VdubbsXB

I swapped to Mobile1 on my last oil change. I have 40K on my box and was seeing 34mpg to 36mpg on dino pee. With mobile1 in the sump, I average 35 to 37.5mpg. I have gotten as high as 40mpg since mobile1. But driving conditions cause a lot of variation in mpg. I find I get better mpg in warmer conditions than when it is cold.

The best mpg I had gotten before Mobile1 was 39mpg. Now to see an mpg over 40mpg tells me that the synthe is doing a much better job of keeping things slickery.

I also have been using Amzoil in the 5speed trans since 5K miles. I love the way it shifts, real smooooooth.

Jan06xB

Well the guy that sold me the Synlube says otherwise in fact he said NOT to get the free dealer oil change because the oil from the factory was really good synthetic oil. They would not be using regular oil during break in because you do not want it breaking down too quickly and you need a little extra lubrication to handle the extra friction of the unpolished surfaces. Did you notice how it heated up faster when new? Also the oil I drained out of my xB and saved sure don't smell like regular oil so I guess I need to cool it in the freezer to 0 degrees and see how it pours to see what it is and maybe heat it to 500F too. So I don't know who your Scion person was maybe a suit in an office someplace but Miro is an oil scientist and has his oil on the moon and mars and about 20,000 other vehicles on the road running extended oil change intervals in excess of 100,000 miles before changing. I have almost 10,000 on my Synlube 5w50 and have not added any and it is working just great.

HeathenBrewing

Actually, he was the Service Manager at Kearny Mesa Toyota.

Jan06xB

SO he didn't put the oil in himself - the factory did . . . humm well someone is in error so next step is to test what came out of the engine I guess unless someone knows someone at the Toyota/Scion factory.

HeathenBrewing

No offense intended, but if my two choices for factory fill options came from:


1- One of the top ranked Toyota dealerships Service Managers.

OR

2- A man who believes that motor oil will last 100,000 miles and was told by a non Toyota employee who happens to work in a business selling (what I consider) snake oil what the factory fill is.


I would have to go with number one.

teabox

I might be off-topic on this question

Would synthetic transmission oil make a difference over OEM toyota/Scion transmission oil? I'm planning on switching to all synthetic oils (aka motor and transmission/gear oil) on my auto xB during this month.

I just want to know if its worth the extra cost..

Jan06xB

OK but the oil isn't oil but a solid lubricant and it lasts 150,000 miles and the guy developed the formulation and has not had to change it since 1992.

dgenem

Oil has more than one job, besides lubricating it's also used to help keep the engine clean internally. So even if it doesn't ever break down, it still gets dirty, stuff that filter alone cannot remove. Only a complete moron who doesn't care would leave any fluid in there for 150k miles.

I don't care if the stuff has been in use since 1982, I will trust Toyota over snake oil peddlers anytime.

dgenem

Just reading their website, the thinnest they make are 0w40 and 5w50. That's too thin to properly lubricate the tighter bearing clearances in newer, smaller engines. On thier website, they have a very strict procedure to maintain a warranty. You have to change the oil every 50k miles, not 150k. Must use their filters only, must check oil level every 1k miles, and notify them in writing within 7 days of checking it.

http://www.synlube.com/serv01.htm
"150,000 MILE or 15 YEAR"

"9.) You must replace the SynLube™ lubricants regularly:
bullet Engine: every 50,000 miles or every 5 years*"

Ok, so they don't make it thin enough for newer engines, and you will void their own warranty if you use their product as theyadvertise.

A good point that others have made, every few years there are miracle oils and additives that sound too good to be true. It can take years or even decades before the truths about them come out. So far, they have all been bogus. And all these bogus additives/oils have been proven to be damaging. Anyone remember the Slick 50 miracle claims? Even one of them was busted when a group proved Head and Shoulders shampoo provided the same results as their miracle oil in their rigged tests.
http://www.synthetic-oil-tech.com/d...._additives.htm

All we have is Synlube's shakey word and tests, and a warranty with endless loopholes out that doesn't even cover what the product is supposed to do. Who are they kidding?

