Fresh Engine, time for synthetic?
09-29-2010, 08:41 PM
#1
2nd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Michigan
Posts: 263
Fresh Engine, time for synthetic?
Just finished my first engine build and have a ton of time and cash into the car. I pulled the engine when it had 175K and was driven HARD, and do not think it ever had synthetic oil. All the bearings looked pretty good minus one rod bearing that had a massive groove in it haha. Rebuilt it with new pistons, new cam, new oil pump, new lifters, new rockers, new heads, and obviously all new bearings. The engine now has about 700 miles on it with conventional oil. I drive the **** out of the car, and use it as a track car and summer DD. I usually try to run straight E85 through it, and when I do, the oil and exhaust stay CLEAN. No carbon =).
Just read that thread on royal purple, and was very impressed and surprised. Do you guys recommend switching to that, and if so, when do I switch on a fresh engine?
My thought used to be : People can run 200K miles on conventional oil, so why switch? That thread on RP got me thinking.
Any opinions are appreciated!
Thanks!
Just read that thread on royal purple, and was very impressed and surprised. Do you guys recommend switching to that, and if so, when do I switch on a fresh engine?
My thought used to be : People can run 200K miles on conventional oil, so why switch? That thread on RP got me thinking.
Any opinions are appreciated!
Thanks!
09-29-2010, 11:26 PM
#3
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Pensacola, Florida
Posts: 1,465
AMSOIL 10W-30 100% Synthetic
1. Less friction and heat= longer engine and oil life
2. Better protection due to the additive package versus an over the counter API SM formulation
3. Change your oil less = Money savings
4. E85 will allow you to run the oil listed above easily beyond 20,000 miles or one year (whichever occur first).
I'm going to quote the Motor Oil Bible on this one, as it says it all on that topic.
MAYBE ADEQUATE IS OK FOR YOU
I have to make something clear. Earlier in this chapter I indicated that petroleum oils are insufficient for
protecting high tech engines in today's vehicles. I say this for one main reason - today's vehicles should
easily be running for 300,000 miles without much more than a hiccup. Modern day vehicles are really
built very well.
It is my contention that using petroleum oils shortens the useful life of a vehicle considerably. The
problem is one of perspective. People still think 100,000 miles is pretty good when, in reality, 2 to
300,000 miles should be expected.
I suppose what I'm trying to say is that my belief that petroleum oils are inadequate stems from the
knowledge that today's engines can run well for many more miles than they generally do. Since I'm one
who likes to get my money's worth, I'm not satisfied with adequate performance for a measly 100,000
miles. I want my money to be well spent.
However, I would like to make it clear that petroleum oils ARE adequate for the purpose of protecting
your engine, if you don't mind a shorter vehicle lifespan, inconvenient oil changes, or decreased engine
performance. Under normal circumstances, most vehicles lubricated with petroleum oil should run
satisfactorily for 100,000 to 150,000 miles without serious incidence.
So, if you like the hassle of changing your oil regularly, and you are only looking for marginal
performance for the next 100,000 miles or so, petroleum oils are definitely the way to go. By the way, if
you're interested, I've got an old dishwasher for sale too. You have to rinse your dishes first, it's really
loud and runs for about 3 hours, but it gets most of the food off of our plates. It's a steal at only $50. Let
me know if you're interested.
On the other hand, if you aren't all that fond of pulling dirty dishes out of your dishwasher, I'm going to
assume that you don't relish the idea of changing your oil every 3,000 miles or dealing with another
pushy car salesman every 3 to 5 years either. If that's true, keep reading.
I have to make something clear. Earlier in this chapter I indicated that petroleum oils are insufficient for
protecting high tech engines in today's vehicles. I say this for one main reason - today's vehicles should
easily be running for 300,000 miles without much more than a hiccup. Modern day vehicles are really
built very well.
It is my contention that using petroleum oils shortens the useful life of a vehicle considerably. The
problem is one of perspective. People still think 100,000 miles is pretty good when, in reality, 2 to
300,000 miles should be expected.
I suppose what I'm trying to say is that my belief that petroleum oils are inadequate stems from the
knowledge that today's engines can run well for many more miles than they generally do. Since I'm one
who likes to get my money's worth, I'm not satisfied with adequate performance for a measly 100,000
miles. I want my money to be well spent.
However, I would like to make it clear that petroleum oils ARE adequate for the purpose of protecting
your engine, if you don't mind a shorter vehicle lifespan, inconvenient oil changes, or decreased engine
performance. Under normal circumstances, most vehicles lubricated with petroleum oil should run
satisfactorily for 100,000 to 150,000 miles without serious incidence.
So, if you like the hassle of changing your oil regularly, and you are only looking for marginal
performance for the next 100,000 miles or so, petroleum oils are definitely the way to go. By the way, if
you're interested, I've got an old dishwasher for sale too. You have to rinse your dishes first, it's really
loud and runs for about 3 hours, but it gets most of the food off of our plates. It's a steal at only $50. Let
me know if you're interested.
On the other hand, if you aren't all that fond of pulling dirty dishes out of your dishwasher, I'm going to
assume that you don't relish the idea of changing your oil every 3,000 miles or dealing with another
pushy car salesman every 3 to 5 years either. If that's true, keep reading.
Last edited by Unleashedbeast; 09-29-2010 at 11:36 PM.
09-30-2010, 01:03 PM
#5
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Michigan
Posts: 3,986
You should be OK to switch to synthetic now. If it was immediately after the rebuild, you'd definitely want to wait for the rings/bearings to break in and seat. Although, it is debatable whether or not, they're broken in the first time you start it after the rebuild.
Regardless, I'm a die-hard Castrol syntec 5w50 fan. I've used it in numerous vehicles including my 5.0L mustangs, 5.0L ranger and my Probe GT (245k miles).
For the price, it's an excellent oil. While not quite up to par with AMSoil or Royal purple, it's definitely not much worse. (You can even view it on AMSoil website). It's usually about $3 per qt. less than AMSoil or RP yet has the weight that I absolutely love --5w50. It's thin enough in cold weather to get where it needs to go, yet thick enough to protect the engine when you're really beating on it hard. Using 5w50, I have yet to have any sort of engine problems.
If you want to use the other, more expensive oils, then by all means do so. But for less, you can still get a very good quality oil.
But yeah, synthetic is the only way to go IMO.
Regardless, I'm a die-hard Castrol syntec 5w50 fan. I've used it in numerous vehicles including my 5.0L mustangs, 5.0L ranger and my Probe GT (245k miles).
For the price, it's an excellent oil. While not quite up to par with AMSoil or Royal purple, it's definitely not much worse. (You can even view it on AMSoil website). It's usually about $3 per qt. less than AMSoil or RP yet has the weight that I absolutely love --5w50. It's thin enough in cold weather to get where it needs to go, yet thick enough to protect the engine when you're really beating on it hard. Using 5w50, I have yet to have any sort of engine problems.
If you want to use the other, more expensive oils, then by all means do so. But for less, you can still get a very good quality oil.
But yeah, synthetic is the only way to go IMO.
