I wanted to know if anyone has switch over to a full synthetic engine oil like Mobil 1. I know the obvious pros of a full synthetic, I was wanting first hand accounts of the use in the xB.
Any noticeable difference - good or bad. I'm still using the 3 free oil changes from my dealer then I'm going with Mobil 1, unless anyone have a valid reason why not to.

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There have been many threads on this subject. The feeling is that synthetic is better just more expensive.

 

yeah, here is a run down for you

Pros: synthetic is better

Cons: is more expensive

Consider it an investment in engine longevity and possibly power. I know people are going to say I'm an idiot, it makes no difference in power due to friction reduction blah blah blah.

I put synthetic in my old explorer to try and make it run longer, not for performances. when i got my tC, after my first three free changes, I took my tC to get Synthetic oil changed
because I believe in only the best for my baby. When I got it back and pulled out of the parking lot, I was like "wow, where did that come from?"

It made a very noticeable difference.

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Why is this in Aero and Exterior?

Anyhow, there is plenty of discussion in the Maintenance section of this site.

*Note: Thread Moved to Maintenance Forum

 

DON'T use Mobil 1. I used that stuff for the first 10k and it made the lifter tick when it warmed up, I switched to Castrol Syn.
and the noise went away, happen to a couple of my friends with Toyota motors, I don't know why it does it.

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See that's the kind of feedbacks I'm looking for. What did YOU do? What happened to YOU?
I know all about full synthetic motor oil, I just wanted some personal application the the xB, and what happened.
Does anyone else agree with using Castrol over Mobli 1?

I want to use full synthetic for longevity and the friction reduction = hourse. Anyone that that doesn't believe in friction reduction = hourse.
Well .... just isn't very mechanically inclined.

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I just put in Mobil 1 fully synthetic blue cap in my xB for my 15k mile service, and the start up is much quieter vs. what it used to be.
That's all I have really noticed- but I do like a lesser amount of engine noise.
P.S. it takes 4 quarts, so no need to buy a whole box of 6 like I did...could have saved myself $16 roughly.

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I choose Pennzoil Platnium because:

1- It is a Group III, same as M1, but only a third of the price (M1=$5.99/qt, PP=$1.99)

2 - Mobils continued to lie, to myself in numerous emails and to many others about their formulation. I vote with my dollars and will not do business with companies like Mobil.

Overall, Im sure very few of us drive in conditions (Im in CA) that REALLY warrant the use of syn. Dino is all that is really needed with a 3K/3mo. OCI. In colder climates, syn DOES have the advantage. That said, the $0.50 price difference per qt. between a brand name dino and PP is very much worth the additional cash for the possibility of a cleaner, healthier engine.

 

My experience:
I got the first couple free oil changes and then I switched to Mobile 1 with a Mobile 1 filter. I try to change the oil every 5k miles but sometimes it slips my mind and doesnt get done until 6 or 7 and when I changed it at 7k miles it came out smooth and wasn't sludgy at all so I would almost be willing to say that it's just fine to go for 7k miles with it.

The main thing I noticed was the idol. Before switching to synthetic, the idol was very rough and after switching over it's been smooth and quiet as can be.

that's just me though

 

very cool thats what i like to here. thats one thing im not happy with is the idol, it is a bit rough.

 

i read en artical were a test was done on a new corvett.
mobil 1 was used for 50,000 willes with no oil change, then the filter was change and a small amount of mobil 1 added because of the filter. i was then run for another 50,000 with no oil change again. the motor was then torn down and no measurable wear was found.

 

now that's cool. I guess I'm going to have to start stretching it out to 50k before I do an oil change....

 

Link please?

 

i don't have a link, it was in a mag a few years ago. i would not sugjgst going 50,000 miles without changing the oil. the artical claimed it could be done, i dont think it said what kind of filter had been used or anyother problems that happened because of the test. the test simple showed the ability of the oil to prevent wear. once again i DO NOT recomend going 50,000 without en oil change.

 

The reason I ask is becasue I searched for about 10 minutes and found no mention of any such test on google. Im not giving you a hard time, but it seems that either Mobil or Chevy would have some mention of this test. There was none that I could find.

In a real world environment (meaning different stops/starts, different temps, different start temps, I would find it impossible to go so long because of acid build up, combustion contamination and gasoline dilution/breakdown of ANY motor oil.

Now if they did one start of the engine and let it run for 50K "miles", thats an entirely different story. I believe MANY oils would EASILY run 25K with no issues at all.

 

i would agree. i don't remember any specifice about how the test was conducted, only the boast about 100k with only changing the filter at 50k. i could tell you 100 other things that could go wrong. like i said i WOULD NOT recomend ANYONE to go so long with out changing the oil.

i plane on going 6k per oil change with a full synthetic. im tring to find out what problems different people pesonaly had with different brands.

 

did my four free, then switched to royal purple

 

thats what im using , its pricey but also worth every penny

 

yea, even if just to make it last that much longer, its been proven to make a motor last much, much longer, by smoothing the pistons and sleeves out

 

Cons - change to synthetic only if you change your own oil every time. if you pay a shop to do it they wont always remember, the technician works with his brain on auto-pilot and may put in dino oil because he's not paying attention. It's bad for your engine to switch back and forth.
Pros - It may be better for engine life but only matters if you plan to keep your car a loooong time. You should have no trouble driving 200,000 miles on dino oil if you drive sensibly, if you want to get 500,000 miles out of an engine you have a better chance with synthetic oil.