Pony_car

I brought my car in today for its 5,000 mile scheduled maintenance service, and I asked for the synthetic oil instead of the standard petroleum-based stuff. So far the car seems to berunning much smoother. It feels lighter almost,because accelerationseems much quicker.

Anyoneelse make the switch to synthetics? How are your cars liking it?

MrSandman

I switched at 1500 miles.

Pony_car

I bought my car used at 4,000 miles. This was the first time I had the car serviced. But yeah, I agree, the earlier the better...

phunnyguy

i been using synthetic on the advise of my servic eguy, i do notice the car runs a little better, engines seem to like it better, and not that the car ran clunky , but it doesnt run clunky if you know what i mean...i made the switch and am very content about it...i think it will help the engine to last longer too....you know all those fancy inside parts that need oill and such.....

JimC

I have to say that I haven't noticed any difference. My last oil change they were out of the blend which is what I had been using so substituted the all synthetic Mobil. Until I read this post I had forgotten about the switch because I haven't seen any change in the way the car runs.

Pony_car

What was your milage when you made the swtich?

laserred02

the biggest thing I have noticed with synthetic oil is startup. I had used synthetic for the entire life of my old mustang and at 80k miles I needed to get an oil change and I was at school and couldn't do it myself so I just had Ford do it and they didn't put in synthetic like I asked. The next cold start I had was a hell of a lot louder than I had ever heard before. So I immediately went back and had them put in full synthetic.

Whether or not the car runs better I can't say, but i do know the cold start is a lot better and synthetic doesn't breakdown at high temperatures as easy, and since I do a lot of long highway trips that is important to me.

Mobil 1 FTW!

TAoW1939

Its all in your heads. Synthetic does not lubricate any differently than mineral, and does not last any longer. The only part of oil that breaks down after several thousand miles are the polymer additives (small molecular springs that expand when hot to help the oil maintain viscosity at high temperatures). And they don't last any longer in synthetic than in mineral. Is synthetic better? Yes. Is it enough to make any noticable difference in the way your car sounds/drives? No.

Also do be careful when switching from one to the other, your seals may leak if you have used mineral for many miles and switch to full synthetic.

phunnyguy

for me it was 5000 miles

musicheadt

I went with Amsoil oil and filter at 11k miles. Car is much smoother at idle and startup. I bought it at 9,500 miles, and I went to full synthitic at my first oil change.

I recommend a full synthetic oil and filter change for anyone that hasn't had one. ESPECIALLY if you buy a used car. I had my engine flushed, (recommended when going from conventional to full synthetic) for $190.00 - Money well spent.

For the record....any time I have had my oil changed, or changed my own oil, I have never noticed a difference in performance.....until now. I used Amsoil in the recommended weight.
My Pony runs smoother with no startup problems on the coldest winter days. Engine sound got quieter :-( but that means LESS FRICTION.....and a healthier engine.

I asked around before my first oil change to find out about a good oil for our engines and many people recommended AMSOIL, a site sponsor. I'm glad I asked, and I'm an Amsoil customer until someone makes something better.