Last weekend, I changed my oil and used 5w-20 royal purple. Ive always heard lots of people hype it up, etc... After completing the oil change, the engine definitely runs smoother, hard to say though if it runs smoother than it would with new dino oil. butt dyno isnt really registering any extra power, just smoother. I drive about 80% freeway at 60-65mph, and usually average about 31-33mpg. i dont use the in-dash mpg numbers, this is calculated old school with miles divided by gallons. i usually fill up at the same gas station and the same pump if its open to keep my numbers accurate.

after putting in royal purple, ive gone 122 miles so far with only the first 1/8 tank light mark turning off. ive never made it this far, ever, on one light, though i expect very shortly for that second one to turn off meaning im right at 3/4 tank. and i understand that the first part of the gauge usually takes a little longer to burn through than the last half or so, but i have never gone this far. im seriously heading toward 36+ mpg at this rate. has anyone else had this or similair experiences with this oil?

 

i have i drive also about 50 mile a day highway, think of it in sense of productivity the less resistance, friction, and higher production equals effeciancy in another word more money for mods due to less expense in gas!!

 

I use Royal Purple in my Mazda Speed6 and can definitly tell a difference. I hesitate using in the XD simply do to cost and how often I change my oil. Is there anyone out there running the 0W-20? They say that will give you better milage as well.

 

the hp gains typically come from the full set, including the tranny fluid and diff fluid. All synthetics are going to help the engine run smoother, like catracho16 said, less friction = more efficiency

 

true, i just didnt think an oil change would make that much of a difference alone. guess i was wrong about the hype. if it does net me 2mpg, at 33mpg, it takes 151.5 gallons of gas to go 5000 miles. at 35mpg, it only takes 143 gallons, so its saving me almost 9 gallons between oil changes, about $36 in gas... which is definitely more than the price difference between regular oil and royal purple. worth it in my mind. id like to try that 0w though.

 

How many miles do you have on your ODO pickled? I know nothing of the different oils out there, so if its ok to switch oils at 15k and still see an improvement I'll do it.

 

6300 now. first oil change was at about 2500 with regular dino oil, no difference really seen then and the oil still looked in mighty fine shape. now ill be changing every 5k even. im guessing switching oils pretty much any time after the motor is broken in would be fine.

 

noob question here when making the switch to synthetic do you need to pull the pil pan or is it just draining like usual?

 

just let the old oil completely drip out from the drain plug and filter housing. give it like 15 minutes of dripping. thats all i did.

 

yea no need for that. I would at most recommend getting a magnetic drain plug to pull out some of the loose metal particals in the oil

 

small update - first tank still with the royal purple... 360.2 miles so far and still showing two lights on the gas gauge

 

Damn, 360.2 miles?? I've barely gotten up to 300mi and that was before I got my 18s

How much of a difference is that compared to your last tank up?

 

aight, i finally went to fill up right as the last light started blinking, which appears to be when you have one gallon remaining.... ran the numbers 364.11 miles and it took 10.22 gallons to fill up... leaving me at 35.6mpg average for that tank!!! thats about 2.5mpg better than my previous record, which was about 33mpg; 340 miles before the last blinking light came on. that was driven on about 80% freeway as well.

 

also, i drive with the cruise control religiously on the freeway (except when there is traffic and/or oregonians out and about). i also had a small spike in gas mileage when i had my catback put on and was able to my relax on the ol' gas pedal.

 

You must have very little stop and go traffic where you live! What are the driving conditions anyways? Heavy traffic? Small hills and valleys to get through?

 

about 90% of my driving is to/from work, which is 15 miles one way on I-5. im usually traveling when there is not much traffic, so i can set the cruise to 65mph without running into many hiccups. fridays are a different story though, lol. traffic can be stop and go on those days. its mostly level with occasional small rises. i dont really have much of an opportunity to see what the in-town gas mileage would be. unfortunately, google street view hasnt added that stretch of I-5 yet, or i could link you to the route it take so you could see, lol. i love street view.

 

I was wondering why my gas mileage went down since my 5k service. Must be from the difference in oil because I switched to synthetic at 1000 miles and the dealer must have put back regular oil. I was thinking the gas station by me was ripping people off and watering down there gas or something. So I guess I got to change the oil again

 

its possible, and very likely, the dealer put dino oil back in. no reason for them to put more expensive oil in during a free oil change.did they give you a receipt or anything that said the brand/type of oil they used?

 

got an invoice just stating what they did. Oil change, tire rotation ect. but no specifics

 

yea they are going to use the stock oil type, for your 10k just bring the oil with you when they do the complimentary check up.