Synthetic oil in higher mileage vehicle?

[Blueline]

Re: Synthetic oil in higher mileage vehicle?

A little old thread but my older car, with 170k on it has only had cheap conventional oil, no name brand oil filers, and an oil change about every 7 or 8k miles and is still purrs like the day I drove it off the dealers lot some 10 years ago. The engine is old technology, a GM 3.8, and those were/are great engines. My new car has the variable valves, dual timing chains, etc. etc. and it will get the same once the dealer stops the free oil changes. Don't tell me the dealers use expensive oil or filters. Oil is oil, (other than synthetics) and the no name filters are made by the brand names. Just my two cents.

[Don]

Re: Synthetic oil in higher mileage vehicle?

A little old thread but my older car, with 170k on it has only had cheap conventional oil, no name brand oil filers, and an oil change about every 7 or 8k miles and is still purrs like the day I drove it off the dealers lot some 10 years ago. The engine is old technology, a GM 3.8, and those were/are great engines. My new car has the variable valves, dual timing chains, etc. etc. and it will get the same once the dealer stops the free oil changes. Don't tell me the dealers use expensive oil or filters. Oil is oil, (other than synthetics) and the no name filters are made by the brand names. Just my two cents.

I think you've gotten to the heart of the matter though, regular changes with a quality filter (no matter what name) and keeping the level topped off and not letting it run low are key points to an engine's longer life. It's the people that run their oil pans empty and until the oil smells like charcoal that try using that latest "SUPER SLICK, FUTURISTIC, MULTI-LEVEL SYNTHETIC WITH XYZ POWER" and think it will "cure" all the damage done to their engines by the way they had previously driven them, then are actually surprised when the engine blows. They don't want to hear that the synthetic oil cleaned out all the sludge and varnish that was actually holding the engine together and now the clearances are so loose that the engine rattles and pings like mad, they don't want to take responsibility for causing the damage, they just say that "XX engines/cars are junk," or "ZZ oil ruined my engine."

I really only go a step above what you are doing with your car ... Full Synthetic, name brand oil filter (usually whichever is on sale) and 10,000 mile oil changes (ALL of my driving is highway and steady-state highway miles don't cause much wear).