This product needs proven, third party, controlled testing to back up it's claims.

vintage42

Read about it and see what you think:
http://www.syntheticwarehouse.com/au...sion_fluid.htm
The Scion Owners Manual says to use Type T- IV fluid, and the Amsoil site says it does meet Toyota Type T-IV specs.
With oils for engine and transmission, the question of "worth the cost" is pretty subjective. As long as the lubricants meet specs, it does not matter what you use unless you subject the machinery to unusual conditions such as extreme heat, speeds, loads, or extended change intervals. Then the added cost of synthetics can make a difference in ability to stand the service. In normal service, the benefits of synthetic lubricants mostly acrue to the owner in a feeling of well-being ;-)

Jan06xB

The change interval varies with the quality of the engine construction - I have a 150,000 mile lube change - report and check the oil level once a month - nothing added so far in almost a year - a 300,000 mile warrenty - filter change at 36,000 for the remainder of the original oil removal that should be in the filter broken down by then and 75,000 miles for the usual cleaning. It reduces blow by and thus stays cleaner than convential oil of which most of the deposits is caused by the oil breaking down. I also have used Slick50 in all my cars and got great engine life beyond the life of the body and great improvements in FE including some slick50 tranny lube added to the original xB transmission oil giving me 5 more MPG right away before switching to the synlube tranny lube which made the tranny shift even easier. You don't have to believe me - I am just stating what I have been getting for results . . . tank fillups averaging 40mpg with trips as high as 50mpg.

dgenem

Slick 50 is under numerous lawsuits for false advertising and banned by the FTC because of the extensive damages they caused in engines. They were the ones doing the false engine test scenerioes. It took over a decade, but they were busted. One group even used Head and Shoulders and got the same results as the bogus Slcik 50 engine tests. Would you use shampoo in your oil since it performs the same as Slick 50?
http://www.carbibles.com/additives.html

Every single miracle oil gets busted in the end as being too good to be true. It's a regular cycle untill somebody else takes their place to scam somebody else. There is NOTHING but Synlube's own tests to back thier product up. ZERO evidence that the product can perform as advertised.

Plus there is still the main problem, Synlube is TOO THICK for our engines and will void warranty instantly for using it. The bearing tolerance in our engines is only a fraction of what it used to be in older cars, oil that thick cannot possibly lube our engines properly. I may live in the south, but I'm not one of the idiots who still thinks thicker oil is better. I've seen new engines smoke out at less than 20k from using heavier oils. It's a fact heavier oils will ruin newer engines prematurely.

Jan06xB

The weight of the oil for the high number is at high temperatures and since it is good for over 500F it is rated 50 it is the lower number that is of more concern and that is a 5. Believe me it works great. NASA uses it so it must be junk right? And the real story behind Slick50 is that it got baught out a few times by companies that changed the formula so maybe it isn't that great any more but I have some old stuff and it always worked for me. I still have some of their grease and the Gear Lube is about 20 years old and is very much still is usable condition - no breakdown from sitting in an open metal can with a plastic lid on it other than the PTFE particles separating out which I mixed back into suspension. Try to leave a can of your favorate oil open for 20 years and see what happens to it.
If the Synlube was not doing its job would I be still getting over 40mpg average with it? Better mileage means less friction means less wear means longer life to the engine.

stew32

You could probably get great mileage running water in the crankcase... for a while. I've gotten 40 MPG in my xB on the factory oil and only 500 miles on the odometer. You don't have to defend yourself- your car, you can do whatever you want. Doesn't sound like you'll get many supporters of this product in these forums though.

Jan06xB

Ok but they ran a Yugo on it for over 200,000 miles - they drove a truck completely lubricated with it AROUND THE WORLD non-stop without any changes. It is not water. Supporters - Yeah seems to be a lot of closed minds.

Archngl

buahahahahaha!

dgenem

Not closed minds, but people wanting something more than a company's own claims. There isn't a single oil expert that trusts it for several reasons. So it's the company's own claims and you, versus every oil expert and most people on these forums and the majority of mechanics. They've all said the same thing, this oil is too thick for newer engines, and everytime somebody is asked for an oil analysis, they promise it and never post it. So for some reason, alot of people that were going to back it up go silent when they get their analysis. The only one that was posted turned out bogus (not a good sign).

