using synthetic
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Scikotics
SL Member
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 9,731
From: Minneapolis, MN
RP is virtually the same price for me as Mobile 1. Amsoil is as far as I know the only "true" fully sythetic group IV oil. RP is very close ( there is a lot of debate out there and some oils have had to fight to keep their sythetic status.. Mobile1 being one of them) and as far as I have read up on, has way fewer non-synthetic parts as Mobile1. Based upon reading a lot of info over the past year, I switched from Mobile1 to RP, especially with very close pricing between the two.
I heard the debate about RP being bad.. and no surprisingly, a lot of the sources on that were Amsoil reps. Amsoil reps in my experience are the first to claim bad things about other oils and the most pushy salespeople imaginable, using all sorts of automotive forums as thier un-official websites to advertise. Nothing against the oil.. it is great oil.. just that they seem to spread a lot of propoganda.. a lot of which is very questionable.
It has been a while, so I cant remember the whole debate. But I do know that I found 2-3 sites, all quoting each other, all related in some way to Amsoil, saying RP was bad. I found contrary info just about everywhere else from sources no affiliated to either.
In the end, if you run dino oil and change it regularly, you priobably will see great life out of your car.. most likely pretty close to if you run synthetic. However, due to longer change intervals and the fact that most enthusiasts really want the very best, especially if we push our cars hard from time to time.. more and more of us run synthetics.
I heard the debate about RP being bad.. and no surprisingly, a lot of the sources on that were Amsoil reps. Amsoil reps in my experience are the first to claim bad things about other oils and the most pushy salespeople imaginable, using all sorts of automotive forums as thier un-official websites to advertise. Nothing against the oil.. it is great oil.. just that they seem to spread a lot of propoganda.. a lot of which is very questionable.
It has been a while, so I cant remember the whole debate. But I do know that I found 2-3 sites, all quoting each other, all related in some way to Amsoil, saying RP was bad. I found contrary info just about everywhere else from sources no affiliated to either.
In the end, if you run dino oil and change it regularly, you priobably will see great life out of your car.. most likely pretty close to if you run synthetic. However, due to longer change intervals and the fact that most enthusiasts really want the very best, especially if we push our cars hard from time to time.. more and more of us run synthetics.
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SL Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 90
From: Troy, IL
Originally Posted by engifineer
Amsoil is as far as I know the only "true" fully sythetic group IV oil. RP is very close ( there is a lot of debate out there and some oils have had to fight to keep their sythetic status.. Mobile1 being one of them) and as far as I have read up on, has way fewer non-synthetic parts as Mobile1.
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SL Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 56
Great write up..
Originally Posted by ScitC
Running synthetic vs organic oil will help reduce wear and tear on your engine in the long run because of syhtetic oil being able to hold longer than conventional organic oil.
The horsepower gains are very small in small engines like the tC, maybe 1 or 2 hp gain at most. In a big diesel engine, maybe more because there would be more oil for the engine to have to work through.
Synthetic oil also reduces wear because it is supposed to be more effective at reducing friction, so it could not possibly get up to operating temperatures quicker, but slightly slower, depending on how hard you run your engine right after start up. Its always good to let your engine sit for a few minutes and warm up so the oil will get to operating temperature and lubricate better.
IMO, you cant feel the difference, at all, because I sure didnt. I use Royal Purple fully synthetic oil and the TRD synthetic/high capacity filter in my tC. If someone changed the oil w/o you knowing, you wouldn't even realize it.
The oil filter also plays an important role that no one mentioned. As miles go by, the filter will collect dirt/metal and begin to clog and become less effecient at allowing oil to flow through. The clogging process speeds up with adding maybe a supercharger or modifying your engine to make more power/higher revolutions. So, a higher capacity filter is usually better if you plan on exceeding the 3000 mile oil change or racing, etc.
Synthetic is best used in turbo/supercharging or high revving/racing applications because the turbo/supercharger will generate more heat and synhthetic oil is made to withstand more heat and duration than organic oil.
Using a thinner grade will help you gain hp (but again small) especially with a high reving engine. This is used by drag racers to help free up power while their machine revs down the track.
Just a little fyi, there is a special bolt you can get, a longer, stronger magnetized bolt, that some people use that claim it attracts the tiny metal fragments that fall into your oil. Idk this for sure, but throwing it out there shouldn't hurt.
I personally trust Mobile 1 and Royal Purple, but that's my opinion.
Just my 3 cents
Brandon
The horsepower gains are very small in small engines like the tC, maybe 1 or 2 hp gain at most. In a big diesel engine, maybe more because there would be more oil for the engine to have to work through.
Synthetic oil also reduces wear because it is supposed to be more effective at reducing friction, so it could not possibly get up to operating temperatures quicker, but slightly slower, depending on how hard you run your engine right after start up. Its always good to let your engine sit for a few minutes and warm up so the oil will get to operating temperature and lubricate better.
IMO, you cant feel the difference, at all, because I sure didnt. I use Royal Purple fully synthetic oil and the TRD synthetic/high capacity filter in my tC. If someone changed the oil w/o you knowing, you wouldn't even realize it.
The oil filter also plays an important role that no one mentioned. As miles go by, the filter will collect dirt/metal and begin to clog and become less effecient at allowing oil to flow through. The clogging process speeds up with adding maybe a supercharger or modifying your engine to make more power/higher revolutions. So, a higher capacity filter is usually better if you plan on exceeding the 3000 mile oil change or racing, etc.
Synthetic is best used in turbo/supercharging or high revving/racing applications because the turbo/supercharger will generate more heat and synhthetic oil is made to withstand more heat and duration than organic oil.
Using a thinner grade will help you gain hp (but again small) especially with a high reving engine. This is used by drag racers to help free up power while their machine revs down the track.
Just a little fyi, there is a special bolt you can get, a longer, stronger magnetized bolt, that some people use that claim it attracts the tiny metal fragments that fall into your oil. Idk this for sure, but throwing it out there shouldn't hurt.
I personally trust Mobile 1 and Royal Purple, but that's my opinion.
Just my 3 cents
Brandon
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