your car for the life of the car they will warrenty everything engine wise if anything every breaks down for 250,000 miles?

 

...our dealers want us to buy new car every 5 years or so, I never trust the dealer.

 

I posted this on another board, Mobil 1 is in Corvettes and 911 off the assembly line. I put it in after 600 miles( the break-in period in our handbook) and felt my P5 and 2.0l ES felt smoother. As you can tell I am sold if I put it in two new cars, also if Porsche puts it in a car that they have been working on for over 20 years that is good enough for me. You can get Mobil 1 at Walmart for $3.70 a quart! or $18.90 for the 5 quart (if you can find any, I bought 5 six months ago and could not find a store that has the 5 quart size.)

 

the 5-quart size i think is specific to wally-world (wal-mart) and only comes in at certain times for sales reasons. if you see it, id buy about 3-4 of them to do you good for a few months.