This company either has a complete moron in charge of marketing, or they are hiding something. If they are real, they should have all sorts of independant sponsors. At least some third party research to back their claims. But they don't have any. This is another major red flag.

Just because a company CLAIMS there stuff is used by NASA, doesn't mean it's good or even true. I know of some O-rings that NASA bought that nobody brags about. This is another red flag, alot of bogus products love to mention NASA as if it's supposed to mean something. It's easy to invent such claims.

Our engines already get beyond reasonable mileage with synthetic and good care. No reason to switch to an unproven product, void warranties, and risk improper lubrication and premature wear on something too thick. Sure, thick oil can fool you into believing it's working for a long time. Our bearing tolerances are too tight for thick oil, but with the lack of lubrication I'm sure they will wear out enough for thicker oil to flow thru (this DOES happen, easy to research).

I see nothing about the product that would be an encouraging reason to use it. I can get detailed and independant research on all nearly every lubricant/oil out there, but for some reason NOTHING about Synlube. If it wasn't for the website, and about 3 people's claims online, I wouldn't even know about it.

Again, this screams scam, or a complete moron in charge of marketing. Now if a company is too stupid to know how to market their own product, I certainly am not going to trust them. They aren't even TRYING. A company isn't going to survive long on this course if they don't prove themselves, but then again the scammers don't trying to. They're just in for the quick buck.

Since you are using your XB as a test car, why don't you post us the oil analysis results? That would at least be a start for them.

Jan06xB

The Synlube was suggested by another users that has it in his vehicle for over 5 years with good results. It contains Moly, graphite and PTFE which are all known friction reducing lubricants. They have been in business since 1969. The website also lists some of the users and I am in there as well. It is sold directly and there is no marketing because of the cost of the product - they don't pump it out of the ground they have to manufacture it from expensive materials so adding marketing cost to increase sales is not what the business model supports. Same as my consulting business - I can only fix so many computers in a day - advertizing will not increase business. The oil analysis is difficult as explained in their website since it contains solids that are the lubrication and also contains compounds that have iron which throws off convential analysis. I am not selling it or telling you to use it if you don't want to but it is another alternative to the constant dino oil changing ritual that evenyone seems to be stuck in. I have already had this discussion several times in SL and am getting tired of repeating myself. The stuff is not too thick - the weight of the lubrication is a measure of how well it lubricates at different temperatures.

muhnihausen

ALL engines will suffer from fuel and carbon contamination. (Diesels are a bit better as diesel is also a lubricant). This is why you must change your oil. Gasoline is a strong solvent and will quickly thin your oil.

This in combination with carbon from combustion (and not to mention minute metal particles from wear) will cause all oils to foul. Bad oil = friction.

All claims otherwise are fraudulent. Period. Synthetics suffer from the same issues as dino oil, but are slightly more resistant to break down from gasoline and heat. It has been PROVEN many times over that ALL oils need to be changed periodically. It isn't rocket science. There are no magic chemicals or oils that will prevent gasoline contamination, carbon contamination, wear, or thermal breakdown. So it MUST be changed!

Will an engine run without a scheduled oil change? Yes! Does having a Yugo run without an oil change mean anything? No! Wear is wear. A car can run with engine wear. But why damage your engine? Just change the oil! You WILL damage your engine by not changing the oil. There is no debate, no "close mindedness". And yes, gravity does exist as well!

SLICK50 was sued because they advertised that Teflon would protect vital engine components. Dupont stated that this claim was never proven and that adding to it to oil was not an approved use of Teflon. In tests it was clear that the teflon did nothing but clog oil galleys.

Amsoil - It might be good oil, but it also is a MLM scheme so I stay away from it.

Stick with Mobil 1.

If you want MT gear oil, Redline is probably the best you can get.

Anyhow, for those who are too lazy to read the whole post, I'll summarize ;)

Synlube, SLICK50, Tornado, electric supercharger, Fuel Saver, Magic Water, Homeopathy, Feng Shui, = SCAM.

-justin

vintage42

If Amsoil is good, then why should the way it is sold keep you away from it?
Amsoil is more expensive, which is the only good reason for not wanting to buy it.