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you can switch to synthetic ANYTIME during the engines lifetime, mileage does not matter. and there is no issue switching to synthetic, and then switching back again at some point in time.
If that were not true, sale of synthetic oil to the military would have died in childbirth.
My 2008 Honda has 150k miles but it drinks a quart every 1000 miles anyway so I've realized no benefit from either. It's like having a continuous oil change.
My 2006 Honda Ridgeline has had synthetic oil since its first oil change. Recently though I was told I should now (would have to check the odometer but I think it has just over 160k miles) switch back to regular oil. Not sure what to think now because others have told me just stay with the synthetic.
My 2006 Honda Ridgeline has had synthetic oil since its first oil change. Recently though I was told I should now (would have to check the odometer but I think it has just over 160k miles) switch back to regular oil. Not sure what to think now because others have told me just stay with the synthetic.
Whoever told you that is a moron. If it's had synthetic all it's life keep it synthetic. No need to switch back to dino when the car hits a certain age/mileage. You can switch back and forth however you please but you can also keep it one for the life of the car.
My 2006 Honda Ridgeline has had synthetic oil since its first oil change. Recently though I was told I should now (would have to check the odometer but I think it has just over 160k miles) switch back to regular oil. Not sure what to think now because others have told me just stay with the synthetic.
if you like the way the engine runs on synthetic oil, then stay with it. there is no reason to change back to mineral oil. so tell anyone that suggests going back to mineral oil to blow it out their backsides because they have no clue what they are talking about.
If you're high mileage engine is used to dino oil, do not switch. I find it amazing so many people buy old car with bunch of miles, then switch to synthetic thinking it's better.
My philosophy is that if dino oil has gotten him to 170k+ miles, why switch when it's been working for so many miles?
If you're high mileage engine is used to dino oil, do not switch. I find it amazing so many people buy old car with bunch of miles, then switch to synthetic thinking it's better.
Actually back when Mobil was independent of Exxon, they had a 800 "help desk" line. I called and asked about changing an older engine to Mobil 1. The guy on the line said, yeah, you can do it, here is how: Change both the oil and the filter, fill with M-1. Run this 3000 miles, keep an eye on oil level as oil consumption may initially go up as the M-1 cleans things up. Change both oil and filter. This next load should perform about the way it will perform from then on, so if leakage or burning is excessive, you can change back to dino oil and won't be out much.
At the end of the day, if an engine has significant wear on bearings and rings, and it burns oil, you really need to throw some rings and bearings at it. Nothing else is going to fix things.
Actually back when Mobil was independent of Exxon, they had a 800 "help desk" line. I called and asked about changing an older engine to Mobil 1. The guy on the line said, yeah, you can do it, here is how: Change both the oil and the filter, fill with M-1. Run this 3000 miles, keep an eye on oil level as oil consumption may initially go up as the M-1 cleans things up. Change both oil and filter. This next load should perform about the way it will perform from then on, so if leakage or burning is excessive, you can change back to dino oil and won't be out much.
At the end of the day, if an engine has significant wear on bearings and rings, and it burns oil, you really need to throw some rings and bearings at it. Nothing else is going to fix things.
That said, I had a Diesel Audi 4000 that used about a quart of conventional oil every 1000 miles or so. This is what I called Mobil about. I changed over to Delvac-1 (Diesel specific version of M-1) and it pretty well quit using oil. This car had way over 100K on it.
Another point. One man's 100K is another man's 50K. Depends on how the car is driven, how it's maintained. Take the Scirocco. I drive like a mechanic. Always keep my foot out of the "carb" until the engine is warmed up. Then I go ahead and drive, like an enthusiast, but not like a rabid idiot, and I never make a short trip; there is no where to go around where I live that is not at least 5 miles from the house. I use premium oil (Redline) and a premium filter (Pure One). I actually run a fairly long OCI, 15K miles. Some car guys are surprised at that, but I can pull the oil fill cap off and shine a flashlight on the cam and top of the head there, it's not just clean, it's as clean as if I hot-tanked it yesterday. So I have driven this little 1.7 motor over 200K miles, and while I know as an engineer there has been some wear, as far as I can tell it performs as well as it ever did.
Now you take a guy who knows nothing about cars and is flogging his through NYC or even Seattle on a daily basis. He's going to wear all sorts of parts way faster on a per-mile basis than I am.
But, before I am ready for the dirt nap, very likely I will have to throw some rings and bearings at this motor. Just not yet.
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